My first flirtation with an SUV was back in '95, when in the midst of my time with Mark, I splurged on a Nissan Pathfinder completely out of my normal spending habits. To this day, that car had the biggest payment I've ever had - $534 a month! In 1995! Luckily, it didn't last long; Mark responded to my supposedly logical choice ("We need an SUV for all the things we're going to do!") by promptly trading his little Mazda Probe...for a Toyota RAV4 SUV. Oh well.
It was back to sedans for a while - four Camrys in my history, plus a great few years with an Oldsmobile Intrigue - and then in 2007 at the height of the boom, I splurged on a Toyota Highlander. Yes, plenty of Toyotas among the 14 vehicles I've owned. Toyotas don't break, and they are conservative in styling, even dowdy to some, but I like 'em.
Not this year, though. My trusty '08 Highlander was due for trading; it was either keep it and spend money on an upcoming timing belt and new tires (over $1K these days!) or look for a replacement. I got back in the new car market thinking I'd just up the year on the Highlander and be done, but Toyotas have lost a bit of luster the past few years, and the latest look of the Highlander is...well...insectoid, because of the weird stuff they've done with the headlights.
And then, I noticed the 2013 Kias just arriving in showrooms. I've been a fan of the Sorento for a couple of years - it's a well-made Korean nameplate that is assembled in Georgia and it comes with a 60,000 mile basic warranty. Most of the auto press likes the Sorento, with the only knocks seeming to be a stiffer-than-normal ride. I drove one, didn't find that a problem, and found a whole bunch more to like.
For about $7,000 less than a comparable Highlander, I'm now the owner of more geegaws and hoohahs than I though could possibly fit in a car. I got heated AND cooled seats. And power folding mirrors. And Homelink. And a navigation system that you can actually use while the car's in motion (Toyota is very nannyish about this and it's something I've always resented). And not one, but two sunroofs - a panaroma that really opens up the feeling of the car when driving.
Oh, and better gas mileage. I was sold pretty quickly.
450 miles later and I'm loving the car as my new ride. I'll be off on vacation starting Friday, and while I could have flown to Vegas, I've decided to drive via some of the parks and monuments in Colorado and Utah. For the 14th time, I get to smell that new-car smell and enjoy the open road in the area of the country I love.
