For those of you that have been reading know that I've been car shopping after my accident on the 25th. I've taken test drives and slept on it and have come to a few conclusions.
The top three contenders are:
Honda Insight- The harp fit in the insight but it was a very tight fit. I was not that impressed with the power of the honda but after test driving it a second time I did not have the overwhelming feeling of despair, ha. Also, I do not move my harp every day. While I am very busy with performing and teaching rarely do I move my harp everyday except for December. The Insight would give me the excellent fuel economy of a smaller car plus the capability of hauling my harp when I need. Consumer Reports listed this vehicle's reliability as way better than average.
Mazda CX7: This was by far the largest vehicle I test drove and had the most room. The harp loaded very easily into the vehicle with no problems whatsoever. The only drawback to this vehicle is that the instrument cluster was confusing. This also had the most power behind it out of all the vehicles I test drove minus the VW. After doing some research I realized you can get a few more bells and whistles on the vehicle for the same price that you'd pay for the honda or nissan. Consumer Reports listed this vehicle's reliability as average.
Nissan Rogue: I really really enjoyed this vehicle. I liked the seat height and that it was not as wide as the Mazda. The harp fit beautifully with room to spare but not as much as the Mazda. Both the Nissan and the Mazda get comparable MPG so it boils down to features and price. The only drawback to the Nissan is that for the price range that I'm looking at I would end up with a vehicle with higher miles on it compared to the Honda or Mazda. Consumer Reports listed this vehicle's reliability as above average.
Here are the reasons I did not pursue the other vehicles I test drove:
Subaru Forester: I just did not like this vehicle, period. I did not enjoy sitting so low to the ground for a vehicle so large. The harp fit just fine with lots of room to spare but had very little power behind it and the steering was quite stiff. Most Subaru's have AWD which everyone raves about for snow territory but I just don't care that much about it. AWD adds about $2000 to the price of any vehicle and honestly my Jeep was 2WD and I did *just* fine in the snow. We don't get that much snow in central ohio so I'm not that concerned about it.
Jetta Sportwagon TDI: I absolutely loved this car, but there are several drawbacks to it. First off, any vehicle that is TDI is more expensive. The model I test drove was $24,998 which was just too expensive for me at this stage in my life. On top of that not all gas stations carry diesel fuel. Additionally, where I live we have a fuel perks program with Giant Eagle that currently does not include diesel fuel so I would not be able to use my fuel perks which I use extensively. Most imports, but the VW specifically, cost more money for general maintenance including oil changes and things of the like. Also the extended warranty for the vehicle would be the most expensive because it is diesel. So, while I would love to drive this vehicle and own it the timing just is not right for it. Maybe down the road but not right now.
Insurance has contacted me and informed me that my Jeep is a total loss which is not a big surprise there but what was a surprise was the amount they offered me, I'm very lucky! I need to do some more thinking and drawing up a pros and cons list to see what vehicle i will end up with. Stay tuned!
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