..one of the things that Mr. Pointy Sticks and I did on Monday for fun (oh, what wild and crazy lives we live!) was to go look at Toyotas. I wanted to sit in a Prius. (I really want a bright scarlet Prius just so I could name him Vivaldi, you know? As in Vivaldi, the Red Prius(t)? Classical music geek joke. Sorry.) Well, we did sit in one, though the salesman was madly discouraging us from even thinking of ordering one..."We're supposed to say there's a 3 to 5 month wait...and you know they start at $25,000 because they all come with a package...you know the Camry or Corolla is much cheaper and that savings would buy a lot of gas!" And blah, blah, blah.
So we got into the Prius...and it was claustrophobic. Well, not quite, but it seemed really crowded. Okay, I'm not a little person...I'm 5'8" and umpty-umpty pounds...and I could hardly get my knees under the steering wheel. Even after moving the seat back and adjusting the steering wheel...it just felt crowded. The passenger seat also felt squinchy.
Then we tried the Corolla and the Camry...both 0f them had that same squinchy feeling. I think it has something to do with the way the console is shaped but really...I hated feeling as though I could drive the car with my knees if I so desired. We also sat in the Scion. And that actually felt roomy and comfortable. The one in the showroom was a horrible French's mustard yellow but I did like the way the color of the exterior was carried into the interior in the edges of the instruments and such. Just not that particular color, thanks.
And what's with having the instrument panel in the middle of the dashboard instead of in front of the driver? So that the passengers in the back get a good look at your RPMs? Isn't it harder for the driver to glance down and to the side rather than just down in front of him? It's probably cheaper to manufacture that way...but I don't like it.
So there may not be a new Toyota in our future and our last three cars have been Toyotas and we've loved them. (Well, we loved the first one, the second one was great... but really, how excited can you get about a beige Camry? He's dependable, I'll give him that. But love may be a bit strong of a term for how I feel about him.)
I guess we'll look at Nissans. Maybe Subarus. Heck, we might even look at a Ford Focus. Not that we are in any rush to buy a new car. I figure, if we start vaguely thinking about it now we might have a new one by....oh, 2010.
7 comments:
you know the Camry or Corolla is much cheaper and that savings would buy a lot of gas!
Oh dear. Not exactly the Green salesman of the year, is he?
I'm tall and my Focus is quite roomy. I bought it used because it was bargain, though, not because it was my dream car.
I love my VW Beetle because of the roominess. Seriously, give it a try. You're sitting in the middle of the car, tons of headroom, and it's FUN!
I like the Beetle, but Mr. Pointy Sticks doesn't. And, though we had many VWs when I was growing up, my brother's recent experience with his VW Golf makes me a little wary.
And Lisa, when I mentioned the whole "saving gas" dealie, the salesman sort of brushed it aside as an inconsequential side effect. My husband pointed out that it was the end of the month and the salesmen are all about the numbers then particularly. Better a Camry sale in the here-and-now than a pricier Prius sale in the future.
We'll be looking at Hondas too, I'm sure. I forgot to mention them in my post.
My hubby is so in love with subaru's since he purchased his impreza wrx 70thousandish miles ago! Our toyota corolla was a good car as well but i have to say his suby has been much better. I myself am a jeep girl through and through!
One is disappointed that one's opinion wasn't asked . . .
One excepted that one would receive said opinion...one might say one has been waiting for such a response.
Actually, I was expecting great furor over my even mentioning Ford.
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