We spent the morning test driving a new or different mid-size SUV to replace the 2-year-old Hyundai Tucson she bought back in June of 2023. While the Tucson is a great example of the class of vehicle that is the go-to for many people it is just not a standout. And Sally has come to not like it so much and has come to coin today’s title as her mantra for the car. And after driving it these past few weeks I have to agree with her on that sentiment.
And I feel a little responsible for her owning such a meh car, because I steered to Hyundai in the first place because of my good feelings for the 2010 Hyundai Sonata Donna and I owned from 2010 to 2016.
Like last time we began with the Subaru Forester and once again it impressed and unlike last time we got a salesman that was personable and helpful. Had we got him last time she might be driving a Forester right now, but who knows, maybe after 2 years she might have the same sentiment about the Subaru.
We skipped the next-door neighbor Honda dealership because in 2023 it didn’t impress. Trying to redeem my previous car advice misadventure, I steered her towards the Mazda dealer and a CX-5. We were greeted by a salesman whose name was Brian, so I knew we were in luck. Looking online prior to coming, I had eyed a dark blue S Premium, so Brian pulled up for us. I drove first and this would be my choice, even with the slightly noisier engine than the Subaru. Half way around our loop we swapped drivers and Sally took over. This car had a lot more amenities than the similar Premium Forester. The heated steering wheel in the CX-5 was almost enough to sell the car to her. Almost.
We had mentioned that we were going to go test drive a Toyota RAV4, but our ever intrepid salesman mentioned he could save us a trip if we wanted to test drive a used one that he had on the lot. What the heck, why not. It was a color, red, so that as good, but it was the base model, so forget heated steering wheel, it didn’t even have heated seats. I drove the whole loop and Sally judged from the passenger seat. Her conclusion was that she liked the feeling of heft compared to the Mazda and the current Hyundai, but the price of a two-year-old RAV4 didn’t make sense as far as a road trip car that lacked refinement.
Once again, our ‘johnny on the spot’ Brian said he had an S Premium used that might work as it was pretty much the same car as the new one (the only thing that was missing was the HUD.) Sally once again just rode shotgun on the loop. And once again, I liked it better than her. And because she’s buying it, I think there won’t be a Mazda CX-5 in her garage.
After driving around all morning we opted to head home and get lunch before trying out any more cars. After a quick lunch we both at each other and said, almost in unison, “No more test drives today.”
The Subaru and Toyota felt the best to her because of the smoother shifting and feel of weightiness, the Mazdas fell behind because of the lighter feel, similar to the Hyundai, and the physical shifting gear feeling. Today is a short day because I’m flying out this afternoon, we have tabled any other car test driving until I return in April. I think we may need to test the Honda CRV again because it an all-new model since the 2023 and also test the Nissan Rouge that we skipped last time because both these vehicles have a CVT transmission which will hide that shift feel of the Mazda.
