Welcome to the Family!

If you've been following our posts, you've read about the end to the Tour Bus (a.k.a Elantra). As of February 5, 2011 we've had an addition to the family, a Harbor Gray Metallic, 2011 Limited Hyundai Sonata - sunroof, gray leather interior, heated seats, ABS brakes, traction control, dual climate control (a big deal to Mrs. Cold and Mr. Warm), and a whole bunch of other awesome buttons!


Once we knew that the Elantra had seen it's last drive, we started looking for cars. Now we're not here to bash any particular brands or kinds of cars, but we'll tell you of our experience and a little of the research we did that brought us to the decision of the Sonata.

The criteria this new car had to meet:

• Be fuel efficient, it is C's main mode of transportation and his commute is longer than mine.
  
• It had to be roomy inside and in the trunk - able to seat 4 adults comfortably and fit all of our ski crap and the kitchen sink when we travel.
  
• Safety! It had to be on the IIHS top picks.
  
• Have a sporty look!
• Be in our budget . . . after all 2011 was the year to save for a new car, not buy a new car . . . but life happens right?!?!

So with these items in mind we started the search online first to narrow down the field - mainly in safety and budget. From that we narrowed it down to a few cars we wanted to test drive. First we test drove a Toyota Prius and Camry Hybrid. At first C was totally sold on the Prius, and sure we were going to buy that one. We had good experiences with both cars when we had them as rentals on various vacations. Surprisingly we weren't as impressed when it came to buying one. Both lacked the "guts" (torque and horsepower) and the trunk roominess. Their fuel efficiency can't be beat however, and their prices were reasonable (the salesman was not reasonable however!).

We then test drove the Hyundai Sonata. C and I were very surprised by how much we both liked it. It had guts, was super roomy, easy to see out of, got 22/35 mpg, and you could get a ton of "extras" (leather, sunroof, iPod, heated seats, etc.) without having to give up our eventual first born. The Sonata Hybrid was also appealing, but the uncertainty of when they will make it to dealers eliminated it from the pack.

Third we checked out the Jetta TDI - I LOVE the Jetta you know! The TDI was super sporty and fuel efficient, it had the extras, but was a little cramped in the back seat and a little pricey, but not as bad as some. The VW salesman was my favorite! Willy, the little Peruvian gentleman, he was persuasive!

Last we drove the Honda Accord. Now we know there are tons of Accord drivers out there, but we were not in love with it. It was a comfortable car, but it didn't "sit" well with us. I did however like that it had the pass through from the trunk to the back seat (excellent for skis!) and the cool brown color, which I'm oddly attached to.

In the end after all of our research and test drives, the Sonata was the pick. The safety was great and reviews excellent. C and I were talking and it is kind of weird to have bought our first car together. Buying our house was totally natural and something we were ready for, but with the car it feels a little jerky. I'm thinking it will wear off the more we drive that beautiful hunk of metal! If you have any suggestions for a name for the car, let us know!

Until next time, we're driving through Cloud 9!
B + C + the Sonata!