Greetings!

Yesterday we traded in our gas guzzling 96 Town & Country for a silver 2012 Civic EX. We got this T&C used when I was in my third trimester and after we lost our stripped down GMC Jimmy to a commercial truck crushing into it. Understandibly, all we wanted was protection quickly. It helped us move and we took kindergartners and first graders to many field trips in it, but it got around 17-20MPG.

We had also owned a 1989 Ford Escort Wagon that seemed to be a magnet for bad drivers running into it. When the 1989 Ford Ecort Wagon died, we got a stripped down 2006 Corolla. When I say stripped down, I mean roll down windows and manual locks. When someone totalled by dad's 1986 Ford Escort coupe, I went shopping with him for another small car. All the cars were too gadgety for him, so we gave him our Corolla that was perfect for him, and he helped us get another vehicle that was more a family vehicle. Since the T&C was the oldest vehicle we decided to make sure we had something that fulfilled what we used it for - hauling people, road trips, camping, etc.

Ever since we had a 1996 Stipped down GMC Jimmy, we have always loved crossovers or small SUVs. In fact, the GMC Jimmy was our favorite car and when it was totalled we shed a tear for it. When I see one on the road I sigh.
We test drove everything from Chevrolet, Hyundai, Ford, Toyota, Honda, KIA, and Mazda. We thought we would have ended up with a RAV4, but when we sat in a HONDA CRV we knew that was it. We ended up with a Sage Metallic CRV-EX because it was the only model that we could find the sage in. We love it.

This month we realized that we were heavy on the big cars. While the CRV was fuel efficient, the T&C was not. With both of us commuting, T&C was not appropriate for it. We went back into the market to look for a small commuter car for one of us.

I had my research from when I was helping my dad look. We eliminated the Ford and Hyundai because it was too gadgety. We eliminated all KIAs, because my husband has red/green color blindness and cannot read the red LED. It got boiled down to a Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla, and a Honda Civic.

I LOVED the Yaris. I loved having to hand adjust the mirrors and its roll up windows. I loved the idea of zipping to work in that tiny car. I even signed up for the Yaris forum. It was cheap and high gas mileage. Yet I couldn't convince my husband that the Yaris was a cool mini-muscle car.

Ever since I convinced him to buy the 2006 Corolla, he has loved the Corolla. At the time it was the best deal. The 2012 Corolla was still a Corolla, and I had already moved on. Having the CRV made me want to either have a cute sub-compact or something different that had high MPG. The Corolla was a meh.

Then we remembered that we really liked the Honda Civic but it was pricier so we had focused on other options. We returned and realized that what my husband wanted was a more mature, comfortable car. So we picked the mini-version of our CRV EX. We got the EX as a concession to me not getting a Yaris. I love the moonroof, bluetooth handfree talk, and iphone streaming music. It turns out that once you have a moonroof, it is hard to get a car without one. Oooops!

So we have two 2012 Hondas. Phew.

I am baffled by the reviews of the 2012 Civic. It is as if we were riding two different cars. The things they liked about other cars, drove us away. I like dependability, durability, solidness, and comfort. We had luxury with the T&C with its leather seats and higher end interior, but it unimpressed us. We like practical cars that we can own 15-20 years. It is a lot of money and if you can spread the use longer it eases the pain of purchase. Plus a lot of gadgets increase what can go wrong. I am more comfortable with Honda or Toyota if I have to have gadgets than anyone else.

So here I am. We made a huge leap this year. We are a Honda family!

Love,
Maven