Well: Wifey decided she wanted a new car and damned the price (sort of). She drove a couple of new Prius vehicles. A RAV-4. And a Subaru Crosstrek. I could not believe it, but as much as she loved the new Prius, she decided on the Crosstrek. Apparently, at age 64, she has decided she needs a rig with off-road creds! Well, she is planning on doing a bunch of traveling and she is an outdoors-type, so.... Hated the "comfort" of the RAV. Meaning she found the driver's position uncomfortable. The Prius, of course, had no ground clearance, but other than that, she loved the Prius. And, apparently, the Crosstrek was just right. No bargaining on this. Most dealers were selling $2,500 to $3,500 over MSRP, but a few were being "good." and selling only at MSRP. We put a deposit down ($500) on a MSRP Crosstrek that was on a ship in the middle of the Pacific and about 12 days later had a new car. I am known in the extended family as the one to take to the dealership to get a good deal -- I am a professional salesperson and my haggling skills are not bad -- but with the chip shortage and pandemic -- my services were not needed. Not that I minded. As much as I am good at my job, I hate dealing with car dealerships. So, $30K later, including the all important heated seats, we have now become an all Subaru family (I have an Outback, but I actually use it to haul tools, dogs, etc). Planning to sell the Gen II in the next few days. While I won't shed a tear, I will miss it. I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT MODERN RIGS FROM THAT CAR>>>> Not to mention it was the most reliable rig I have ever owned (only real complaints were the traction control on snow/ice and the cracks that allowed water into the hatch).
My Gen II was a joy. I still miss it sometimes. One of my friends has an XV (what we call the Crosstrek) and he loves it. He says it's small enough to park easily; high enough for his older relatives to get in and out of easily; and has the ground clearance to get him to the places he and his partner go hiking.
at least you'll get a pretty penny for the prius. our daughter loves her sub, after many years of prius driving.
... naaah! Keep what I got mode -- no new vehicles for me. 190 thousand on the clock, I went for the rebuild. Glad I did. Close proximity to a regional motor sport facility, we've got a darned good crop of engine builders. I got a good one. Under no (NO) circumstance, I do not (NOT) want -- I will not buy -- a direct injection vehicle. FAIR WARNING: Keep your eyes peeled; watch-out for Subaru service department people. They're worse than '70s gas station attendants during odd-even gas rationing (e.g., first-hand experience; my other daily-driver's an Outback). Twice, I caught Subaru sales managers, red-handed, crossing the dealer service line, tagging vehicles in for service - Samuel, '04 Ruthiemobile
We also looked at the RAV4 but didn't like the interior comfort as much as the CRV, so we went with the CRV Hybrid as the wife also wanted to sit a little higher than the old Prius height. We were ready to trade in the 2008 Prius, but I decided to sell private party to make up for the Covid Upcharge then after fixing it up to sell I decided to keep it for myself, ha ha.
Well, the old Gen II has hopefully gone to some happy new owners -- signed it over this afternoon to a guy that wants to go camping in it along the Washington Coast. Meanwhile wife is hitting a solid 32 mpg consistently for the past 1,200 miles and is highly enjoying heated seats -- still don't understand the attraction of that feature.
If I had to choose between heated seats and a heated steering wheel, I'd take a heated steering wheel.
That's because she probably looks better in a skirt than you do..... I'm far enough into my introduction with 'Arthur' to appreciate that - but I will take heated seats > a heated steering wheel, and spot you the aching hands. Happy Spouse - Happy House.
