R.I.P. B.U.T.
Well, I finally did it. I traded in the B.U.T. (big ugly truck) this weekend on a newer set of wheels.
Old & Busted:
New Hotness:
I know, I know. It's an SUV. SUVs are evil. Gas sucking, road hogging, ubiquitous evil. But here's the deal. I looked at a lot of vehicles to replace the truck. First option was a minivan. Lots of cargo space, very practical. However, the minivans I looked at were generally more expensive and got worse mileage than the small & mid-size SUVs. Hmmm. Next option was a station wagon. Not really enough cargo space and I like sitting up higher. That really left the SUV. I was gonna get a hybrid-electric one but they're just too expensive for us right now. Bummer. Next was the decision to buy new or used. I looked at the new Saturn SUV, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe and Tuscon, and at the Kia (online anyway). They all seemed fine, but when it comes to build quality and endurance of a car, nobody can match the Toyota. The problem was that the new Highlanders were out of my price range. Hello used car lot.
So, I ended up getting a 2002 Toyota Highlander with the 4 cylinder engine (better mileage, less expensive). It has leather seats and a sunroof, both of which I wanted to get. It even is silver, which is the color that I wanted - doesn't show dirt as much. What's also cool is that it rides more like a car than a truck. I learned through all of this that SUVs are either built on truck frames (such as the Toyota 4-Runner, Ford Explorer, etc.) or on a car frame (Highlander, Honda CR-V, Saturn VUE, etc.). If you want towing and ruggedness, go with the truck version, if you want a nicer ride and better fuel efficiency, go with the car version.
Anyway, I've joined the SUV nation, and I like it.