Our dogs love to ride around in the car. It always takes them to interesting places – and it’s fun. They sit securely in the back of our SUV and enjoy the view while I drive. I can see their satisfied and happy faces in my rear view mirror. We have actually been very happy with our 9-year-old Land Rover, but the fact is that it’s old and we’re tired of fixing it and replacing expensive parts. Now, since we have a new year and our lives are full of changes, we’ve decided to replace our beloved car with another one.
Searching the internet and checking out cars on the street, we realized very quickly that we have too many options. So we started to minimize by our needs. First of all, we want a big car with enough space for the dogs and my shopping bags, friends and sporting gear; something we can pack and load without a hassle. It should also be economical, and not over-the-top expensive. We also want to try something new and fun.
So should we look for a wagon, a van or an SUV? After spending enough time in research we concentrated on the following cars and visited their dealers.
- Volvo Cross Country XC70
- Mercedes E-Class Wagon
- Honda Element
- Mazda 5
- Toyota Sienna
- Ford Escape Hybrid
All of these cars have enough space and offer a lot of different features and equipment. You can spend hours, days and weekends in comparing, calculating and reading reviews. In the end I followed my first impression, my taste and my deepest wish of having a square-cut car… the Honda Element was what I was looking for. A reasonable car that doesn’t overwhelm with electronic devices to switch on and off, functional enough not to worry you about every single scratch you might get in the future. That’s right, I need a rough car with style! Pack, store…roll.
We made our decision. It’s the HONDA ELEMENT EX. Pet-friendly, affordable and fun.