Car shopping can be stressful mentally and financially. Researching and test driving can feel daunting. If you are like me and have driven the same car for 20 years, adjusting to a new car can create a lot of anxiety. Moving from a sedan to an SUV was nerve wracking for me. Hopefully I can help you as you navigate new car shopping or least give you some tips about certain SUV’s.
Come along with me as shopped for an SUV!
Let’s talk about what an SUV is. Its a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. My husband and I have different ideas as to what classifies as an SUV. He goes by SIZE but to me shape/ style and height off the ground determined what I considered to be an SUV.
Where it all started.
Picture this, March 2006. I am a senior in college. I saved up 16K for my first true car. Before that I rocked a mini van! I fell in love with the Nissan Altima. I wanted it to have a sun roof and be a specific color. When I purchased the car, I joked with my dad that I would run this car into the ground. Little did I know, 20 years later I literally drove the car until it died!
What size SUV are you shopping for?
I wanted as small of an SUV as I could find. My husband has had an Audi Q7 for over 10 years and I have never driven it. To me its massive. I also cant see over the dashboard! As I have been driving and I see a relatively small SUV I jot it down in the notes app on my phone. I eventually had a list of over 20+ cars. For me my most important criteria was can I see over the dashboard, hood and both front corners. The style in many SUV today is to round the corners up higher. When they do that I can’t see over them and cannot tell where the front ends. Here is my list of cars. My husband Ryan said several of these do not count as an SUV but to me they all seem big!
- Chevy trailblazer crossover
- Ford Edge
- Ford escape
- Mazda cx30
- Mazda cx5
- Volvo xc60
- Volvo xc 40
- Nissan rouge
- Nissan Mirauno
- Toyota Venza
- Toyota CHR
- Toyota BZ 4x limited
- Toyota Corolla Cross
- Toyota Crown
- Honda HRV
- Infiniti qx50 / 55
- Mercedes GLC 300
- Mercedes GLB 250
- Acura RDX
- Tucson
- Lexus UX300
- Subaru forester
At some point I had a few more on the list but as we started test driving, I felt like we would never finish so a couple came off the list.
Test Driving SUV. While many people think getting a new car is exciting, I did not. I had a lot of anxiety throughout the process. There were many weeks I never thought I would find an SUV I liked and several times considered going back to a sedan.
Day 1 was not off to a great start.
Those just felt big, ugly and handled more like a truck than I prefer. I know the variety of SUV’ s and budget seem long and wide but honestly I don’t know if I don’t like something until I see it and sit it in. Grateful for a husband who came along with me to many a dealer. Here are the next few cars we sat in.
There are several cars on the list that I don’t have picture of videos for.
The corolla cross we felt did not have as nice an interior as the Volvo or Mazda. The passenger seat does not have automatic seat adjustment. An issue my husband was concerned about with this and the Volvo XC40 is there is a black plastic strip at the bottom of the cars. Long term that may crack or rust. It also makes the car less attractive looking.
As a woman who loves Nissan I was higher disappointed in the rogue. Not only could I not judge the front corner, the blindspots in the back sides are awful and the back windshield is really small. This is an issue I found in so many newer cars. In my old car the back passenger windows and back window are large and wide. Now for safety they are smaller. Plus the blindspots are where the car metal covers where you used to have window. It made me nervous as I do not want to just rely on sensors. I only sat in the Murano and it was an immediate no.
My husband was very sad I did not like the Mercedes. I am not fancy enough I guess. I struggled to see well in the larger one. He did not like that the smaller one is made in the states and not overseas. I also did not like that it was more square. I have a big issue with squared cars and SUV.
Bringing it back to the Toyotas. We couldn’t find a crown on site. The Venza I didn’t like the hood. The corolla cross they may stop making. I did think the BZ was a cool sporty car but its all electric and we are not ready for a fully electric car.
A big reason I wanted an SUV was for the long 7 hour rides home to my parents house. That drive is just more comfortable in an SUV than a car. We usually take my husbands but again I can’t drive it. And I want the freedom to be able to travel home when I need to. My car Roxy had made that drive dozens of times over the years. But its been a long time since she’s driven that far, we didn’t trust her. I am grateful to have had the car for so long and her reliability up until this point. Sadly, her time was up and we donated her to the County Fire Station for training purposes.
Volvo has always been high up on the safety ratings. Volvo vs Mazda Vs Lexus. These were our top 3 picks.
I actually really like the style and look of the Mazda. While I did like the 30 because it was smaller I did not notice until we parked that my head almost hit the roof. Because I sit so close and raised the seat up high to be sure I could see. We both liked the Mazda CX5. I know several people with one who love it. Maybe it was the car we test drove but our ride was very bumpy. You felt every dip and bump in the road. That would make me car sick long term.
I personally LOVED the Lexus UX. For years I have loved the look and shape of the Lexus SUV. At the time I would not even consider the RX as it felt too big. But the UX was the perfect size for me. Ryan, thought it was too small and not a true SUV. I will say the backseat had less leg room than the Mazda or Volvo. I almost never have anyone in my car, but that was something we had to consider.
The second dealer we visited was Volvo. I loved the XC40. The first time we test drove I refused to try the 60. As months went by and so many more cars were test driven and hated…..we kept coming back to the Volvo in our discussion. When we went to test drive again, Ryan made me try the 60. At the moment I preferred the 40 because it was such an adjustment to a larger car.
After lots of back and forth discussion, we ended up with the 60. One reason was the interior was much nicer. The seats are more comfortable and there is almost no fabric on the inside. In the 40 the whole inside of the doors is fabric which overtime could get really dirty looking. The seats are not as cushioned as the 60. The interior was elegant and elevated in the 60. Also the 60 is pure metal on the exterior vs having that plastic piece at the bottom.
VOLVO XC 60
Once I knew we were getting the 60 I knew immediately the color combo I wanted. I fell in love with the exterior color DUSK. There is a bright and dark edition. This one ended up being the dark edition. The side mirrors are painted black instead of matching the color car and the front grill is black instead of silver. It gives it a sporty look.
I also wanted the blonde interior. I think its more my style and feminine looking than the charcoal. Also in the dark interior there is a small wood detail that goes across the dashboard. Its a mahogany wood. If you know me you know I hate wood and anything brown. There was NO WAY I was going to drive a car for another 20 years with brown wood (what is this the 80’s)!!!???
With the blonde interior the wood is a light gray like driftwood.
Its more my style. I almost don’t even notice it now.
I also am OBSESSED with the crystal shifter!
So after months and months of car driving, researching, finance crunching….we ended up with the 60!
My husband did an amazing job for weeks negotiating with dealers and banks and we were happy to do business with Ourisman Volvo of Bethesda Maryland. We worked with Bradley and I cannot recommend him enough.
Every other dealer ignored me and wanted to talk to my husband. Ignored my main concern about seeing over the hood and corners. They only wanted to talk to me about Car Play (insert eye roll)!!! Bradley was never “salesy”. Never pushy. Listened to all my concerns. Answered all our questions. Engaged with me the whole time and was willing to work with us. Highly recommend you work with him!
Its been just over 3 weeks and I am getting used to my new car ROSY more and more.
New car accessories
With a new car, I needed a few new accessories. As a home organizer I also love an organized car. Here are some of the accessories I ordered. I also have a whole CAR IDEA LIST on my amazon with so many more accessories and tools for your car. ** These links are affiliate links and I may earn commission from them**
We are just waiting on my new tags. Here are some things I am loving so far about the Volvo.
- The Color (DUSK)
- The Crystal Shifter
- The big display screen
- Apple Car Play (if you have Iphone 14 or higher you need an apple cord vs cheap amazon cords)
- 360 camera ( I use this constantly)
- Moon roof
- Interior Color
- THE APP -I can start the car from my phone ahead of time. It also will pop up on my phone if I forgot to lock the car.
- KEY Sensor- as someone who is extremely forgetful the ding ding when I open the door to remind me the keys are in the center compartment comes in CLUTCH
- The lights on the side mirrors when a car or something is close on either side help too
We did remove the “oh shit” handle on the driver side and added a sunglass case holder instead. You never use that handle anyway as the driver. This has been handy several times.
We are looking to add the Digital Rearview Mirror. Initially we thought of adding it because I was used to a wider back window. Now driving it, this window is not so small. HOWEVER, there is a slight tint on the windows I did not have in my last car. I do find it hard to see at nighttime. This digital rearview actually brightens up the image so it is not so dark. That is the only reason I think its worth the money.
I would recommend a VOLVO any day. I would highly recommend a VOLVO XC60. If you are in the DMV be sure to check out OURISMAN in Bethesda and ask for Brad!
If you have followed me for a while you know I love this brand for their clean candles, diffusers, room sprays and perfume. Well I love their new car freshener too.
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