Car Shopping Update
July 27th, 2006 by Ian
Last week a took a closer look at the Rav4 and even gave it a test drive. Overall, I was very impressed with it. The interior is amazing! I loved all the bells and whistles that it comes with - electronic A/C control with dual zones, mp3 player connections, tons of storage, reclining and sliding rear seats, one latch pull to lower rear seats, 7 speakers, night vision rear mirror w/ compass, rear seat armrest the flips down, and so much more. The test drive threw me off a bit. It drives very much like a car. Completely different feel than my current Escape. It was disconcerting in a way, but nice. The sound level while on the road was excellent which made me very happy.
So, yeah, I was impressed with the Rav4. After the test drive, I went online and priced it out with all the options I wanted. I was excited about the price since it ended up cheaper than the Escape Hybrid I was looking at. So I made the decision that I was going to test drive the Rav4 one more time, and if all went well, make that my new vehicle.
That was until today. I decided to do some research into 2007 models that would be coming out in the new few months. What did I find, but the 2007 Honda CR-V. I have loved Honda for years. My parents owned an Accord when I was about 10. My first car was an Accord. And now Bobby owns an Accord. My experience with Honda has been that they are VERY reliable vehicles that require only basic maintenance and keep running for years. Plus, I find that their interior stays looking nicer, longer.
I had checked out the 2006 CR-V earlier in my new vehicle search, but was unimpressed. Right now, the CR-V is very utilitarian and boxy. Plus, it has far fewer bells and whistles than the new Rav4. And on top of that, the CR-V only comes in a 4 cylinder engine that gets the same MPG as the 6 cylinder Rav4. So the CR-V was crossed off my list. But now I find that Honda is doing a complete redesign of the CR-V for 2007. I found a few pics on the web. I definitely like the style. And I have to imagine that they will be restyling the interior just as much as they did the exterior. And hopefully, the bells and whistles quotient will be increased since this redesign is being done to directly compete with the Rav4.
So I am back in the waiting game. I’ve decided to hold out until Honda releases info on the 2007 CR-V (they are being very tight lipped). From what I read, everything should be revealed in September and they should go on sale in October. I guess I have a couple of months to keep saving.