Parrotheader.com

When we got Holly's CR-V, we sold my beloved truck and used part of that money to make a down-payment on her new ride. As much as it pained me, I willingly gave up the truck and took her good 'old' 1997 Accord. It's really hard to complain about the car. What can you say? It's an Accord. It drives great, gets good mileage, and (thus far) has been exceedingly reliable after just passing 100,000 miles last month. I have no doubts it'll easily go 100,000 more.

Still, I can't help but find myself looking at other cars sometimes. After driving Holly's CR-V, I've been thoroughly impressed with the combination of interior versatility, surprising space, truck-like view of the road and pretty good mileage. Sometimes it REALLY makes me want to get a slightly used CR-V or Rav-4. And with my soccer work about to kick up again, the ability to fold down seats and haul 'stuff' around would be really nice. Thus far, I've been able to get by with cramming all my soccer stuff in the trunk of the Accord, but it's just not the same. It's especially frustrating not having a split rear seat that I could fold down.

Lately, I've really become impressed with the Toyota Matrix. I parked next to one the other day and as I was loading up my car I was noticing how surprisingly spacious (relatively speaking) the interior was. There was even more rear seat legroom than my Accord and while the back storage area wasn't as large as the CR-V's, it had a hard-plastic surface which would be great for my soccer-hauling needs. You can fold down part of the 60/40 rear seat (as well as the front passenger seat) to get a surprising amount of hauling space. Throw in the fact that it's rated at 30/35 city/highway (significantly better than the CR-V and Rav-4; even a good bit better than the Accord) and it would seem an ideal vehicle for what I need.

BUT I'll have to be patient. We're shooting to get Holly's car paid off this year (as well as build a new back porch) so the reality of our finances will keep me focused on those goals. Plus, whatever I might get sometime in the next few years waiting a little longer will give it a chance to depreciate a bit more as I'll likely get a used car. Meanwhile, the Accord will still be worth roughly the same 2 years from now (especially if gas prices continue to rise.)