road to hell redux

Way back when, I mentioned we had until March to get a minivan. It was what I like to refer to as a "worthy goal". Things got delayed a bit but at last, the day has arrived, minivan day. We finally settled on the Kia Sedona. I got over my hatred of the Toyota Sienna, but not the price tag. A fully-loaded Sedona with every possible option, with the exception of DVD, is about 12k less than a comparably equipped Sienna with all-wheel drive. I can get over it by telling myself that the traction control technology has improved and maybe I won't miss the all-wheel drive I have enjoyed for the last ten years. If global warming continues, we won't get snow in Pittsburgh anyway. (It's supposed to be 88 here today. It's October, for pete's sake!!! Enough with the heat and humidity already.)

I'm really excited about a few features, like the two driver memory on all the seat settings, including the adjustable pedals. I have dreamed about having this. We are a one vehicle family (except for the next month or so, before we have to give back our leased Subaru Outback) and we are not the same size. Thus we have to adjust the seat and mirrors all.the.time. Not anymore. We have to get everything just right ONE TIME and then tell the car to remember. Yeah, I know, what are the odds? I'll get back to you on that.

The sunroof also makes me happy. I haven't had one since my one and only "cool car". I had the cutest little white Volkswagen Golf that was also loaded with options. It's the only car I really fell in love with and had to have, though I didn't really need a new car at the time. All I need is a sunroof and some driving music to get me back to 1990 and my much younger self. We'll see if that still works when the sunroof is attached to a minivan. At least this sunroof does not require a crank handle like the Volkswagen. (Still miss that car, even if it was a stick. You don't want to know how long it took me to conclude I was not a bad person because the fear of rolling back on hills far outweighed the coolness factor of driving stick. I think I just needed to turn 30 or so.)

Leather will be nice. We've never had that in a car. The heated seats were not negotiable. Subaru hooked me on those and there is no going back. I think we'll be able to get two dog crates in the back without removing the second row captain's seats, though we only need to fit one right now. The third row, which splits 60/40, folds flat.

Dealers are extremely motivated right now. We had hoped to get a 2008 model but dealers have too many 2007s on the lot and will not get the 08s until the 07s are mostly gone. Our lease will be up before that happens. The good news is we got about $4k knocked off the price.

All told, we couldn't beat the insane number of features, the safety ratings, the warranty, and the price. I'm very sad to be leaving Subaru. If they made a minivan, I'd be first in line to buy it. (Please don't tell me to look at the Tribeca. It is NOT big enough. Not even close.)