Car search update

The car search has been interesting. Not as easy a time as I thought it would be.

Last Thursday, I test drove the Pontiac G6 GT, basically the equivalent offering from Pontiac of my older Grand Am GT. I figured I was going to like this car, and I did, but I didn’t love it. I have a few issues with the seats, the steering wheel position, and where to lean my arm while I drive. Minor, but I found it a bit annoying, and those things can gnaw at you over time. I will likely be doing another 4 year lease, so I want to make sure I like what I’m getting.

On John’s advice to test drive at least one other car, I went back to Saturn and test drove the Aura XR. Nice car, but again, I didn’t love it. It is not as sporty as the G6, but it did have some extra options and functions. Unfortunately, the XR model is a higher price and a bit more than I wanted to spend. Since I didn’t “love” the car, I am not really willing to spend extra money on it. I can afford the XE model, and add a few more options to get it closer to where I wanted it to be. I need to actually drive the XE model to feel the differences though, so I will probably go back to Saturn and try and drive something closer to what I would actually get.

I am also going to take a Grand Prix out for a test drive. I’m not sure I’m all that serious about it, but it will give me a different driving experience and hopefully help me to nail down what I do and don’t like or want to sacrifice.

I’m arranging to take a used G6 home for a couple of days (hopefully over the long weekend) and truly test it in real-world conditions. That should be enough time for me to get a true feel for it.

The pickiness and issues are surfacing mainly because I really like my current car. I liked it so much that I leased it two times in a row. After 7 years with the same car, I’m comfortable with it. I know where everything is, how it handles, and it just fits me. I can’t tell if the issues I’m having with these new cars are because I am change-resistant and comfortable with 7 years of the Grand Am, or if I truly don’t like the features of the new cars. That’s the question I need to answer. Hopefully test driving a couple more cars and having the G6 for a few days will help me figure that out.