So we went out looking at cars today. First things first... I was happy because we went to In n Out for lunch before we looked at cars
Went to Toyota... Only thing I have any affinity for is the 4Runner, but it still didn't wow me. And considering I've already got an off-roader, it's not the right fit. Then we hit Subaru. They're, uhh,
quirky vehicles. The Outback didn't interest me. The new 2026 Outback--especially the grill and the accent pieces on the front end--looks like it's made of drab black plastic. The Ascent was nice for something big, but not, well, all that great. And it looks like it's got a very fat rear end. The Ford dealer was next. Which frankly made us quite angry, because unlike the typical scenario where a car salesman is about to descend on you smelling blood... Nobody even approached us for ~15 minutes. And then I found out that the only car I was interested, the Mach-E, isn't big enough for a human adult (or even most kids) to sit in the seat behind me.
From there we went to Hyundai. And both sat in, and test drove, the Santa Fe. And it's exactly what I thought it would be, an updated/modernized Ford Flex replacement that has all the latest tech and other features that didn't exist when the Ford was built. It's comfortable, drives nicely, and is highly functional. I realize it's rather "uniquely" styled, but that has some advantage because it doesn't look like everything else on the road. So it's in the running. (We also sat in a Palisade, which was very cool and nice, but I don't love the styling, so it wasn't actually an option.)
Finally we had a wild card. My wife has been suggesting that we look at Acura. I think she realizes that I have always liked the more sharpened lines of Acura compared to Lexus. (Her RX was in a VERY good model year stretch where it has very sharp and attractive styling, and she knows that's what I like about it.) I've never really looked at them closely because I never really see myself as a "luxury car guy", but I went along. We sat in both the MDX and RDX and both were contenders. I ended up not driving either, because I hadn't done my research on Acura and didn't want to waste their time if I ended up doing my research and realizing that the financial end of the bargain was going to be biting off more than I want to chew. But... I just got on their certified pre-owned site and it's completely doable.
So I'm down to three options. Hyundai Santa Fe, or either the Acura RDX or MDX. RDX if I decide not to go "big", and MDX if I decide I just want the extra space.
