I have been thinking of replacing my vehicle for a bit.  It is running fine, but it is getting older, it is a 2008 and it has 125k km.  Not a lot, not for a 9 year old vehicle, but it is getting to the point where I will have to start putting some money into it and I would prefer not to have to do that.

For instance, I know that the tires will need replacing this spring.  They lasted through the winter which is awesome.  Breaks still are good, they were replaced when I got it at 85k km.

So, I was thinking of getting back into a Jeep Wrangler, a 2 door like the one I had in 2007/08.  I loved that Jeep, it was an awesome vehicle.

I did look at one, it was a 2013, Sport model so not loaded, at all.  It has roll up windows, and that’s fine, it’s a Jeep after all.  No power locks.  It did have cruise at least, nice for driving on the highway.  It had a hard top, BUT, no soft top.  If I wanted one of those, that’s a $1500 add-on.  I took it for a test drive, drove much nicer, smoother than my 07 Jeep, from what I remember – or was it an 05 Jeep…  Hmmm…  The shift to 4×4 was smooth and the shifting was smooth as well – it was a 6-speed standard.  I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to get back into a standard, I’ve been spoiled driving an automatic these past few years.

I also test drove a Mitsubishi Outlander.  It was a 2015 with about 50k km on it.Nice thing with Mitsubishi’s is that they have a 10 year bumper to bumper warranty.  It had some of the cool “toys” that I sort of wanted, it had Blue Tooth to connect my phone, it had heated seats, it had enough room for myself and 3 dogs.  I didn’t like that it was white and the body lines of it were a bit boring.

I also test drove a Ford Escape.  It was also a 2015 model, 4WD and loaded.  All of the bells and whistles and toys that you could want.  It has built-in navigation and Microsoft Sync which connects your mobile phone, downloads your address book, it will read your text messages to you.  It is also a crossover, as opposed to a full-fledged SUV.  I took it on an extensive test drive last night, for about 45 minutes or so and sort of loved it.

So, here it is:

That is a promo shot of course, not my vehicle, or at least likely NOT my vehicle.  I haven’t taken any of mine.  Same colour though.  I have not owned a Ford before and I have also not owned a blue vehicle before.  I think the dogs will like it, Hera isn’t much of a jumper, she can easily step into this.  I think I will like it too, that’s probably important.

It also has something I’ve always wanted – climate control.  Set the temp at 22C and it holds it.  You don’t have to have a fan blowing you all over the interior and then roast, then you turn it off and you freeze.  It has heated seats, of course – that is almost a necessity in Calgary.

So, my new toy.  I have not as yet looked through the manual, I am sure there are many features I have not discovered yet.  Lots of time to read through that.  Congrats to me, anyway.  🙂