Saturday, January 19, 2013

Not A Truck Yet

I have always had it in my horse-centric mind that I would own a truck when I grow up.  "Normal" women and girls do not usually dream of owning a truck, but horse girls do.  Having a truck is crucial if you own a farm and horses.  I have owned a handful of cars in my life, but none of them have been trucks.  My tried and true car for the last decade has been a 2001 Honda Civic coupe, which is a far cry from a farm vehicle.  Despite this, I loved that car and planned to drive it until it would no longer run (Did I mention that I also loved high MPG and not having a car payment?).  Unfortunately, the old girl was getting on in years and it became clear that we were in need of a larger vehicle.  Maybe now was the time for my truck?!  I had secretly hoped that my next car would be just that...

...however, I am a practical gal and I consulted my checklist before going to test-drive trucks.

Do I own a horse?
YES (Horray!)

Do I own a horse trailer?
no

Do I own a farm?
no

Do I haul feed, hay, or other large items for my beloved pet?
no

Do I need to drive in inclement weather to tend to my horse throughout the year?
sometimes

Do I need to haul stuff home for home repairs or projects?
YES, but we have a van that already does the trick.

Sigh.

Hmmm.  It appears that I do not really need a truck yet.  Trucks are pretty reasonably priced compared to cars, but if part of your reason for purchasing a new car is to upgrade from two doors to four, then you must buy an extended cab in your truck and that starts to become pricey.

Double-sigh.

Also, trucks have atrocious gas mileage.  Besides always having wanted a truck, I have also always been an environmentally conscious gal and I cannot stand the difference between the MPG of my civic and the MPG of a truck sans trailer.  Add the trailer and, of course, things get a whole lot worse.  I know this, because every time that I haul my horse somewhere (which isn't often) I have to pay someone else.  It adds up quick and makes me kind of sick.  I can get just about 40 MPG on the highway in my Civic (What a good car she was!).  Of course, the only way I could have brought Harley along was if I held his leadline out the window and let him run beside the car.  I am pretty sure that would be ill-advised.

My husband always comes through in these types of dilemmas.  He did some (extensive) research and found a car that, although not a truck, seems to fit the bill.

Four doors with plenty of cabin space.
A raised frame and all-wheel drive.
Decent gas mileage and the best for this type of car.
Not an SUV (I strongly dislike SUV's, especially their gas mileage and the false sense of security they seem to give their drivers.  Those things can roll.).
A driver's seat that raises up high enough for me to see out the windshield!  Double-win!  (This is a consistent problem for me.  The Civic was one of the few cars that fit me.)
Plus, all-weather mats all around and an all-weather tray in the trunk (because I make a huge mess).

And the best part?  The car comes in ORANGE!
Tangerine Orange Pearl to be exact.
My civic was "metallic mustard" (called Inca Pearl by Honda), which was loved by me and despised by many.  I think that I kind of liked it more, because so many crinkled their nose at it.  I guess that says something about me as a person.  I will leave that open to interpretation.  ;)

So without further ado, I present to you my new not-a-truck, the Subaru Crosstrek:



If it decides to snow this winter, I will no longer be prevented from visiting my horse.  In the past I had a hard time driving out of the neighborhood, because Civic's are not exactly ice-worthy and our neighborhood was not being plowed when we first moved into our house.  Once the plowing situation was taken care of, I still had trouble with the back roads leading to the farm and even more trouble with the long driveway to the barn.  My car did not have ground clearance, so any bumps or snow drifts were a serious threat.  I would rather stay home then have to make an embarrassing call requesting the tractor come pull out my vehicle.  Those days are gone, because my new crossover vehicle has excellent ground clearance and all-wheel drive.

Maybe one day a truck will be a practical vehicle for me, but, until then, I am very happy with the alternative.  It is fun and easy to drive and I no longer have to steer around big (and little) dips and divots in the driveway to my horse.  I have heard and read that Subaru owners are very satisfied customers and keep their cars for a long, long time.

I do want to make sure that Mother Nature knows that despite my new wheels, no snow is still fine with me.  ;)

My previous car.  I like color in my horses and my cars!

I love my new car, but Harley is still my favorite ride.

30 comments:

  1. Good luck with your new car! Love the color, my daughter had a Jeep in that same color. You really stand out! I think Subaru's are very popular and do last a long time. My sister-in-law just got one a few months ago and she loves it.

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    1. My husband felt that I had to one up the gold car. I think orange fits the bill!

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  2. Sweet! My step mom drives a Subaru (for a long time now), and a coworkers only drives a Subaru (his last three ? have been the Outback). It looks like an excellent choice for you needs.

    I agree completely: I HATE car/truck payments. My truck is an F250 Super Duty V-10 with four full doors that gets less than 10 MPG when I haul the trailer. It's long since paid for, but when we bought it in 2000, the payment was $670!!!!! I have a large trailer, so the big truck was needed and I do haul horses quite regularly, but I am dreading the day that the wheels actually fall off.

    I bought my Toyota Corolla in 2005 because of the good gas mileage, easy "parkability," and relatively easy payment. It's long paid for too and I hope it goes another 8 years at least!

    Yours looks fun to drive! :0)

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    1. My Mom has a Corolla and we have a Toyota van. They are great cars for sure.

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  3. You are going to love your Subaru. We have one now (Brett's car) and I had one a number of years back. Reliable and great in bad weather on icy mountain roads. We do have a truck, for all the reasons you listed, but it gets really awful mpg so we only use to haul the horses or supplies. It has lasted for years, with low miles, because we don't drive often. It's also big (extended cab) and hard to maneuver. I love being a passenger but I hate driving it. I like small nimble cars.

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  4. Congrats on your new car!! I love the color!

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  5. nothing beats a reliable vehicle. Trucks are hard to park in some places as well.
    I too have always desired a truck. I bought my tow vehicle after I bought the trailer. I ended up buying a lightweight European trailer which is better for gas mileage that I tow with a Nissan Xterra. However, now that we have a farm when that dies we'll replace it with a truck. Our other vehicle is a Volkswagon. Great gas mileage and AWD.

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    1. I like the idea of the lightweight trailer!

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  6. I drive a Subaru too! I love it and am a bit sad that we are selling it now to buy a truck (as I need to haul AND my trimming business is getting too big for my little impreza). I love that they are all wheel drive and I'm really going to miss the cruise control lol!!!

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    1. Cool, but sad that you must part ways. It is for good reasons, especially the growth of your trimming business.

      The Crosstrek is a modified Impreza, a tried and true model.

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  7. Good luck with the new car, I have always wanted a pick truck still do so when my mum got a new car two weeks ago and cause im 17 she takes me place as i don't have my license. I kept going get a pick up truck, you know you want one but it did not work and instead we got a nissan qashqai its nice and like your subaru but just a nissan instead!

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    1. You will just have to wait until you can purchase your own!

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  8. I'm a truck girl! The fiances hate it, and I love it!
    I hitch up and go anytime.I do all my own landscape, so it is handy for moving tons of matieral.

    I do miss being able to make the tight corners and park where ever...One of the last times I went to the car wash, the dude made me take my 70 lb hitch off...I was NOT happy with that- since no one before or since that has!
    I adore the color of your Subaru. You should be very happy wit it..I have only known happy Subaru owners.

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  9. I think you made a very fine, well thought out decision. My Mom has an Outback and loves it, I really like the looks of the Crosstrek.
    I had a big truck for a while, but no horse, go figure. I heard I looked pretty ridiculous driving it too, I am small like you, I didn't care though. 1972 3/4 ton Chevy.

    Congrats on the new Wheels! RIP little Honda.

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    1. A small woman in a big truck is kind of amusing, don't you think?

      I was sad to see the Honda go. It still have many miles left on it, so many it will be resold. Honda's go on for a long time.

      Outbacks are really popular. I especially like the older model, because the new Outback has gotten really big.

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  10. Best of luck with your new car, it looks lovely!

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  11. I have had Subarus for the past 12 years and never want anything else. Right now I drive a 2005 Baja with a hard topper over the little truck bed, hoping to get 100,000 more miles out of it. I hadn't seen the CrossTrek and now I'm in love!

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    1. Awesome! I don't think you could be more positive in your comment. That makes me happy. :)

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  12. My husband would be soooooo jealous, he loves orange! Sweet rims too!

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  13. What a great vehicle! My sis loves her subaru in snowy upstate NY. The color is my favorite!!!

    Haven't owned a car in twenty years - truck girl all the way. I must say that the VW Passat I drove last week while my truck was in the shop may have spoiled the dream though - comfortable, super cheap on fuel and oh so speedy! Dangerously speedy...

    Thanks for your thoughtful comments yesterday. :D

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    1. A handy car is like a handy horse, fun to ride!

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  14. Subaru, excellent choice ! Good luck with your new car and I hope you will enjoy it for a long, long time ! :)

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  15. I missed this post earlier, but just had to leave a comment... Too bad about your Honda...we have a honda cr-v and it has 340,000km (211,000miles) on it and it is still going strong!

    Love your new Subaru - the colour rocks! (admittedly not a fan of the Inca gold honda colour... ;-)

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  16. I will be in the market for a used Subaru soon for my two children to use. I love you car and its color.

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  17. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Dear Mardell Tobin,

      I do not make any money from my blog and neither should you! No links in comments. This is why your comments was deleted.

      And for what it is worth, my new Subaru blows my old Civic out of the water.

      Delete

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