decidedlyodd

This morning, I managed to go visit the Mazda dealer over in the University District. The salesman I dealt with was helpful, but also laid back. I took a test drive of a 3 hatch grand touring for probably close to 30 minutes, going all around Ravenna, the U District and over into the Greenlake/Greenwood area as well. When I got back, we talked some more about the features and options of the car.

Driving the car was really enjoyable. Part of it is that it’s a manual (much more fun in my opinion) and part of it is that the car had A LOT of pickup compared to my current car. The steering, braking and acceleration all seemed more responsive too. I guess that difference is to be expected between these two classes of cars.

I’m definitely closer to buying after the test drive, although I might still check out the 6 still too especially since Mazda is giving ~$2K in cash back right now on that vehicle. I’m concerned that because it’s larger, it won’t handle as well or be as peppy (without the larger engine which would mean cruddier fuel efficiency). I’m honestly not sure if I need much more trunk space anyways. The backseat doesn’t really feel much bigger and let’s face it–I’m not the one who’s going to be sitting back there anyways.

The car I test drove today had all the features I’m interested in (even fancy things like a nice stereo and heated seats), but unfortunately I didn’t care too much for the color (purple). The car sells well around here, so there aren’t a lot of them with the options I’d like around (just 3 in pretty much all of greater Seattle). I’m still not 100% I’m ready to buy, but I figure I can keep looking and waiting for something with the options and color (I’m not too picky–purple just doesn’t work for me) I’m interested in.