Zoom-Zoom

Tonight we test drove a couple of possible replacements for The Rocket (aka Mini, aka my red 98 Cavalier).

We started with the Mazda3. The Mazda3 is consistently ranked by folks like Edmunds as the top car in its class - which is compact sedans that don't cost an arm and a leg. At first I was skeptical because the front seat was way to cramped. But, once I figured how to move things around, I learned it was quite comfortable.

And the Mazda3 did indeed live up to its claims. It's affordable and doesn't feel underpowered. It doesn't have too much of a cheap-plasticy feel to it. It was roomy enough for my purposes. So I was pretty much sold on it making the short list.

The shopping experience was a good one. The only "trick" they used was to send us out in the most decked out version of the car they had, so it was hard to tell which features were standard, and which were extras. With that said, the sales person was nice and zero pressure. The manager talked to us for just a few minutes, and strangly, I felt like I was talking to a person and not some slimeball. He was actually really nice.

From the Mazda dealer we drove over to our Acura dealer (where Shira got her car). We were both so impressed with Shira's Acura that we thought it would be a bad idea to not consider them. So, for the first time tonight, we drove an Acura TSX.

It was nice. Very nice. It had everything the Mazda3 had, plus more - including $10k in the price tag. But still, it has such a smooth ride, and the interior seems so well done.

We also like Acuras because they only have two choices: with navigation system and without. That's it. It makes shopping and buying so much easier because cars are so interchangeable.

I'm not sure what we'll drive next. Any suggestions?

--Ben