After a marathon car-shopping day, Banjo Man and I found our dream car.  Up at 5 AM, armed with Consumer Reports, on-line research, dealer inventory print-outs and coffee, we set out to actually drive cars.

Imagine that.

We were shopping for a used car.  We knew how much we could spend.  We knew we wanted 4wd, V-6 engine, comfy seats, a roomy interior, safety features, a clean Carfax report and a high reliability rating from consumer magazines.

So here’s the MorePie Summary:

Mazda Cx-9:  no, because the console was huge and annoying

Honda Pilot:  no, because it was almost too big and the one we drove made a weird knocking noise

Rav4:  passenger seat = torture chamber  (this car was new; by this point in the day we were now considering leasing and Banjo Man was experiencing severe sticker shock).

And the winner is……..[insert ripping open the envelope sound]:

TOYOTA HIGHLANDER!!!!

Yep, we bought the “lonely little Toyota in the Volvo shop” at 5 PM Saturday.

(is anyone old enough to remember what song I’m paraphrasing????)

And you know what the best part is?  HEATED SEATS!!!