End of an era

The Britgal and I have finally said our last goodbyes to our Ford Focus. I can't say we're teary eyed, or even a little sorry. While it wasn't the worst car in the world, we had more than our share of problems (it was the first year of the Focus so a lot of recalls occurred) and with our little one on the way, it wasn't going to serve our needs for space, gear + car seat nor safety in Ottawa winter.

With that, I introduce our new family transport vehicle; the 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander.
These aren't actual pictures of ours, but are close enough and the colour is pretty close (ours is 'rally red metallic'). The car is far and away more vehicle than we would have imagined owning, and still fits in our budget. The warranty can't be beat (5yr full/10yr power train) and it also is our first 'import' vehicle (made in Japan) so I hope the quality lives up to the name. This car is also the basis for the Citroen C-Crosser and the Peugot 4007. They are almost the same car but each with their own styling and interior choices.

After a lot of test driving (Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Rogue, Mazda5) and spreadsheeting, comparing, and fretting we finally decided on the Mitsu as it offered the best combination of features, safety, cost and a standard all-wheel drive (winter). The biggest tell tale feature is the boot. We needed something that could transport humans, kid, and gear without overloading (ie. use of seats). Our new car has this in spades with a special drop door tail gate and massive cargo area. In a pinch, if we need a lot of space we can fold down and flip the rear seats down for even more space (ie. Ikea).

It seems we got the vehicle not a moment too soon as the snow and poor weather is upon us already. AWD, traction control, ABS and lots more make the drive a lot less stressful. We've very happy with our new purchase, and I'm confident we'll have a much better experience than with our Focus.