New Vehicle

Here’s our new baby:

Not that one, this one:

We got a 2009 Mazda 5 Sport MICROVAN!  What is a  microvan, you ask?  Just like it sounds, smaller than a minivan.  Actually, I’m not sure if it is really called a microvan, that is just what the dealer called it.  These vehicles are apparently much more popular outside of the US. 

We needed a second vehicle and our Toyota Rav 4 (below, parked next to the Mazda) is great for us now but if we ever add on another child to the family we would need a bigger vehicle.  Well, as you can see by the picture the microvan is not necessarily bigger.

(This is Aedan with the salesman putting on our plates)

**SIDE COMMENT: Aedan asked us yesterday if Heavenly Father and Jesus make microvans.  Funny kid.**

We went to the dealer to test drive some minivans and to be honest I wasn’t quite ready to be a minivan mom.  I just don’t like the feel of driving vans.  And it is not like I am not used to them.  Being the oldest of 5 kids in my family I was well trained in the art of busing people around in big vehicles.  I love the space of a minivan but it seemed too big for us at this stage in our life. 

The dealer caught on to my half-hearted attempts at shopping for a van and introduced us to the Mazda 5.  We test drove it and WOW!  It drives like a car!  It seats up to 6!  The doors slide open just like a minivan!  The cargo space is not the greatest if we have a full car but the back seats fold down and it is perfect.  Even if we have another kid in the next few years we will still be okay.  AND this was more of an economical move for us, better gas mileage, etc.  AND the price tag was easily less than half the cost of some minivans so we were able to get a lot newer model rather than settling for a much older used minivan.

(same layout but with black interior and no navigation system)

Can I just say shopping for used minivans is not a picnic?  (Especially in a short period of time?) After a handful of years old they start getting a little trashy.  Plus they are not easy to come by as people tend to hold on to their minivans for a while.  We hope this Mazda will serve us well for many years and when the kids are older/bigger we will most likely dive in to the minivan world.

But for now Aedan likes to call our vehicles “twins” as they are both silver.  We are all lovin it.