Expectations In Practicality

Wayne Slavin — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 09:50:00 -0800

I have recently been shopping for a new car; there are lots of models in the segment that I am interested in all the big players have offerings in the four-door sedan class Acura, Lexus, BMW, MB, and Audi. What I have seen in the last 36 months of new cars is that many of these companies have sterilized their entry vehicles to such an extent that a passenger can hardly tell what car they are in without looking at the badge on the steering-wheel.

The idea behind a sporty four-door sedan is that you can still have fun but not forget about the practical things in life like Costco runs and Ikea adventures. I expect to be able to fit a reasonable amount of food/water/boxes in the trunk of my practical car, but on the other had I don’t expect to fit much beyond a baseball cap and jacket in a convertible – typically thought of as impractical.

The car that struck my fancy was the new Lexus IS 350, it has the most character out of all the competition, you all get a very comfortable place to be, a ton of power, all the fun toys, and best of all - two extra seats (middle back seat is an afterthought). The thing that I didn’t pay much attention to was the fact that the rear seats do not fold down. A friend was quick to point out that in a car with a small trunk opening the only work-around is that you can put things in through the passenger doors and slide them to the trunk, but without seats that fold down this is not possible.

So, the question I asked myself was “Would I be pissed off with my new car if I had some boxes to load in the trunk but couldn’t get them to fit through the opening by just an inch or two?” I would be furious! Having chosen the practical four-door sedan I expect to be able to use my trunk space, not just have it there. I quickly rang up the Audi dealer and placed myself on the list for a convertible to be delivered in July/August the only feature I didn’t order it with is expectations.

Away From Reality: Tag Cars

Expectations In Practicality