It only took about two and a half years with my Kia Sorento for me to start looking for an exit strategy.  I am not sure exactly where it started going downhill, but once I started talking about my lackluster appreciation for the Kia to anyone who would listen, I knew I already had one foot out the door.

Not that the Sorento isn’t a nice little SUV – it is, as hundreds of folks in this area can tell you.  Indeed, I saw my exact color and model Kia two to three times a day every day after I purchased it. I find fascinating the phenomenon that occurs when you purchase a new car – suddenly you see them everywhere.

I purchased the Sorento because it was sensible.  It was higher profile and had all-wheel drive.  I was being a good adult in the moment. I never really adored it the way I adored my prior car (Hyundai Tiburon), but it was good for what it was – a safe and reliable winter car.

Perhaps you have already noted that I am talking about the Kia in the past tense. Yes, I can now confirm that the Kia and I broke up…well, actually I dumped the Kia. Not because there was anything inherently wrong with it – I simply could not align it with my psyche. A SUV just never really felt like me.

Yet, I could not throw caution to the wind and go back to a sporty little car again, not with grandchildren to take here and there.  So I cross-referenced the list of all-wheel drive sedans and the top-rated safety picks in sedans and I came up with two viable contenders – the Chrysler 200 C and the Buick Regal. Still sensible, but more my style speed.

I went to the Chrysler dealership first and test drove the 200 C. I advised the salesman that I intended to test drive the Buick Regal next and pick between the two. Upon hearing this he told me, with a healthy dose of disdain in his voice, that the Buick is a “grandma car.” That raised a laugh from me as I know that has long been a Buick stereotype. Even Buick commercials poke fun at the stereotype.  But hey, I am a grandma, so I was not dissuaded.

After test driving both cars it became clear that the Buick was the obvious choice.  It was a tad more expensive than the Chrysler, but it fit my design aesthetic and felt like the right fit for me. And it did not look like the Buick design I remember from back in the day, it really isn’t the Buick that your grandma used to drive. Plus, I really liked the Luther Buick team, which is saying a lot as I typically trust car salespeople about as much as I do alligators. No offense car salespeople (or alligators).

My Buick Regal is the red version below, but in person it looks more burgundy. It has leather seats and enough bells and whistles to keep me happy, but not overwhelm me. Plus it has OnStar, which Cheyenne sees as the car version of the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” medic alert necklace. Well, after the Dollar Store debacle who am I to scoff at such a car safety system?

Now I feel like I have my groove back. I think I have found a good balance between safety and sexy – well, at the grandma level at least.

Another day in the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C