Car Shopping for a Hip Mommy

“I will not buy a minivan! I will not buy a minivan!” I figure the more I repeat those words, the more they will ring true.

I am definitely not the minivan type. I hate big cars. I can’t stand SUV’s. I spent 15 minutes navigating around a teenager in the parking lot of Whole Foods last week because she was driving a car the size of a school bus! Is that really necessary, folks?!

Memorial Day weekend was tough. I had to say goodbye to my loyal companion. No, it was not my husband or my dog, it was my metallic blue 2000 Golf Volkswagen. She was the first important thing I bought myself…with my own money….from my first REAL job. She was like a timeline of my life as a single 20 something. 

I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating, but I’m being totally serious. She took me to work, concerts, bars and dates. She served as a pseudo moving truck from one DC apartment to the next. She heard me laugh and heard me cry. And now….she’s at Carmax!

I didn’t want to give her up, but it was time. Her run was over. That, plus I became a mom. I have to say, I had no problem fitting all the baby gear in my little Golf. When I was pregnant, I constantly heard people complaining about how they had to invest in huge cars so they could fit the strollers and car seats etc. We survived a year with the Golf and never had a problem. We recently traded the Golf in for her slightly larger cousin, the Jetta Sportswagen. Yes, I broke down and bought a station wagon BUT it’s a COOL station wagon. 

I don’t deny it’s definitely a family car, but I’m ok with that because I love having a family. We shopped around and looked at different cars, but I stood my ground against the SUV and decided to stick with Volkswagen.

I think they were brilliant in the manufacturing of the Sportswagen. It’s roomier, but still urban and has all the trendy bells and whistles you expect from a city car. One major plus is that it has a sunroof that extends from the front to the way back and my toddler thinks that’s about the neatest thing ever.

I also have to admit that VW does an amazing job in marketing this car. All the commercials show hip and stylish parents buying the Sportswagen. I watch the ads and think to myself, “Hey, that’s me. I’m a cool VW driving mom!”

Have I gotten sucked in by the big bad world of advertising?! Perhaps…ok, yes!

But I have to say that I really love the car. It has a very smooth drive, you can switch back and forth from Automatic to Shift and it’s not a big, bulky box that you can’t park anywhere. In short, I’m very happy with the choice we made and it has turned out to be the perfect car for our family.

But, will we buy a bigger car if we have more children?  “I will not buy a minivan! I will not buy a minivan!”