IONQ

A few months ago our intrepid Forester finally needed to be put to rest. At 195,000 miles she started developing phantom electrical issues. It would have cost way to much and been way to much of a hassle to get her repaired.

Our initial thoughts were to replace it with a new Outback because our current Outback is not exactly new. We need to have at least one big car to haul all of our stuff when we go on vacation, and the Outback is perfect for that.

For as much as a wanted to be a family with one big car for vacations, and one small car for regular use, I more wanted to avoid having two car payments at the same time. I wasn’t sure that the current Outback would survive long enough to outlive the payments on a new car.

I also wasn’t ready to get a stripped down econobox.

Then H made the decision that we should at least look at small cars and that I would drive it. She really liked the security provided by the AWD and the size of the Outback.

We made a list of small cars that included a Honda Fit, an Impreza, and a Prius.

Then on the way to test drive cars, H asked if Hyundai had a hybrid we should try out. I sort of remembered the commercials about the hybrid for the rest of us, so we decided to make a stop at Hyundai as well.

In Framingham, the car dealers are all basically in a line along Route 9, so test driving a lot of cars in an afternoon is very easy.

Our first stop was Hyundai where they did have a hybrid called the IONQ. It drove like a nice little car and came with some nice perks for a good price.

Then we went to Honda. The Fit is an econobox. It is a great econobox, but that is not what we wanted. It also was not exactly cheap for what it was.

Then we went to Subaru. The Impreza is a nice car, and the new ones get decent gas mileage. However, to get it with the options we wanted, the Impreza’s price stopped looking like a great deal versus an Outback.

We skipped Toyota. We have driven Prius on multiple occasions and not enjoyed it. They are also not well priced.

It was clear that the IONQ was the way to go. It had the best combination of comfort and price.

We have had it for a few months now and the IONQ has been great. It gets 50 miles to the gallon and has a ton a great driver assist features. Some of the best things about it are the Apple Car Play integration, the adaptive cruise control, and the rear cross traffic warnings. We have not had too much call to use the crash detection feature yet, but testing that is not high on our list.

H uses it on her commute daily and is very happy with it.

Pete’s Dragon

This update of the 1977 movie is perfect for the current eco-conscious moment. It takes the tale of a boy and his dragon and turns it into a metaphor for preserving nature. This is not an indictment. The movie has a good heart, good acting, and good visuals.
The whole family liked it. At times, I found it a little preachy. I particularly found Robert Redford’s magic grampa character annoying. It is not Redford’s fault. I think he played the part as it was written. I just didn’t like the character.
Overall the movie is good and has a good message.