Convinced the wife to try out a 2006 Lexus 400h (the hybrid SUV).  Drove smooth, had decent mileage for its size.  And it was priced lower than a new Honda CR-V that we were originally thinking about.  Made this deal easier to swallow.

Have to like Lexus quality – everything was nice and comfortable.  RX design is spacious, that trunk can hold plenty of cargo and still seat 5 comfortably.

A couple things however, changed the air filter, cabin air filter right off the bat, they were filthy, as expected.  As this was a hybrid, there’s more wear and tear on the normal car battery, so had to replace that fairly quickly as well (within the month) – Costco has cheap car batteries with 3 yr guarantees, only $70 to replace.