Thanks for all the input on cars! Well I got my new car this weekend! I ended up getting a 2007 Honda Pilot in the end. I love it! I feel like I splurged a bit but I needed the car and wanted the extra passenger space. Like I said, I drive my cars as long as possible so hopefully I will have this car for the next 8-9 years unless my needs change. I really am an advocate for buying low gas mileage cars, but again need the extra passenger space and DBF will get a smaller car in the next year or two.

I had pretty much narrowed it down to this car before I even started test driving but had wanted to test drive the Toyota Sienna and Toyota Highlander just to be certain. (The only reason I wasn't looking at the Honda Odyssey is because that is what my son's dad drives and I didn't want the same car. Silly but there it is!) But we just ran out of time. I wish I maybe would have tried those two before I went shopping seriously and then focus on that one car. DBF reminded me I may need to walk away and to try those other cars but like I said once I make up my mind, that's it! I did better this time than I have in the past – I guess you get better at it each time. I had done my research and we tried 3 different dealers. The first one was a used car dealer but have a great reputation but they only had one Pilot to try. It was a 2008 value package and the price was a little more than I wanted. The 2nd had no cars that were in my mileage and price range. The 3rd dealer actually had 4-5 Pilots in my price range and mileage. If one had one of the Toyotas I was looking at, I would have tried it but none of them did. (Since 2 were Honda dealers, that makes sense!) The Pilot I got only has 26,000 miles. The two I was looking at both had been leased cars and only had one owner. It's white exterior with deep tan interior. I would have liked black but when buying used you have a little less choice.  For fun, we test drove the next nicer "package" up and it had leather seats, a navigation system and a rear view camera! The price was similar to what I ended up paying but it had close to 60,000 miles on it so I didn't get that one. I think the rear view camera was a nice feature after I tried backing out of my driveway with the two little neighbor kids were out riding their bikes . We live in a cul de sac so kids are always playing in the street. Which I don't mind but I'm scared to death I'll run someone over and it's much more difficult to see behind me now.

It's standard 8 passenger seating, but still has decent cargo room in the back. You can configure the 3rd seat to hold either 1, 2 or 3 people so you can use the space if all 3 seats aren't occupied. If all 3 are occupied, there is not much space but still for a mid-size SUV, it's got a lot of space overall and it's pretty fun to drive!