This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michelle Pippin, the founder of Women Who WOW. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I have three children, four grandchildren, and another grandbaby due in October.
Every Thursday, I watch the grandkids. It is the best day of my week.
I usually strap the little ones — they’re 4, 3, and 2 — into their carseats and bring them to a trampoline park with special toddler hours. After they jump around for two hours, we drive across the parking lot to Chick-fil-A, and they usually fall asleep on the ride home.
For years, those outings required some automotive juggling.
I drove a Honda HR-V, which was too small for three car seats. My husband and I also had an older Chevrolet Tahoe with a third row, but it doesn’t always work for our needs. Its air conditioning isn’t great — a big problem in our rural, North Carolina, town — and my husband sometimes wanted to use it without all the car seats inside.
Eventually, I got tired of moving everything around. I decided I needed a car where the seats could stay permanently.
That was not an easy admission.
When my own children were younger, I drove a Ford Expedition. We lived in North Carolina, their school was in Virginia, and I spent a lot of time driving that enormous SUV during an era of high gas prices.
When my youngest child got his license, I got rid of the Expedition and bought a two-door Honda Civic. I loved being able to bop around town and zip into any parking spot, and swore I would never own another vehicle with a third row.
I hadn’t considered that I might one day have grandchildren.
I test-drove several 3-row SUVs
I wanted a midsize SUV with all-wheel drive and enough room to fit three car seats across one row if necessary.
I started with Google and its AI-generated answers, which helped me compile a list. I considered vehicles including the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, Volvo XC90, and Volkswagen Atlas.
I wasn’t working with a rigid budget, but $75,000 was my psychological ceiling. My first house cost $85,000, so spending close to that on a car would have made me stop and ask whether it was really worth it.
Some of the prices surprised me. I saw Tellurides approaching $71,000 and remember thinking that was a lot for a Kia. The Palisade, my runner-up, was also more expensive than I expected.
The Honda Pilot was the last vehicle I drove. Almost immediately, I knew it was the right car for me.
I liked that it looked a little masculine rather than overly sleek. Inside those chiseled exterior body panels, it had everything I needed: the third row, all-wheel drive, a panoramic roof, and a feature that amplifies the driver’s voice for passengers in the back.
I have always been a Honda person, mostly because of their reliability. The Civic I bought more than a decade ago is now driven by my son and is approaching 200,000 miles. Aside from routine maintenance, it has needed very little.
The Pilot cost about $54,000 with the additional protection plans I purchased. I don’t like negotiating: A business tells me its price, and I decide whether I’m willing to pay it. I felt I got a good deal and came in far below my ceiling.
My inaugural trip was with the grandkids
I picked up the Pilot on a Wednesday night. The next morning, I loaded the grandchildren into it and took them to the trampoline park.
They loved looking through the panoramic roof. My oldest grandson told me, “Nana, this is my most favorite car ever.”
I told him it should be. I bought it for them.
I even ordered a personalized license plate that says “CUZN CRU,” because this is their car as much as it is mine.
One granddaughter recently climbed inside with dirt on her shoes and apologized. I told her that if Nana was more worried about dirt than having her in the car, my heart would be in the wrong place.
Years ago, I had sworn off three-row SUVs — but I bought this one because it’s supposed to be filled with car seats, Chick-fil-A crumbs, and my grandchildren.
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