Today i went shopping! I test drove:
Kia Niro: the more expensive trim line, a perfectly nice car.
Nissan Leaf: the cheaper trim line, i had to mechanically pump a lever to raise the seat. The on-off button was weirdly hidden behind the steering wheel where i couldn’t see it and had trouble reaching it. It has nice camera views, but i spent half my test drive trying to figure out how to get rid of the “low battery” warning.
Hyundai Kona: out of luck, they didn’t have any. They’ll call me when one that’s in shipment arrives, Mon or Tues. I did sit in the gas version of it. The interior looks a lot like the Niro.
Mini countryman: i did this one on a whim, thinking I’d hate the weird round screen. But i really liked it. Fun to drive, and the features I’m likely to want to twiddle are pretty easy to get to. The temp is a thermometer graphic on the close part of that circle, and you drag it up and down with your finger in the obvious way. The radio can be accessed from a convenient button on the steering wheel. On/off, gears, turn signal are all physical things in ordinary places.
But the experience makes me aware of how irrational i am, too. The salesman say next to me when i drive the mini, and helped me with the controls. The salesman for the Leaf handed me the keys (and didn’t, himself understand how to turn off that warning, or I’m sure he would have.) Also, the mini dealership fed me mini lobster rolls while i waited (“left over from a sales thing we did earlier today, they’ve only been out for an hour”) The Nissan dealership smelled unpleasant. Like… truffle? Not the chocolate treats, the mushroom, which i find really cloying.
If i take home a car, it’s really not going to matter what the dealership smells like. But it did make me less comfortable as i got into the car.