2012 SMT Car Plan?

Our 2007 Honda CRV is celebrating her first year anniversary this month. Being a true blue car buff, days after getting our first real SUV, I've been dreaming what car to get next. My next car pla is scheduled in 2012 and I'd be 40 years old by then. They say that life begins at 40 so what ride should I get while I approach mid life?

By 2012, the plan is to keep the Vee ('07 Honda CRV), sell the '02 H. Civic and get a new vehicle. Currently, there are 4 candidates:

(1) Toyota RAV 4. I like the design of the 1st gen and the 2nd gen cute-ute. The 3rd gen looks like a very slight modification of the 2nd gen hence it didn't appeal to me that much. Add to that is the fact that the base model cost P1,4M which was out of our budget and was not worth it. But it bears a Toyota badge and it's always worth considering.

(2) Toyota Prius. One of my life targets is to THINK GREEN and one big way is to get a hybrid car. In a nutshell, a hybrid car uses 2 engines, a gasoline and an electric motor. From 0 to 45 kph, it uses the electric motor and any speed over that uses the gas engine. Currently, the 1st gen Prius retails at P1,7M and grapevine talks say that it might be reduced to P1,3M once an environment act is passed into law.

(3) Honda CRV. Not again! That we're driving 2 Hondas is just a coincidence, it is not by design. To drive another one in 2012 is just loyalty to the max. Then again, if the price is right and Honda offers a 4th gen CRV which has a hybrid engine priced at P1,3M, we would go for it.

(4) Subaru Forester. This is an odd choice. The choice is: do you want to be a face in the crowd or do you want to deviate? In 2007, we choose the former. The 2nd gen Forester was an option in 2007 but a 3rd one. I like the design of this cute-ute but the timing is just not right. They introduced the 3rd gen just this year so by 2012, the body & chassis will be practically the same.

I have a full 4 years to assess. A lot of things might change, for better or for worse, hopefully for better. At any rate, there's no charge for dreaming.