I leased my 1997 Chevrolet Lumina (base model) when I was 24. Not a typical car for a 24 year old, but perfect for me.

With the intentions to purchase/lease a vehicle, my partner and I spent almost 2 years "test-driving". By "test-driving" I don't mean taking the car out for a 15 minute ride. Rather we would rent various types of vehicles for trips that were a fair distance away (from 3-12 hours).

What were we looking for in a vehicle?

Firstmost it had to be comfortable. Since our families live a 12 hour drive away, and we travel frequently to visit with them, we needed a comfortable car.

Next we wanted a car with a lot of trunk space. Our vacations seem to centre around the holidays, so we were forever toting gifts, we needed a vehicle that could accommodate.

We wanted a vehicle that was roomy inside, one in which your elbows didn't touch each others, and you had room to stretch your legs even if you were sitting in the back seat.

We also wanted an automobile that had room for a lot of passengers for a couple of reasons. One reason being that often other friends with family in the same town as us travel with us, and the second reason being that we eventually planned to have a family.

Due to our long trips, the auto we bought had to attain great gas mileage. After years of traveling with a 4x4 pickup we needed something less costly.

Finally it needed to have some "get up and go", alot of our trip is on a two lane road, so the vehicle we bought needed to have passing ability.

The final vehicle we rented was a 1997 Chevrolet Lumina. We rented it for 10 days, when we went to our families town to be wed. We loved it so much that after our honeymoon, we immediately went and purchased that type of car. It met all of our needs perfectly. We leased it and it came pretty much loaded, power windows, power locks, a/c, cruise control, and am/fm cassette player.

I absolutely loved this car. I continuously said that I feel like just "hugging my car"...I know that sounds stupid, but I was in love!

Now there were a couple of things that we didn't like about the Lumina. My husband didn't like the fact that there was no tachometer, I frankly don't even know how to use a TAC, so it made no difference to me. My beef was the mirror on the sunvisor on the passenger side. When you put the sunvisor down, there is no cover over the mirror, so you are forever looking at your reflection, kinda spooky!

The Chev. Lumina drives like a charm. Sporting 15" tires, it offers a smooth ride. The seats are comfortable and there is a lot of interior room. It also has a lot of pull. You can pull out and pass another car in a split second. Gas mileage is okay too. About 27 m/g, in town.

This car is ideal for anyone who requires a great deal of comfort. Common purchasers are older citizens. It is not a likely buy for the younger crowd. It is not a high performance head turner type of car, but again it was Perfect For Me. So perfect in fact, that I traded it last year and bought a new 1999 Lumina!