2007 Chevrolet HHR

My husband actually picked out this car. I was looking for something completely different. But once I started driving my HHR, I was pleasantly surprised.

Mine has some great features. The cruise control is on the steering wheel. If the speed limit changes while I'm using it or traffic slows ahead, I can slow down by pushing buttons instead of tapping my breaks and resetting it. That's a handy feature. I never used cruise control until I had this feature.

The volume control is on the steering wheel too. If my phone rings, I can mute it. If I hear a song I really like, I can turn it down. If I want to listen to a different song, the steering wheel also has a button that will change the channel (or the track on the cd if you're listening to one).

The interior of the car is surprisingly roomy. Everyone who gets into mentions it right away. The backseat has plenty of legroom without making the front seats scooch forward. The back has a lot of room too. I can put both of my large dogs back there.

The back of the car is opened through a hatchback. It's not carpeted, so messes are easy to clean. There's also plenty of room in compartments under the floor.

It gets pretty good gas mileage. I sometimes get close to 30 miles per gallon. That's a pretty good feature considering today's economy and gas prices. The gas tank is easily accessible, and it doesn't have one of those annoying latches you have to pull on from inside the car.

The car accelerates really nicely. I have no trouble getting up to speed on the freeway during a difficult merge. It takes hills without slowing down--even when using the afore-mentioned cruise control.

It’s not very expensive to maintain. I put a LOT of miles on this baby, and I haven’t had any major repairs. I’m a signer, and I frequently perform anywhere from Charleston, SC to Radford, VA. I drive everywhere. I also have two aging parents that live 100 miles from my house. The dogs and I travel with no problem and a surprisingly small number of gas breaks.

I call my car “The Professor”. It’s purple, and I use a Tom-Tom for navigation. The voice on my navigator has an Australian accent named “Mikey”. He tells me how to get places when I have no idea. So it seems like my car is talking to me as I drive along. The Professor is also an allusion to Professor Plum of “Clue” fame.

We bought The Professor used. Apparently it was in an accident before we got it. When we got new tires in April, the two front tires took only 3 months to be completely ruined. I had to get the car re-aligned in order to keep from having to buy tires over and over again. I may have to have the frame fixed altogether.

All in all, I am really pleased with my 2007 Chevy HHR. I recommend it for people who need room and decent gas mileage.