probably a 2 year old Honda Odyssey staying as close to 25 as possible and then take a 2 week trip and drive it to WDW with the $ left over Either way, I would probably get a car 2 years old...the depreciation is just brutal on new ones.
it sure does look like it's smiling. I'm not feeling the love for the Mini Cooper and nothing that looks like a box, like the Element I don't have kids so not too worried about lots of room.
Wouldn't be buying a NEW car. Would be buying something not too old with a good reliable reputation. Then would be using the rest of the money to add to savings or pay down credit card bills. Something in the 3-4yr old model category will often be just as good as a brand new car. Also cheaper.
Ford Escape Hybrid SUV for me too. A standard model brand new can be bought for under 30k, so maybe a slightly used one can be purchased for even less.
I have an Escape right now and I LOVE IT!!! It's not a hybrid, though, and I would like to upgrade to get some of the newer features.
My Escape has been problem-free since I bought it. A great car.
Personally I'd buy a used car and use the rest for other things. I want a low mileage Thunderbird. I would try to find the model built previously to the current version.