DEFEND YOUR RIDE: Sandra At Bridgeway Lakes Park

Q: Hi Sandra! What can you tell us about your car?

A: It's a 2010 Infiniti QX56. We bought it used from Infiniti of Fairfield. It was a good experience. We bought it at the end of the year. They were trying to get everything off the lot. Shopping at the end of the year gives a lot of room for negotiating.

Q: Did you go in knowing that's the vehicle you wanted?

A: Actually, we did. We'd been looking for six months, trying to decide what sort of family car we wanted. We were actually looking for a 2010 because in 2011, they changed their body style. They shrunk the trunk by seven inches. And as you can see, we can barely fit our stroller in there, so if they shrunk it by seven inches, my kids would be sitting on their stroller.

Q: It's pretty tricked out. What's your favorite feature?

A: I love the heated steering wheel. It has everything. I love the DVD system. I love that all the seats are heated, even the rear seats. I love that you can push buttons to bring the seats down and push buttons to open the trunk.

Q: What is your car's main use?

A: Family use to drive the kids to ballet, gymnastics. I also drive it to and from work in Fairfield, too. I'm in the car about two hours a day. The car is a gas guzzler. It gets like, 13-18 miles per gallon. The 18 I'm really doubting. There's a fuel information button to track how much you're driving and how much you're saving. I average 15.9 per gallon. It takes premium gas. I think that's the only downfall getting this car versus a minivan. The minivan has better gas mileage.

Q: So you have kids?

A: Yes, three girls: five, three and seven months. Very busy. Everyone is in a car seat. Everyone needs my help getting in the car.

Q: So you're busy with three girls and working in Fairfield?

A: Yes and I own CharBella Design and work on that in my spare time at night!

Q: How do the kids do in the car?

A: Being in the car with them is actually very pleasant. There's a DVD player and the kids have their own headphones, so we don't have to listen to their movies. The headphones are cordless so we don't have to worry about cords. The kids aren't sitting right next to each other. Nobody is talking! It's actually really quiet.