Struggling to be debt free

My second stop during my car shopping adventures was Honda.  I went there on December 30, 2019.  I had researched the vehicles online and was ready to see the Pilot and the Passport. However, I did find this blue CR-V to be quite striking.  The CR-V is a bit too small for me. Unfortunately, I travel for work and can be gone for several days to a week or 2 at a time. I need something that has sufficient space for a couple of suitcases, work bags, etc.  Also, I want something big enough to easily get my mom's wheelchair into the back. Unfortunately, the Honda dealership did not have any Passports on the lot.  So I looked into the Pilots. I thought the Pilots were a little too large and van-like for me.  The picture below is a "Black Edition" Honda Pilot with a price tag of $50,000.  It's pretty, but too expensive for my taste.  The Pilot came with a lifetime powertrain warranty and 2 years of oil changes included with the price of the car....

I wanted to document my car shopping process.  By way of background, I have 13 year and 3 month old toyota 4runner.  To date I have a little over $22,000 saved for a down payment (this includes $5,000 from my EF). I have looked up the KBB and carfax trade in values for my car.  It is worth about $6,100. I have done extensive research about multiple cars including, reliability ratings, complaints, repair costs, etc.  Spoiler Alert: I have not yet purchased a car. My car shopping adventures began on December 30, 2019. My first stop was the Acura Dealership.  The sales guy was super nice.  Nicest and the most well informed of all.  We test drove an Acura MDX.  It was a nice car.  I don't like the body style and the brakes were mushy.  However, Acura is the luxury version of Honda, so I thought it might be worth a shot. It was a nice car with lots of options and all the safety features. Lane departure assist, collision avoidance...

I have a car that is 13 to 14 years old.  It is starting to have some issues here and there so I am thinking about replacing it.  Since I have kept my car for so long, I plan to buy a brand new car, again (I can hear the gasps from the personal finance community, but I don't care.) I was hoping to take advantage of some of the year end deals, but nothing is interesting to me.  I have researched and researched and I cannot find a car that I WANT to buy.  I have test driven an Acura MDX, a Honda Pilot and a Volvo XC60.  I am thinking about  test driving a mazda CX9.  Everything is expensive and nothing appeals to me. Also, why are cars so expensive? The Honda Pilot looks like a van now. It's weird. I did like the Honda Passport, but no Passports were on the lot.  The MDX is pretty expensive with no real added features.  I can get a fully loaded Honda for the same price without paying for the Acura name.  The XC60 is expensi...