I had the spreadsheet made out already because I was using it to estimate how much my annual repair/maintenance/fuel costs were on the WRX and compare that to a monthly payment on a new car.
THEN, I ended up using it because I had expected the WRX to stick around a few more years, and was blindsided by this year's estimates. (tldr, a lot of things were due to be fixed, and were things like tires, brakes, steering, clutch that you really need working) So I set up a table of different cars, things I cared about, vs what they offered.
Also, what I wanted and needed changed, so I found myself in a new space that way, unfamiliar with most of the options. The table gave me a way to list out ideas and then go see if, at least on paper, they fit what I wanted. Hyundai Tucson, for example, made the list, but I never even bothered to fill out its feature matrix; Polestar 2 got its matrix filled out, but I never bothered driving one (price was high and didn't like any of the colors it came in). Ioniq 5 likely would've gotten a test drive before I saw that the dealer was adding a "market adjustment" the exact same value as the government rebate -- if you steal the money the government intended for me, go fuck yourself.
THEN I did test drives, because you don't buy anything you've never driven before. Which really came down to the
I'm usually more like you in my habits, but that's because I also usually have my head in the space already and kinda know what is out there and what I might want... and because for most of my driving past, what I wanted was "as much speed and handling as possible on my budget." Then I just go drive em.
and now i really can blather on and on and on and on about it. Haven't even started blathering about the actual car yet, and boy is there a lot to say... let's talk about all these nifty whiz bang driver assistance features for example...
that would also disqualify Subaru