I got black because I thought it would hold up better with the kids. The demo I drove had the saddle color and it looked dirty to me. But what do I know? I am like your wife. I have never washed a car by hand. I drove my Pinto for over 15 years and over 265 k miles and never washed it once. The rain kept it clean enough for me. I do vacuum the interior occasionaly though. 4k miles on my MDX and haven't cleaned it yet. It looks okay except for the dried mud behind the rear wheels. The rain does not seem to wash that off.