So today marks the end of the first month (although it is incomplete; I got it on the 5th) of my new car. I still can't believe I have a new car after I had one for 22 years. But the feeling that I'm using a rental car is fading with each passing day.
Without naming the make and model (I'm coy and shy like that) I have generated some thoughts on it. First and foremost, however, I have to admit that it's really, really nice to drive a car that won't break down. I have absolutely no stress that the Check Engine light will come on or the temperature gauge will shoot up. (It runs so well, in fact, that now I worry about my parents' minivan. I have had absolutely no trouble with that car besides a permanent Check Engine light and some weird sounds I hear when I cut the steering wheel to the right or the left and some braking issues. But those issues are enough for me to contrast it poorly to my new car. It pales so much in comparison that I am starting to think of it as not good. And on my trip to My Favorite Stripclub [Cover Edition] Saturday night I decided against driving the minivan because I was afraid that something bad would happen while I was driving it, even though that has never happened before.) For that reason alone it's better than my old, formerly-trusted car.
Beyond that, I have realized that 22 years is light years in the development of car technology. It may be because of my make and model, but there is a lot of new stuff in it that didn't exist two decades ago. For example, the back-up camera I have is fantastic for parallel parking. The right-turn lane camera is great for blind spots (even though I wish there was a camera for lefts, but there isn't). And of course it's fantastic to have a radio that works. It even has AM, which the minivan doesn't have! The ability to change channels on the steering wheel is great, even though that technology's been around for at least a decade.
I also have a key fob and push-button start. Is that a standard feature on new cars up and down the line? I have a subcompact, and I've been led to believe push-button starts are rare. I'm still getting used to it; sometimes, especially when I'm switching from the minivan, I get in or get out of the car and I'm searching my pockets for the key I don't need.
Now for the downsides. Most of them have been affirmed by what Consumer Reports says about it. The seats are not that comfortable. When I recline the passenger seat to take a nap for lunch (I much prefer the manual handle to the electric one in the old car; it seems unnecessary) the arch jabs into my spine too much. Also, the transmission is not as responsive as I think it should be. Sometimes I would gently step on the gas pedal and the car won't move. That's a problem I associate with the advanced age of my old car, and I my heart beats fast that something's gone very wrong with it. (OK, so I have to take back that I have felt absolutely no stress in my new car.) And the engine isn't powerful, and even less so when it's in ECON mode.
Those problems, however, are what's expected in a subcompact. What puts it over the top is how much it is unlike other subcompacts. That the interior is roomy for its class, for example, is true, and a big advantage. So is the response in handling. Finally, you can't beat that it's a Japanese car. One that I hope to keep around for 22 years.
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