7,221 km - Cupholder love

Beautiful day Sunday so it was time for a road trip. I and a friend drove all the way from downtown TO to Steeles! For someone who lives and breathes downtown that's a vacation trip.

Destination? Pacific Mall, home of electronics and DVDs. And good, inexpensive food. It's like stepping into another country, China to be exact. Or more like Hong Kong, since most speak Cantonese. It's one of my favourite destinations when I want to leave western culture behind.

Highlight of the day for a motorcyclist? Cupholders. The Accent has two sizeable cupholders in the console. So I had to use both. Two cafe mochas. One not so good, the other a Starbucks, which I used to wash away the distinctly powdery taste of the first one, which came from one of the bubble tea shops at Pacific Mall. Okay, one thing you should avoid at PM is chocolate coffee. Ugh.

It was also a hot day and the a/c was very cold and effective. Used to be -- in the '80s and early '90s -- that small cars could be equipped with a/c. But that activation button was more for looks than function. When it did work, it was a real drag on the engine. The  air that came out of the vents could best be described as coolish. The Accent's a/c system proved very effective and had no discernible impact on performance.

7,169 km - Accent on rain performance

Coming from motorcycle riding for the last couple of years, it's very strange to be cocooned in a car. Little if any sounds penetrate; visibility is restricted; and you've got less margin for error between the lane markings. It's the first one though that makes you feel really claustrophobic.

On a bike, you can hear the hum of tires beside you, hear rain splashing up from other cars near you and smacking the road surface. You can almost feel other traffic anywhere near you.  A car reduces your sense of where you are. As well, you don't notice as much of  the physical landscape.  Looking outside a moment for addresses only let's you scan one, maybe two, sequential numbers. On a bike, you can look ahead over car roofs and down the street. Even scan behind you a moment without the B and C-pillars hiding the numbers.

Consequently, I keep the front windows down a ways so I can hear, even when it's raining.

And it did rain Thursday night and into Friday morning. But the Little Jellybean -- thanks Lorraine! -- took it like a champ. At one point it rained so hard the interior fogged up. I turned the HVAC to heat the windshield, then remembered I could turn on the a/c to remove some of the moisture. It worked its magic within seconds. Then I turned it off.

As the rain pelted down, standing water reared up into  forward visibility. But having missed the first few clues, I tore through some lengthy puddles. The car yawed slightly but the tires were only briefly turned from their paths. Not bad for these Kumho Solus models.

I tried some overpowered takeoffs on the wet roads and the tires scrabbled for grip. But they didn't do too badly. It also says something about underpowered cars though. Too much horsepower, in the 100-plus range, and you can tear the tires loose in anything but bone dry conditions. Unless of course you've got LSD or other electronic nannies installed, which is pretty rare in just about any front-driver.

Initially then, the Accent was fairly confidence inspiring in the rain. But more experience will be necessary.

7,151 km - What? This is a $10,000 car?

First, I come from riding nothing but motorcycles for the past two years. So four wheels is a bit of a retro thing for me. After picking up the Accent from Lorraine --  been out on the farm much? -- Sommerfeld yesterday, and driving it only 27 klicks, I could Live With A Car Again!

Some quick positive impressions:

1)  I started up the jellybean at One Yonge and immediately shut off the air con. I adjusted the vents, switched the directional vents to ME, turned up the fan and, what could be better? Complete MANUAL conrol. YESsssss! When do you need automatic temperature controls of the type found on many mid to high-end cars. Manual controls will never fail. Microprocessor and sensor controlled systems are not nearly as sensitive as the human senses. Manual controls? Gotta love 'em.

2)  When I pressed the key into the ignition last night, all the instrument panel controls lit up. It's a small detail, big impression. Call it a warm welcome. A big Hi! It's a  thoughtful detail. And when you turn the ignition off, the panel stays on for a few seconds. Cool.

3) This baby sticks in the corners, far better than it has any right  to (ok, you can read the unspoken here . . . "for a $10,000 car")

Some quick negative impressions:

1) The engine makes a constant booming noise  over 3,000 rpm. It sets up some highly annoying cabin resonances.

2) When the car is steered off centre, it goes all spring-mattressy. But once it stops boinging, it really takes a set in turns. In fact, it tracks extremely accurately in high(oooops)-speed turns. And displays an amazing ability for on-the-limit(oooops) cornering.

And best of all? It only takes up a small space in my condo parking spot so it's, uh, motorcycle compatible.

6,730 km - A companion's companion

A trip to the cottage wouldn't be complete without a pic on Turtle Rock. The Accent, and Sarah, are happy to pose.

We're gassing up ($32) before heading back home. The gauge sits between a quarter and half, but they've yanked most of the gas stations between Parry Sound and Barrie, and it can be a crapshoot. I'm not going to risk emptying out in a car I don't know well enough yet.

Good thing - the woman at the gas station warns us of a terrible accident in Barrie. Closures, detours, the whole works. This is the challenge I've been anticipating in the Accent - traffic tie ups with a standard, and me with knees that can get a bit wonky. We're stuck in stop and go (and stop and stop) traffic for probably 45 minutes. The clutch is sweet, though, and forgiving.

I'm adjusted to sitting lower than I'm used to, but I think as drivers turn to smaller cars in general, this will be less of an issue. Sarah is blissful in the back, even falling asleep eventually.

So, can you travel with the Accent? Sure. It's a terrific weekend car if your kids aren't too huge, or for just two of you, you could easily get a week's worth of stuff in. It's great on gas, has excellent pick-up and cruising speeds, lots of cupholders and you can park it anywhere.

We squooshed things in the very back so I had a clear view out the rear. I'm curious how it would be in snow, but we drove in driving rain and it stuck to the road, and walked it up and down washouts without incident.

Life in friendly north

Saturday, Far North . . . Well, not so far north.

It is decided a trip into town is required, to test the Accent's small town abilities, and to get butter tarts. It's only taken half a tank of gas to go about 300 km, which is probably $30 or so. Town is a slow moving walkable feast - people randomly walk all over the road, tourists park all willy nilly, and everyone talks to each other.

I decide to take a snap of the Accent under one of the town's longest standing landmarks, the General Store. I barge right in with the car, but it's cute enough to get away with it. Jayne and Sarah stand across the street, pretending they don't know me.

The highway into, and hence out of, town is a windy two-laner in great shape. It's a fun ride, and the car handles nicely. It's a blast to drive.

6,399 km - Cottage drive a breeze

Friday evening, and we're heading north. I'm taking my neighbour Jayne and her daughter Sarah, 14. My son Christopher, 16, comes out front and asks if we're ready to go. "Yup," I tell him. He stares at the Accent, then at our minivan, and across at Jayne's new Camry. "You're taking that thing?" he asks, incredulously. "Yup," I tell him. He shakes his head. "This I have to see," he laughs. He's seen women pack for a trip before.

Well, get this. Into the hatch goes a full sized cooler. And three mid-sized gym bags. And a small case of water. And a case of iced tea. And two pairs of shoes. And 4 beach towels. And a volleyball.

And into the back seat goes Sarah, who's probably as tall as I am (over 5' 7"). She has leg room, and she's not tucked into the back seat like a sardine. She pops on her seat belt, and starts reading a magazine.

We admittedly have a dream drive up the 400 on a Friday night. Not a slow down, no congestion, nothing. We make record time, and the only moment I pause is as we approach an incline near our driveway. It's notorious for washouts in too much rain, and the road is pretty rutted. But the Accent (hereby called the Jelly Bean by everyone in my family - well, not so much the boy part of my family) expertly takes the uneven, unpaved road in first gear, and I'm impressed. This driveway is the reason most of the family have small 4X4s.

We get in and unpack in about twelve seconds. There is a great upside to bringing only what you need, and I realize how much useless crap I have hauled up in the past, just because I could. It wouldn't haul enough for a week, but it's terrific for a weekend.

This 'Dragon' has class

Apparently, you don't mess with a Dragon.

My quip about a less than full gas tank resulted in a phone call offering a cheque to make it up. It was a classy gesture, but I really was just kidding. If you only knew the stuff that the editors and journalists in this section do to each other . . .

Thanks, Robert Herjavec,  though I'm sure I'll get my knuckles wrapped when editor Richardson gets back .  ..

6,362 km - Bimmer boy changes accent

I've been scooting down Hamilton's notoriously tight, and frequently one way streets for the past couple of days. The Accent means the end of 3 point turns - it literally turns on a dime if you should happen to find yourself, er, well, needing to suddenly be facing the opposite way.

I took it to 'work' at CHCH TV. I've adapted easily to going from being a larger vehicle (my van) to being one of the smallest in this sub-compact. I passed a lumbering wide- load model home thing the other day, something I couldn't do in the van. Size matters, all right.

I got my co-host, the notorious Mark Hebscher, to take the Accent for a spin. He's a car hound, and I got sick of hearing about his BMW.

At about 6'3", I was also interested to know what he thought of interior head and leg room. His pronouncement? "Great city car! This thing handles beautifully! It's really only 10 grand?" When you can get a car snob to happily pose for the camera, and re-enter the building shaking his head and exclaiming, "man, that thing is fun!", you've made progress.

Tonight, we pack for the cottage.

6,319 km - Take that, you Civic smartass!

Not much driving today - some of us work in the kitchen, and while the Accent may fit (and actually match - it's the same colour as my walls), I'm sure that's not the test I'm supposed to be putting it through.

A jaunt out to Waterdown put me on Dundas, where a snarky little Civic swung wide around me on a left turn and decided he could take me. Maybe it's the whole standard transmission thing, but, I won. Don't tell my kids.

As a rule I don't use a horn much in a car - people that need a good honking rarely know they're the ones being honked at - but someone on his Crackberry needed a nudge. I hadn't used the horn yet, and found it sounded much like a young lad who hadn't reached puberty. Though upon reflection, maybe this isn't such a bad thing. It seemed more polite, if a little feeble.

I have to admit though, I'm getting addicted to the gas this thing doesn't use. Mini Van Mama is having a blast.

I'll be in Hamilton for the next week co-hosting Live@5:30 on CHCH TV. Maybe I'll let Gerry the security guard take it for a spin....

6,279 km - Accent popular on gas-gouging weekend

I'm not sure if it's because I've gone from a 31-foot motorhome straight into the Accent, but everything feels effortless.

I scooted around yesterday to a couple of meetings, one of which was up the escarpment in Hamilton. The grade requires most trucks to have their four way flashers on, yet my baby had energy to spare. There is the hum noted by my predecessors around 120 km/h (in the name of science, I gave her a nudge just to test the words of everyone else, of course), but it really feels like nitpicking.

We're prepping for a run to the cottage this weekend - the neighbours have all turned out as we take measurements for Smart Food and wine.

With the news announcing that gas is going up at midnight tonight (again), we took our other two vehicles to the gas station. The needle doesn't move on the Accent - the cottage will be the real test.