8,784 km - Brief re-acquaintance

Acquired the Accent again. And was reminded about one really annoying thing. The combination of the B- and C-pillars appear so wide they provide a wall of invisibility.

Looking back to clear your tail while leaving a parking spot requires some neck craning and stretching to clear both sides. And no, Kenzie's Mirror Relativity Theory is not foolproof (sorry, Jim!).

Pedestrians are moving objects. They come from different directions, sometimes all at once. Throw in moving cars and motorbikes and a three-mirror check doesn't give me the kind of confidence that I desire.

When I physically look backward, I also use my peripheral vision to measure potential objects. It's faster than the three-mirror checks, which require you to sweep your eyes through about 150 to 180 degrees, connecting the dots so to speak, some of which are missing.

Or maybe what I'm really saying is I'm too used to having complete freedom to look around on a motorcycle. Could be!

Good, practical car.

7,243 km - Accent almost beats motorbike

Since I haven't had a car for about 18 months, getting the Accent for nearly a week has been fun and darned useful. I had to do some moving and shuffling of domestic goods (another word for it is "junk"). The hatchback was an ideal mate. I picked up a cargo cart, transported boxes of video tapes (yipes, that dates me, and beta ones at that) and left the familiar territory of the downtown for deepest Peel Region.

But I did miss my two-wheeler, namely my BMW F650GS Twin, a new one to me, too. But it doesn't have a cupholder, or air conditioning or commodious passenger seat or cargo hatch, and you can't just park it and run. (How can you tell I've walked away from a bike without putting the kickstand down!?!?!?).

On the other hand, a bike can slip between curb and traffic  (theoretically, of course), lay some awesome distance between start and destination (only theoretically speaking), sweep around corners (right on the ragged edge of theory, n'est ce que pas?), and give you a real feeling, a real experience of going somewhere. That last part is hard to beat.

But $10,000 is only a few hundred more than I shovelled out for my bike. Heh? Nah, the bike wins, sorry.

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.