House of the rising Moonglum

So I’ve been driving this thing around for a while and figured it was time for a car update post. When I was looking for a car, I was comparing the versa, fit and yaris. The yaris is a bit goofy, and I was never able to test one. I think I probably would have liked the fit ok, but again I never got to try it. The cars I did get to try were the ford focus, the vibe, the matrix and the mazda 3. The three was the nicest of those, but is truly in a different class. By that I mean not something I was willing to spend the money on. The matrix and the vibe were nice, but compared to the versa, it is unclear how much more you are getting for the extra money. And the ford just felt cheap. The matrix and the vibe are getting pretty good reviews, and top out the reliability charts. It is a little disconcerting to not see the versa on there at all, but at least that means it isn’t on the bottom either. In the final analysis though, I see the matrix and vibe all over the place, but I almost never see a versa, so it’s nice to be driving something a bit more unique. (I mean it’s no dodge omni, but…)

So the best things about the versa are: 27 mpg city. Oh yeah. I’ve only filled the gas three times since I bought it. Two months ago. It looks like the winter might be taking a toll on that mileage, but we will see. The seats. I still can’t get over how nice it feels to sit in that car. Sure it might not be as zippy as the fit or the vibe, but I feel like I have so much more room, and the only time I drove the vibe I felt oddly claustrophobic. The mass. I feel like I can move around in the car, and have good situational awareness. That was the thing I loved most about the omni, and NONE of the other cars I test drove let me feel this safe in terms of visibility. The ABS helps too. I have driven this thing through some horrible thunder/wind storms and felt perfectly safe. The seats. Don’t mess with the versa seats. They are awesome.

Things I like the least about the versa: The high end. In order to make it have impressive pickup, they gave up on acceleration at the high end. Given that I almost never drive over 45 mph it doesn’t affect my day to day life, but I have noticed it on the freeway. Uneven back storage floor. Hasn’t bit me yet, but I know it will at some point in the future. Center console corner. This is annoying only if you have long legs and keep your seat forward. Like I do. I’ve taken to tapping it with my knee while I drive. Dumbest recall ever. So I get this recall for the vera in the mail. Apparently they didn’t get the wording on a fluid cap correct. So they sent me a new one. It says to not get the fluid dirty. I think I’ll not replace the cap giving dirt a chance to get in there. (More to the point I’ll let them do it next time I get the oil changed.)

And I still haven’t come up with a name for it. I’m thinking Mjolnir, but that could just be because I was listening to Led Zeppelin when driving through the aforementioned thunder storm. “The hammer of the gods, will drive our car to new lands” … or Lakeview anyway.