DRIVER’S JOURNAL
Day 1: (Dionne) Drove it home when that big snowstorm started; it handled relatively well. The heated steering wheel is a dream. Stopped at Shoppers and was able to turn 180 degrees into a parking spot — it really turned on a dime!
Day 2: (Darren) Van was comfortable and rode well. Got around quite well in the winter weather. Seats heat quickly, as does the steering wheel. Vehicle was quiet. Taking some time getting used to the automatic transmission control system, as it has multiple buttons. Cabin camera and voice is a cool option.
(Dionne) The gearshift is on the dash and we haven’t seen that before. The voice feature Darren referenced is the one that allows you to talk through the cabin or into earphones while entertainment is played. On this day, we got 36 centimetres of snow and the temperature was -14 C.
Day 3: (Darren) Rides nice, handles well and is decent on snow; had no trouble getting around. Kids really like vehicle (they would like to keep it!) and they find the movie player is fun. Top three features are side doors, interface, and heated steering wheel.
Day 4: (Dionne) My top features are the side doors (love that they, along with rear hatch, can all be opened from the front driver’s seat and the key fob), cargo space in rear, entertainment system (I like cabin talk as well … and cordless headphones), and the heated steering wheel/ heated seats. They were well used and heated up quickly. The interface is very intuitive, much more so than in either of our vehicles.
Day 5: (Dionne) I really just continued enjoying the features I noted before. I did notice today some extra cubby space. There are lots of places to put stuff in the doors and console and keep it organized. I also liked having somewhere to put my handbag: on the floor there is a little space between the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat, so no need to take up a seat or put it on the dirty floor.
Day 6: (Dionne) This vehicle was very comfortable and I enjoyed driving it. I see the appeal for families wanting to drive one! We will likely look to replace my Audi in the next year or two, and I think we will look for something a little bit bigger. I will need more space for equipment for both kids’ hockey, and we do lots of travel to B.C., where we keep a vacation property. Although I wouldn’t 100 per cent look at a minivan exclusively, we would likely include it in our lineup of considerations. The kids loved this vehicle.