Brian Milloy’s Driving Journal

Day 1

OK, how do I start this thing? With no key required and only a start button (something new to me) it didn’t take me long to find the start button, but before pressing it I noticed the intermittent wipers took a swipe and realized the car was actually already running ... confirmed by the tach. Smooth and quiet.

Day 2

My status as a real car guy would diminish if I actually read the directions/instructions, but there sure seems to be a lot going on this dashboard and I’ve never synced my BlackBerry with the interactive dash on anything before, so I may actually have to open the manual ... some other time perhaps.

Although I consider myself a car guy and not a techie, it didn’t take me long to link my BlackBerry and contact information to be able to dial directly from voice commands and a touch of the button on the steering wheel ... cool. And I figured this all out quickly without opening a single manual.

Day 3

Soccer game at 1 with my 11 year old, then groceries. Continually impressed by handling, braking. Turns well and really impressed by the quality of the ride/feel for a small car. Probably the smoothest, quietest car of this size I have driven — even quieter than my G35.

My 11-year-old’s feedback: “It’s quiet, feels like I could fall asleep in it.” Thirty minutes later he was!

Immediate thought — next time I need some peace and quiet again I will suggest a car ride to Cochrane for ice cream.

Day 4

Noticing a blind spot looking over my shoulder. Really like the small windows in the front by the A pillars, without them visibility would suck.

Day 5

Is there any such thing as too quiet? Got out of the car, with the keys in my pocket and forgot to hit the off switch to turn it off. Came out 15 minutes later to take out the recycling and realized it was still running — oops!

Day 8

Last day ... dropped the car off at Shaganappi in the morning. Think I’m really going to miss that peace and quiet!