Halloween at the speed of Dragula..
“Dig through the ditches and
Burn through the witches I
Slam (the dog) in the back of my
Dragula.“
C’mon. Like you didn’t know I had to do it sooner or later.
Well, I have at least three people I know of that are considering buying / test driving the Murano. I’m sure they’re breathless awaiting an update.
Point Number One: The dog loves it, but he wishes he had a window that opened. Having said that, he’s still getting out and about much more frequently now that he’s got an easy access point and a space to his own. Chalk one up for a happy puppy.
Point Number Two: My mileage has been slipping ever since I got stuck on stupid city streets. According to the Calgary Sun, there are 113.5 new cars added to the streets of Calgary each and every day. That’s absolutely stupid considering how bad traffic problems are already. Hurray for a city that sprawls and doesn’t do a thing to stem the tide until it’s far beyond too late. Mileage has dropped to 12.5 L / 100 km or 22.6 mpg or 18.8 miles-per-yankee-gallon. This ‘drop’ in mileage is exclusively due to idling in bumper to bumper city traffic.
A side note: This corresponds very well with the discrepancies between the EPA numbers and real life driving noted by FiveCentNickel here.
Point Number Three: I’m a more fuel-efficient driver than my lady-love. Sorry, darling. Onboard computers don’t lie. Try to corner more smoothly. And start hitting your apexes!
Point Number Four: I had my first scare with a mechanical failure. Last week, the release on the inside of KA’s door stopped working. I had a small panicky moment thinking about taking it in to Nissan for servicing. Crisis was fortunately averted. Dad is unfamiliar with this newfangled technology known as Child Protection Locks. Well, they sure as hell never put them on a 1980 Mustang!
Point Number Five: Speaking of technology, I finally got my first feel of All Wheel Drive. The snow came last Sunday and the roads turned to bedlam. We’ve got the all-season tires on there (and I rather doubt that will change this year). My experience with it was WONDERFUL.
I was following a guy in a rear-wheel drive car up the hill. Granted, I would have had a hard time up the hill in the Mustang. In the Murano, it really was, “Git ‘er on up there and don’t miss the corner when ya make the top.“ The pick up in it is an incredible feeling - it grips where I’d have to tiptoe. It slides a little back and forth when the wheels are adjusting to finding traction and I’m far from used to the finer nuances of driving an AWD vehicle.
What I don’t like is the braking. There’s more mass to stop than I’m used to and it’s substantially more difficult for me on ice. For the love of ghod, people, stop doing stupid things in front of me like… oh… DRIVING WITHOUT BRAKE LIGHTS.
I remain a huge detractor of ABS. My first experience of ABS was sliding through a four way stop. My first winter experience with ABS on the Murano was sliding through a three way stop going down the hill I had just driving up without difficulty half an hour earlier. And it’s not a big hill by any means. Three serious doubts remained heightened to me: The extra stopping distance required, the complete abstraction of feel of the road, and the concerns about durability of the braking system as a whole. I do not believe there are any compelling benefits to having ABS at all on most passenger cars.
All in all, I think we’re both pleased with Dragula. Now to get the Knight Rider lights embedded behind the grill….