Impressions of the drive home

Well, i put 615 miles on my new salsa #9 driving it home yesterday, and while i am not the technical expert that Evan or others are, i can share some anecdotal impressions of my experiences with various parts of the car. if anybody knows how to improve any of the areas i note i would change, please let me know!

Smart entry/smart start - love this feature. how cool is it to walk up to the car and have it unlock. also like the thoughtfully placed lock buttons. however it would be neat if the car locked itself as we walked away from it, a feature of many anti-theft systems. still, works as advertised, and very convenient, especially since it includes the rear hatch.

Seats - i found the seats very comfy, with plenty of support, but then i am 'average' height (5'8") and without adjustability, which is obviously lacking, i could see this being a problem for others. i have some back problems, but i drove for 10 hours yesterday and have no major issues today.

Sound system - i have to agree with others on the board that the sound system is disappointing, though since i mainly listen to spoken word and comedy, this will not be a big issue for me. i particularly like the 6 disc changer. i like that you can fill all or any of the slots or use it as a single player if you wish. i carry about 50 discs in the car at a time, so it's not like 6 holds all i want. in my lexus RX300, to put one disc in, you had to fumble with a cartridge, find an empty slot, take out the cd holder, make sure you put it back the right way (no easy task) and put the cartridge in the player. that was awful.

Nav system- this worked great, once i realized (after about 100 miles) that it was trying to take me back to WV because the dealer had programmed in their location as destination #1. once i deleted that, it took me home with the identical directions as mapquest, and it was really neat to watch. there is a learning curve to all the features, but that will make it really functional once it's done.

Climate control - excellent, no further comment needed

Road manners - i thought the car rode and handled great. i had it on cruise control at 76 mph most of the way and i thought it held the road really well, though of course i did get some wind pushing when passing a truck that was also really moving, but no big deal.

Interior cloth- i have concerns about the light colored cloth. i gave it all a good coat of scotchguard, including the carpet. in particular, the fabric on the center arm rest is BOUND to get dirty, though from several posts, it apparently also has a tendency to come off, so maybe i won't have to worry that much about it.

Mileage - i got about 41 on my first tankful, which was up and down the hills of WV. second tank is averaging 44.5, so on my way up.

all in all, a great experience and i love the car!

 

i managed to outrun manny...

 

have a great long island adventure. we are actually escaping the island for a weekend in new hope, PA.

allow extra time for your travels around the island, especially east-west (the brooklyn/west islip run) as traffic has been absolutely horrendous the past few weeks for reasons i can't understand other than just plain big volume...

 

luckily for me, i did not have to brake hard at all during the ride home. i say luckily because i don't think i would have thought twice before doing it, if the situation arose.