About a car

It's been close to 2 months since I got my new set of wheels so I guess it's probably high-time I blog about it.

Our decision to buy the new facelifted Mitsubishi Grandis did not stem from immediate necessity. In fact, you could say it was an impulse buy after test-driving it one Saturday but one based on what we felt was extremely good value.

Being a full-fledged 7-seater rather than a 5+2, the Grandis's closest comparison in terms of wheel-base and engine size would be the 2.4 litre Toyota Estima. Having said that, the latter costs at least an extra 40%. The facelifted model also comes with a nice-looking set of 17" rims with low-profile tyres and an 8" LCD monitor.

Cool eh? But we haven't used it much since we don't want Nat to get hooked on it.

But what clinched the deal for me was the 5-year manufacturer's warranty and 3-year free maintenance. Yes, call me a paranoid but I'd rather be safe than sorry. My trusty CR-V was still in tip-top shape but age was catching up. It was close to 8 years old and the thought of being bogged down with future expensive repair bills was not a pleasant one.

Since it was year-end when we placed our booking, we insisted on getting a 2008-registered car so agreed to wait till end February for one. However, a glitch in their system extended the delivery by another month. Was a little annoyed at that but all was forgotten when I finally received my keys.

Here's the verdict:-
Pros:

• Easy to manouvre and good turning radius despite it's size and length. I've had no problems parking it and that goes for parallel parking as well.
• All-round visibility (extremely important for me as I hate blind spots).
• Adequately powered even when carrying a full load although the pick-up isn't all that fast. Whaddaya expect? It's no sports car.
  
• Handling is crisp although the steering feel is rather bland (this comes from Hubby and I'll be darned if I understood what he means by 'crisp' and 'bland'. He did say that it under-steers a little but I think it's rather responsive).
• The hardness of the suspension is well balanced. Although my experience suggests that the suspension will "soften" over time, offering a more comfortable ride.
• Surprisingly, the car does not roll when turning corners.
• Fuel consumption not too bad for a 2.4-litre engine. Town-use 480km on a full-tank but when we brought it back to Ipoh, it went up to 520km.
• Extremely stable at high speeds. Hubby has pushed it to the end of the speedo (180kmph) even with 7 adults, a toddler and a full boot and we barely felt the speed.
• Comfort is adequately provided but the driver and front passenger seats are certainly more cushy than the rest. Legroom at the back rows are ample. Then again, we hardly have long legs.
• Multiple seat configurations for convenient expansion.
• Has a flat floor so that passengers can walk through the middle of the car from front to 2nd row and left to right or vice versa albeit the space is tighter than my old CR-V.
• Other noteworthy features: 6 speakers, glass antenna, individual reading lights and air-cond vents at each row with rear control, and plenty of storage space (cool stow-away trays inclusive) and hidden compartments.

Cons:

• No cruise control
• It's embarassing to sound the horn.
• Back passenger doors are swing-type, not sliding.
• Black interior a bit hard to maintain. I would have preferred grey as the dust would easily blend in. So this means I have to keep it clean at all times.
• The service centre is so far from where we live. Bummer!

Roomy!

All in all, the Grandis is a very good balance between practicality, function and looks. We highly recommend it to anyone looking for an MPV. For me, it was definitely worth the 5-month wait!

White is the new black

Family expansion

Lest any of you think I'm pregnant again, let me correct any misconceptions by saying that hubby and I were proud to welcome our new sister-in-law into the Toh clan last Saturday.

Both bride and groom looked truly joyful (don't you agree), oblivious to the fact that they were about to sign away their freedom. SIL was especially radiant in her brand new outfit and lovely hand-bouquet.

Bachelors and their nieces

Point of no return

Apart from the fact that I've gained another SIL, I'm also thrilled that I'm now closely related to one of my dearest friends (new SIL's big sis) whom I've known for seventeen years. Yes, I've known my new SIL since she was in primary school but never thought that we would be married to two boys (oops, I meant men) from the same family.


Oh, by the way, this was only the civil wedding. Full-blown ceremony upcoming in November, so stay tuned.

The Night I Scared My Daughter Out of Her Wits

It started out as just another ordinary bedtime routine for Nat. She was frolicking about on the bed with the lights down low. I left her to tire herself out and went into the bathroom for my face-cleansing ritual. I had just purchased a new face pack from the pharmacy so decided to try that out too.

After applying the neem and turmeric concoction, I thought of chatting with Nat whilst allowing it to set in. Upon emerging from the bathroom, I was met with a look of sheer terror from Nat. Tears instantly sprang from her eyes and she started screaming and crying hysterically. I kept telling her "It's Mama, it's Mama!" but my cries fell on deaf ears as she retreated from me with every advance I made. The thought that my masked face would scare her really hadn't crossed my mind at all before that!

It was a good half a minute before she let me take hold of her and only calmed down when I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". All that time, I was feeling so bad for traumatising her so I knew I had to show her that it was really me underneath the gunk lest she develops an unfounded fear of the dark or being left alone in the room. I could have easily gone to wash the mask off and then come back with a clean face but what if she couldn't make the connection and thought that a dark-faced stranger had come to attack her in my absence? So instead, I took her into the bathroom with me (looking in the mirror, even I had a slight shock at the 'Orang Minyak' gazing back at me, so scary was my reflection), sat her down on the closed toilet bowl and made her watch me remove the mask.

Mid-wash, she appeared to have already gotten over the big scare she had and was fiddling with the toilet flush (yes, her attention span is short indeed!) but it still didn't relieve me of the guilt. The guilt that I've been feeling till today. Mama's so sorry, my dear darling!