I don’t feel like writing a long post today … so today is going to be somewhat silly.
Meet Aaron.
He’s my baby. I know cars typically have girl names, but “Aaron” was my Dad’s idea. You see, I picked him up on December 12, 2012 (12/12/12) – which was Aaron Rodger’s day here in Wisconsin. Being a huge Green Bay Packer fan, it sounded as good a name as any. {2021 update: never name anything after a famous person; when you lose faith in them, then the name is stuck. My vehicle is now named “Lynn” – for Lynn Dickie who also wore #12).
He is a 2012 Kia Sportage. This is my first brand new car and my first SUV. There were less than 100 miles on it when I picked it up but I’m already up over 15,000! We’ve put a lot of miles on over the last year – or should I say 11 months?
My previous car was a Kia Amanti which I also loved, but they don’t make them anymore. Aaron isn’t quite as comfortable as the Amanti for long distances but it’s better than some other SUVs I’ve had the misfortune to ride in. Gas mileage, believe it or not, is better in the SUV than the sedan. I also love that I’m sitting up higher for a better view.
We had been looking at an SUV last year. We wanted one that was big enough it would pull our little 8′ pop-up camper. Papa’s old truck was good for hauling the camper, but with a child (and child seat) along with two adults and a dog, the single bench seat / normal-sized cab was just too crowded.
I also wanted a vehicle with better traction. Aaron came with all-wheel drive (AWD). We may not live very far out into the country – in fact, it’s only about 1/4 of a mile out to the highway, but it’s getting that short distance which could be a problem. Our street often doesn’t get plowed until 2 pm in the afternoon. That can be a problem for a sedan if you get more than a couple of inches of snow (ask my husband and his frustration with that in trying to pick up his wife and infant daughter from the hospital three years ago!)
Also, when they revamped the main intersection by the highway a few years ago, the section I have to use has a slight incline before you come to the stoplights. Ever try and use a sedan to drive uphill, when there’s a little bit of snow on the road (they never get it completely plowed off), starting from a complete stop?!? It’s not pretty. I drove around with a scratch in the bumper of the Amanti for years because I had to have Papa come and give me a push with his truck to get me through the intersection one year. Last year we had a similar snowfall. I came up to the intersection, watched a car struggle to get up over that incline, give up and turn around to go another way. Aaron and I breezed through just fine :).
Hmmm … I guess this ended up being a long post anyway!
