Hensem gak keta baru aku.

Who says cars don't have genders? My Cinonet was a girl and my new Stream is definitely a dude! How do you decide on the gender? Well, scientifically there's no way to prove the car's sex. But once you start driving a certain car, you can feel the chemistry. You will bond with your car just like how you bond with your new boyfriend or newborn babies.

I could feel a rather hostile welcome from my new Stream when I first drove it. Until today, I still feel like we're making a big effort trying to adapt to each other - hence my decision on it's gender! Hahahaha!

This pic was taken after my Stream arrived at the car dealer, before I paid the down payment. This was the 'can-see-but-can't-drive' period. So sakit hati!

Man, this dude is looong. Surprisingly, parking is effortless even at the narrow spaces at Giant and Carrefour; and I'm talking about reverse and side parking here. My colleague suspected that there's some kind of intelligence built in the car electronic system that will assist the driver during parking. I've checked the manual but it doesn't mention such feature.

It's only a few centimeters wider than my Cinonet and slimmer than a Civic. Driving it is not much different than a normal Sedan car.

Simplicity is my way of life now. My first impression of this design was, 'Okay, definitely won't remind anybody of Transformers!' There's a hint of 80s design influence here, and I just love everything about that period (even the big hair and big shouldered blouses!)
Sun roof! Sun roof! Sun roof! Need I say more? But, more importantly it has the lightest power steering I've ever handled. It's even lighter than Cinonet's. I've yet to test drive the new Accord and Camry, so once I did I will update my opinion here. Wah, sudah jadi macam car review blog la pulak.

In terms of driving experience, don't expect it has the pick-up that Civic and Jazz could offer. I had to learn the word 'patient' when I first tried to floor the accelerator. 0 - 100 Km/h took forever. But once I was on the highway, the speed was smooth and the car felt stable all the way. The fastest I've driven so far is 130 Km/h - ye lah.... belum first service lagi la... agak ngeri jugak untuk memecut sesuka hati, ok.

So, the main question remains: why in the world did I change to a bigger car even after the petrol price hike?

In economical driving mode, the average l/100Km is 8.5 and it can fit 7 people!

My priceless moment was when the whole family boarded the Stream for the first time and my son said, 'Yeay, I have my own seat!'