This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.
UPDATE: there's now a giveaway attached to this post! (Yay for you guys!) See below for details...
When I was asked to test-drive the new Mitsubishi iMiev, the first thing I noticed was how forthcoming my husband was with advice.
This may have started when I verbalised my intention to lead-foot the car around the Albert Park racing circuit...
'No,' he said. 'It's a 40 zone right around there.' Oh. Boo. I'm not known for my ability to drive slowly, so this was going to be harder than I thought.
'And,' he continued, 'You're going to be freaked out by this electric car thing.'
'Why?' I asked. 'Because I can't go fast in it?' (I have a one-track mind when it comes to driving.)
'Well there's that,' he admitted. 'But the other thing is that it'll be silent.'
'What? You mean really quiet?'
'No. No noise. At all. Completely silent. They said so on Top Gear.'
'How odd.' But in all honesty, I was still thinking of the 40kph speed limit (as I tried to remove the image of the short guy off Top Gear's weird hair from my mind). Would they increase that for me so I could really test-drive this thing?
'No.' Hey? How could Steve tell what I was thinking? I guess I'm more predictable than I like to believe.
But don't they know who I am?
'No.' Oh, shut up and stop reading my mind.
He laughed. And then reminded me I still had to learn how to do the car-seat. Suddenly, with all the talk of driving slowly and car-seats and rules and blah-blah-blah this was becoming like... like... work or something.
I did it anyway (and it was fun!). I test drove this little all-electric car - the first in Australia - and even stuck to the speed limit. Steve was right, the silence of the car did freak me out. I turned the key and sat there wondering what the trick to starting it was, when the lady from Mitsubishi told me I had already started it. Oh.
It didn't feel weird after a few minutes of driving though - probably because I talk more when I drive than any other time in my life, so once I started it sounded the same as any other car. Chatty.
One thing playing on my mind was answered during the test-drive. I mean, this is a small car and it's quite expensive to buy (the technology being so new) and if it has any appeal to families it would be as a second car to zip around in. So, why get mum bloggers to drive it?
It became apparent that this is all about giving the technology some publicity. In the next few years, I was told we'll see electric cars come down in price and become available in bigger sized cars that will appeal to different buyers. It will be a big change for all of us to get our heads around. Looking at it from that perspective, I was really interested in what the future holds for this technology.
It really is amazing - cheap to run and with more power than you'd imagine.
But next time I'll really test that power...
*
On another note...
Any company that goes out of its way to accommodate families has my tick of approval.
When I was approached to attend the blogger outreach event my first question was, 'Is the event child-friendly?' Because as many of you know, I'm working part-time in an office at the moment - and missing my little girl like crazy - so any days off equate to time I want to spend with her.
The event wasn't child-friendly and so I declined, a little disappointed but still happy with my decision. You can imagine then, how happy I was to hear back from them again with a question, 'Can you come the following morning with your daughter and her car-seat and do the test-drive?' Um, YES!
Thank you Mitsubishi and Nuffnang for going to the effort of accommodating me. It's very much appreciated.
*
Giveaway time!
The good people at Mitsubishi want to give you a little present. You could win a gift pack valued at $200, containing:
· Tielka Tea - Earl Grey Royale and China Breakfast (FT, CO, AUS, PF)
· Gunbower Creek – Extra Virgin Olive Oil (O, AUS, PF)
· Heavenly Delights – Lemon Shortbread (O, AUS, PF)
· Port Willunga Fine Foods – Gourmet Snack Pack (O, AUS, PF)
· Lindsay & Edmunds – Sweet Tooth Gift Pack (FT, CO, AUS, PF)
· Sleep Sanctuary - Relaxing Bath Soak (O, AUS, PF)
· Siham Craftlink – Hemp Loufah (O, AUS, PF)
· Mokosh Organic and Fairtrade skin care – 2x bath bombs (FT, CO, AUS, PF)
· Gunbower Creek – Olieve handmade packaged soaps (O, AUS, PF)
· Pure and Green Organics – Citrus with Coffee Exfoliate (CO, V, PA, AUS, PF)
· Gunbower Creek – Body Butter (O, AUS, PF)
(FT – Fair Trade, CO – Certified Organic, AUS – Australian made and/or owned, PF – Palm Oil Free, O – Organic, V – Vegan Friendly, PA – Planet Ark approved)
To enter, just leave a comment (seeing as the giveaway started after some comments have been made, I won't put restrictions on what the comments should be about to enter - but perhaps you could tell us about your one big question when it comes to cars?)
Giveaway only open to Australian residents. Closes on October 25th 2011 at 5pm, AEDST. Good luck!
Full terms and conditions are listed here
16 comments:
Wow, that sounds like alot of fun! I wonder if my blog will be able to reach out like that. Most of the people I know don't even know I write or blog, even though I've told them a thousand times x.x Glad you had so much fin and I hope you find more things to do with your daughter. dreamchasersdiaries.blogspot.com
So good of them to accommodate you! Sounds like it was a great experience though the silence might have been a little freaky to me as well!
That is so nice to hear Megan, about the family friendly bit I mean. And what a cool concept for a car! I am not a car person at all, as long as it gets from a to b, but that said driving a funky new one would be huge fun.
heehee it sounded "chatty" boo to the speed limit though I thought you were going to do it Top Gear style~ you know how celebrities come on and try and get the fastest time?~ like that
how awesome to let you bring your girl with you! thats cool!
Good on you Nuffnang - and you, 'leadfoot' Megan.
:-)
I'm so excited about the new technology becoming available. Can't wait until it's affordable!
How wonderful that they let you testdrive it. It looked like loads of fun
Um, biggest question about cars for me is "will it break down if I forget to put petrol in it AGAIN?"
Answer with this car: No.
I'm sold!
Go the electric car! Would Mitsubishi like me to test drive it too!
All I ask from a car is that I don't have to bend down too much putting both children in and getting them out!!
Yes, words only a Mum would speak.
This is amazing! Does it fit 3 car seats?
No seriously, this would be a great little second car for a family. I often drive just for the peace it brings, but this sounds like heaven ... a car with NO NOISE. Bliss! Talk about walking lightly on the Earth.
My questions when considering a car usually relate to fitting in carseats and having enough boot space for a pram and grocery shopping. Alas - I don't think this one will 'cut the mustard' with 4 kids! Electric people mover on the cards at Mitsubishi...?
Nice giveaway! I look forward to the future when the prices are more accessible. Hope Mitsubishi are working on a flying car too :)
We were looking at getting a new family car earlier in the year to replace our current 14yo station wagon. When we were looking, I was interested in fuel economy, price of replacement parts and whether there was room for three growing children in the back seat. The kids were most interested in knowing whether they would have their own cup holders (obviously my pragmatic nature has not been passed down to my children).
sadly, other bills have taken precidence and we still have our old station wagon. Maybe by the time we can afford to replace it, electric car technology would have reduced in price enough for us to consider it an option.
I don't drive. Do you think I should go get a driver's licence so I can try these electric cars??
all about the kids. can i fit my car seats and pram in easily? these cars look great for small jobs without the whole family.
Having just purchased my first ever brand spanking new car a month ago our biggest question was could it fit both our girls car seats in the back and a stroller in the boot! I was also interested in fuel economy given the price of petrol these days! Loving my new car and that new car smell ;-)
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