Life With Wagovan
WonderWagon
Band Wagon
so i haven't really posted in a bit, mostly due to a ton of work, and well... life. i normally drive around a different car, but since i got the wagon going, i have been driving it, alot.
i review cars and stuff for a web site i run and figured i should write a little about what it's like to own a wagovan, and drive it around in daily life. i know, technically mine's not a true wagovan, but it's my wagovan, and i dig it. moving on, i haul a ton of people around, and i do it often, and in my old car, it was always kind of tight. the wagon is much more spacious, especially given it's small size, and somehow it will still drag around 4 adults pretty comfortably, which is impressive, especially for it's age. it was built before small cars had to be big in side and give you every option conceivable. by comparison, this car is spartan, it doesn't even have cup holders. but despite this, it will snugly hold a variety of beverages between the seats and boxes of all sizes in the hatch.
what surprised me most about the car was not it's utilitarian function, but the way it drives. my shocks, i have discovered, are totally gone, and yet the wagon handles amazingly well. the steering is well weighted and precise, and the engine, even with the autotragic transmission, makes juuuuust enough power to make driving the car entertaining and rewarding, if you flog it. i also get stupid great gas mileage. i mean, who needs a hybrid when you can drive a wagovan. it's also cooler than a hybrid by a long shot. another cool thing was the a/c (no pun intended). before my compressor exploded, it had a monster a/c, though i totally felt the loss of power when i switched it on.
it's a fun car, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. it also makes me appreciate hondas a great deal. it does so much with so little. it lacks the simplistic elegance of a subaru, but it makes up for it by being a cartoonish caricature of a normal car. it's like honda had a sense of humor when they built it.
driving it to work every day, 40-50 mile trip one way, i have a few complaints, but nothing that makes me dislike it, mostly just quirks, that in their own way, make the car more interesting. like the transmission, for instance; it's geared like a 5 speed, but it's missing that last gear. so in 4th gear im buzzing around 3 grand at highway speeds. or the drivers seat. it's not as wretched as the seats (any of them) in the 2006 vw jetta, but really not the seat i'd choose for a long trip. i also don't like how i have to grab my key every time i want to open the hatch from the back.
but there's some weird quirks that i DO like, like the little "pong" sound the gas door makes to let me know it's open, or how when i drive it appears that im sitting on the pavement, because all traces of the hood are invisible from the drivers seat. it's like driving a go kart wagon. im also fond of the gauges, so easy to read, if not a tad inaccurate. and the stereo has a pleasant and soothing teal glow to it, which if i didn't want a cd player so bad i would be more than happy to leave alone. im also fond of how flexible the interior space is, what with the flip folding seats and all. i even dig the automatic seat belts, very cool and sort of a relic of when cars were weird and that was normal.
all in all i find myself loving my nifty little wagon more and more every day, and im very pleased with my purchase and feel that my hard work paid off, and that of my more experienced mechanic friends, as well.
i would really recommend this car for anyone who wants a cool car, that's not a ferrari, but probably as much fun to thrash. it's great for young families, but also great for someone looking to build a tuner car. it really shines for people who dont normally "do the honda thing" it's not like driving a regular civic, or integra, it's different, and special in a way that i cant really put my finger on, and honestly, wouldn't want to. it just feels right. if you're reading this and your on the fence about getting a wagovan, just get it, you'll thank yourself later, honest ^_^
i review cars and stuff for a web site i run and figured i should write a little about what it's like to own a wagovan, and drive it around in daily life. i know, technically mine's not a true wagovan, but it's my wagovan, and i dig it. moving on, i haul a ton of people around, and i do it often, and in my old car, it was always kind of tight. the wagon is much more spacious, especially given it's small size, and somehow it will still drag around 4 adults pretty comfortably, which is impressive, especially for it's age. it was built before small cars had to be big in side and give you every option conceivable. by comparison, this car is spartan, it doesn't even have cup holders. but despite this, it will snugly hold a variety of beverages between the seats and boxes of all sizes in the hatch.
what surprised me most about the car was not it's utilitarian function, but the way it drives. my shocks, i have discovered, are totally gone, and yet the wagon handles amazingly well. the steering is well weighted and precise, and the engine, even with the autotragic transmission, makes juuuuust enough power to make driving the car entertaining and rewarding, if you flog it. i also get stupid great gas mileage. i mean, who needs a hybrid when you can drive a wagovan. it's also cooler than a hybrid by a long shot. another cool thing was the a/c (no pun intended). before my compressor exploded, it had a monster a/c, though i totally felt the loss of power when i switched it on.
it's a fun car, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. it also makes me appreciate hondas a great deal. it does so much with so little. it lacks the simplistic elegance of a subaru, but it makes up for it by being a cartoonish caricature of a normal car. it's like honda had a sense of humor when they built it.
driving it to work every day, 40-50 mile trip one way, i have a few complaints, but nothing that makes me dislike it, mostly just quirks, that in their own way, make the car more interesting. like the transmission, for instance; it's geared like a 5 speed, but it's missing that last gear. so in 4th gear im buzzing around 3 grand at highway speeds. or the drivers seat. it's not as wretched as the seats (any of them) in the 2006 vw jetta, but really not the seat i'd choose for a long trip. i also don't like how i have to grab my key every time i want to open the hatch from the back.
but there's some weird quirks that i DO like, like the little "pong" sound the gas door makes to let me know it's open, or how when i drive it appears that im sitting on the pavement, because all traces of the hood are invisible from the drivers seat. it's like driving a go kart wagon. im also fond of the gauges, so easy to read, if not a tad inaccurate. and the stereo has a pleasant and soothing teal glow to it, which if i didn't want a cd player so bad i would be more than happy to leave alone. im also fond of how flexible the interior space is, what with the flip folding seats and all. i even dig the automatic seat belts, very cool and sort of a relic of when cars were weird and that was normal.
all in all i find myself loving my nifty little wagon more and more every day, and im very pleased with my purchase and feel that my hard work paid off, and that of my more experienced mechanic friends, as well.
i would really recommend this car for anyone who wants a cool car, that's not a ferrari, but probably as much fun to thrash. it's great for young families, but also great for someone looking to build a tuner car. it really shines for people who dont normally "do the honda thing" it's not like driving a regular civic, or integra, it's different, and special in a way that i cant really put my finger on, and honestly, wouldn't want to. it just feels right. if you're reading this and your on the fence about getting a wagovan, just get it, you'll thank yourself later, honest ^_^
Comments
after some more relaxed driving it appears im getting ~40mpg. plus or minus a couple mpg here and there. this thing gets better every day
the new seat cover seems to be holding up well, but soon i'll have a new seat, and some body colored bumpers!