I was so excited to go up north I wanted to leave well before sunrise. I planned to pack my bags into the car the night before, set my alarm, wake up immediately, check the forecast and be on my way so I could go kayaking in Noosa’s Everglades.
Then I was told my bedroom could be painted that morning and my entire itinerary was ruined but I was so happy, not only was I going away for an holiday – I was going to come home to a freshly painted bedroom.
I spent the morning packing my belongings away and left a little later than planned… the drive was as beautiful as the destination- I saw pine tree forests, gum tree forests, rivers, rolling hills and more farms than I could count. Sadly when I arrived at the Everglades the water was rough and it was windy, it would have been unpleasant to go kayaking so I changed my plan again and decided to take a scenic route to the farm, I had never been through the Glass House Mountains before but it was something I’d always wanted to see. So I went.
There was a 250m tall mountain and the hike looked more like a scramble. On my maps it appeared there was a road on a smaller parallel mountain but it turned out to be a bare dirt road. I couldn’t resist the idea of the potential view from up there. I thought there would be clearing after clearing after the first one but that was all I got! The first clearing was the only one, but it was absolutely epic! It was lucky because the rest of the land was so thick with bush it was dark on the track.
The Mitsi handles great, over all sorts of roads. As soon as I hit that dirt road the car detected a change in terrain and prompted me to turn on the gravel AWD function and I felt plenty of grip given the dusty, loose surface of the road and the steep angle. I was climbing!
I feel safe in this car. I’d even go as far to say it feels like it’s looking after me while I’m driving it. It automatically turned on it’s lights in the forest, something I didn’t think of myself driving through the darkness in the middle of the day, but this is a very receptive car. Very intuitive.
The car looks gorgeous but at first I was hesitant about having two rear windows instead of one. I quickly relaxed when I realised my visibility was no worse than in a conventional car. Smartphone connectivity was quick and easy. I immediately felt connected to the wheel, the throttle is responsive and the gearbox is quick though the changes for a smooth ride.
The suspension in this car is on the softer side so it excels on imperfect roads. There is some body roll on the faster turns but the car feels firmly planted on all 4 wheels.
Even though I didn’t make it to where I’d originally intended, I got to see some really special places and I had an amazing time anyway. It just goes to show that sometimes life is about the ride, not the destination.
