Everyone needs a bit of Nana and Grandad time, so I decided to take Ava for a visit to see my parents. I loaded in my overnight bag – for some reason whenever we go to see my mum I end up taking far too much luggage with me. We travelled to Australia recently with less than what we take to mums for an overnight stay!
It took me about 15 minutes to pile everything into the car; Ava’s buggy, our bags, pressies, shopping, food and of course some of Ava’s favourite toys including her own toy buggie. Everything fit easily into the boot because the boot is huge! My parents loved the New Meriva – it’s very rare to get the whole Klass clan agreeing on something but they all loved the car. My dad walked around inspecting it exclaiming "my word" like dads always do!
The control panel is great – the built in sat nav is essential if you are not sure where you're going, but also you get to control everything from the wheel, the radio, cruise control, it’s all in front of you and you don’t need a degree in physics to work out how to use it.
Ava has a tendency in my other car to reach across and change the settings and radio stations with her foot, which is pretty distracting when you are driving. She can’t with the New Meriva because not only are the controls just the right distance away, with everything controlled from the steering wheel, I could play her favourite 'little mermaid' tracks repeatedly without any tears or tantrums!
Ava loved the fact that she could see more out of the window than in our other cars. (The New Meriva has a wave in the belt line, which means children or passengers in the back seats can see more out of the windows). It seems so obvious I’m surprised other cars haven’t done this, but it makes car journeys more enjoyable with kids because they're distracted by what’s happening outside and are less likely to start the ‘are we nearly there yet?’ chorus or in Ava's case, 'can I get down'?!
After a relaxing visit with the Klass clan, Ava and I headed home. It was still light so Ava could see the birds in the tress as we were driving along, (the SUNROOF extends over the whole roof of the car making it seem like it has a completely glass top). It makes the car feel really spacious and open- it’s the secret of this car. There's no feeling of claustrophobia and the window creates the same effect of 'the tardis' within the car!
Also the dashboard is pushed back in the front making the inside all the more spacious. It’s the little details that make this car amazing, the New Meriva really feels like it was designed by mummies!
Once it started to get dark, Ava suddenly said to me, ‘the stars, looks at the stars mama’ and I realised that she was looking up through the glass roof at the stars in the sky. That kept her rivited until she nodded off to sleep. Is it any wonder Ava calls the New Meriva ‘mama’s magic car’?