Got so many new toys these days, feels like Christmas, love it!

Both Vivian and I have been driving sedan ever since we got our drivers license back in teenage years, we have been wanting a larger SUV for the past year. Despite the raising gasoline price, we really like the feeling of higher seating position and the ability to haul more cargo of the SUVs. Especially since our business requires us to constantly shopping for house items or cargo paintings and things, a sedan's trunk space is just not enough. 

We first starting research in SUV last year and test drove the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne. I dragged Vivian into Land Rover dealership just so she'll learn how the Range Rover looks like, knowing the price, I never dreamed Vivian would agree to get one, but it doesn't hurt to window shop. What do you know, it was love at the very first sight! Vivian loved the interior of the Range Rover, especially comparing to that of Porsche Cayenne's dated interior and amenities (however, the Cayenne drove the best, the power, the sound, it is amazing!), the Range Rover interior was handsome, comfortable and very functional. Comparing to the BMW X5, Range Rover's air suspensions can lower the vehicle makes it easier to get in and out, which scored big points with Vivian. That was a year ago, and I can tell that she was intrigued...

For various reasons, we didn't get finalize on anything last year, then 2008 with the debut of the new BMW X6, I fell in love with its radical styling, and again, I dragged Vivian to the dealership to test drive the X6. Well, it is a BMW afterall, it had a lot of cool gadgets and the road feel was great; well, the "road feel" meant a heavier steering wheel, which was a no-no with the petite Vivian, who was breaking a sweat just turning the vehicle around in the dealer parking lot. X6 is cool, but I do have to admit, the sloped roofline in the back ate away a lot of trunk space, not very practical. So, we are back in the waiting pattern again...

Since last year, I would periodically check up on the news regarding Range Rover, and look up on Craigslist to see if there are any good deals with used ones. Well, the researches paid off, I found about the great year end deal (not really advertised) from Land Rover, which knocked off thousands from the MSRP. This time we moved on the opportunity, and a week later, I have this beautiful piece of machinery parked in front of our office!

It has only been two days since we got the Range Rover, I had to pick it up from the Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in Fresno, 155 miles away. I didn't mind, I was glad to test out the new ride. I like almost everything about the car, but there are few things that I thought could be improved:

Love it:

• Air suspension, lowering/raising the vehicle, very convenient to get in/out
• Smooth ride delivered by the huge wheels and again, the air suspensions
• Great visibility all around (especially compared to the small windows on the X6)
• Stereo system (700 watts delivered by 14 speakers!!)
• Turning radius (I can do donuts in tight spaces! the turning radius is actually smaller than my Acura TL!!)
• Bluetooth phone integration (not only it let's me to pair my iPhone with the car, the car actually pulls off the entire addressbook from my iPhone include the missed/dialed/received call info and display everyone on screen!)
• Quiet cabin (with 3-layer windows, it was very nice and quiet, even on the highway going 80 mph)

Not so hot:

• The navigation system is not very intuitive, while it is better than BMW's iDrive, it came short comparing to my Acura TL's nav system (which has one of the best navigation system in the industry)
• The touch screen control for the GPS/Audio/Phone is not very sensitive, I'd have to really push hard to get it to register the input, tiring
• Although the HSE version we got is V8 powered, 305 horses, the vehicle is almost 6000 lbs, and can feel a bit underpowered on the highway merging ramp. 

Lastly, it is funny to see Vivian drive the Range Rover, seeing the 5ft petite Vivian driving this big chunky SUV is quite a sight, but she is loving it!!

As a coffee fan, the worst part of every morning is having to dump out the staled coffee from the day before, wash the pot, replace the filter and wait for 10 minutes before taking a sip. Then when you go for the 2nd cup later, the pot you just made is already cold, or worse, it is bitter from being left on the warmer plate for too long; what a waste!!

That routine is history now, yeeaaa! I got a Breville Keurig Single Cup Brewer for the office, which I can choose from over 150 variety of coffee/cocoa/tea K-Cups (the single disposable filtered cups). Pop it in the Breville, and a minute later, volia! Instant gratification! Love it! Love it!

You might ask, isn't it more expensive to brew coffee this way? Well, as it turns out, it is actually cheaper. Each K-cup is about $0.42, compare to a Starbucks at $1.98 (grande coffee), and roughly $1 for the old 10-cup brewer. On top of being thrifty, it is one pretty piece of machinery too!