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Daddy, How Do You Grow Up?

May 3, 2014 at 3:11 pm , by

3 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

There are some questions, as your dad, I can just not be prepared for.

On the way home from school last week, you asked a very logical question:

“Daddy, how do you grow up?”

While you’re still fuzzy on my actual age (you think I’m 4 years old), you do understand that eventually, you’ll grow up to be as tall as I am.

So I answered your question the way any dad would in that situation:

“Well, you just have to keep going to sleep every night… and each morning when you wake up, you’ll be just a little bit bigger.”

What’s interesting about the timing of your question is that we just happened to be driving one of the smallest cars on the road:

I was doing a review of the 2014 Fiat 500 at the time.

Maybe that’s what made you think of it; you were feeling so big in such a small car.

The questions have continued since then.

A few days later as I was helping you put on your shoes before we left for school, you asked, “Daddy, will these shoes get bigger when I grow up?”

I wish.

I can see you’re definitely fascinated by the process of physically growing bigger. In hindsight, I really don’t know that I could have answered your original question any better than I did.

Without getting all scientific, I think it really is that simple.

You go to sleep, you wake up, you’re a little bit bigger the next day.

I’m assuming my answer was best suited for a 3 year-old little boy like yourself.

Since then, I’ve heard you proudly explain to Mommy that the more you go to sleep at night, the sooner you’ll grow up.

It may be a coincidence, but I feel like here recently, you’ve put up less of a fight when it’s time for a nap or bedtime.

Hmm… I wonder why.

 

Love,

Daddy

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Family Friendly Car Review: 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV

Welcome to this week’s family friendly car review! I am Nick Shell, the daddy blogger of Parents.com’s The Dadabase, but on the side, I review cars.

This week’s featured vehicle is the 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV, America’s best-selling entry hatch, which makes the first Nissan vehicle I have ever driver or even ridden in.

Nissan Versa Note

Because I just reviewed the Fiat 500 a few weeks ago, I kept being reminded of it as I drove the Versa. So what I would like to do in my family friendly car review of the 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV is to show what differences I noticed.

The Versa is slightly larger than the Fiat 500; noticeable in the backseat, not to mention the Versa has 4 doors as opposed to just 2.

So obviously, it’s easier for an adult to fit in the back seat of Versa. The trunk of a Versa is also slightly larger than the Fiat 500; but not by a whole lot.

Despite this, the Versa gets slightly better gas mileage: The Versa averages 35, while the Versa averages 32.

However, the Fiat 500 costs nearly $3000 more than the Versa; not to mention, the Fiat will cost you an extra $400 in fuel annually.

I will say that the Fiat 500 definitely felt like it had more “get up and go.” That would probably explain the slightly better gas mileage in the Versa.

However, the Versa came with cooler accessories.

The radio on the Fiat 500 was extremely minimal; not having a screen for SiriusXM. Plus, it had no cameras.

That’s where the Versa really impressed me: its visibility.

Nissan Versa Note car review

It is so easy to see in the Versa. While the Fiat has a blind spot so bad on the driver’s side there is a special mirror to compensate for it, the Versa has no blind spots.

Additionally, the Versa comes with the coolest rearview camera, and something they call the Around View Monitor, which is awesome: It’s basically like having an aerial view of the car, so you can literally see all around you. Very cool and innovative!

So, bottom line, both the Nissan Versa and the Fiat 500 are fun cars, but it just depends on what matters most to you:

The Nissan Versa is better on gas, has better visibility, has slightly more room, has better visibility, and costs less.

Meanwhile, the Fiat 500 feels like it has more power and definitely has a unique look to set you apart on the road.

2014 car review Nissan Versa Note

Here are the stats:

2014 Nissan Versa Note SV

Mechanical & Performance:

1.6 Liter DOHC 16-Valve 4-Cylinder Engine

Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)

Front and Rear Stabilizer Bars

Power-Assisted Vented Front Disc/Rear Drum Brakes

15” Steel Wheels w/Full Wheel Covers

Active Grille Shutter

Other Features:

Divide-n-Hide Adjustable Floor

NissanConnect w/Navigation System

Around View Monitor

Nick Shell Nissan Versa Note

Government Safety Testing Pending.

Fuel Economy:

31 city/40 highway: 35 combined

Annual Fuel Cost: $1500

Total Price As Shown: $19,545.00

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Family Friendly Car Review: 2014 Fiat 500 Sport Hatchback

When I pulled into the parking spot of our townhouse, after our 1st drive in the 2014 Fiat 500 Sport Hatchback, my 3 and a half year-old son proclaimed, “Daddy, this is the first day with this new car… and I already love it!”

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

For the past couple of days now, he’s had a lot of fun being close enough to grab the front passenger’s seatbelt, announcing, “Hey Daddy, I got the toilet paper!”

Why wouldn’t a little boy love a Fiat 500? It’s one of the coolest cars he’s ever seen, like it’s from Mario Kart Wii. And here in Nashville, we don’t see a lot of them on the road, despite the fact I work right down the road from the Fiat dealership.

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

It has been interesting how my thoughts on the Fiat 500, which is part of the Chrysler group, has so quickly changed since  first test driving it. On day one, I was sort of paranoid of how unsafe I assumed the small car is. I also assumed it had no real power.

But by day three, I realized I actually really liked driving the thing. It’s truly a lot of fun. Turns out, it has much more power than I realized. Whereas I thought I’d be struggling to keep up with the speed limit, instead, I keep going 10 miles over the limit before realizing it.

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

As for the safety concern, I was definitely surprised to see that compared to the Toyota Tacoma I just reviewed, the Fiat 500 actually earned the same overall government safety rating: four stars.

But what possibly surprised me the most about this car is how much room it has, despite how it looks.

It made me think of how on the classic 1980s Smurfs cartoon, their house appeared to be the size of a mushroom, but once the Smurfs went inside, it was very size-appropriate to their bodies.

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

Granted, at 5’9” and weighing 142 pounds, I’m not a particularly large man, but still, I am able to fit in the trunk of the Fiat!

More importantly, while sitting in the driver’s seat, the top of my head clears the ceiling of the car by over 3 inches.

I was extremely surprised to discover that I can sit in the back seat, directly behind the driver’s seat with it still in place from me sitting there a moment before, and there is room for my legs.

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

So in theory, four men my size could fit into a Fiat 500, plus one more in the trunk!

I’m actually bummed I have to return this car next Tuesday. It really is a lot of fun.

That’s my opinion, here are the stats…

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

Government Vehicle Safety Ratings: Out of 5 Stars

Overall Vehicle Score 4

Frontal Crash- Driver 4, Passenger 3

Side Crash- Front Seat 5, Rear Seat 5

Rollover 4

Fuel Economy: 30city/34 highway; 32 combined

Annual Fuel Cost: $1,900

2014 Fiat 500 Family Friendly Car Review

Standard Equipment:

Engine: 1.4 Liter 14 Multi-Air Engine

Transmission: AISIN 6-Speed Automatic

Total Price as Shown: $22,200