My 16-year-old clothes dryer finally bit the dust a couple of weeks ago.
After hanging the clothes all around the house for a few days, we decided it was a much better idea to buy a new dryer. There are a whole lot more options today than there was 16 years ago, and it would appear the new washers and dryers are to women what big screen TVs are to men.
They are the bling for the laundry room. You can get them in pretty much any colour to match any shade of lipstick or any hue of shoe. They also cost individually as much as a nice plasma TV and you can even get models that each cost the same as a nice LED TV.
When people come to your house for a visit some people will bring the guests into the laundry room to show them the latest accessory for the home. Some people have even been known to throw laundry room parties to celebrate the addition of the new appliances.
All washers and dryers used to have several settings but now there are more settings than you can shake a wet blanket at.
The same can be said for vehicles these days, especially SUVs.
At one time the SUV was the new bling of the auto world, and at times it still can be, but now what you have is the bling on the inside of the SUV.
And much like the laundry room, these machines come with a multitude of options and more gadgets than you may need, but you will want them anyway.
Because, no matter how much you use these gadgets and options, it is always nice to show them to your friends.
The KIA Sorento I drove this week had leather, two-tone power-heated seats with power windows, power moonroof and AC. But these are not bling enough these days, and so, in keeping with this theme, KIA provided the bling everyone seems to want these days - whether they need it or not - the dash-mounted navigation system with Bluetooth, voice-activated, hands-free phone and integrated back-up camera.
This is bling like the diamond set into the gold tooth, or the Hublot Black Caviar Bang watch with the Armani tuxedo. You can get navigation systems that sit in a holder that is stuck to your window, but you can also get a Timex at the dollar store. Both work, but they are not the same as the one factory installed, with the voice activation and the bluetooth, the satellite radio, the back-up camera and the DVD player built in.
The Sorento also came with something more manufacturers are starting to install now, and that is a panoramic skylight as well as a power moonroof.
But what is the use of all this bling if you have a puny body trying to carry it. It just doesn't work. So KIA has built the new Sorento with a stiffer suspension and a more powerful V6 engine. It is like bling on Amy Winehouse as opposed to Mariah Carey or bling on Flavor Flav as opposed to Jay Z - they just can't carry it off.
But the big V6 power in the Sorento certainly does the bling justice. In fact the 276 horsepower engine is a bit of bling unto itself. Mated to a six-speed manumatic transmission, the Sorento is a fast SUV. Doing 90 in third gear and hitting the gas gets you a punch in the chest that you wouldn't have expected, and the stiffer suspension and 18-inch rims add up to a tight ride. The Sorento handles more like a car than an SUV.
There is also plenty of room in the second row, with reclining seats, and in the back as well. In here there is a huge under-the-floor storage compartment, and with the seats down, I bet I could have fit at least my new washer. I may have possibly got both of them in there.
I forgot to mention, I couldn't just buy a new dryer, as it wouldn't match with the old washer. I had to get a new washer as well.
It is no good having one blue shoe and one red shoe, unless you are a high jumper that is.
So I had to get two blue shoes.
This new Sorento is a step ahead of the previous version in many ways. It offers the power, the space, the ride and the bling to make you king.
KIA Sorento
5-door SUV
6-speed manumatic
3.5 litre V6
Horsepower 276 @ 6,300
Torque 248 @ 5,000
Mileage: 11.1 l/100 km 25 mpg City 8 l/100km 36 mpg Hwy
Price $40,945
