It starts pretty early in the a.m. I always use the keyless entry -- pretty spiffy for a $18,794 subcompact hatchback -- to get in. Once I'm sitting in the pretty-nice-for-cloth driver's seat, I think to myself, "This is how you construct a supportive yet comfortable seat." The bottom is soft but not so soft that I'm sinking in; the seatback has a pleasing firmness for better propping of the torso; and the side bolsters offer surprising lateral support, yet aren't so thick as to affect ingress/egress. I've sat in this seat for many long trips and haven't had a problem. Nowadays in the auto review biz, we're encountering more and more seat bases that are too hard, which is potentially helpful for a heavyset driver but also puts more pressure (and discomfort) on the ol' behind.

Occasionally, the infotainment system acts weird and refuses to play Pandora through my iPhone, which I plug into the adapter cable. Closing and re-launching the app usually fixes the issue. Next order of business: It takes 3-4 minutes for SiriusXM Traffic to load onto the navigation map. The live traffic updates don't preload, meaning you have to get past the navi's opening disclaimer screen (some legal mumbo-jumbo about how using the nav system is dangerous when the car is moving) before the 3-4 minute countdown begins.

Outside of my neighborhood, I need to steer the car from a T-intersection onto a 45-mph road, though the locals appear to set their own speed limits. If the flow of traffic calls for a quick burst into my lane, I have to remember there are brief flat spots in the powerband down low (