Milestones

Sometimes, it's hard for me to believe that I've had my Kia Niro for more than five years.

It was bought as a replacement for my Ford Focus, which suffered mechanical issues shortly after I bought it and continued having issues over the nearly seven-and-a-half years that I kept it. The Niro was going to be my new commuter vehicle and, being a hybrid, it was going to save me even more money because of its low fuel consumption.

Of course, two weeks after bringing the Niro home, the pandemic forced us into lockdown and I had never returned to the office on a regular basis again.

So yeah, the fuel economy to work was great.

Despite working from home, we've driven this car a lot. We take it with us more than 99 percent of the time that DW and I go kayaking. I've driven to the GTA several times because Kid 1 and Kid 2 attended university down there and because Kid 2 still calls Toronto her home (more on that, tomorrow).

Still, I've put fewer kilometres on the Niro than I did with the Focus, which averaged more than 20,000 kms each year (it was over the 150,000-km mark when I said goodbye to it). I've averaged fewer than 20,000 kms per year in the Niro.

Last week, I drove down to Toronto once again. And as I headed out, I noticed that the odometer was over the 99,000 km mark. Doing some quick calculations in my head, it was apparent that I was going to hit the 100,000 milestone (kilometrestone?) on this round-trip drive.

The only question was where I'd reach it and whether I'd be able to record it.

I managed to be stopped when I recorded 77,777 on the odometer and 88,888 more than six months later. Having witnessed these numbers (and I don't know why they appeal to me, but here we are), I wanted to notice the 99,999 km reading.

I have a routine when I drive to Toronto. I fill the gas tank at the Barrhaven Costco before I hit Hwy 416, nearby. And though I burn less than a quarter of a tank by the time I reach Napanee, I always stop to top up the tank at the W.O. Stinson station that's across from the Flying J. There are three gas stations at this intersection (there's also a Petro-Canada) and the W.O. Stinson always has the lowest price when I'm there.

I'm then able to continue to Toronto, and when I head home, I stop in Napanee to fill the tank again, which is usually still a third full.

Last Friday, because I wanted to get to Toronto ASAP, I filled up at my local Costco but didn't stop for fuel on the way to my kid's place. Looking at the odometer, I knew that I'd reach 100,000 kms on the way home.

I've never driven from Barrhaven to Toronto, and back, on a single tank. I think it's possible but I wouldn't want to try it because it's hard on the electric motor to run without fuel to back it up. But I knew that it was no problem to get from Barrhaven to Toronto, to Napanee, without any issues.

And that's what I did last Friday.

I really wanted to see the odometer turn over to 99,999 but my first priority was to concentrate on the road. It was a long day and I needed to be alert.

As I passed road signs that indicated distances to fuel stations, I made some mental calculations. I would reach Napanee at about 100,000 kms on the odometer, give or take a kilometre or two. And as I saw the road markers (still called milestones, even though they're marking kilometres) that lead up to the exit for my gas station, I calculated that I'd actually see my odometer reach my goal.

At exit 579, the odometer rolled over to 99,998. And, as I pulled in front of a pump at W.O. Stinson, I took this photo:

I also wanted to capture my dashboard as it rolled over one more kilometre but I didn't want to be back on the 401. The entrance to the gas station is on a dead-end street, so I drove back and forth on it.

Milestone reached.

And yeah, I'm kind of weird about the odometer readings on my Niro.

More than five years after buying my Kia and 100,000 kms in, I'm still happy that I bought the car, which is something that I couldn't say for the Ford Focus at the same point in its life.