You know what’s good? Summer. You know what’s not good? Summer.
For a season we all love so much, it sure comes hand-in-hand with some sucky elements: you’re hot, you’re sweaty, you’re bothered. Sure,it makes some activities more pleasant, like swimming, picnics and whatever you decide to do in your social or personal life, but that’s where it ends; ’til now.
The new Holden Acadia is the latest and greatest car/tank the car manufacturers have brought out.
It comes with all the bells ‘n’ whistles you’d expect, as well as some you don’t, and single-handedly has the capacity to turn a hot and sweaty summer road trip around for you. Think music, space, light… you get the picture.
Here are five ways to turn a stinking hot summer car trip around this summer:
1. Clean your car before the trip
It doesn’t matter how relaxed you think your friends are about rubbish. Cleaning your car before a long trip is essential to everybody’s enjoyment and sets the tone for the rest of the drive. Empty Macca’s bags, plastic bottles chewing gum wrappers are the worst offenders. Every little thing you’ve thrown into the backseat because you couldn’t be bothered finding a bin? It’s time to go.
Bonus benefit here is that your mates won’t be able to judge you for how many fast-food runs you’ve done in the past month. It’s okay – we won’t judge you either.
The Acadia is large, yes, which means more to clean, but the beauty of a 7-seat beast like that is that you can get right into it and give it a good once-over.
2. Safety first
Alright, here’s the serious one, but it’s important so don’t skim over it. Checking your car to make sure it’s safe to drive long distances is vital; not all vehicles are designed for long distances or bumpy country roads.
It doesn’t hurt to invest in a vehicle that has particularly awesome safety features on top of that, just to ensure your trip is successful.
With the road surface extra hot in the summer sun it is even more important to ensure that your tyres are in good condition and properly inflated. It is also a good idea to make sure that your car is in tip top condition all round, and there’s no better way to ensure that than by having it serviced by your Holden dealer before you set off on your Christmas expedition.
Holden’s range of SUV’s include features to make sure you and your mates arrive safely. The Holden Acadia’s Haptic Safety Seat Alert vibrates to warn of potential hazards, Lateral Impact Avoidance monitoring your blind spot and Lane Keep Assist, which steers you back into your lane if it detects drifting. Pretty handy for those long open roads where you might lose focus!
3. Supplies, supplies, supplies
Having the right supplies for your road trip is the difference between a fun time and a brutal time, so here are some key items you should aim to include:
- Chargers for your devices. Nothing worse than losing phone battery with six hours of driving left on the agenda! How else will you be able to Google that Tom Cruise movie that has the secret FBI agent in it with all the explosions, but you just can’t remember the name of it? Thankfully Holden Acadia and Equinox both have multiple USB ports in all rows, so you’ll never have to stress about losing power.
- Drinks. Sweet, refreshing beverages. Make sure there’s a selection of favourite soft drinks and plenty of water. If the weather is going to be a scorcher, the last thing you want is to be dehydrated with no reprieve!
- Snacks. We wouldn’t recommend chocolate unless you want it to melt into the seats of your vehicle. Lollies, packets of chips and savoury biscuits will go a long way, so make sure you have plenty on hand to keep those bellies from rumbling in the backseat.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen.Because nobody wants to get sunburnt when you’re in a car for a long period of time. Especially your ginger mate, Michael.
- Roadside Emergency Kit and Spare Tyre. Really don’t want to have to explain why this is important, but make sure you’ve got in on hand just in case. It doesn’t matter how manly you are, if your vehicle breaks down and you’re without one of these, you’re stuffed.
- A Pillow. Just in case you want to have a snooze. Just make sure your buddies don’t have access to any permanent markers. Trust me.
With seven seats, and smart-slide second row seats allowing for easy access to a spacious third row of seats, the Acadia is a solid choice to fit your crew comfortably, with plenty of space for supplies to be loaded in the back.
4. Entertainment
Much like your supplies listed above, good entertainment will make the repetitive trees and dusty outback fade into the background if you have the right people with you.
Phones may have some cool games on them nowadays, but it’s the games you can play with your friends that will get you laughing and learning a lot about each other (some might say too much). Have some of these planned and ready to go – road trips are like a party with a totally captive audience! Classics like I Spy and 20 Questions never go astray, same with Road Trip Bingo or some more “adult” alternatives like Would You Rather.
5. The Perfect Playlist
Last but certainly not least, the playlist. Potentially the most vital element of any road trip, having the right songs to sing along to will not only keep you all awake, but make for a bloody good time. You’ll probably think you can start your own band after this.
Some of our recommendations for road trip tunes include Down Under by Men at Work, Beds are Burning by Midnight Oil, The Voice by Johnny Farnham, Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes and basically anything by Bon Jovi. The only one we’d say to avoid completely is 500 Miles by The Proclaimers, but even if you get sick of it, it does come around again eventually.
Having a car with the gadgets to seamlessly play audio from your favourite playlists is essential, so make sure you have a vehicle that’s equipped with the latest technology and you’re laughing.
Check out more about the new Holden Acadia at the Holden website.
