Steven Sabados, co-host of CBC's Steven and Chris, owns a Range Rover.
Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman are partners on and off screen. But on the road, the dynamic decorating duo from the CBC talk show, Steven and Chris, travel a different path. Sabados drives a 2010 Land Rover Range Rover HSE SUV while Hyndman has an Audi A5.
"I love SUVs. I love having the space," says Sabados. "We have a Great Dane, so we're always lugging her to the beach. I like having a bigger vehicle, especially in the wintertime. Our winters are so long and our roads are so treacherous I feel safe in an SUV."
And while Sabados has tackled the occasional snow bank, does he ever venture off road in his SUV? "That's funny. No," he laughs.
Sabados actually prefers the interior of his SUV over his partner's car. "It's really user friendly. You get into some cars like Christopher's and it's like a space ship - everything is LED red with lots of buttons and symbols.
"But the Range Rover is great. The GPS is a touch screen ... If you're going uphill, just push a button," says Sabados who joined forces with Hyndman in 1992 to form design company, The Sabados Group. Since then, they've hosted a series of hit TV shows including Designer Guys, So Chic, and Design Rivals before signing on with CBC in 2008. They've also launched the S&C Collection - a line of furniture, linen, lighting, and decorative accessories.
"The Range Rover is unpretentious. I've always loved the car. I loved what the car was and what it represented - a quiet luxury. They're great cars, but they're not flashy, flashy. They're not a grumbly old Hummer."
"The Royal family drives them. It's not THE car. When the new Porsche (Cayenne) SUV came out, everyone had to have one. It was the IT car. Range Rover has been around for eons. It's a really nice car without being over the top."
Plus, it embodies Sabados' personal design philosophy. "It's streamlined and boxy, which I like. I find a lot of the other SUVs round and minivan-ish. It still feels like a truck and I love the little fins on the side. I find it looks like a shark. I don't know if they're needed or not, but I think they look cool. It's simple, not tricked up. It's just clean.
"It's jet black, but it has tiny multi-flex of weird colours in the sunlight," says the native of Niagara Falls, Ont., who now calls Toronto home.
Sabados first car was "a red Dodge convertible. I don't remember the name of it. The roof leaked from day one!"
After that came "the worst purchase ever" - a yellow Nissan Xterra. "We were in L.A. once and we saw a yellow Xterra and thought, 'Oh my God! That's the coolest thing ever.' It made sense in L.A. Then we came here and bought it. It was bright yellow - what the hell? Really - bright yellow?" he laughs.
Sabados had a few mishaps with it, too. "We stopped at the gas station. So I thought I'd check the oil. I popped the hood. It needed oil so I put the oil in. It wasn't coming out so I squeezed it and oil went all over the engine and the engine caught fire. Christopher was inside - he couldn't see me because the hood was up. The engine is on fire, so what do I do? I lean on it and try to blow it out!" he laughs.
"It spreads further. At this point, I'm frantic - running around, running around, running around. And I'm screaming, 'What the hell do you do? We're all going to die!' So then I ran over and there was windshield wiper fluid and I just doused it on the engine and there was white smoke everywhere. I was mortified! Apparently you're not supposed to put oil in when the engine is hot. I get it now."
But that's not his only unforgettable driving moments. "In an old convertible years ago, we were driving, our dog, Christopher and I, and we had the roof down for the summer. Maxi, our Great Dane, was in our backseat. She barfed all over the back seat! And it was so big! It was the biggest barf you've ever seen in your whole life. It literally filled the backseat!
"Christopher said, 'Let's just leave the keys in it and let's walk away! If someone steals it, that's great. We'll report it stolen because I'm not touching this barf!' "
In the end, they dealt with the mess after a pit stop at Walmart to buy 10 rolls of paper towels. "We started cleaning up and Christopher started gagging and he was going to barf because the smell was so horrible. Slime was all over - it was horrible. We had the car detailed immediately. Thank God it was leather seats. At least it stayed on top for a little while - the cloth seats would have soaked it up."
Sabados has a clean driving record. "I think no one can drive better than me," boasts the charismatic designer. "I've never been in an accident since I was 16 years old, knock on wood. I've never had a speeding ticket. I've gotten off of two."
But that would likely change if he bought his dream car. "Oh my God! It's the spanking new Maserati; I don't even now what it is, but it's the most beautiful car I've seen in my life! There's one parked downstairs - it's black with black rims and it has a deep burgundy red interior - it's probably the sexiest car ever. I would love that."
Petrina Gentile