Marwood
Junior Member
- Messages
- 87
So…finally got the car.
£100 petrol in. Pointed it at some countryfied A and B roads and kept going. And grinning.
Immediate impressions…
Controls are light, especially the steering. Doesn't feel wide and potters happily at normal speed. Engine has a lovely inertia-free feel - spins up beautifully. Needs 4, 4500 to go and then progresses, er, very nicely. Officer. Ahem. Easy (and fun) to spin along between 4 and 7. After convincing myself it would be a pain I really enjoyed the gearbox too. It's very satisfying getting getting the timing of a slight toe-lift right and smoothing low speed changes. Going quickly, just kept my foot in and it was fine. The hill-hold works nicely. Got stuck in 30 minutes of stop go traffic and there was a bit of clunking - need to work on slow down change technique. And, hilariously, forgot to press the brake whilst in neutral so couldn't get a gear…sat, numpty like, for a minute with an empty road ahead, but remarkably, no one hooted. Sorry about that folks.
Can't say I've attacked a sequence of bends with any great gusto yet but the turn in is lovely - quick, direct, feels planted. The car feels smaller than I thought and light on its feet. The ride is much lumpier than expected, even in 'normal'. On Sussex A road, at decent speed, was bouncing around a fair bit, to the point where I backed off. I don't mind so much - I used to think Ducati's were comfortable - but the wife is going to hate it ("Is it a bit like a Jaguar?", she asked. "We'll, sort of. You know. Its got four seats and is very practical" I replied. That's going to come back and bite me). Steering wheel and rear view mirror was shaking too - not something I've remember experiencing in Germans, but then the tyres are 1mm deep and the roads crumbly horrors. Until someone tells me I have a cracked sub-bush-under-frame-holder or something, I'll assume its normal and file it under 'character'.
After three hours I stopped for a tea and stood in a car park looking at it. It was only then that I realised how absorbed I'd been. Its less of a GT cruiser than I thought it would be, much more of a sports car. Which is what I wanted, really. A biker came up and said 'Lovely car that.' I think he's right.
£100 petrol in. Pointed it at some countryfied A and B roads and kept going. And grinning.
Immediate impressions…
Controls are light, especially the steering. Doesn't feel wide and potters happily at normal speed. Engine has a lovely inertia-free feel - spins up beautifully. Needs 4, 4500 to go and then progresses, er, very nicely. Officer. Ahem. Easy (and fun) to spin along between 4 and 7. After convincing myself it would be a pain I really enjoyed the gearbox too. It's very satisfying getting getting the timing of a slight toe-lift right and smoothing low speed changes. Going quickly, just kept my foot in and it was fine. The hill-hold works nicely. Got stuck in 30 minutes of stop go traffic and there was a bit of clunking - need to work on slow down change technique. And, hilariously, forgot to press the brake whilst in neutral so couldn't get a gear…sat, numpty like, for a minute with an empty road ahead, but remarkably, no one hooted. Sorry about that folks.
Can't say I've attacked a sequence of bends with any great gusto yet but the turn in is lovely - quick, direct, feels planted. The car feels smaller than I thought and light on its feet. The ride is much lumpier than expected, even in 'normal'. On Sussex A road, at decent speed, was bouncing around a fair bit, to the point where I backed off. I don't mind so much - I used to think Ducati's were comfortable - but the wife is going to hate it ("Is it a bit like a Jaguar?", she asked. "We'll, sort of. You know. Its got four seats and is very practical" I replied. That's going to come back and bite me). Steering wheel and rear view mirror was shaking too - not something I've remember experiencing in Germans, but then the tyres are 1mm deep and the roads crumbly horrors. Until someone tells me I have a cracked sub-bush-under-frame-holder or something, I'll assume its normal and file it under 'character'.
After three hours I stopped for a tea and stood in a car park looking at it. It was only then that I realised how absorbed I'd been. Its less of a GT cruiser than I thought it would be, much more of a sports car. Which is what I wanted, really. A biker came up and said 'Lovely car that.' I think he's right.