Grancabrio MC perspectives anyone?

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woody1144

Member
Messages
110
Hi, I currently have a 2 seater strad which I adore. Issue I have is that myself and my partner decided to lay an egg and I'm now confused what to do car wise. My initial thoughts have been to change my daily and sell my R107 merc I have (I'm a bit nervous about taking the baby in it). I've been looking at Merc S class convertibles as would tick the box of daily and also provide the open top element I'd lose from the R107. It seems though that room in the back from a car seat is minimal along with everything else in the same class (8 series BMW, last gen Bentley GTC) so it's becoming more apparent to me that the Grancabrio is the most suitable car as they actually have decent rear space.
I don't really race the Stradale around and have most fun driving around 40MPH just changing gear up and down lol. I'm therefore thinking maybe the logical decision is a Grancabrio MC as it has the room for the new member of the family, the open air driving option and is safe. It does mean though that I'd be moving on the Strad.

My question is for those who have experience of the Grancabrio MC, do I still get the same exhaust note in "sport" as I do in "race" (i.e valves open from idle) and will I get the auto blip on downshifts? Anything else I need to be wary of? I gather most came with standard springs but some were skyhook so i'd look to avoid those I think to get a similar road feel as I have now.

Also, please feel free to talk me out of changing the Strad :)! If it was a case the baby was older then I wouldn't have an issue as older kit seats are more compact so could get an S-class or something. It's just I know the next 2-3 years will involve lots of stuff, large seats and I don't want the Strad just gathering dust in the garage.
 
Tallman

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,834
woody1144 said:
Hi, I currently have a 2 seater strad which I adore. Issue I have is that myself and my partner decided to lay an egg and I'm now confused what to do car wise. My initial thoughts have been to change my daily and sell my R107 merc I have (I'm a bit nervous about taking the baby in it). I've been looking at Merc S class convertibles as would tick the box of daily and also provide the open top element I'd lose from the R107. It seems though that room in the back from a car seat is minimal along with everything else in the same class (8 series BMW, last gen Bentley GTC) so it's becoming more apparent to me that the Grancabrio is the most suitable car as they actually have decent rear space.
I don't really race the Stradale around and have most fun driving around 40MPH just changing gear up and down lol. I'm therefore thinking maybe the logical decision is a Grancabrio MC as it has the room for the new member of the family, the open air driving option and is safe. It does mean though that I'd be moving on the Strad.

My question is for those who have experience of the Grancabrio MC, do I still get the same exhaust note in "sport" as I do in "race" (i.e valves open from idle) and will I get the auto blip on downshifts? Anything else I need to be wary of? I gather most came with standard springs but some were skyhook so i'd look to avoid those I think to get a similar road feel as I have now.

Also, please feel free to talk me out of changing the Strad :)! If it was a case the baby was older then I wouldn't have an issue as older kit seats are more compact so could get an S-class or something. It's just I know the next 2-3 years will involve lots of stuff, large seats and I don't want the Strad just gathering dust in the garage.
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If you don’t necessarily need the latest model have a look at the BMW650i Convertible. Proper 4 seater, decent size boot and you will be able to keep the Strad.
 
Ewan

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,815
Yep - I had a 2 seat Strad, a Cabrio MC, and an R107, all at the same time.
Between the Masers, the key difference (other the obvious roof/seats/boot situations) are that the Cabrio is an auto, while the Strad is a manual. So you don't get the neck snapping gear changes in the Cabrio, even when using the paddles. Sound wise they can be very similar. Though either can be enhanced, so that's not a deal breaker. My Cabrio had the MC Sport suspension, so exactly the same as the Strad.

You might struggle to fit a pram in the boot of the Cabrio (depending on what pram you have). That would be worth checking.

TBH, I think the Cabrio MC could suit you well. It drives the Strad, sounds like the Strad and looks like the Strad, but with comfier seats and a roof-down option.

Though they made very few, so finding one to try won't necessarily be easy.

And note that there is the original Cabrio MC, and then the later MC Cabrio, and they are quite different. So just like you have the earlier 2-seat Strad, you'll want the earlier Cabrio MC, from around 2013/14 (from memory).
 
W

woody1144

Member
Messages
110
Tallman said:
If you don’t necessarily need the latest model have a look at the BMW650i Convertible. Proper 4 seater, decent size boot and you will be able to keep the Strad.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the recommendation. I did have a look at the 6 series convertible and it had very similar seating to the current 8. Good sized car but the rear seats are that odd upright shape which isn't very car seat friendly. Would have been an ideal option as well as I'm a big fan of BMW tech i.e how the auto hold works etc.
 
W

woody1144

Member
Messages
110
Ewan said:
Yep - I had a 2 seat Strad, a Cabrio MC, and an R107, all at the same time.
Between the Masers, the key difference (other the obvious roof/seats/boot situations) are that the Cabrio is an auto, while the Strad is a manual. So you don't get the neck snapping gear changes in the Cabrio, even when using the paddles. Sound wise they can be very similar. Though either can be enhanced, so that's not a deal breaker. My Cabrio had the MC Sport suspension, so exactly the same as the Strad.

You might struggle to fit a pram in the boot of the Cabrio (depending on what pram you have). That would be worth checking.

TBH, I think the Cabrio MC could suit you well. It drives the Strad, sounds like the Strad and looks like the Strad, but with comfier seats and a roof-down option.

Though they made very few, so finding one to try won't necessarily be easy.

And note that there is the original Cabrio MC, and then the later MC Cabrio, and they are quite different. So just like you have the earlier 2-seat Strad, you'll want the earlier Cabrio MC, from around 2013/14 (from memory).
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback Ewan. That's a very good point re: the pram, I forgot how much rear boot space is lost with convertibles. I'll see if I can do some digging for boot dimensions online.

The upshifts I'm not too fussed about as I rarely mash the throttle to get it into "the zone" for the 60ms shifts but did you find on the downshifts it made much difference switching to the auto box as that would be key for me? I'd assume with the MC shift and the auto blip you get a similar feeling.
 
W

woody1144

Member
Messages
110
Azzurrinick said:
Ben has done a review on the GC, may have some relevant information for you
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Thank you for posting that. I hadn't seen that video and ideal for people in my situation! Will certainly give him a follow, great niche he's carved out there with that info. He made it very clear how useless the boot is to emphasis Ewan's point. Can't believe how small it is! I may need to re-think this then as a baby with no pram is going to be tricky....
 
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