BRZ any views?
Discussion
Very impressive power upgrade! On the face of it fabulous. But is the car a better drive for it? Over the years in Caterhams I went up to top power (230bhp as was back then). I then downgraded to 135. I enjoyed the lower powered car far more.
Be great to have a drive and see.
Be great to have a drive and see.
loskie said:
oh dear, just come back from the GT86 test drive. The very friendly guys at Jemca Croydon gave me the keys for 45 mins this morning. Not ideal test drive territory really, but I cut across to caterham, had a couple of blasts up and down the Caterham bypass and then back via the M25/M23/A23. So not a bad mix of slow speed and high speed stuff with some changes of direction and some roundabouts.
And yes the verdict is a bit oh dear. There is a lot of fabulous stuff. The seats, the fit, the gearchange, don't mind the grumpy engine noise high up. I can see the rev limiter is a bit of a pain. Even the power feels good. The oh dear bit is that the playfulness feels artificially engineered in. Change direction and there is a bit of a squirm. That makes you think wooo, this is playful, but then it's gone. Get it loaded up at higher speeds in a left on the bypass and then change direction. Another wooo moment, then it's gone. Really disconcerting and not at all enjoyable.
I really wanted to like the car. And if you ignore that (to me) odd trait it's got brilliance. Of course, in 45 mins round town, you are not going to work it out and I didn't even start with taking the stability/traction thingy off. The sales guy asked me if I wanted one and my instant reply was no thanks.
Feeling a bit deflated now!
Bert
And yes the verdict is a bit oh dear. There is a lot of fabulous stuff. The seats, the fit, the gearchange, don't mind the grumpy engine noise high up. I can see the rev limiter is a bit of a pain. Even the power feels good. The oh dear bit is that the playfulness feels artificially engineered in. Change direction and there is a bit of a squirm. That makes you think wooo, this is playful, but then it's gone. Get it loaded up at higher speeds in a left on the bypass and then change direction. Another wooo moment, then it's gone. Really disconcerting and not at all enjoyable.
I really wanted to like the car. And if you ignore that (to me) odd trait it's got brilliance. Of course, in 45 mins round town, you are not going to work it out and I didn't even start with taking the stability/traction thingy off. The sales guy asked me if I wanted one and my instant reply was no thanks.
Feeling a bit deflated now!
Bert
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I love mine!
Incredible on the Highland roads, and still fun around the MK roundabouts.
Can't wait to do some track days and more long drives.
I love mine!
Incredible on the Highland roads, and still fun around the MK roundabouts.
Can't wait to do some track days and more long drives.
lilwashu said:
I really wanted to like these as they seemed like the spiritual successor to the Mazda RX-8 which I love, but I thought they were rubbish. The Mk4 MX-5 is a much better (although useless if you want 4 seats) car.
I can see the MX5 being less of a tuner platform though.With a "twin" you have a front engine, RWD chassis, with a tuneable boxer engine that responds well to a bit of boost, and a choice of direction in terms of aftermarket parts?
Want to go drifting, buy X parts, use X setup.
Want a grip car? buy Y parts, use Y setup.
And anything in between.
Watching a few review videos in Youtube, there isn't alot between the new MX5 and the twins, and alot of the lack of fast laptimes is down to the fun but st tyres.
GTChannel chucked on coilovers and decent rubber and cut huge chunks out of the laptimes of an otherwise standard time at Willow Springs.
I reckon with Rainsports on this winter mine will be alot more potent than the current slippery soap experience!
Edited by JB! on Thursday 24th November 00:32
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