1M v Cayman R v Golf R400 v Megane 275

[VeeW94]

I'd love to own the golf, think it will be a pretty special car, a bit like the focus rs 500, what about an m235i ? A balance of drivers car and everyday useability, IMO they look and sound amazing as well ! With 10k to spare if you buy one with a few thousand on the clock. Or even the 435i if your after something bigger.

[RobM77]

ORD said:

RobM77 said:

ORD: I agree with your post entirely. One small point though on this:

ORD said:

It occurs to me that very wide tyres - and the accompanying requirement for quite a lot of assistance - might make it hard to maintain decent steering feel. I wonder whether a 1400kg car with the accompanying grip and braking requirements can really compete with a 1100kg car for feel and involvement.

You're right about wide tyres (plus of course bigger wheels, which lengthen the contact patch), although don't forget that the Evora and now discontinued Esprit V8 were both circa 1380kg and both have very good steering feel. Both use a hydraulic power steering setup - could that be the reason?

Perhaps, but the PAS on 997 and 987 cars is hydraulic, isn't it? It's better than the 981/991 steering, but not by a billion miles. I think the EPAS v HPAS thing can be a bit of a red-herring: some EPAS systems are decent; some HPAS systems are terrible. But maybe the best HPAS systems still deliver far more feel than the best EPAS systems (I wouldn't know, given that I haven't tried the very best EPAS systems, but I have a suspicion that they are not as good as Autocar etc would have us believe).

I think so, yes, I thought that after I posted (there was a big thing about ePAS coming in for the new 911 that replaced the 997, so that would seem to be the case. If so, then that adds even more weight to the argument that Porsche are not engineering as good a driver's car as Lotus.

Edited by RobM77 on Tuesday 3rd February 09:42

[Dblue]

WCZ said:

imo:
275: completely overrated imo (and yes I have driven one)

Fair enough. You've done well to get a meaningful drive of a 275 already, although the earlier cars are largely the same, but assuming you've had the chance to get it out onto roads with some space then its a valid opinion. But I'm interested in why you think its overrated by so many good judges?

its a pretty universal opinion amongst the motoring press

[framerateuk]

The Meganes are great on the motorway. Very quiet and civilized. (or my 250 is certainly).

I'm surprised someone found the 275 to be "overrated". Even after driving a Caterham all day, I can hop into the 250 and it still impresses me.