Impressions of the GT, from a base model (Legende) owner
Discussion
Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive a ’23 GT whilst my ‘22 ‘facelift’ base model (10k miles) was in for a rattle service.
I have the 6-way seats and given that the chassis and suspension is said to be identical, the only difference I was expecting was the additional power. However, the GT felt a lot more refined when it came to lower speed gear changes and steering feel. No expert, but I will try to explain myself.
I have always found my car a bit jerky in Sports auto when coming down from gears 3 to 1 - whether applying brakes or coasting to a stop. The gear changes are what I can only describe as 'grabby', particularly 3 to 2. It feels like it changes down a bit too early for the engine speed and causes a little lurch that unsettles the car. I had put it down to a sportier gearbox map (as it doesn't happen in Normal). Similarly when pulling away from stop, even with the lightest feathering of the throttle there is a half second delay then a lurch. For me it makes Sports mode quite unpleasant to use in start-stop traffic as it’s all a bit clunky and hard to do smoothly. The GT on the other hand was much better in both situations, with the feeling that it held the gear longer before selecting down (I’m not sure if it actually did, I noted about 1200rpm on both cars from 3 to 2). I tried my best to replicate the grabby gear change but I couldn’t. The car was happy being left in Sports/Track for all speeds and situations – which was nice, because fast flowing sections into traffic and out again is so common on our roads. Could it purely be down to the gearbox map? Or might the GT have different engine mounts, which better control the movement?
Onto steering feel, the GT had a much more solid and noticeably heavier turn in all modes. It had the same area of vagueness in the middle that is often reported - but outside of that I find my base model steering lighter in comparison. I preferred the GT.
Wheel/tyre wise – mine has Serac with PS4, 29/30psi, GT was Grand Prix with PS4 and checked at 30/31psi. I do have the Life110 Sports Rd Geo and expect the GT was factory as it was basically brand new. Could either of those have much of a bearing?
The extra power was nice as expected - with more pull from mid to top of the rev range, but I didn't think it left the 252bhp wanting overall.
I plan to test another base model like for like and try to ascertain if it’s simply a case of the higher car in the range naturally being better - or if mine might have a problem and can be brought up to that level.
Over thinking it? Probably. But as a car for enthusiasts, this kind of stuff matters to us more than most.
Don’t get me wrong I still love mine, but the comparison was enlightening.
Any similar experiences?
I have the 6-way seats and given that the chassis and suspension is said to be identical, the only difference I was expecting was the additional power. However, the GT felt a lot more refined when it came to lower speed gear changes and steering feel. No expert, but I will try to explain myself.
I have always found my car a bit jerky in Sports auto when coming down from gears 3 to 1 - whether applying brakes or coasting to a stop. The gear changes are what I can only describe as 'grabby', particularly 3 to 2. It feels like it changes down a bit too early for the engine speed and causes a little lurch that unsettles the car. I had put it down to a sportier gearbox map (as it doesn't happen in Normal). Similarly when pulling away from stop, even with the lightest feathering of the throttle there is a half second delay then a lurch. For me it makes Sports mode quite unpleasant to use in start-stop traffic as it’s all a bit clunky and hard to do smoothly. The GT on the other hand was much better in both situations, with the feeling that it held the gear longer before selecting down (I’m not sure if it actually did, I noted about 1200rpm on both cars from 3 to 2). I tried my best to replicate the grabby gear change but I couldn’t. The car was happy being left in Sports/Track for all speeds and situations – which was nice, because fast flowing sections into traffic and out again is so common on our roads. Could it purely be down to the gearbox map? Or might the GT have different engine mounts, which better control the movement?
Onto steering feel, the GT had a much more solid and noticeably heavier turn in all modes. It had the same area of vagueness in the middle that is often reported - but outside of that I find my base model steering lighter in comparison. I preferred the GT.
Wheel/tyre wise – mine has Serac with PS4, 29/30psi, GT was Grand Prix with PS4 and checked at 30/31psi. I do have the Life110 Sports Rd Geo and expect the GT was factory as it was basically brand new. Could either of those have much of a bearing?
The extra power was nice as expected - with more pull from mid to top of the rev range, but I didn't think it left the 252bhp wanting overall.
I plan to test another base model like for like and try to ascertain if it’s simply a case of the higher car in the range naturally being better - or if mine might have a problem and can be brought up to that level.
Over thinking it? Probably. But as a car for enthusiasts, this kind of stuff matters to us more than most.
Don’t get me wrong I still love mine, but the comparison was enlightening.
Any similar experiences?
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