Alpine adventures
Discussion
Thats a proper way to run an A110 in. I live up there and it's a real playground.
I took mine into central France last year to do the bulk of early miles. As a road trip car, it's great. Comfortable, fun, fast enough, good range and practical enough if you don't mind packing light.
Just back from France this year. 2000+ miles and only saw one or two A110's there, so still fairly exclusive even in the home market.
Great colour by the way. Mine's Abyss Blue.
I chuckled at the comment about the handbrake incident. I had mine fairly absent mindedly on the Mulsanne Straight (in everyday traffic after the 2022 Classic). Quite the alarming surprise. Haven't done it since....
I took mine into central France last year to do the bulk of early miles. As a road trip car, it's great. Comfortable, fun, fast enough, good range and practical enough if you don't mind packing light.
Just back from France this year. 2000+ miles and only saw one or two A110's there, so still fairly exclusive even in the home market.
Great colour by the way. Mine's Abyss Blue.
I chuckled at the comment about the handbrake incident. I had mine fairly absent mindedly on the Mulsanne Straight (in everyday traffic after the 2022 Classic). Quite the alarming surprise. Haven't done it since....
Edited by biggles330d on Thursday 27th July 12:37
I chuckled at the comment about the handbrake incident. I had mine fairly absent mindedly on the Mulsanne Straight (in everyday traffic after the 2022 Classic). Quite the alarming surprise. Haven't done it since....
[/quote]
There was another thread on the Alpine forum and it's amazing how many of us have done this, normally pretty early on in the Alpine experience and generally only done once !
Edited by biggles330d on Thursday 27th July 12:37
[/quote]
There was another thread on the Alpine forum and it's amazing how many of us have done this, normally pretty early on in the Alpine experience and generally only done once !
Miserablegit said:
I haven’t accidently applied the handbrake yet…
I had rather assumed it would be disabled above 5mph in software - are we talking full lock up at speed (like a trad handbrake) ?
I guess I was doing about 40mph. Not fast but fast enough that what felt like the rear wheels lock in a straight line was a bit alarming given I expected the window to move down! No idea if they fully locked or if the car automatically released them or I was quick on releasing the button and they came off. Haven't been brave enough to try it again. I had rather assumed it would be disabled above 5mph in software - are we talking full lock up at speed (like a trad handbrake) ?
Like you Mg I'd have assumed the electronic handbrake simply wouldn't function above a certain speed - never tried it on another car with one either.
From what I understand of the integrated handbrake it's part of the main caliper so who knows applying it at speed would break anything?
So my summary of the trip.
A couple of things I realise never got a mention were the engine and gearbox. Both are good. The gearbox works just like every other twin clutch example, shifts quickly with no fuss or drama. Similar story with the engine, it doesn't have the character of a flat 6 or the outright thrust of a big capacity motor it does a good job.
Its worth mentioning a characteristic when overtaking - if you press the throttle hard, it drops down a couple of gears and then you have to wait for the boost to build again. This results in the speed dropping momentarily, which is at odds with what you expect and means more thought is needed when nipping into a gap. It can be overcome by shifting manually beforehand though.
Also, the stop/start function behaves oddly when parking. As usual, the engine shuts off when coming to a stop, when you apply the handbrake it starts up again. by pressing the engine start button before applying the handbrake, it doesn't start the engine. Its a quirk, and there are other quirks with the infotainment but they just needed a bit of getting used to.
The real takeaway is the suspension though and it made me realise how important a good ride is (to me at least). There is none of the low speed fidgeting you get in other cars. The Cayman was quite bad and it was apparent in the Emiras I drove (both on the touring setup). On bumpy, broken tarmac it never tramlined or wandered. I never had to fight the steering - I can imagine doing the trip in a GT3 or GT4 would have been a sweaty chore in comparison. The Scottish roads are not the place to explore handling limits but it felt completely planted, one big mid corner bump did unsettle the rear though. Like the Yaris, I got the impression it would let go in a big way if I exceeded the tyre grip and will explore that when I get it on track.
Also hugely impressive were the seats, buckets don't have any right to be that comfortable. And I never felt the interior was low rent, all of the bits you see and touch are a decent quality.
I rate it more highly that the Cayman or Yaris and it has a lot of attributes of the hallowed NSX. Definitely a keeper whilst it's the most expensive car I've ever bought (by quite some margin) I think I've found The One*).
A couple of things I realise never got a mention were the engine and gearbox. Both are good. The gearbox works just like every other twin clutch example, shifts quickly with no fuss or drama. Similar story with the engine, it doesn't have the character of a flat 6 or the outright thrust of a big capacity motor it does a good job.
Its worth mentioning a characteristic when overtaking - if you press the throttle hard, it drops down a couple of gears and then you have to wait for the boost to build again. This results in the speed dropping momentarily, which is at odds with what you expect and means more thought is needed when nipping into a gap. It can be overcome by shifting manually beforehand though.
Also, the stop/start function behaves oddly when parking. As usual, the engine shuts off when coming to a stop, when you apply the handbrake it starts up again. by pressing the engine start button before applying the handbrake, it doesn't start the engine. Its a quirk, and there are other quirks with the infotainment but they just needed a bit of getting used to.
The real takeaway is the suspension though and it made me realise how important a good ride is (to me at least). There is none of the low speed fidgeting you get in other cars. The Cayman was quite bad and it was apparent in the Emiras I drove (both on the touring setup). On bumpy, broken tarmac it never tramlined or wandered. I never had to fight the steering - I can imagine doing the trip in a GT3 or GT4 would have been a sweaty chore in comparison. The Scottish roads are not the place to explore handling limits but it felt completely planted, one big mid corner bump did unsettle the rear though. Like the Yaris, I got the impression it would let go in a big way if I exceeded the tyre grip and will explore that when I get it on track.
Also hugely impressive were the seats, buckets don't have any right to be that comfortable. And I never felt the interior was low rent, all of the bits you see and touch are a decent quality.
I rate it more highly that the Cayman or Yaris and it has a lot of attributes of the hallowed NSX. Definitely a keeper whilst it's the most expensive car I've ever bought (by quite some margin) I think I've found The One*).
Edited by LarJammer on Friday 28th July 20:16
So having now driven it on track, does it let go in a big way at speed? The answer is no!
A full day at Bedford only confirmed what a great little car this is. I was really impressed with its playful nature, the way the car pivots when trail braking into a corner & the gentle slides accelerating out them just made it a joy to drive. I'm no driving god so didn't really provoke any lurid slides but the cars languid personality doesn't promote that sort of behaviour anyway.
I can sum this car up in a single word - fun. What more can you ask from a weekend toy? If, like me, you were considering an Alpine give one a try, I think it's a corker.
A full day at Bedford only confirmed what a great little car this is. I was really impressed with its playful nature, the way the car pivots when trail braking into a corner & the gentle slides accelerating out them just made it a joy to drive. I'm no driving god so didn't really provoke any lurid slides but the cars languid personality doesn't promote that sort of behaviour anyway.
I can sum this car up in a single word - fun. What more can you ask from a weekend toy? If, like me, you were considering an Alpine give one a try, I think it's a corker.
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