Noble impressions - FAO DeR
Discussion
Thought i'd better start a new thread for this.
Having test driven a Noble last week and DeR wanting my impressions, i will put it like this:
The Noble is a fine looking car in the flesh, the proportions as you walk up to it seem good. The initial impression is of a reasonable size car, similar in footprint to the 993 i drive everyday, but the interior is much less spacious. It is also a bit of a trek to get into the thing, being a case of "one leg in, one arse cheek, swing body through, other arse cheek, other leg" technique.
Once ensconced in the 'snug' cabin there is an immediate feeling of solidity. The doors may be light (like A4 paper light) but once the door's shut you feel part of the car. The standard seats (with both 3 point standard belt and 4 point harness) are thinly padded buckets - it always amazes me how comfortable buckets are - which hold you in well enough for road use with only the normal 3 point inertia reel restraint.
On the open road (watching carefully for Surrey's finest) the Noble M12 GTO-3 (3 signifying the Duratec V6's capacity in litres) is a remarkable beast. For such a lightweight and low-roll car it rides astonishingly well. There is a comfortable level of road noise and wind noise at legal speeds, though that becomes irrelevant the first time you push past half mark on the throttle.
Throttle wide open, even with the 4k (ish) limit imposed due to the new engine/turbo configuration, this car leaps forward like a scalded cat.
There is an abundance of intake noise, the turbos sucking air in ferociously.
When you change gear (say 2nd to 3rd) there are a few noteworthy items to consider.
Firstly, the induction noise vanishes completely, only to be replaced in an instant by two blasts from the sequential dump valves.
Secondly, the shift quality of the Ford MTX75 gearbox... well, it's awful basically. Not enough centring action and notchy rather than positive. Still, nothing's perfect eh?
Thirdly, the pandemonium that occurs as you mash the pedal to the floor, wait about a second for the boost to kick in, and then hold on for dear life as the tail stutters for an instant (it was a little damp) and then grip takes over and you rocket towards the next gearchange.
Now in that moment of lateral travel when the torque overtakes the grip limit you are clamping onto a small but chunky steering wheel.
This steering wheel, in turn, seems to be clamped to the finest combination of steering column/rack/front suspension known to man.
The steering feedback is phenomenal without jarring your wrists with every bump and pothole, and with approx 2 turns lock to lock the notion of tail sliding turns into a brief flick of the wrists. Just don't try and do any three point turns because the turning circle on this car is in the region of 1/2 mile (or so it seemed).
Outright grip is quite phenomenal. Outstanding. This car grips like the proverbial sh*t to a stick.
Edited to add:
The quality of the build, the fit and finish, the lack of rattles and squeaks, the attention to detail in the driver's seating position and instrumentation as well as minor switchgear... all exemplary.
I do think they should make the air con standard though because a Noble in the summer without it would be like a GT40 - VERY WARM INDEED. Heck, if someone wants a car without it just buy the track special GTO-3T (with 400bhp)!
Overall VerySideways rating:
8/10
Phenomenal car, and a stunning achievement for a small British manufacturer, only really let down by its slightly obstructive gearbox.
>>> Edited by verysideways on Monday 17th February 14:55
Having test driven a Noble last week and DeR wanting my impressions, i will put it like this:
The Noble is a fine looking car in the flesh, the proportions as you walk up to it seem good. The initial impression is of a reasonable size car, similar in footprint to the 993 i drive everyday, but the interior is much less spacious. It is also a bit of a trek to get into the thing, being a case of "one leg in, one arse cheek, swing body through, other arse cheek, other leg" technique.
Once ensconced in the 'snug' cabin there is an immediate feeling of solidity. The doors may be light (like A4 paper light) but once the door's shut you feel part of the car. The standard seats (with both 3 point standard belt and 4 point harness) are thinly padded buckets - it always amazes me how comfortable buckets are - which hold you in well enough for road use with only the normal 3 point inertia reel restraint.
On the open road (watching carefully for Surrey's finest) the Noble M12 GTO-3 (3 signifying the Duratec V6's capacity in litres) is a remarkable beast. For such a lightweight and low-roll car it rides astonishingly well. There is a comfortable level of road noise and wind noise at legal speeds, though that becomes irrelevant the first time you push past half mark on the throttle.
Throttle wide open, even with the 4k (ish) limit imposed due to the new engine/turbo configuration, this car leaps forward like a scalded cat.
There is an abundance of intake noise, the turbos sucking air in ferociously.
When you change gear (say 2nd to 3rd) there are a few noteworthy items to consider.
Firstly, the induction noise vanishes completely, only to be replaced in an instant by two blasts from the sequential dump valves.
Secondly, the shift quality of the Ford MTX75 gearbox... well, it's awful basically. Not enough centring action and notchy rather than positive. Still, nothing's perfect eh?
Thirdly, the pandemonium that occurs as you mash the pedal to the floor, wait about a second for the boost to kick in, and then hold on for dear life as the tail stutters for an instant (it was a little damp) and then grip takes over and you rocket towards the next gearchange.
Now in that moment of lateral travel when the torque overtakes the grip limit you are clamping onto a small but chunky steering wheel.
This steering wheel, in turn, seems to be clamped to the finest combination of steering column/rack/front suspension known to man.
The steering feedback is phenomenal without jarring your wrists with every bump and pothole, and with approx 2 turns lock to lock the notion of tail sliding turns into a brief flick of the wrists. Just don't try and do any three point turns because the turning circle on this car is in the region of 1/2 mile (or so it seemed).
Outright grip is quite phenomenal. Outstanding. This car grips like the proverbial sh*t to a stick.
Edited to add:
The quality of the build, the fit and finish, the lack of rattles and squeaks, the attention to detail in the driver's seating position and instrumentation as well as minor switchgear... all exemplary.
I do think they should make the air con standard though because a Noble in the summer without it would be like a GT40 - VERY WARM INDEED. Heck, if someone wants a car without it just buy the track special GTO-3T (with 400bhp)!
Overall VerySideways rating:
8/10
Phenomenal car, and a stunning achievement for a small British manufacturer, only really let down by its slightly obstructive gearbox.
>>> Edited by verysideways on Monday 17th February 14:55
Phew! Cheers ver much for that - I agree with les garcons - cracking 'real world' review; tremendous insight. 
But, what do you think/what was it like in traffic? The Porkenshcwaller really doesn't care for tootling and let's be honest, this is what we do quite a lot of the time so the tactile effect has to be taken into account.
For example, I could be piffling along in Kevin's 456 (
please!) at 25 mph and simply doing the clickety-clack thing with the shifter would give me problems in the self removing trouser department.
(Btw, Kevin - only 6 red RHD 456's ever made, according to EVO mag? Blimey.)
The thing I like notionally about the Noble is that seeming assimilation of everything that's best about the Elise (ultimate steerer) but with balls and a soundtrack to do justice to Darth Vader's Hibernation Chamber.
I think. Oh dear.
But, what do you think/what was it like in traffic? The Porkenshcwaller really doesn't care for tootling and let's be honest, this is what we do quite a lot of the time so the tactile effect has to be taken into account.
For example, I could be piffling along in Kevin's 456 (
please!) at 25 mph and simply doing the clickety-clack thing with the shifter would give me problems in the self removing trouser department. (Btw, Kevin - only 6 red RHD 456's ever made, according to EVO mag? Blimey.)
The thing I like notionally about the Noble is that seeming assimilation of everything that's best about the Elise (ultimate steerer) but with balls and a soundtrack to do justice to Darth Vader's Hibernation Chamber.
I think. Oh dear.
derestrictor said:
But, what do you think/what was it like in traffic? The Porkenshcwaller really doesn't care for tootling and let's be honest, this is what we do quite a lot of the time so the tactile effect has to be taken into account.
Well, i have to say i was doing some of
myself. Value for money is, no question, exceptional, but for me it boils down to this:
I used to have a 3 series coupe and a bike-engined kit car. The 3 series was fine, lovely 6 pot whisking me to work every day, but sometimes i really wished i had that bike-engined urge under my right foot.
That's what led me to sell both and buy my Carrera 4S.
I use her every day and couldn't wish for a better daily driver.
To put that into perspective, if you think you could use a Noble everyday then think CAREFULLY. It's hard work getting into and out of, the rearward visibility isn't ideal, the steering lock is cr*p (11 point turns anyone?) and the stereo is pointless.
The power delivery will be nothing like your 993TT, this is a lot more ON/OFF.
The low down grunt, even with the 3 litre, is a little breathless. I can only assume this is because the compression ratio must be very low to cope with the boost.
You wouldn't think of closing gaps in traffic because by the time the boost comes up the gap is gone, the power delivery is that sharp.
A 993TT will be a much more pleasant daily driver, and even in standard form you'd never lose a Noble. You might not be able to get past it, but you'd be all over it and when you did get past you'd be able to overtake without the need to apply 2 weeks in advance, in triplicate, to the turbos for some boost.
As a toy... what a car. Whilst i think it'd be a royal p.i.t.a. in traffic, this car was born for the race track or the 5am Sunday morning blast. Not only can it go round corners quicker than almost any car on the road but the thrust between corners is mighty seductive too.
As with any car that flails without boost and then catapults with it, the GTO feels even faster than it actually is.
Personally i'm still heading for a 993TT. Impressive as the Noble is, i'm still sure there's a 993TT with my name on it out there somewhere. It'd just be so much easier to exploit that power and grip.
You guys really need to drive one though. As 50k new cars go, this one is a stormer.
HTH.
VS
I'm just selling (sold - deposit exchanged) my 9934S to get a Noble...
Your comments are spot on the mark, and like you I also have a bike-engined vehicle (err... a Honda fireblade) and a BMW E36 M3.
You are bang on the mark about that perenial trade-off between comfort and speed. Don't you all find that you want bike-acceleration at least once on EVERY journey
. But also want Rolls-Royce comfort when sat in a jam... That said, I found the M12 a breeze to drive in traffic.
The good news is that there are rumors that v.soon Noble will be fitting cars with a 'turbo-off' switch, to make them even easier to drive in 'comfort' mode (although still not a Rolls Royce!), but bike-power at the flick of a switch... That sounds like a right laugh.
I did NOT go for the M12-GTO3 you tested. Expecting to use the Noble most days, so have gone for the to-be-released-in-July M12-GTO-3R. This has all the handling and madness of the GTO3, but with more creature comforts like Leather, better sound-proofing and (IMO) more modern looks.
When it arrives (August-ish), will bring it to the next PH-bash - any takers to go for a spin?
Your comments are spot on the mark, and like you I also have a bike-engined vehicle (err... a Honda fireblade) and a BMW E36 M3.
You are bang on the mark about that perenial trade-off between comfort and speed. Don't you all find that you want bike-acceleration at least once on EVERY journey
. But also want Rolls-Royce comfort when sat in a jam... That said, I found the M12 a breeze to drive in traffic. The good news is that there are rumors that v.soon Noble will be fitting cars with a 'turbo-off' switch, to make them even easier to drive in 'comfort' mode (although still not a Rolls Royce!), but bike-power at the flick of a switch... That sounds like a right laugh.
I did NOT go for the M12-GTO3 you tested. Expecting to use the Noble most days, so have gone for the to-be-released-in-July M12-GTO-3R. This has all the handling and madness of the GTO3, but with more creature comforts like Leather, better sound-proofing and (IMO) more modern looks.
When it arrives (August-ish), will bring it to the next PH-bash - any takers to go for a spin?
goodlife said: When it arrives (August-ish), will bring it to the next PH-bash - any takers to go for a spin?
Are you kidding?! Happy to reciprocate in whatever I'm in at the time. DeR is also welcome to have a go in the 456, though if there are to be any antics in the trouser department, I'll just give you the keys and head off to the pub. Witnessing this is NOT on my list of "things I must do before I die"
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