Have you gone from a Chim to a Cerb?
Discussion
Hi all,
I was wondering whether I could get the opinions of those who have gone from a Chimaera to a Cerbera.
Specifically with regards to how the cars drive and what their "selling" points are and how they differ.
I used to own a 1998 450 Chimaera. I LOVED IT!! I loved (in no particular order):
* The noise of the V8 - just gorgeous
* The performance, especially picking a place when joining the motorway and accelerating to it.
* Roof down cruising (less so roof down motorway driving!
) - especially low-speed burbling!!
* The cabin was great for me (6' 3" ) and had a sense of occassion - IYSWIM
Now - obviously, the Cerb won't have the roof-down appeal. But what does it have that would equate in terms of why you "love driving it"
We are almost certainly going to be returning to the TVR fold soon. Now it's just a matter of which one (currently Chim's, Griff's and Cerbs are on the list!)
Does any of that makes sense?!!
Cheers,
Phil.
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 9th June 14:14
I was wondering whether I could get the opinions of those who have gone from a Chimaera to a Cerbera.
Specifically with regards to how the cars drive and what their "selling" points are and how they differ.
I used to own a 1998 450 Chimaera. I LOVED IT!! I loved (in no particular order):
* The noise of the V8 - just gorgeous
* The performance, especially picking a place when joining the motorway and accelerating to it.
* Roof down cruising (less so roof down motorway driving!
) - especially low-speed burbling!! * The cabin was great for me (6' 3" ) and had a sense of occassion - IYSWIM
Now - obviously, the Cerb won't have the roof-down appeal. But what does it have that would equate in terms of why you "love driving it"
We are almost certainly going to be returning to the TVR fold soon. Now it's just a matter of which one (currently Chim's, Griff's and Cerbs are on the list!)
Does any of that makes sense?!!
Cheers,
Phil.
>> Edited by chim_knee on Thursday 9th June 14:14
I recently moved from a 500 Chim' to a 4.2 Cerb' and other than the TVR badge they are entirely different cars. Both are stunning in different ways.
My 4.2 is LOUD, not as sweet a sound as the RV8 but awesome in a kind of pit-garage kind of way.
The driving experience is totally different, the Cerb' really only coming alive when the revs pass 3500, and then on to 7000+. The AJPV8 is not a lazy torque V8 that's in the Chim'. I miss the RV8 in some ways but the RV8 is a real hoot, pulling effortlessly to speeds well in excess of double the legal limit. I would say the Cerb' is a more difficult car to drive 'properly.
I find the interior to be a joy everytime I take the car out, making even a quick trip to Tesco a pleasurable experience. I'm 6' and there's plenty of room for me.
All I can say is try one and make up your own mind.
Tim
My 4.2 is LOUD, not as sweet a sound as the RV8 but awesome in a kind of pit-garage kind of way.
The driving experience is totally different, the Cerb' really only coming alive when the revs pass 3500, and then on to 7000+. The AJPV8 is not a lazy torque V8 that's in the Chim'. I miss the RV8 in some ways but the RV8 is a real hoot, pulling effortlessly to speeds well in excess of double the legal limit. I would say the Cerb' is a more difficult car to drive 'properly.
I find the interior to be a joy everytime I take the car out, making even a quick trip to Tesco a pleasurable experience. I'm 6' and there's plenty of room for me.
All I can say is try one and make up your own mind.
Tim
I had a chim 450 from 98 - 2000. Had 2 cerbs since.
Cerb is at least 2 x as expensive to run!
It is a much better car re race car engine and handling (with Nitrons).
It is like comparing an MGC with a Nascar.
I loved the Rover V8 at the time. Now I prefer the plat plane scream and pops!
The MGC (sorry Chim) was too old world for me. The Cerbera is more supercar for (almost) everyday use.
I woudnt have another Chim, might consider a Griff, but I love Cerbs.
Cerb is at least 2 x as expensive to run!
It is a much better car re race car engine and handling (with Nitrons).
It is like comparing an MGC with a Nascar.
I loved the Rover V8 at the time. Now I prefer the plat plane scream and pops!
The MGC (sorry Chim) was too old world for me. The Cerbera is more supercar for (almost) everyday use.
I woudnt have another Chim, might consider a Griff, but I love Cerbs.
I went from a Chim, which I loved, to a Cerb, which I loved.
* The noise of the V8 - Love the Chim soundtrack, Cerb not so good, especially bad first thing in the morning, but the extra pops and bangs on the over-run go some way to making up for it ....
* The performance, especially picking a place when joining the motorway and accelerating to it.
- Nothing gets close to the Cerb, for that kind of acceleration it leaves the Chim standing.
* Roof down cruising (less so roof down motorway driving! ) - especially low-speed burbling!!
- well I guess you have to lose that ...
* The cabin was great for me (6' 3" ) and had a sense of occassion - IYSWIM
The Cerb cabin is possibly TVR's finest (Tuscan - ites will disagree, as that is cool too...) - basically more of the same.
The real noticable difference (apart from straight line speed) is in how the car handles on the road.
The Cerb is actually far more solid in the dry. My Chim sometimes used to snap out at the back without warning, the Cerb never does that, and when it does go you can feel it and control it.
However be aware that in the winter this can change, and on the right (wrong) road in the right conditions it can feel as though it is trying to chuck you in the ditch ......
Other main difference, expect more niggles and higher running costs - I'd say that the huge increase in performance more than makes up for this.
DO NOT cut corners in buying the car, make sure it is checked out by one of the independants generally favoured on this forum, drive it safely and enjoy !!!!!
* The noise of the V8 - Love the Chim soundtrack, Cerb not so good, especially bad first thing in the morning, but the extra pops and bangs on the over-run go some way to making up for it ....
* The performance, especially picking a place when joining the motorway and accelerating to it.
- Nothing gets close to the Cerb, for that kind of acceleration it leaves the Chim standing.
* Roof down cruising (less so roof down motorway driving! ) - especially low-speed burbling!!
- well I guess you have to lose that ...
* The cabin was great for me (6' 3" ) and had a sense of occassion - IYSWIM
The Cerb cabin is possibly TVR's finest (Tuscan - ites will disagree, as that is cool too...) - basically more of the same.
The real noticable difference (apart from straight line speed) is in how the car handles on the road.
The Cerb is actually far more solid in the dry. My Chim sometimes used to snap out at the back without warning, the Cerb never does that, and when it does go you can feel it and control it.
However be aware that in the winter this can change, and on the right (wrong) road in the right conditions it can feel as though it is trying to chuck you in the ditch ......
Other main difference, expect more niggles and higher running costs - I'd say that the huge increase in performance more than makes up for this.
DO NOT cut corners in buying the car, make sure it is checked out by one of the independants generally favoured on this forum, drive it safely and enjoy !!!!!
I had a Chim 4.0 and went to a 4.5 Cerb, at first I didn't like it that much as the cerb felt slower. But the throttle is really long and you have to push it right down - oh my god I didn't just overtake stuff I nearly went through the back of them - the acceleration is just mind blowing !
Then there's the pops and bangs - unbelievable much louder than the Chim and the engine sounds so different.
Not having the roof down in summer is a bummer - and it does get hot in the cabin but there is air con so that's a plus
Reliability - from my experience the cerb (nine months) is certainly a lot more fragile than the chim - so far I've had a clutch go (o.k maybe one of those things), anti-roll bar bracket fall off, brake master cylinder failure, indicator arm fall-off, whereas the chim just went in for services (over 3 years) so the jury is still out on the reliability issues.
Would I say swap - I'd say look at a Tamora or maybe a Tuscan they're almost as quick - (to me anyway) and unless you need four seats I'd say a good replacement for a Chim -
I do like the Cerb and it gets the little one around with me in a TVR - which is why I bought it - but my next TVR would probably be Tam, Tusc or if budget allows T350 or Sag - I'm not sure I'd go for another Cerb.
Just my tuppence worth - hope it helps.
Thanks guys - they most definitely help.
I know this is over simplifying it but it seems that the Cerb is a more "aggressive" car. As the new one will be for both Mrs Knee and myself I think that may sway the decision against the Cerb.
Four seats is an attraction as little ones may be on the horizon in the nearish future - but not soon enough to warrant it being the deciding factor.
I take it the back seats are not suitable for adults (i.e. 2+2 not 4 seats IYSWIM)
Cheers guys - very interesting.
Phil.
I know this is over simplifying it but it seems that the Cerb is a more "aggressive" car. As the new one will be for both Mrs Knee and myself I think that may sway the decision against the Cerb.
Four seats is an attraction as little ones may be on the horizon in the nearish future - but not soon enough to warrant it being the deciding factor.
I take it the back seats are not suitable for adults (i.e. 2+2 not 4 seats IYSWIM) Cheers guys - very interesting.
Phil.
I take it they aren't 8 foot tall giants either!!I've gone from a Griff to a Cerbera, very different and i like the difference, first thing i did with the Cerbera was fit new suspension and brakes and the handling is fantastic feels alot safer than the shorter wheel base Griffs and Chimaeras, obviously the noise is completely different , i had a very fruity sports manifold/ exhaust system on the Griff, whereas the Cerbera in comparison sounds like a very big (and powerful sewing machine, but i've always liked the AJP soundtrack.
Rear seats are ok for agile adults, but just right for 8 yr olds (which i find quite handy).
Cerberas are a real enthusiasts car, you'll need to be in love with it, it helps when you get the big bills.
Rear seats are ok for agile adults, but just right for 8 yr olds (which i find quite handy).
Cerberas are a real enthusiasts car, you'll need to be in love with it, it helps when you get the big bills.
PetrolTed said:
I guess the lower volume of cars made probably means there are more design niggles that never got sorted out which then lead to more fiddling each service.
Sounds plausible, I find the Cerbera had fewer problems than my old 3000M, but I've no experience of the RV8 engined TVRs.
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