Discussion
Hi all,
I've been lurking here for ages, and finally cracked and testdrove a V8V on Saturday (Stratstone near Park Royal).
They had a Works driver in (sorry, can't remember his name) who was giving demos. They only had sportshift (in the 4.3 model) in stock, so I had a go in one of those.
The sportshift box was surprisingly good - I had very low expectations given the lack of love it gets in these parts. Been shown how to make it shift smoothly by the works driver made a big difference, without his demo I think I would have hated it. There's a real knack to being able to shift smoothly with it. The "auto" and "comfort" modes are both pretty terrible too.
I'm going to try a stick shift manual too, but unless it's amazing I'm very tempted with the paddle shift.
Overall I really liked the car, it did feel quite "heavy" compared to a 911, but I quite like that, especially the steering weight, and the interior is miles better. If found the seats comfortable too, but without having driven long distances it's quite difficult to say much.
The power delivery is very different to a 911, much less peaky - more torque at low revs, but less at the top end I would say. The V8V is more to my liking.
There's still a couple of things that I think I'll miss (e.g. luggage space with the rear seats folded, better visibility), but the looks, luggage access, comfort, drivability etc. are better in the V8V.
I suspect I'd like a 4.7 even more, but I can't see me stretching my budget that far, so I'm not planning to try one.
I've been lurking here for ages, and finally cracked and testdrove a V8V on Saturday (Stratstone near Park Royal).
They had a Works driver in (sorry, can't remember his name) who was giving demos. They only had sportshift (in the 4.3 model) in stock, so I had a go in one of those.
The sportshift box was surprisingly good - I had very low expectations given the lack of love it gets in these parts. Been shown how to make it shift smoothly by the works driver made a big difference, without his demo I think I would have hated it. There's a real knack to being able to shift smoothly with it. The "auto" and "comfort" modes are both pretty terrible too.
I'm going to try a stick shift manual too, but unless it's amazing I'm very tempted with the paddle shift.
Overall I really liked the car, it did feel quite "heavy" compared to a 911, but I quite like that, especially the steering weight, and the interior is miles better. If found the seats comfortable too, but without having driven long distances it's quite difficult to say much.
The power delivery is very different to a 911, much less peaky - more torque at low revs, but less at the top end I would say. The V8V is more to my liking.
There's still a couple of things that I think I'll miss (e.g. luggage space with the rear seats folded, better visibility), but the looks, luggage access, comfort, drivability etc. are better in the V8V.
I suspect I'd like a 4.7 even more, but I can't see me stretching my budget that far, so I'm not planning to try one.
Jockman said:
I know - no sleep in 312 days now, with only my American friends for company during the twilight hours.
Highly recommend stretching to the 4.7 if poss. Is mileage an issue? If you don't intend doing much you could get a higher mileage version at a similar price. Is colour important? Any options that you 'must' have??
BTW paddles are great
I /could/ afford a 4.7, but it would blow all my available cash, and I really don't want to do that. I'm not that bothered by the extra power, and I can always upgrade in a few years. I might try an N400, as Stratstone are getting one in. I much prefer the red rear lights to the white ones though, and the Nurburgring logo is a bit cheezy.Highly recommend stretching to the 4.7 if poss. Is mileage an issue? If you don't intend doing much you could get a higher mileage version at a similar price. Is colour important? Any options that you 'must' have??
BTW paddles are great
Colour and mileage isn't really important (as long as the interior isn't an eyesore). I wouldn't go for white, and I'm hesitant about black, having owned a black car in London in the past. Ideally I'd like a green or blue one, but the vast majority seem to be silver/grey/black.
I'm pretty sure I want the iPod interface, but that can be retro-fitted most of the time, and is standard after 2008. I'd like the 700W stereo, but I'm not that bothered. Rear parking sensors are probably a must, maneuvering room in my road is tight.
Oh, I forgot one thing that annoyed me - something came up on the digital dash (low fuel I think) and it replaced the digital speedo with a message saying that, the button presses to get it back seems a bit complex
Also, the test cars passenger side seatbelt and door release catch failed to open during the testdrive
I was amused, but I think the guys were a bit embarrassed.George H said:
Can the sportshift not do some sort of clutch learning process, where it makes the changes smoother based on your driving style? That might help some of the issues you found with it.
There is a clutch learning processes yeah, the Works driver mentioned he does it a lot (once a week maybe?), but I didn't get any idea of what it actually does. Is it automatic, or do you have to trigger it?He also said that the one I was trying was a "good one" and that some were less good, so make sure I checked the gearbox thoroughly before buying, which is interesting.
Incidentally, are there any V8V owners around London who are feeling sociable? It would be good to meet for a beer sometime to get the lowdown on ownership - though lurking on this forum has been quite informative, I know more about the pipe rack and slipper holder options on DB9s than anything else
mikey k said:
The word describes it perfectly 
It is a PITA in reverse because of the high reverse gear ratio
If you put a small amount of throttle on whilst its in creep mode it confuses it, often resulting in a stall
It slips the clutch on the bit point so cannot be doing the clutch any good.
Lastly I just found it awkward and counter intuitive
I found the creep mode on the 4.3 I tried to be a bit juddery, seemed like it was pulsing the clutch? I'm not sure if that would would worse the for the clutch than just slipping it while maneuvering.It is a PITA in reverse because of the high reverse gear ratio
If you put a small amount of throttle on whilst its in creep mode it confuses it, often resulting in a stall
It slips the clutch on the bit point so cannot be doing the clutch any good.
Lastly I just found it awkward and counter intuitive
OTOH it's useful to have the option when crawling in traffic.
I didn't try reverse, I'll make a note to do that.
Update:
I testdrove a manual earlier today. It was on a N400, so a bit more power than the normal 4.3. It seemed surprisingly noticeable, I wouldn't have thought 20HP would really be obvious.
I think I'm going to go for a manual over a sportshift. The clutch in the one I drove was very heavy, but apparently it's due a new clutch, and one other I tried was on the heavy side, but much better. My left leg has probably atrophied a bit from years of driving clutchless cars
I do more than my fair share of town crawling, but it's not every day, so I can live with it, and it's easier to drive the manual smoothly compared to the sportshift.
There's a fair chance I'll upgrade to a 4.7 when the prices come down a bit, and might go for a sportshift then, if I'm sick of it by that point.
I testdrove a manual earlier today. It was on a N400, so a bit more power than the normal 4.3. It seemed surprisingly noticeable, I wouldn't have thought 20HP would really be obvious.
I think I'm going to go for a manual over a sportshift. The clutch in the one I drove was very heavy, but apparently it's due a new clutch, and one other I tried was on the heavy side, but much better. My left leg has probably atrophied a bit from years of driving clutchless cars
I do more than my fair share of town crawling, but it's not every day, so I can live with it, and it's easier to drive the manual smoothly compared to the sportshift.
There's a fair chance I'll upgrade to a 4.7 when the prices come down a bit, and might go for a sportshift then, if I'm sick of it by that point.
Bit of an update...
With some trepidation I tried a 4.7 yesterday, but to be honest it didn't really grab me.
Yes, it's a bit faster, but it's not night and day in my opinion - bare in mind, I'm only one step from the pipe and slippers brigade though
Also, I don't really like the dash on the 4.7, it's much easier to understand, but I think it's pretty ugly. I can see the key ("ECU") thing getting old quickly too, it's a bit of a gimmick.
However, I do like the N400, the sportpack parts are good, and the little extra power doesn't hurt. I'm just not a fan of the cheesy Nürburgring branding, and the one I've seen had red contrasting stitching on black leather, which isn't to my taste.
With some trepidation I tried a 4.7 yesterday, but to be honest it didn't really grab me.
Yes, it's a bit faster, but it's not night and day in my opinion - bare in mind, I'm only one step from the pipe and slippers brigade though
Also, I don't really like the dash on the 4.7, it's much easier to understand, but I think it's pretty ugly. I can see the key ("ECU") thing getting old quickly too, it's a bit of a gimmick.
However, I do like the N400, the sportpack parts are good, and the little extra power doesn't hurt. I'm just not a fan of the cheesy Nürburgring branding, and the one I've seen had red contrasting stitching on black leather, which isn't to my taste.
Final update.
Thanks to everyone who helped out on this forum, everyone here is really helpful, and has loads of good advice.
I picked up my car yesterday, and I'm very, very happy with it. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=109...
Hopefully meet some of the people on here for a beer sometime.
Cheers,
Steve
Thanks to everyone who helped out on this forum, everyone here is really helpful, and has loads of good advice.
I picked up my car yesterday, and I'm very, very happy with it. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=109...
Hopefully meet some of the people on here for a beer sometime.
Cheers,
Steve
peterr96 said:
Welcome!
If nothing crops up before, Tony Halls Aston meet at Hever Castle on the 24th June 2012 could be a good bet for a beer.
More here:-
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Great, thanks, it's in my diary. I think it's the weekend before the Alpine North Petrolheads Nirvana tour.If nothing crops up before, Tony Halls Aston meet at Hever Castle on the 24th June 2012 could be a good bet for a beer.
More here:-
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Cheers,
Steve
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