Gallardos dull?
Discussion
I had a bit of a shock yesterday in that my first drive in a Lambo was – err a bit dull.
My 5 year old son “bought” me a drive in a Gallardo so I went to Longcross yesterday for the drive. I was quite excited but to be honest after sitting in the car and pulling away I was some what disappointed. The interior felt very my like any other BMW, Audi, VW I’ve been in or owned. Steering was light and easy, throttle nicely weighted and bar a slightly heavily manual change it all felt very civilised. Unfortunately no sense of occasion. Just felt like I was driving another well made car. Either I'm deaf or I could hardly hear the burble of the V10 in idle.
A seeker lap followed by a few hot laps and I got to experience the acceleration and the howl of the V10. Both were good but neither made me grin like a maniac. The throttle was buried to the floor and whilst I cannot deny it accelerated quickly at no point did I think “***kin *ell!!!!”. Grip and steering were absolutely stunning though.
It all just seemed so competent and not once did it get my adrenaline pumping. I've felt more sense of occasion in TVRs, M3, M5s, AMG Mercs, 968 and 911s.
Was it the track? Longcross was admittedly setup with so many chicanes to stop you really motoring and getting a move on but I just cannot believe that I stepped out of a Lambo and did not think “WOW!!!!!!”. My thoughts were “Yep. Nice car.” and that has destroyed 30+ years of my views on Lamborghini.
Would I do better to hire the same car on a different track for a full track day? Or just ignore the Gallardo and try a Murcielago to restore childhood views of Lamborghini?
My 5 year old son “bought” me a drive in a Gallardo so I went to Longcross yesterday for the drive. I was quite excited but to be honest after sitting in the car and pulling away I was some what disappointed. The interior felt very my like any other BMW, Audi, VW I’ve been in or owned. Steering was light and easy, throttle nicely weighted and bar a slightly heavily manual change it all felt very civilised. Unfortunately no sense of occasion. Just felt like I was driving another well made car. Either I'm deaf or I could hardly hear the burble of the V10 in idle.
A seeker lap followed by a few hot laps and I got to experience the acceleration and the howl of the V10. Both were good but neither made me grin like a maniac. The throttle was buried to the floor and whilst I cannot deny it accelerated quickly at no point did I think “***kin *ell!!!!”. Grip and steering were absolutely stunning though.
It all just seemed so competent and not once did it get my adrenaline pumping. I've felt more sense of occasion in TVRs, M3, M5s, AMG Mercs, 968 and 911s.
Was it the track? Longcross was admittedly setup with so many chicanes to stop you really motoring and getting a move on but I just cannot believe that I stepped out of a Lambo and did not think “WOW!!!!!!”. My thoughts were “Yep. Nice car.” and that has destroyed 30+ years of my views on Lamborghini.
Would I do better to hire the same car on a different track for a full track day? Or just ignore the Gallardo and try a Murcielago to restore childhood views of Lamborghini?
I think you'd be better off trying to get a go in a Diablo or older Lambo - the proper lairy ones! The new ones are a bit tamer as you described although no doubt very good fun if you had the chance to properly nail it around a track. I drove an LP670 at Elvington which I found excellent!!
I drove one back in May, I found the whole thing quite impressive but TBH i really do think the sun shines out of Lamborghini's arse even a ride in a Jalpa would impress me 
(not that there's anything wrong with Jalpas they are the forgotten Lambo's along with the Islero,Jarama 
).
Any way OP I think you made a good point about driving a Murcielago next is a good step it's certaintly the one I'm going for.
(not that there's anything wrong with Jalpas they are the forgotten Lambo's along with the Islero,Jarama ).Any way OP I think you made a good point about driving a Murcielago next is a good step it's certaintly the one I'm going for.
My first drive in a Gallardo was similar, it's not a bad car it's just not as scary as you might expect.
I had to drive one from Manchester to London, in the rain, and I thought it might kill me as I have soaked in all the hype about Murci's and Diablo's.
The AC worked and kept the windows clear, I could see out of all the windows, the wipers worked and the sat nav got me home. I even cruised in the rain at 80 with one arm on the arm-rest. Surely I should be sweating, fearing for my life and crying for mummy? Not the case.
It's not dull, it's just efficient. Not as scary as a 'true' Lambo perhaps, but still very capable.
I had to drive one from Manchester to London, in the rain, and I thought it might kill me as I have soaked in all the hype about Murci's and Diablo's.
The AC worked and kept the windows clear, I could see out of all the windows, the wipers worked and the sat nav got me home. I even cruised in the rain at 80 with one arm on the arm-rest. Surely I should be sweating, fearing for my life and crying for mummy? Not the case.
It's not dull, it's just efficient. Not as scary as a 'true' Lambo perhaps, but still very capable.
jsg612 said:
I know exactly what you mean - I felt the same after driving a Ferrari for the first time... I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it just seemed a bit of a let down, compared to say a 911 Turbo which absolutely blew my head off.
I found driving a Ferrari alot easier than I expected (360) but It didn't Dull the event if anything I enjoyed it more 
I've paid for several "track" runs in some decent cars.. Lambo Murcielago, Ferrari 355, Aston DBS, 911 Turbo and Audi R8 (V8).
Out of all of them for sheer supercar excitement and terror, the Lambo had it... it felt massive, and daunting and heavy. And when you put your foot down it was sheer terror - lots of noise and lots of speed
Everything I expected a proper supercar would be
Most fun in terms of extracting performance and going quickly were the R8 and 911. The 911 was SO quick, and the R8 was so confidence inspiring even when a rabbit ran out on track just in front of me as I was bearing down on it at 130MPH. Most crushing disappointment was the DBS - I love how it looked outside and that was about it.
So certainly worth a go in the Murcielago. If the Gallardo is similar to the R8 in terms of how it feels, I can tell you the Murcielago was a totally different animal.
Out of all of them for sheer supercar excitement and terror, the Lambo had it... it felt massive, and daunting and heavy. And when you put your foot down it was sheer terror - lots of noise and lots of speed
Everything I expected a proper supercar would be Most fun in terms of extracting performance and going quickly were the R8 and 911. The 911 was SO quick, and the R8 was so confidence inspiring even when a rabbit ran out on track just in front of me as I was bearing down on it at 130MPH. Most crushing disappointment was the DBS - I love how it looked outside and that was about it.
So certainly worth a go in the Murcielago. If the Gallardo is similar to the R8 in terms of how it feels, I can tell you the Murcielago was a totally different animal.
Edited by Chicane-UK on Monday 22 August 13:14
IMHO the Gallardo has been designed so that any old muppet can get in and drive "fast". Faster than their skills would allow. Therefore the car is driving which removes the sense of occasion and thus feels "dull" to you.
For most other motorists however it will be "great" because they can go really fast....
For most other motorists however it will be "great" because they can go really fast....
A lot of similarities here in this thread with the one about AndrewD test driving the McLaren 12C. It seems a car can be "too" good to the point where, as a driver, you feel like you haven't been part of the equation. I think a great car should reward great driving and bite if you get it wrong.
I drove a Gallardo Spyder at Prodrive last year, along with a V8 Vantage, a Ferrari 360 and a Nissan GTR. I have to say that for sense of occaision and noise the Gallardo had the others licked. I would say that the OPs experience is closer to mine in the 360, I just felt underwelmed by it. As for the Gallardo being a car that most people can drive fast I partly agree but a Nissan GTR is evenmoreso, it is an deeply impressive bit of kit (I had never felt acceleration like it before) but you can chuck it at bends at silly speeds and come out the other side without any brown trouser issues at all and also without even thinking you had anything to do with it other than turning the wheel, it's all a bit computerised for me. At least the Gallardo has a bit of soul about it.
The first Ferrari I ever drove was a lovely black 308GTB. It was like driving an early Transit van. The steering was heavy, the clutch was sunk in lead and the gear change was bordering on needing two hands but it was fantastic once you got on the move and it was really, genuinely exciting to be cruising around Cambridgeshire's B-roads.
In the years following I sampled an F355, which had lost a bit of that magic but was still somewhat of an event. Fast forward until I got my mitts on a 575 and that just seemed a far, far distant experience to that 308 and had gone from being 'an event' to 'driving a fast car'. Yes, the 575 was easy and fun to drive but I really didn't feel like I was working for that reward.
Old cars; they're the shizzle (or whatever the hip kids are saying these days).
In the years following I sampled an F355, which had lost a bit of that magic but was still somewhat of an event. Fast forward until I got my mitts on a 575 and that just seemed a far, far distant experience to that 308 and had gone from being 'an event' to 'driving a fast car'. Yes, the 575 was easy and fun to drive but I really didn't feel like I was working for that reward.
Old cars; they're the shizzle (or whatever the hip kids are saying these days).
Devil2575 said:
Wow, your son must be minted if he can afford such lavish gifts! 
BTW, I hope you didn't tell him that it was a disappointment, if he's been saving up his pocket money then finding out that you didn't enjoy it could be a crushing blow...
He needs to learn BTW, I hope you didn't tell him that it was a disappointment, if he's been saving up his pocket money then finding out that you didn't enjoy it could be a crushing blow...
Jasandjules said:
IMHO the Gallardo has been designed so that any old muppet can get in and drive "fast". Faster than their skills would allow. Therefore the car is driving which removes the sense of occasion and thus feels "dull" to you.
For most other motorists however it will be "great" because they can go really fast....
You’re probably right. It did feel amazingly competent. Not for one minute am I suggesting it’s a bad car – quite the opposite but at no point did I get a sensory overload that turned me into a giggling wreck. When idling I could have been sat in any car. There was nothing to suggest there was a 500bhp+ V10 behind my head.For most other motorists however it will be "great" because they can go really fast....
I came away thinking “Who buys a Gallardo?” £150K for that? Or maybe “Why buy a Gallardo? Buy an Audi R8 and buy something else, Audi RS6 Avant, with the change?”
I didn’t want to feel like it was going to kill me at any moment, get a motorbike if you want that feeling, but I did want it to feel special and quite frankly it didn’t.
Wouldn’t mind trying a Balboni though.
So whilst I won’t be rushing out to buy one
if anyone fancies buying one for me I’ll have mine in orange with black wheels and black and orange interior please. 
Rawwr said:
The first Ferrari I ever drove was a lovely black 308GTB. It was like driving an early Transit van. The steering was heavy, the clutch was sunk in lead and the gear change was bordering on needing two hands but it was fantastic once you got on the move and it was really, genuinely exciting to be cruising around Cambridgeshire's B-roads.
In the years following I sampled an F355, which had lost a bit of that magic but was still somewhat of an event. Fast forward until I got my mitts on a 575 and that just seemed a far, far distant experience to that 308 and had gone from being 'an event' to 'driving a fast car'. Yes, the 575 was easy and fun to drive but I really didn't feel like I was working for that reward.
Old cars; they're the shizzle (or whatever the hip kids are saying these days).
This, exactly this. I had the same experience as the OP except my event was a Ferrari 360. Certainly a lovely and capable car, and I did enjoy it, but it just wasn't as demanding as I'd hoped a mid engined Italian exotic sportscar would be. I'd be inclined to say that the 360 was the driving experience I'd hope to get in an M5 or Quattroporte or something like that.In the years following I sampled an F355, which had lost a bit of that magic but was still somewhat of an event. Fast forward until I got my mitts on a 575 and that just seemed a far, far distant experience to that 308 and had gone from being 'an event' to 'driving a fast car'. Yes, the 575 was easy and fun to drive but I really didn't feel like I was working for that reward.
Old cars; they're the shizzle (or whatever the hip kids are saying these days).
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