Alpine A110 owners

[tony993]

Re the previous dozen or so posts:

Emira: (correct me if I’m wrong) is quite a bit wider than an Evora. It has stupid 20” wheels too.

DAB: I’m very impressed with the DAB reception.

Focal upgrade (no subwoofer): is good, but a long way off being as good as the Bose in our Boxster & Cayman. & we can rely on Lotus to fit something that’s ten times worse in the Emira. The system in my Evora sounded really, really poor.

I have the standard exhaust. It’s a little too quiet for me. I will add some induction noise when I find time.

Sport mode: Yes, the TC allows you to drive the car a little more before it spoils your fun. I stick with Normal for road driving, & usually have TC off. Sport mode also increases idle speed (completely pointless) & the dash board display changes from bad to even worse.

Doors: they close like the doors from a proper car, & they don’t create a ton of wind noise while you’re driving (unless you wind down a window – then there’s a terrible noise). The doors on the four Lotuses I’ve owned were not so well engineered.

I get pops & bangs in Sport & Track, even with my standard exhaust. When I get time, I will get up to Spires & have the Life110 300 hp (or whatever it is) map, & I believe they will be able to delete the pops & bangs code.

Luggage space: It’s enough for me. However, I am constantly frustrated by the front boot release, which is a lever on the left side of the passenger foot well. There’s no button on the fob for it.

& ordering the car: Yes, I find these bundles annoying too. I wanted big brakes (they fit inside 17s) but they would only sell me these unless I paid for 18” wheels & tyres I didn’t want. I wanted a reversing camera, but they wouldn’t sell me one unless I paid for ugly sensor warts across the front & rear bumpers. I wanted heated mirrors, but they wouldn’t sell me these unless… I could go on & on, but I’ll just close by saying, despite some terrible flaws, I’m really, really pleased I bought this car, & I expect I’ll still be driving it & loving it in 10 years’ time.

[Miserablegit]

bcr5784 said:

The Cayman is clearly well ahead of the A110 in terms of both luggage capacity and convenience of access. Both Emira and A110 are compromised and I doubt there is a lot between them in either regard - neither will take your typical full size suitcase and access in both is awkward.

I’m sure I copied details of the Emira on a previous thread but in the Emira specs they take into consideration the space behind the seats where there is (apparently) a shelf. Nobody counts that space in an Alpine even though I’ve had guitars etc stashed there - I accept it’s easier to access with a folding seat rather than fixed buckets.

[Miserablegit]

worldwidewebs said:

Different traction control settings. Not a major issue on the road but it is when on track

This might be the placebo effect but I felt the throttle was more sluggish in Normal and so I drive everywhere in Sport - has the added benefit of automatically disabling stop start.

[Hoofty]

Miserablegit said:

worldwidewebs said:

Different traction control settings. Not a major issue on the road but it is when on track

This might be the placebo effect but I felt the throttle was more sluggish in Normal and so I drive everywhere in Sport - has the added benefit of automatically disabling stop start.

No placebo involved - the standard throttle map is relaxed in line with the ‘normal’ transmission cal. Sport mode increases the gain on the pedal signal to make it feel more urgent. Try switching between the modes with a constant throttle, accel rate changes appreciably.

[Miserablegit]

Many thanks for confirming.
I do agree the “Normal” display is better than the “sport” display though, as mentioned by another poster.

[springfan62]

I drive in normal on boring roads and in towns and then in sport the rest of the time. The throttle response in normal is a bit flat.

[Sporky]

Miserablegit said:

I drive everywhere in Sport - has the added benefit of automatically disabling stop start.

I did not know that - ta.

[Olivera]

tony993 said:

However, I am constantly frustrated by the front boot release, which is a lever on the left side of the passenger foot well. There’s no button on the fob for it.

That sounds a faff - must be a carry over from LHD where it would be in the driver's footwell.

[bcr5784]

tony993 said:

Focal upgrade (no subwoofer): is good, but a long way off being as good as the Bose in our Boxster & Cayman. & we can rely on Lotus to fit something that’s ten times worse in the Emira. The system in my Evora sounded really, really poor.

I'm surprized you say that - I know I'm not alone in thinking the Bose in my 981 was truly awful. Other have stuffed the subwoofer port or replaced the tweeters to try to improve it.

[bcr5784]

Miserablegit said:

I’m sure I copied details of the Emira on a previous thread but in the Emira specs they take into consideration the space behind the seats where there is (apparently) a shelf. Nobody counts that space in an Alpine even though I’ve had guitars etc stashed there - I accept it’s easier to access with a folding seat rather than fixed buckets.

True. But Lotus quote a total capacity of about 300 or 350 litres in total depending on which Lotus figure you look at - Alpine 196.

I suspect there is more space behind the seats of the Emira than the A110 - the (rather silly) lotus video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sadKyzZcaGo shows two carry on bags behind the seats. I can do that - but I'm a shortarse and I doubt Lotus would be so dishonest as show a picture with the seat that far forwards.

It's a case of swings and roundabouts in my view - I suspect there won't be that much in it in total capacity. The A110 has the added convenience of a front boot, the Emira a bigger rear boot with a wider opening, and more convenient access to the area behind the seats.

[tony993]

bcr5784 said:

I'm surprized you say that - I know I'm not alone in thinking the Bose in my 981 was truly awful. Other have stuffed the subwoofer port or replaced the tweeters to try to improve it.

These were 987s, & series 1s, so perhaps the stereos got worse over time, as did many other aspects of these cars - for me, at least. My Alpine stereo beats all others with its gizmo that automatically adjusts the volume as I speed up; I almost never have to adjust the volume myself. It's a real positive.

[RikkertBiemans]

So much written about the sport exhaust and sport mode here. Time to sum it up:

Sport Mode does:
- introduce pops&bangs (sport exhaust only?)
- sharpen the throttle map
- relax esp
- open exhaust valves (sport exhaust only)

Sure it would be nice if we could switch that individually, but then again its also nice to completely change the whole character of the car with one button.
Would never buy a car without sport exhaust. When you want to retrofit a valved exhaust later you have all the hassle with certification (at least in germany) and drone in specific rpms.

[bram070]

RikkertBiemans said:

So much written about the sport exhaust and sport mode here. Time to sum it up:

Sport Mode does:
- introduce pops&bangs (sport exhaust only?)
- sharpen the throttle map
- relax esp
- open exhaust valves (sport exhaust only)

Doesn't Sport mode change the behaviour of the gearbox too? Normal mode makes me feel like I am stuck in a continuous turbo gap, as the car changes up below 1750 rpm (which is fine while driving through town).

[bcr5784]

bram070 said:

Doesn't Sport mode change the behaviour of the gearbox too? Normal mode makes me feel like I am stuck in a continuous turbo gap, as the car changes up below 1750 rpm (which is fine while driving through town).

It makes the steering a tad heavier - but the difference is very small. It also raises the tickover speed slightly - enough to make acceleration off the mark usefully quicker.

Edited by bcr5784 on Wednesday 30th November 21:32

[Hoofty]

The shift patterns between normal and sport are indeed quite different; normal is relaxed, tending to shift earlier and to higher gears for economy/comfort, whereas sport holds lower gears longer, and is really good at recognising when you've lifted to negotiate a corner rather than coast. FWIW I think they're both really well judged and I use both all the time, depending on situation.

[Holgate86]

tony993 said:

bcr5784 said:

I'm surprized you say that - I know I'm not alone in thinking the Bose in my 981 was truly awful. Other have stuffed the subwoofer port or replaced the tweeters to try to improve it.

These were 987s, & series 1s, so perhaps the stereos got worse over time, as did many other aspects of these cars - for me, at least. My Alpine stereo beats all others with its gizmo that automatically adjusts the volume as I speed up; I almost never have to adjust the volume myself. It's a real positive.

Never really got to find out how good or bad the Bose was in my 981 Boxster as I couldn’t hear it due to the horrific tyre roar from the 20 inch tyres……and a Cayman was supposed to be worse.

[domrusty]

Hoofty said:

The shift patterns between normal and sport are indeed quite different; normal is relaxed, tending to shift earlier and to higher gears for economy/comfort, whereas sport holds lower gears longer, and is really good at recognising when you've lifted to negotiate a corner rather than coast. FWIW I think they're both really well judged and I use both all the time, depending on situation.

Agree 100%. Both normal and Sport modes are great: sufficiently different to add something of value; each very much suited to its purpose.

I’ve recently started to use full manual mode, which also adds interest but is not a complete pain in the arse I thought it might be: the box will always change down when it needs to so you’re not having to make every single gear change.

[Terminator X]

Storage pack, worth it or not?

TX.

[AlexNJ89]

Terminator X said:

Storage pack, worth it or not?

TX.

I don't think it's worth it at all. Mine squeaks and rattles behind my ear while I'm driving and it's too deep and awkward to put your hand in and get stuff out of it.

[bcr5784]

Terminator X said:

Storage pack, worth it or not?

TX.

Not - ridiculously expensive and restricts access to the space behind the seats. There are better options for aleviating the (albeit abysmal) lack of oddment storage.