This Week, I Have Mostly Been Driving...
Discussion
A Range Rover Evoque Si4 Dynamic. My parents are away on holiday so in exchange for looking after their house, I've left my Focus in the garage and been tossed the keys to their Range Rover. I've probably done about 500 miles or so in it up until this week so I knew it was good, but driving it every day has really made me question performance cars altogether! I wasn't expecting that.
Yes, it's a bit of a boat, but what with the roads and traffic how they are in 2012, I've been rather enjoying it, to be honest. I sit higher than peasants in cars, have beautiful heated leather seats, an amazing panoramic glass roof, a predictable 6-speed slush box, the most bad-ass Meridian hi-fi out there and it's extremely quiet and comfortable, even on 20" wheels. Indeed, there's even a button that turns the dials red and makes the suspension less comfortable, so I've only pressed that once. It looks good too!
What I am championing here is not the Evoque in particular (though it is an exceptional car), but waft-y luxo-barges for everyday driving. I've long promised myself an E38 750iL, and I now fear that after this week I'm going to have to buy one to smoke about in on a day-to-day basis (yes, the V12 one
). I was thinking of chopping in my Focus for a GT-R or Corvette Z06 in a couple of years' time, but I'm not so sure now. I think a go-kart and trailer, complete with a comfy blob tow car would be even more fun and less likely to get me banned than something capable of breaking the national speed limit from standing in less than three seconds... Even my 301bhp Ford is far too quick to be used to its full potential on the road, while it's a heavy, tyre-munching mess on a circuit.
So who's with me?
Here's a gratuitous photo of the RR I took back in the winter:
Yes, it's a bit of a boat, but what with the roads and traffic how they are in 2012, I've been rather enjoying it, to be honest. I sit higher than peasants in cars, have beautiful heated leather seats, an amazing panoramic glass roof, a predictable 6-speed slush box, the most bad-ass Meridian hi-fi out there and it's extremely quiet and comfortable, even on 20" wheels. Indeed, there's even a button that turns the dials red and makes the suspension less comfortable, so I've only pressed that once. It looks good too!
What I am championing here is not the Evoque in particular (though it is an exceptional car), but waft-y luxo-barges for everyday driving. I've long promised myself an E38 750iL, and I now fear that after this week I'm going to have to buy one to smoke about in on a day-to-day basis (yes, the V12 one
). I was thinking of chopping in my Focus for a GT-R or Corvette Z06 in a couple of years' time, but I'm not so sure now. I think a go-kart and trailer, complete with a comfy blob tow car would be even more fun and less likely to get me banned than something capable of breaking the national speed limit from standing in less than three seconds... Even my 301bhp Ford is far too quick to be used to its full potential on the road, while it's a heavy, tyre-munching mess on a circuit.So who's with me?
Here's a gratuitous photo of the RR I took back in the winter:
Excellent post 
First off, I'm glad to hear that you think the Evoque really is that good, I really like how things are looking at JLR (graduating into automotive engineering in three years' time means I enjoy seeing growth in our industry here!) and have been far more of a fan of the Evoque in particular than I expected I would be.
But to your main point.. Actually, I agree. I ran a 2.6 A4 for two years, and it was gradually modified by means of bigger, grippier wheels and lower, firmer springs and dampers and the thing really did handle exceptionally well for what it was and was great fun to play with down a lane, feeling lighter and pointier than you could ever expect.
Now though, I've just bought an E46 328i and while clearly no E38 or XJ40, it has an outstanding ability to just soak things up and relax you when you're not terribly interested in driving, but just want to get somewhere. I've done a decent share of circuit driving and you're never going to get close to the performance limits like that on the road, so why not compromise them a little to give yourself, literally, a smoother ride through life? I thought before buying it that this E46 would look fantastic on a set of 18" MV2s, and yes it would, but it's just so soft and compliant without them that I'm not going to bother.
With 190bhp, it's quick enough that I can get by people in my way and can have fun when I want to, but it's not a hardened focussed machine and actually, I don't want it to be. I don't do many miles but it's great to get out of the car after even a long drive and not feel like you've made any more effort than was required to climb out of the seat!
And I'm only 20
Now my plan is most certainly to keep this car, maybe even trade up into the barge ranks, and have something else as a weekend track toy because then performance can be put to good use. But for the road? Compromise away. It's nice.
First off, I'm glad to hear that you think the Evoque really is that good, I really like how things are looking at JLR (graduating into automotive engineering in three years' time means I enjoy seeing growth in our industry here!) and have been far more of a fan of the Evoque in particular than I expected I would be.
But to your main point.. Actually, I agree. I ran a 2.6 A4 for two years, and it was gradually modified by means of bigger, grippier wheels and lower, firmer springs and dampers and the thing really did handle exceptionally well for what it was and was great fun to play with down a lane, feeling lighter and pointier than you could ever expect.
Now though, I've just bought an E46 328i and while clearly no E38 or XJ40, it has an outstanding ability to just soak things up and relax you when you're not terribly interested in driving, but just want to get somewhere. I've done a decent share of circuit driving and you're never going to get close to the performance limits like that on the road, so why not compromise them a little to give yourself, literally, a smoother ride through life? I thought before buying it that this E46 would look fantastic on a set of 18" MV2s, and yes it would, but it's just so soft and compliant without them that I'm not going to bother.
With 190bhp, it's quick enough that I can get by people in my way and can have fun when I want to, but it's not a hardened focussed machine and actually, I don't want it to be. I don't do many miles but it's great to get out of the car after even a long drive and not feel like you've made any more effort than was required to climb out of the seat!
And I'm only 20
Now my plan is most certainly to keep this car, maybe even trade up into the barge ranks, and have something else as a weekend track toy because then performance can be put to good use. But for the road? Compromise away. It's nice.
David87 said:
So who's with me?
Here's a gratuitous photo of the RR I took back in the winter:
Me, but there again I'm turning into an old fart as we speak.Here's a gratuitous photo of the RR I took back in the winter:
That's why for my next set of work wheels I'm getting one of these, largely for 0-62mph in 5.6s, 258 bhp, 411 lb/ft, ~50mpg and 129g CO2/km all in the same car.
Great post!
I think your parents have specc'd the best colour combo aswell. The Evoque has grown on me quite a lot. In regards to your question though, I agree. I would really like a Audi Q7, BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne as a daily. Many people just dismiss them (rightly or wrongly) before actually having a go in them and often quote wrong info or word what they say to suit them.
Enjoy!
I am only 17 aswell.
I think your parents have specc'd the best colour combo aswell. The Evoque has grown on me quite a lot. In regards to your question though, I agree. I would really like a Audi Q7, BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne as a daily. Many people just dismiss them (rightly or wrongly) before actually having a go in them and often quote wrong info or word what they say to suit them.
Enjoy!
I am only 17 aswell.
Totally agree, I had the same thought last year.
After a line of quick road cars I came to the conclusion that the roads today are just no fun in them; too bumpy, too many speed cameras and just too many other people. I was driving great cars but just constantly getting frustrated by not being able to use them properly.
So I sold them, bought a C class diesel auto for the daily commute and then got myself a race car and trailer for weekend fun! It's a much better combination! I can drive around on the road in complete comfort with great economy and then go absolutely nuts on the track every few weeks when I'm out racing. For me, A few mins of track time in a proper race car is so much more fun that a week on the road in a performance car.
After a line of quick road cars I came to the conclusion that the roads today are just no fun in them; too bumpy, too many speed cameras and just too many other people. I was driving great cars but just constantly getting frustrated by not being able to use them properly.
So I sold them, bought a C class diesel auto for the daily commute and then got myself a race car and trailer for weekend fun! It's a much better combination! I can drive around on the road in complete comfort with great economy and then go absolutely nuts on the track every few weeks when I'm out racing. For me, A few mins of track time in a proper race car is so much more fun that a week on the road in a performance car.
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