Tamora for European tour??
Discussion
Hi guys
Im considering a Tamora (amongst other cars) for a drive round Europe this summer -
about 2200 miles I reckon.
a) Is a Tamora equipped with enough bootspace to carry the necessary for 2?
b) do all Tamoras have aircon? we are going in August and heading south!
c) am I just asking for trouble/a breakdown??
d) will the exhaust noise drive us nuts on the long haul sections through France/Germany?
any experiences/suggestions welcome!!!
Im considering a Tamora (amongst other cars) for a drive round Europe this summer -
about 2200 miles I reckon.
a) Is a Tamora equipped with enough bootspace to carry the necessary for 2?
b) do all Tamoras have aircon? we are going in August and heading south!
c) am I just asking for trouble/a breakdown??
d) will the exhaust noise drive us nuts on the long haul sections through France/Germany?
any experiences/suggestions welcome!!!
DarkHorseTerence said:
Hi guys
Im considering a Tamora (amongst other cars) for a drive round Europe this summer -
about 2200 miles I reckon.
a) Is a Tamora equipped with enough bootspace to carry the necessary for 2?
b) do all Tamoras have aircon? we are going in August and heading south!
c) am I just asking for trouble/a breakdown??
d) will the exhaust noise drive us nuts on the long haul sections through France/Germany?
any experiences/suggestions welcome!!!
A) yes, if you use smallish soft bagsIm considering a Tamora (amongst other cars) for a drive round Europe this summer -
about 2200 miles I reckon.
a) Is a Tamora equipped with enough bootspace to carry the necessary for 2?
b) do all Tamoras have aircon? we are going in August and heading south!
c) am I just asking for trouble/a breakdown??
d) will the exhaust noise drive us nuts on the long haul sections through France/Germany?
any experiences/suggestions welcome!!!
B) no, ours doesn't and it can get a bit warm in the cockpit in traffic.
C) no, make sure it is well serviced and checked over.
D) ours has the standard exhaust and is absolutely fine on a long run.
We've done a fair few miles on the continent and it's been great, fabulous on the open European A roads.
Hi
You will definitely have NO ISSUES with most of those things. Myself (Tamora) and 8 other cars did a Euro tour In2012 covering Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria Switzerland, Italy and a bit of France with 2 up and 2 weeks luggage. My car was fine and assuming your car is in good working order you'll be fine I did 2500 miles a and a good bit of it was hard driven. My car doesn't have aircon as I am not a girl...I bought the car for hood down travelling.
only had one issue regarding luggage, when we got caught in a hailstone/ rain storm on the Stelvio we had to get out and empty the boot for the roof ...we got drenched and it felt like we were been shot at with pellet guns. we took two large holdalls and 4 smaller sports bags + a few tools .
Usual advice is to make sure you give the car the once over oil, water, air, tyres, brake pads and I also increased the tyre pressure, adjusted the ride hight and damper settings to account for my lardyarse mate and the luggage.
For me I had some issue with the sports exhaust on the steady runs the drone did my head in and also the guys following hated it.
Buzz
You will definitely have NO ISSUES with most of those things. Myself (Tamora) and 8 other cars did a Euro tour In2012 covering Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria Switzerland, Italy and a bit of France with 2 up and 2 weeks luggage. My car was fine and assuming your car is in good working order you'll be fine I did 2500 miles a and a good bit of it was hard driven. My car doesn't have aircon as I am not a girl...I bought the car for hood down travelling.
only had one issue regarding luggage, when we got caught in a hailstone/ rain storm on the Stelvio we had to get out and empty the boot for the roof ...we got drenched and it felt like we were been shot at with pellet guns. we took two large holdalls and 4 smaller sports bags + a few tools .
Usual advice is to make sure you give the car the once over oil, water, air, tyres, brake pads and I also increased the tyre pressure, adjusted the ride hight and damper settings to account for my lardyarse mate and the luggage.
For me I had some issue with the sports exhaust on the steady runs the drone did my head in and also the guys following hated it.
Buzz
Edited by BuzzBillsberry on Saturday 15th March 12:54
Ours did fine in 2012 for 3 weeks and 3000 miles.
Get it serviced / checked over before you go.
Ours has aircon, which I found useful on long drives with the roof on. No need with the roof off.
Plenty of space in the boot for a couple of good sized soft bags and a few bits and pieces. We did washing a couple of times over 3 weeks at friendly hotels / B&Bs. No point taking 3 weeks worth of clothes.
Trip writeup here:
http://gavinandnaomi.com/?page_id=607
Get it serviced / checked over before you go.
Ours has aircon, which I found useful on long drives with the roof on. No need with the roof off.
Plenty of space in the boot for a couple of good sized soft bags and a few bits and pieces. We did washing a couple of times over 3 weeks at friendly hotels / B&Bs. No point taking 3 weeks worth of clothes.
Trip writeup here:
http://gavinandnaomi.com/?page_id=607
informative write up on your trip there well done - its interesting to see how an individual experience of the same roads on a particular day/traffic affect ones perception of them - like you said about driving the lakeside roads in Italy weren't much fun, but my own experiences of them last year were terrific - the scenery is stunning, the intermittent villages beautiful and the tarmac smooth.
The car did well though didn't it!
I will have to get one out on a steady run at motorway speeds to judge if the noise would drive me nuts or not. I think the interior is a nice place to be (with aircon - yes I'm a girl - I don't like running for 6 hours straight in 30 degrees external temps without it!).
The car did well though didn't it!
I will have to get one out on a steady run at motorway speeds to judge if the noise would drive me nuts or not. I think the interior is a nice place to be (with aircon - yes I'm a girl - I don't like running for 6 hours straight in 30 degrees external temps without it!).
You will have no problem. Did a tour of France and Switzerland last year (profile pic was taken on Furka pass). Loads of boot space and can easily get a sports bag on the back shelf. I have no aircon - was very warm at times but had the roof off 90% of the time. My exhaust is very load, not ideal on motorway but wouldn't have changed it for the world through all the tunnels and passes. Did a similar trip the previous year in my 911 GTS and taking the Tamora made the trip much better!!!
DarkHorseTerence said:
informative write up on your trip there well done - its interesting to see how an individual experience of the same roads on a particular day/traffic affect ones perception of them - like you said about driving the lakeside roads in Italy weren't much fun, but my own experiences of them last year were terrific - the scenery is stunning, the intermittent villages beautiful and the tarmac smooth.
The car did well though didn't it!
I will have to get one out on a steady run at motorway speeds to judge if the noise would drive me nuts or not. I think the interior is a nice place to be (with aircon - yes I'm a girl - I don't like running for 6 hours straight in 30 degrees external temps without it!).
There were good roads in other bits of the Italian lakes, but the parts of Como near where we stayed were not good - around the Argegno area.The car did well though didn't it!
I will have to get one out on a steady run at motorway speeds to judge if the noise would drive me nuts or not. I think the interior is a nice place to be (with aircon - yes I'm a girl - I don't like running for 6 hours straight in 30 degrees external temps without it!).
Top Gear were there recently (episode earlier this year) and I recall Hammond not having much fun. See this link from that episode - http://youtu.be/Gxr16GE4kEU?t=47s. Even when it opened out a bit speed limits were low.
Around Lake Maggiore was much better.
Our car has the JP/ACT exhaust which is quite loud. A bit of a drone at 70. 80 is better, but 60 works too. You will need to drive or get a ride in a few cars to judge for yourself. Don't expect to be enjoying much music on your trip.
My T350t has been to Florence and back once. 18 days away, made it from Calais to Florence 95% of the way without using dull motorways. wouldn't want to do it in anything else. we've also done the south of france about 4-5 times, including one camping trip. There' two of us on the way out. on the way back, there's normally two of us and 30-40 bottles of red wine too, but i think the t350's boot is better. Mine does become tiresome on long motorway sections from the noise, but the exhaust is not stock and is far from subtle.
DarkHorseTerence said:
Hi guys
Im considering a Tamora (amongst other cars) for a drive round Europe this summer -
about 2200 miles I reckon.
a) Is a Tamora equipped with enough bootspace to carry the necessary for 2?
b) do all Tamoras have aircon? we are going in August and heading south!
c) am I just asking for trouble/a breakdown??
d) will the exhaust noise drive us nuts on the long haul sections through France/Germany?
any experiences/suggestions welcome!!!
a) yes, our longest European journey was a month to the south of France, Italy and Switzerland. We took a lot of Rohan clothes that you can wash in the evening and they're ready to wear the following morning with no ironing required. Soft bags including carrier bags essential to take advantage of the nooks and crannies.Im considering a Tamora (amongst other cars) for a drive round Europe this summer -
about 2200 miles I reckon.
a) Is a Tamora equipped with enough bootspace to carry the necessary for 2?
b) do all Tamoras have aircon? we are going in August and heading south!
c) am I just asking for trouble/a breakdown??
d) will the exhaust noise drive us nuts on the long haul sections through France/Germany?
any experiences/suggestions welcome!!!
b) no, ours doesn't. I don't find it a problem, but my wife does more so now. Just get the roof down!
c) no issues with a sorted, looked after Tamora. Ours is very well looked after and we've been on many tours of different parts of France as well as the long European trip. However, make sure you have European breakdown cover.
d) we have TVR Power super sports exhausts for the noise. Why would noise be a problem?
The Tamora makes a magnificent car for European tours. Very comfy, no mechanical problems and plenty of luggage space. Air con only really necessary if you get stuck in traffic (but decats reduce cabin temps a lot anyway, and a gearstick heat sink is useful for driving in the sun). Just be careful not to buy too much booze before leaving France 'cos you end up stacking it on the parcel shelf.
Boot is massive and there's space behind the seats (even with the targa panel in the boot). I've got stupid amounts of stuff in mine. Soft bags are the key.
Personally, I'd get a 'Surrey Roof' to replace the targa panel as it'll free up boot space and is easier to get in place in a hurry (imho). Depending on how the tax return goes I'm going to get one for Tamy and one for Samy.
Noise - well, it's a TVR not a Prius. Aftermarket exhausts are louder but in reality unless you're tour consists of motorway miles I don't think you'll have an issue.
Reliability - unfortunately no one can give you a definative guarantee on that. What I would say is that a TVR is better when it's used regularily. So I'd say, man up, put your knob on the block and get one soon. Use it and get it serviced before the trip by someone who knows the SP6 TVR engine. Indemnify your trip by taking out European Cover from one of the main providers.
Personally, I'd get a 'Surrey Roof' to replace the targa panel as it'll free up boot space and is easier to get in place in a hurry (imho). Depending on how the tax return goes I'm going to get one for Tamy and one for Samy.
Noise - well, it's a TVR not a Prius. Aftermarket exhausts are louder but in reality unless you're tour consists of motorway miles I don't think you'll have an issue.
Reliability - unfortunately no one can give you a definative guarantee on that. What I would say is that a TVR is better when it's used regularily. So I'd say, man up, put your knob on the block and get one soon. Use it and get it serviced before the trip by someone who knows the SP6 TVR engine. Indemnify your trip by taking out European Cover from one of the main providers.
I've done summer runs around europe in cobra replicas, griff, and now have a tam.
i think the tam is a pretty good all rounder for that sort of thing, and am planning a couple trips in mine this year.
as mentioned, soft bags essential for the boot, surrey roof a good idea. i had a split roof for the griff which was great
i have used breakdown cover in europe, (wheel bearing broke up on my griff), it was no real issue, but do make sure you've decent cover, it makes the decision to take the toy car easier.
i think the tam is a pretty good all rounder for that sort of thing, and am planning a couple trips in mine this year.
as mentioned, soft bags essential for the boot, surrey roof a good idea. i had a split roof for the griff which was great
i have used breakdown cover in europe, (wheel bearing broke up on my griff), it was no real issue, but do make sure you've decent cover, it makes the decision to take the toy car easier.
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