Another Tuscan 2 S log
Discussion
Collected my Tuscan, from here on in to be known as 'Raquel' from the dealer on Friday. The car is laser blue with black interior and anthracite alloys. Will post pics soon.
Was originally scheduled to collect car at 10am but there was a long delay due to issues with the... dah dah daaaaah... pod. The pod kept cutting out and rebooting itself intermittently and they have no idea why. Eventually they offered me the car with faulty pod and the assurance that "the pod didn't matter". Something to bear in mind next time should I ever become stranded at the roadside.
So after spending 8 hours bored out of my tiny mind in the showroom scrutenising the tyres on a Honda HRV and reading Hello magazine (why the **** were these the only mags on the coffee table at the dealers, a Car, Top Gear, or Evo would have been nice. I'd have even settled for GQ or Cosmo) it was finally time to depart. Yeeeeeeeesssssssss!!!!!!!!!
So here's first impressions:
Clutch. These seem to need a little bedding in. It was were rough feeling at first and not entirely due to my indelicate left boot, and pulling away from a standstill was fraught. But the clutch has gotten much better with every passing miles and now 500 miles down the line it's feeling REALLY GOOD. Probably the best clutch, I've ever used.
Brakes. These also required bedding in and I've noticed that they take a while to warm up. The pedal is very firm but you can actually feel the the calipers pressing into the discs through your foot. There's so much feel that antilock would have been a total waste. This is MUCH better.
Tyres. Incredible grip. This car grips like nothing else I have ever driven including my 4WD 4WS Mitsu GTO.
Suspension. The handling and ride are nothing short of incredible. The car feels much heavier than 1100Kg in terms of keeping all 4 wheels firmly planted into the tarmac. There is no body roll whatsoever and really smoothes out the bumps.
Lights. Wow.
Seats. I agree that these are the weak link. Nice to look at but designed for really fat people.
Engine. I love breaking engines in. So far at 500 miles it's happily cruising at up to 3500 with the very occasional burst up to 4000. I just go on feel and stop pushing it when it starts to feel tight.
Paintwork. Initially there appeared to be a couple of pin holes in the bonnet but these turned out to be encrusted polish. Duh. The paint job is the best that I've ever seen and I've commissioned a few custom jobs on my bikes over the years. The paint has real depth and it's an absolute mirror finish. Gave it a once over with resin polish today and it was well worth it. Absolutely gleaming. Totally smooth finish as well. Not a hint of ripple in the lacquer.
Interior. My full leather interior came including the gear and hand brake gaitors. Most thigns appear to be double stiched. The inside of the car smells like the factory did.
Roof. Applied some electrical tape to the rear screen. Both roof and screen come off OK, and are reasonably easy to replace. The screen is a slightly bigger pain but does go on without too much hassle. No leaky wind noise.
Faults:
I ordered painted seat backs and they came in leather. The dealer said "Do you want to send it back?" I'm like "Err nope".
The pod keeps rebooting. Other times it functions OK. On the down side it also reboots the air con meaning intermittent air con when it's playing up. also not recording my true mileage since it keeps switching itself off. Anyone else seen this?
The lights on the buttons for the passenger windows only work intermittently.
The boot can be a bit of a bitch to close but discovered that it requires a firm shove from about 1" rather than being slammed. Double boot catches might have been a better idea.
Was originally scheduled to collect car at 10am but there was a long delay due to issues with the... dah dah daaaaah... pod. The pod kept cutting out and rebooting itself intermittently and they have no idea why. Eventually they offered me the car with faulty pod and the assurance that "the pod didn't matter". Something to bear in mind next time should I ever become stranded at the roadside.
So after spending 8 hours bored out of my tiny mind in the showroom scrutenising the tyres on a Honda HRV and reading Hello magazine (why the **** were these the only mags on the coffee table at the dealers, a Car, Top Gear, or Evo would have been nice. I'd have even settled for GQ or Cosmo) it was finally time to depart. Yeeeeeeeesssssssss!!!!!!!!!
So here's first impressions:
Clutch. These seem to need a little bedding in. It was were rough feeling at first and not entirely due to my indelicate left boot, and pulling away from a standstill was fraught. But the clutch has gotten much better with every passing miles and now 500 miles down the line it's feeling REALLY GOOD. Probably the best clutch, I've ever used.
Brakes. These also required bedding in and I've noticed that they take a while to warm up. The pedal is very firm but you can actually feel the the calipers pressing into the discs through your foot. There's so much feel that antilock would have been a total waste. This is MUCH better.
Tyres. Incredible grip. This car grips like nothing else I have ever driven including my 4WD 4WS Mitsu GTO.
Suspension. The handling and ride are nothing short of incredible. The car feels much heavier than 1100Kg in terms of keeping all 4 wheels firmly planted into the tarmac. There is no body roll whatsoever and really smoothes out the bumps.
Lights. Wow.
Seats. I agree that these are the weak link. Nice to look at but designed for really fat people.
Engine. I love breaking engines in. So far at 500 miles it's happily cruising at up to 3500 with the very occasional burst up to 4000. I just go on feel and stop pushing it when it starts to feel tight.
Paintwork. Initially there appeared to be a couple of pin holes in the bonnet but these turned out to be encrusted polish. Duh. The paint job is the best that I've ever seen and I've commissioned a few custom jobs on my bikes over the years. The paint has real depth and it's an absolute mirror finish. Gave it a once over with resin polish today and it was well worth it. Absolutely gleaming. Totally smooth finish as well. Not a hint of ripple in the lacquer.
Interior. My full leather interior came including the gear and hand brake gaitors. Most thigns appear to be double stiched. The inside of the car smells like the factory did.
Roof. Applied some electrical tape to the rear screen. Both roof and screen come off OK, and are reasonably easy to replace. The screen is a slightly bigger pain but does go on without too much hassle. No leaky wind noise.
Faults:
I ordered painted seat backs and they came in leather. The dealer said "Do you want to send it back?" I'm like "Err nope".
The pod keeps rebooting. Other times it functions OK. On the down side it also reboots the air con meaning intermittent air con when it's playing up. also not recording my true mileage since it keeps switching itself off. Anyone else seen this?
The lights on the buttons for the passenger windows only work intermittently.
The boot can be a bit of a bitch to close but discovered that it requires a firm shove from about 1" rather than being slammed. Double boot catches might have been a better idea.
Craig
You left out another fault..!!!!
You neglected to post piccies, even on your profile.
I too find these tyres (or maybe the suspension set up)a great improvement over my previous car. My original wasn't an S so maybe its unfair to compare, but I find this new one a dream to throw around. I was used to the steering as I had it installed in my Mk1 but the Mk2 certainly handles and rides better.
Di
You left out another fault..!!!!
You neglected to post piccies, even on your profile.
I too find these tyres (or maybe the suspension set up)a great improvement over my previous car. My original wasn't an S so maybe its unfair to compare, but I find this new one a dream to throw around. I was used to the steering as I had it installed in my Mk1 but the Mk2 certainly handles and rides better.
Di
I took some photos yesterday morning with a digital camera, but it only uploads onto my wife's computer so waiting for her to email them back to me. The colour doesn't come out right on the photos but may be able to correct that. Will also try taking some more with my proper SLR and scanning them in also.
Only managed to upload these two so far. More to follow. Spent a long time polishing her yesterday.
>> Edited by Flash19 on Sunday 26th June 17:37
>> Edited by Flash19 on Sunday 26th June 17:38
>> Edited by Flash19 on Wednesday 29th June 11:26
>> Edited by Flash19 on Wednesday 29th June 11:27
>> Edited by Flash19 on Sunday 26th June 17:37
>> Edited by Flash19 on Sunday 26th June 17:38
>> Edited by Flash19 on Wednesday 29th June 11:26
>> Edited by Flash19 on Wednesday 29th June 11:27
Drove 100 miles for first service today. On arrival dealer told me the mechanic was off sick. Momentarily wondered whether to invoice dealer for the £550 I just lost taking the day off, plus £50 of wasted petrol...
Three choices:
1) a) Leave car with them. This means being parked outside during the day and driven into the workshop at night. Take courtesy car, and collect Raquel when she's ready.
1) b) As per 1a) only they will deliver car. This would entail someone I don't know driving her 100 miles to my house. Of course such a person would be a highly paid specialist, and not just some student they'd hired in over the summer. Or not...
2) Take car away and drive back another day once mechanic has returned.
OK so make that ONE choice. I asked them to check with TVR if it would be OK for the 1000 mile service to become a 2000 mile service instead. TVR said "Yes - but don't rev her past 4000."
New minor fault noted. The windscreen wiper has scoured the screen. Dealer has arranged to replace screen.
Well at least it was a nice day,
Three choices:
1) a) Leave car with them. This means being parked outside during the day and driven into the workshop at night. Take courtesy car, and collect Raquel when she's ready.
1) b) As per 1a) only they will deliver car. This would entail someone I don't know driving her 100 miles to my house. Of course such a person would be a highly paid specialist, and not just some student they'd hired in over the summer. Or not...
2) Take car away and drive back another day once mechanic has returned.
OK so make that ONE choice. I asked them to check with TVR if it would be OK for the 1000 mile service to become a 2000 mile service instead. TVR said "Yes - but don't rev her past 4000."
New minor fault noted. The windscreen wiper has scoured the screen. Dealer has arranged to replace screen.
Well at least it was a nice day,
The right indicator occasionally refuses to cancel. I like the TVRs take on air con BTW. There is cool, uncomfortably warm, very hot, and everything above that only seems to alter the strength of the fumes.
The left rear screen catch has now become a total bitch. So I took it off and made a modification that seems to have cured it at least temp. The catches are comfortably the lowest quality items that I have discovered on the car to date. Everything else has a quality feel but these are cheap and nasty.
Here's the rest of the pictures:
>> Edited by Flash19 on Wednesday 29th June 11:30
The left rear screen catch has now become a total bitch. So I took it off and made a modification that seems to have cured it at least temp. The catches are comfortably the lowest quality items that I have discovered on the car to date. Everything else has a quality feel but these are cheap and nasty.
Here's the rest of the pictures:
>> Edited by Flash19 on Wednesday 29th June 11:30
DiFlash19 said:
......including my 4WD 4WS Mitsu GTO.
Aye, aye.....a fellow owner? Were/are you a member of GTOUK? Just wondered if I've ever spoken to you via the GTOUK Forum.
Flash19 said:
Lights. Wow.
Anyone who thinks they're lights are bad should try driving a standard GTO at night, don't you think?! Aside from that, it's a great looking motor you've got there. I wanted to upgrade from my GTO to a Tuscan S (Mk1) too, but that's been put paid to by the taxman, at least for a year or two anyway.
Enjoy!!
Yes I was on GTO UK with same username or thereabouts.
The red car belongs to my wife. I had a GTO too a black Mk1 but after spending a small fortune grasping for 500BHP the bastard finally blew itself up... I transferred all of the safe parts i.e. those that do not involve fuel system *cough* enhancements over to the red car.
Going to join GTO UK as a full member soon in order to break the car for spares. Been too busy playing with the TVR lately to worry about it.
The red car belongs to my wife. I had a GTO too a black Mk1 but after spending a small fortune grasping for 500BHP the bastard finally blew itself up... I transferred all of the safe parts i.e. those that do not involve fuel system *cough* enhancements over to the red car.
Going to join GTO UK as a full member soon in order to break the car for spares. Been too busy playing with the TVR lately to worry about it.
Will take some interior pics once I get the car back.
First the minor stuff. The pod had almost been behaving itself but then went into reboot mode again yesterday, The sticky microswitch on the right indicator comes and goes, should I ever crash then have the pi...police check the right indicator and the chances are it's on.
New issue is slight water ingress onto the passenger seat, either from the roof or from the door.
I fixed the rear screen clip.
Now for the bad shit. Have still patiently been awating first service. Car has now done over 3000 miles and I still haven't been over 4000rpm. So finally this week the dealer calls and promises me that the mechanic might me there on Wednessday. Probably. But I call you in the morning just to confirm. So at 9am this morning the phone goes and the dealer confirms that their ONLY TVR mechanic WITHIN A RANGE OF 100 miles is alive, well, and at work. He also tells me to take an alternative route to avoid the G8 protests.
So off I set in bucketing rain. And the pod goes into reboot mode. So now there is only aircon for 4 secs every minute and of course the screen keeps fogging up. And one of the wiper arms is scratching the screen with that nails on a blackboard sound. So or the next 90 minuts plus I'm sitting there peering through the mist, with sweat pouring down my face listening to eeeeeeeeeek eeeeeeeek eeek eeek eeek eek eeek eeek eeek eeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek eeeek eeek eeek eeeek eeeek eeeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek... and so forth.
Then on arrival at the dealers I greeted by the usual cheery smile and adopt the false and unduly confident assumption that I might actually be leaving here in the next 6 hours with my car actually serviced, perhaps with a wroking speedo, aircon, and a windscreen wiper that isn't digging a hole in the screen.
But NO. See apparently despite the fact that the dealer only phoned my at 9am, I was meant to get here by 8am. Otherwise it will not be possible to complete this work as it takes the engine 24 hours to cool down and [at this point dealer assumes I'm an idiot and spins bullshit regarding the shims, buckets, and tappets] so HOPEFULLY the car might possibly be ready tomorrow.
WHICH IS JUST GREAT SINCE I'VE ONLY HAD 3 HOURS SLEEP. AND EVERY DAY I TAKE OFF WORK COSTS ME AT LEAST £550, A TOTAL OF £1650 so far for this service which is over 2000 miles and 10 days late, despite booking it on the day I collect the car (which you may remember saw me sitting around in the dealers for 8 hours, despite being planned 2 weeks in advance).
So then he offers to drop off the car. Yeah right. Like you employ some test driver trained under the watchful eye of Walter Rohl himself and not some 18 year old in the summer holidays after finishing school with the ink still drying on their license [please not this last part is pure speculation]. And here I am lovingly breaking the car in, only to hand the keys over to said spotty cretin that's probably on remand for killing his 14 year old girlfriend in a fiery crash only last month for a quick 100 mile burn up the A90... or hell why not just take it over the A93 for kicks... in a 195mph supercar.
Umm - FCUK OFF!
So they give me a Honda Scivic Greenhouse edition 600cc with enough petrol to get 35 feet, charge me £10 for insurance although I'm convinced I'm covered anyway, and send me packing.
The Scivic has a throttle travel of 5mm and ont he way home I go past a laser gun at 94mph trying to figure out how to adjust the wipers.
So anyone know another TVR dealer within 5000 miles of Aberdeen?
First the minor stuff. The pod had almost been behaving itself but then went into reboot mode again yesterday, The sticky microswitch on the right indicator comes and goes, should I ever crash then have the pi...police check the right indicator and the chances are it's on.
New issue is slight water ingress onto the passenger seat, either from the roof or from the door.
I fixed the rear screen clip.
Now for the bad shit. Have still patiently been awating first service. Car has now done over 3000 miles and I still haven't been over 4000rpm. So finally this week the dealer calls and promises me that the mechanic might me there on Wednessday. Probably. But I call you in the morning just to confirm. So at 9am this morning the phone goes and the dealer confirms that their ONLY TVR mechanic WITHIN A RANGE OF 100 miles is alive, well, and at work. He also tells me to take an alternative route to avoid the G8 protests.
So off I set in bucketing rain. And the pod goes into reboot mode. So now there is only aircon for 4 secs every minute and of course the screen keeps fogging up. And one of the wiper arms is scratching the screen with that nails on a blackboard sound. So or the next 90 minuts plus I'm sitting there peering through the mist, with sweat pouring down my face listening to eeeeeeeeeek eeeeeeeek eeek eeek eeek eek eeek eeek eeek eeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek eeeek eeek eeek eeeek eeeek eeeek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek... and so forth.
Then on arrival at the dealers I greeted by the usual cheery smile and adopt the false and unduly confident assumption that I might actually be leaving here in the next 6 hours with my car actually serviced, perhaps with a wroking speedo, aircon, and a windscreen wiper that isn't digging a hole in the screen.
But NO. See apparently despite the fact that the dealer only phoned my at 9am, I was meant to get here by 8am. Otherwise it will not be possible to complete this work as it takes the engine 24 hours to cool down and [at this point dealer assumes I'm an idiot and spins bullshit regarding the shims, buckets, and tappets] so HOPEFULLY the car might possibly be ready tomorrow.
WHICH IS JUST GREAT SINCE I'VE ONLY HAD 3 HOURS SLEEP. AND EVERY DAY I TAKE OFF WORK COSTS ME AT LEAST £550, A TOTAL OF £1650 so far for this service which is over 2000 miles and 10 days late, despite booking it on the day I collect the car (which you may remember saw me sitting around in the dealers for 8 hours, despite being planned 2 weeks in advance).
So then he offers to drop off the car. Yeah right. Like you employ some test driver trained under the watchful eye of Walter Rohl himself and not some 18 year old in the summer holidays after finishing school with the ink still drying on their license [please not this last part is pure speculation]. And here I am lovingly breaking the car in, only to hand the keys over to said spotty cretin that's probably on remand for killing his 14 year old girlfriend in a fiery crash only last month for a quick 100 mile burn up the A90... or hell why not just take it over the A93 for kicks... in a 195mph supercar.
Umm - FCUK OFF!
So they give me a Honda Scivic Greenhouse edition 600cc with enough petrol to get 35 feet, charge me £10 for insurance although I'm convinced I'm covered anyway, and send me packing.
The Scivic has a throttle travel of 5mm and ont he way home I go past a laser gun at 94mph trying to figure out how to adjust the wipers.
So anyone know another TVR dealer within 5000 miles of Aberdeen?
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