Test drive and advice please
Test drive and advice please
Author
Discussion

steve1

Original Poster:

1,251 posts

273 months

Friday 28th October 2005
quotequote all
I have a test drive on Saturday in a m12 3 litre, what should i be looking for, also when did they change from the 2.5 to the 3 litre and five speed box to the six speed, or is this just something that is spec'd when purchasing.

Thanx, Steve.

misterx

656 posts

279 months

Friday 28th October 2005
quotequote all
steve1 said:
I have a test drive on Saturday in a m12 3 litre, what should i be looking for, also when did they change from the 2.5 to the 3 litre and five speed box to the six speed, or is this just something that is spec'd when purchasing.

Thanx, Steve.


It is around 3 years since the 3 litre model was introduced. Mine comes up for its MOT in a few weeks. For a while the 2.5 remained available but was then discontinued. The 6 speed box was an optional upgrade when the 3 litre model came out. My understanding is that when the 3R was introduced and the 6-speed became standard on that model, it made sense to discontinue the 5 speed version on the plain 3 litre car.

steve1

Original Poster:

1,251 posts

273 months

Friday 28th October 2005
quotequote all
That clears a few points up, what is the difference between the standard 3 litre and the 3R, sorry for questions that are probably obvious to all you Noble fans, but I like to have as much info as possible so as I get the right car.

Thanx, Steve.

lucozade

2,574 posts

308 months

Friday 28th October 2005
quotequote all
steve1 said:
That clears a few points up, what is the difference between the standard 3 litre and the 3R, sorry for questions that are probably obvious to all you Noble fans, but I like to have as much info as possible so as I get the right car.

Thanx, Steve.


3R has better sound deadening and leather bits inside. I think the turbos where also moved so things are a bit quieter inside the cabin.

No performance differences.

Makes sure your car has a track day sump if you want to track it, that it has the LSD fitted and that it's a six speed box.

A few threads like this have come up before so it's worthwhile doing a search.

Good luck with the test drive.

m12gto3r

108 posts

255 months

Saturday 29th October 2005
quotequote all
To my knowlwdge the 3R differs from the 3 as follows:

3R has LSD (not on 3)
3R has 6 speed box - 3 has 5 speed box
3R has Leather interior as standard
3R has Flared in lights - 3 has circular head lights
3R has more sound proofing
3R Better alloys (in my opinion)

Unless you are a deamon driver it is unlikely that you will notice a major performance difference between the 3 and 3R.

misterx

656 posts

279 months

Saturday 29th October 2005
quotequote all
m12gto3r said:
To my knowlwdge the 3R differs from the 3 as follows:

3R has LSD (not on 3)
3R has 6 speed box - 3 has 5 speed box
3R has Leather interior as standard
3R has Flared in lights - 3 has circular head lights
3R has more sound proofing
3R Better alloys (in my opinion)



And the headlamps are different, ie on 3R they are sealed in.

BrianJ

256 posts

271 months

Saturday 29th October 2005
quotequote all
Many 3's also have 6 speed and LSD. But either way you want one with the later gear linkage - big advantage.

steve1

Original Poster:

1,251 posts

273 months

Sunday 30th October 2005
quotequote all
Test drive complete, and no, I wasn't dissapointed, it was the 3R that I went out in, and this would be my model of choice, the only thing that I didn't like were the seats, thay were leather and I prefer alcantara, but I was told that they didn't do this model with those seats, is this right? Also I would like to drive one for a bit longer, maybe a wekend or at least a couple of days, do any of you guys know of a company that does this sort of thing.
One other thing, noticed that the cabin smelt a bit ( fumes )do they all suffer from this or was it just this car.

Thanx, Steve.

joust

14,622 posts

288 months

Sunday 30th October 2005
quotequote all
All 3R's came with leather seats, but www.auto-interiors.net/ can change anything you want (they do the factory work and are excellent).

No idea about anyone hiring them out, probably best to have a chat with the dealer?

J

Mr Noble

6,538 posts

262 months

Sunday 30th October 2005
quotequote all
3R could be specced with alcantara instead of leather and quite a few 3R's do have alcantara, I do, and it was a preference when I was looking for a 2nd hand one.

There are a few hire companies with Noble's on there books but IIRC it would cost you over a grand for a weekend.

Just buy it and if you're not happy then you'll be the first!!

Greg

ufo 2 nob

4,485 posts

278 months

Sunday 30th October 2005
quotequote all
lucozade said:

steve1 said:
That clears a few points up, what is the difference between the standard 3 litre and the 3R, sorry for questions that are probably obvious to all you Noble fans, but I like to have as much info as possible so as I get the right car.

Thanx, Steve.



3R has better sound deadening and leather bits inside. I think the turbos where also moved so things are a bit quieter inside the cabin.

No performance differences.

Makes sure your car has a track day sump if you want to track it, that it has the LSD fitted and that it's a six speed box.

A few threads like this have come up before so it's worthwhile doing a search.

Good luck with the test drive.
There were performance differences ,the GTO 3 was 340bhp standard and the 3r was 352bhp standard.Also the 3r has the quaiffe lsd which makes a big difference to the performance.For the small difference buy the 3R.Wheels,headlamps,lsd,6 speed,track sump,12 bhp,leather,sound proofing.Looks better and will have better re sale potential.

m12_nathan

5,138 posts

288 months

Sunday 30th October 2005
quotequote all
The GTO3s were upgraded to the same engine map as the 3R so no power difference.

V6GTO

11,579 posts

271 months

Sunday 30th October 2005
quotequote all
I specced mine with Alcantara...it's better by miles!

Martin.

Scottie - NW

1,388 posts

262 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all

Hi,

Just need to correct some false information being given out by different people here.

The 6 speed box is not standard on the 3R. Some of the early 3R's have 5 speed boxes, I drove one for 6 months !!

Possibly the best car I have driven on the road, but kit car build quality !

As long as you can live with the negatives the positives far outway them !

Hope you find a good one.

lucozade

2,574 posts

308 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all
Scottie - NW said:

but kit car build quality !


Bollocks!

The build quality is far better than that. End of conversation.

Scottie - NW

1,388 posts

262 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all
lucozade said:
Scottie - NW said:

but kit car build quality !


Bollocks!

The build quality is far better than that. End of conversation.


I stand by the above statement. Be rude all you want, but I had the pleasure of one for 6 months.

I thought I gave a fair review, and did point out that it was possibly the best car I had ever driven on the road and the positives far outweigh the negatives. How you can dismiss it as "bo11ocks" having not known any of the facts in my case I'm not sure. At the end of the day that is my unbiased opinion if not yours.

Perhaps I am just used to better engineered cars ? Maybe. Also slower though ;-)

lucozade

2,574 posts

308 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all
Scottie - NW said:

I stand by the above statement. Be rude all you want, but I had the pleasure of one for 6 months.

I thought I gave a fair review, and did point out that it was possibly the best car I had ever driven on the road and the positives far outweigh the negatives. How you can dismiss it as "bo11ocks" having not known any of the facts in my case I'm not sure. At the end of the day that is my unbiased opinion if not yours.

Perhaps I am just used to better engineered cars ? Maybe. Also slower though ;-)


Rude or not I simply do no support your opinion of "kit car build quality".

I've owned plenty Euro boxes and hand build cars, 3 TVRs, 1 Noble to know the differences in quality.

The Noble does not have a kit car built quality feel and any minor issues do not follow that they are because it's of "kit car build quality". Shut lines and finish are far superior to that of any kit car I have ever seen.

It's a low production sport car that does not have the massive development budget that the Euro boxes have. Yes, I admit there are some niggles with them, some of us have had more niggles than others. But it's not because of "kit car build quality". It's because they are low volume. My M3 had more problems but i wouldn't consider that a "kit car".

>> Edited by lucozade on Wednesday 2nd November 15:31

steve1

Original Poster:

1,251 posts

273 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all
Although I do appreciate your advice, I still need to have longer in one of these cars, so I would welcome any suggestions, at the moment I have a very practicle performance car, ( ZMCoupe ) lots of power but also lots of luggage space, so you can see my dilema, I just need to know wether i can live with a Noble being an everyday car, your thoughts please.

Thanx, Steve.

ThatPhilBrettGuy

11,810 posts

269 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all
steve1 said:
Although I do appreciate your advice, I still need to have longer in one of these cars, so I would welcome any suggestions, at the moment I have a very practicle performance car, ( ZMCoupe ) lots of power but also lots of luggage space, so you can see my dilema, I just need to know wether i can live with a Noble being an everyday car, your thoughts please.

Thanx, Steve.

You're going to miss your boot. Cue a whole load of people saying there's loads of storage. There's ok amount but it isn't that easy to use (compared to a boot).

I've lived with a 3R as my only car for over a year now. It's fine. However, 2 people going away for anything longer than a long weekend will test you....

lucozade

2,574 posts

308 months

Wednesday 2nd November 2005
quotequote all
steve1 said:
Although I do appreciate your advice, I still need to have longer in one of these cars, so I would welcome any suggestions, at the moment I have a very practicle performance car, ( ZMCoupe ) lots of power but also lots of luggage space, so you can see my dilema, I just need to know wether i can live with a Noble being an everyday car, your thoughts please.

Thanx, Steve.


Luggage space has never been an issue for me with my 3R. Long weekend trips or just every day shopping, etc.

There is enough space behind the seats and around to accomodate a decent amount of luggage and a passenger - IMHO.

Just do it !