HOW GOOD IS THE M12 GTO 3R TO DRIVE ?

[madmax2000]

hello Noble owners ,

i know this is a great site and very informative . I just wanted to know from owners of how good is the M12 3R to drive on every day roads . What is is about this car that's so good , is it all about the chassis ? Thanks for your input .

Edited by madmax2000 on Friday 1st October 12:48

[R0162]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfJvqfXTzNc

yes very good to drive, this is the M400 but gives a good idea, the 79mph through the slalom is a record and to put it into perspective the ariel atom only managed 70mph.

[R0162]

The 3R is very comfortable to drive on roads, i took a guy for a spin who owns the lotus garage in Cyprus, it was his first time in a noble , he could not believe how comfortable it was compared to a Lotus, so it is a great combination of handling and comfort.
The car has good balance, chassis design, suspension, weight, mechanical grip, centre of gravity, amazing steering response, road feedback etc.. and that is why it is so great to drive.

[sjc]

They might have the odd quirk/fault, but I've never heard anyone say anything negative about the driving experience in a Noble.

[andygtt]

I've used the Noble everyday and I rate it a long way ahead of the M3 I have and the Boxster I sold to buy the noble.... Ive also had an Ultima and VX220 and it surpasses these as well.. Its in fact head and shoulders above them all IMHO

[alastairb]

madmax2000 said:

hello Noble owners ,

i know this is a great site and very informative . I just wanted to know from owners of how good is the M12 3R to drive on every day roads . What is is about this car that's so good , is it all about the chassis ? Thanks for your input .

I've done 50K miles in a Z4MC and it was a lot more skittish on British roads than the 3R I have now, from reading Clarkson / Tiff and EVO magasines review of the Noble M12 it seems the chassis is so well sorted that there is no need for the mega hard damping and spring rates you see on other cars, which translates to a good ride on British roads
Cant compare to a Lotus though?

[The devil]

alastairb said:

madmax2000 said:

hello Noble owners ,

i know this is a great site and very informative . I just wanted to know from owners of how good is the M12 3R to drive on every day roads . What is is about this car that's so good , is it all about the chassis ? Thanks for your input .

I've done 50K miles in a Z4MC and it was a lot more skittish on British roads than the 3R I have now, from reading Clarkson / Tiff and EVO magasines review of the Noble M12 it seems the chassis is so well sorted that there is no need for the mega hard damping and spring rates you see on other cars, which translates to a good ride on British roads
Cant compare to a Lotus though?

Cant compare to a lotus??
does that mean you think the lotus is better or just cant compare as they are so different, I have had 4 lotus elises / exiges and I would pick the Noble everytime unless maybe on a very smooth tight road

[leadboot]

I drive a GTO3 (with quaife LSD which should make it identical to a 3R) every day. Nothing I have ever driven feels as good. For me its greatest characteristic over regular fast stuff would be steering feel, accuracy and directness.

[alastairb]

The devil said:

alastairb said:

madmax2000 said:

hello Noble owners ,

i know this is a great site and very informative . I just wanted to know from owners of how good is the M12 3R to drive on every day roads . What is is about this car that's so good , is it all about the chassis ? Thanks for your input .

I've done 50K miles in a Z4MC and it was a lot more skittish on British roads than the 3R I have now, from reading Clarkson / Tiff and EVO magasines review of the Noble M12 it seems the chassis is so well sorted that there is no need for the mega hard damping and spring rates you see on other cars, which translates to a good ride on British roads
Cant compare to a Lotus though?

Cant compare to a lotus??
does that mean you think the lotus is better or just cant compare as they are so different, I have had 4 lotus elises / exiges and I would pick the Noble everytime unless maybe on a very smooth tight road

i meant I personally cant compare it to a lotus :-)

[Adrian W]

I heard that Nobles handle like grand piano's on ice skating rings, and cant get to the end of your road without breaking down.

[hoyin]

I took a couple of friends out in it over the weekend - both into motorbikes and they said it was the closest they had ever got to feeling like a motorbike in a car.

However I can't really compare against any other car as I haven't been in anything else.

[pbsaxman]

Adrian W said:

I heard that Nobles handle like grand piano's on ice skating rings, and cant get to the end of your road without breaking down.

[hoyin]

Wow the Atom is slower in the slalom than the Noble M400?

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

Adrian W said:

I heard that Nobles handle like grand piano's on ice skating rings, and cant get to the end of your road without breaking down.

That's just the silver ones

[R0162]

hoyin said:

Wow the Atom is slower in the slalom than the Noble M400?

Yes here is the same test with the ariel atom, i find Edmunds.com are the best website for testing cars and giving accurate comparisons, as they test all cars with same driver, same conditions, same track. The Atom only beat the M400 on acceleration and braking, the M400 bh slaps it on handling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2a6ypw4Z_U

[madmax2000]

Thanks Noble Owners ..

so is it because the chassis is so sorted that the car feels so good to drive ?

[Adrian W]

madmax2000 said:

Thanks Noble Owners ..

so is it because the chassis is so sorted that the car feels so good to drive ?

Of course it is, my earlier point in this thread is if you go to a group of Noble owners and say are your cars any good? it's unlikely that they are going to say their crap. Yes they are very good sports cars and are extremely good value for money. but they are quirky and they do have some issues.

[joust]

They are crap.

Lots of proof here under the VMAX2 section.

http://www.lotus-elise.org.uk/noble/videos.htm

[CRB1]

Justin,

You've never had a GTO3R!

[madmax2000]

Adrian W said:

madmax2000 said:

Thanks Noble Owners ..

so is it because the chassis is so sorted that the car feels so good to drive ?

Of course it is, my earlier point in this thread is if you go to a group of Noble owners and say are your cars any good? it's unlikely that they are going to say their crap. Yes they are very good sports cars and are extremely good value for money. but they are quirky and they do have some issues.

Hi Adrian, do you own a 3R ?