The Alpine A110 (finally) cometh | PH Fleet
At long last, Dan P gets to properly stretch the legs of his new A110. Was it worth the wait?
It was the biggest decision I had to make in 2019. A real toughie. The roads in South Wales are far more familiar to me, but Exmoor's are much quieter. So where to go for the first proper drive in my Alpine A110? The promise of space and solitude swung it and so off to north Devon I went.
We can debate the merits of running a car in all we like (lots of people think it's a total waste of time), but until there's irrefutable proof either way I'll choose to err on the side of caution, particularly with my own car. The 1,000th mile ticked by somewhere on the M5 south of Bristol so that by the time I arrived on Exmoor, I could let it rip.
What a gratifying moment that was: to finally drive my car the way its makers had intended, many months after I made a reservation through the Alpine app. I can see how easy it would be to just drive this car in town or on the motorway, stealing quick blasts on open B-roads only when one happens to lie between me and my destination. But I don't want my A110 to become merely a transportation device. I'll make a conscious effort to get out in it and head somewhere really worthwhile as often as I can. Otherwise, I'll have this gorgeous machine outside going almost entirely to waste.
This video documents that first really meaningful drive. I feel very lucky to have such a beautifully shot record of that moment (hat tip to videographer Harry) to keep for posterity. But before I give my car death on the rollicking moorland roads, I take a few minutes to explain exactly why I bought it, why I specced it the way I did and then detail the process from reservation to delivery.
I wonder who else among us has intentionally made a beeline for a favourite road for that very first blast in a new car. I bet there are some cracking stories waiting to be told...
Earlier reports:
As regards the Alpine....well...I'm still not convinced. It's a £50k car but it doesn't really do anything that much better than an MX5 - at vaguely legal speeds on the road - and you can't have the top down! Yes, it's appreciably quicker than the Mazda but the engine isn't remotely exotic and you are denied the joy of a good manual change. Is it really twice as good as a driver's car?!
I genuinely want to love this car (as I did the Alfa 4C) because I like the idea of lightweight sports cars beating over powered German flat track bullies but I can't help thinking this is just too much money. Find a way to make it for £39999, slip under the VED threshold and I'm there but at £50k I'm sticking with the Japanese and heading to BBR if I need more power.
of an mx5, but then nobody ever got someone into bed by telling them “I drive a Mazda!”
Great road choice for a first proper drive and I hope it continues to bring you multiple edifying experiences ;-)
As regards the Alpine....well...I'm still not convinced. It's a £50k car but it doesn't really do anything that much better than an MX5 - at vaguely legal speeds on the road - and you can't have the top down! Yes, it's appreciably quicker than the Mazda but the engine isn't remotely exotic and you are denied the joy of a good manual change. Is it really twice as good as a driver's car?!
I genuinely want to love this car (as I did the Alfa 4C) because I like the idea of lightweight sports cars beating over powered German flat track bullies but I can't help thinking this is just too much money. Find a way to make it for £39999, slip under the VED threshold and I'm there but at £50k I'm sticking with the Japanese and heading to BBR if I need more power.
Great video by the way, PH video team doing a great job with these recently!
Thanks for that Dan, really good to see you enjoying the car and talking about the buying process. I think that video updates from staff on your own cars, like this one, could be a good thing to have more of on PH - I always find e.g. Jay Leno's videos about his own cars the most enthralling, I think it's the insight you get from long term use that makes a video most interesting.
For those of us who don't need the dubious support of a brand name to mate (and really, I doubt most people have heard of Alpine outside of us car nerds), I think the engineering value over an MX-5 is firstly in the significantly more rigid aluminium structure, the mid-engined balance, the torquey punch Dan mentions, and for some people the paddle-shift.
Having said that, there are clearly similarities in the small size and light weight, and Mazda has long espoused the chassis philosophy Dan describes in the video, namely that if you get the basics right (light weight to limit roll inertia, low c.g. to limit weight transfer and double wishbones to keep the wheels at optimal angles regardless of body lean), then you can afford to let a sports car breathe with the road, giving more tactility and better coping with bumpy roads. It's great that we have this sort of car available at both £25k and £50k - both cars sound like great buys at their respective price points.
Great video by the way, PH video team doing a great job with these recently!
6 pot Porsche to Alpine so I’m not sure that the move to 4 cylinders by Porsche is a big issue. What is odd is the 4 cylinder cayman gts is quicker than the cayman gt4 which has the 6 pot.
Like a lot of things people either get this car or they don’t.
It’s great we have the choice.
As regards the Alpine....well...I'm still not convinced. It's a £50k car but it doesn't really do anything that much better than an MX5 - at vaguely legal speeds on the road - and you can't have the top down! Yes, it's appreciably quicker than the Mazda but the engine isn't remotely exotic and you are denied the joy of a good manual change. Is it really twice as good as a driver's car?!
I genuinely want to love this car (as I did the Alfa 4C) because I like the idea of lightweight sports cars beating over powered German flat track bullies but I can't help thinking this is just too much money. Find a way to make it for £39999, slip under the VED threshold and I'm there but at £50k I'm sticking with the Japanese and heading to BBR if I need more power.
The Alpine is great fun and also a significantly better long range cruiser. You can also drive the Alpine in a supercar convoy (if that is your thing), not look out of place and be able to keep up - it may even be the quickest of the group on certain roads.
It seems like the public are with you on this even though like me, many consider them to be grear cars. Alpine have sold less than 300 A110s in the UK. At least they will be a relatively rare sight.
The Alpine is great fun and also a significantly better long range cruiser. You can also drive the Alpine in a supercar convoy (if that is your thing), not look out of place and be able to keep up - it may even be the quickest of the group on certain roads.
It seems like the public are with you on this even though like me, many consider them to be grear cars. Alpine have sold less than 300 A110s in the UK. At least they will be a relatively rare sight.
I'm on my second Mx5 ND now. Everything I liked about the first - looks, lightness, wind in the hair - remains and Mazda have improved on all the areas that needed it. I picked up an Anniversary Edition for £24k - the dealer even lowered it for free! Judging by the classifieds Mazda are struggling to sell the 30th Anniversary - the orange is putting people off I guess - so there are deals to be had!
I hope the Alpine finds buyers, we need cars like this. Shame they can't sneak a really basic version under £40k... Dacia version? Hehe!
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