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So I’m test driving a 3.0 Supra, and between it and my previous 2014 C4S, it’s just about convinced me that 400hp is just pointless on public roads in the US - and what’s worse: no fun The Supra is very competent; comfy on the Interstate, unlimited grip, the straight-six sounds good, the ZF8 is buttery. But it’s too fast, and not enough drama. You get mild excitement somewhere around 2x the speed limit, which is not sustainable for obvious reasons. I had the same problem with the C4S, but at least that was a manual. Even there, I actually thought in the end I should have gone for a C4. The 3.0 Supra confirms that hunch, at least for me.
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Aug 5, 2022 22:37
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AFewBricksShy posted:It might be worth trying one of the twins (86/BRZ). They aren't fast, but they are incredibly fun to drive. Plus you'll save money. So I did drive a 2022 BRZ last week. It’s certainly better than the Supra 3.0 in terms of fun. Bit wall flowery at first, but it got better the more often I drove it (had it for 24 hrs). My random thoughts are that’s it’s still a tad too slow, but manageable. Albeit it’s supposed to be even slower as AT, which is a must. It’s very purpose-built I n that it’s kinda pound and unrefined in the cabin, and actually reminded me of my Exige in that way: the interior is functional, but boy does it feel like it’s right from the early 00s. Not sure I understand the praise for the MT though; compared to a 987.1 or 991.1, it’s janky, and frankly a bit shite. So the BRZ ended up my favorite, but my wife was comparing it unfavorably to the 987.1 we used to have back in 2009-2016. And so I go back to FB and check if there’s a 987.2 for sale this week - nope. I check CL and lo and behold, there’s a 2009 987.2 base with PDK for sale for $30K. So we go ahead and test drive the Cayman, and it’s, to put it mildly, in a different league from the BRZ. It’s faster, more quiet, has a nicer interior; it just feels well-built. It’s also familiar and exactly the way we remember it (except for the PDK). And so, now we’re getting a PPI done on Thursday. Though it looks good enough on paper and in the metal that I’ve been tempted to waive it.
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Aug 16, 2022 13:35
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AFewBricksShy posted:Porche>Subaru isn't exactly the most shocking thing I've read today. 13 year old Porsche >>> new Subaru is actually mildly shocking to me We’re talking about a car that’s two generations old, that’s better than a freshly-minted car, and that you can buy at a price that leaves room for maintenance and even repair costs. A new BRZ AT limited runs about $33K, and that’s without dealer markups. EDIT: VVV Because the requirement is for the sports car to be AT, so my wife can drive it, too morothar fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Aug 16, 2022 |
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Aug 16, 2022 14:50
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knox_harrington posted:I rented a 718 Boxster in Spain the last couple of weeks. My original reservation was for a Z4, I had considered the Boxster but it was nearly twice as much. The car checkout woman offered the upgrade initially for €150 more per day (er, no) and eventually offered it for €30 extra which was much more appealing. In my experience with my recently acquired 2009 987 with PDK, manual shift mode is the way to go. Unlike slushboxes, the PDK manual mode is actually fantastic. Seems like you didn’t try that out much?
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Sep 17, 2022 17:02
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knox_harrington posted:I did use it on some twisty roads and yes it works instantly. And of course easy to switch the lever left into manual mode when you want to get the gears exactly right. At that point if you're getting a new car (which was the perspective I was trying to take) you may as well have saved €2.5k and got the manual. I can see what you’re saying, but I gotta say I’m enjoying ‘driving a manual without a clutch’, as most of my driving is within city limits on childcare or shopping runs. And the PDK does a good job of satisfying my need to shift, without bothering me with a clutch in traffic. I was particular impressed that it lets you start off slow from a complete stop, or that it revs the engine to 4000 rpm if you step on it so that you may actually see some hp. As to the engine, all Caymans/Boxters I drove across every generation are sensitive to rpm. 987s basically have 120-150hp under 4200 rpm; 718s need what, 2500 for the turbo to kick in? Coming from a C4S, you absolutely feel the difference in displacement.
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Sep 17, 2022 23:43
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New Prius, some kind of poverty spec with cloth seats and no lumbar? It was, just as I feared, pretty loving good. Fast enough, comfortable enough, big enough, 500 mile range, stop-and-go ACC, I can keep going. It was even a tiny bit fun…  You need a car? Go buy a New Prius
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Jul 28, 2023 00:18
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Arson Daily posted:Going to the Midwest at the end of august to visit 2 sets of parents. Can't wait to see what junk Dollar puts me in! If you’re flying into Detroit, the National selection can be outstanding. I’ve had a GR86, A4 with 80 miles, any number of CX-9s, V8 Challengers that were loud enough to wake the first 5 floors of the hotel I was staying in, and more!
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Aug 8, 2023 01:04
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PT6A posted:The frustrating thing is that I know, in my heart of hearts, every one of these cars would be the absolute worst versions of themselves. Why can I get a horrid spec of an Audi, but never a GTI? God knows it can't be loving cost! All of the cars I mentioned were just standing on the National lot. The A4 was just a regular-rear end premium trim, but no poverty spec. The CX-9s were Grand Touring or Signature, and the standard Challenger neither comes with a V8, nor do people complain that you woke them up pulling out of the lot. The worst spec was probably the GR86, because automatic. And yeah, you can face a sea of Pacificas / V6 Chargers + Challengers, but there was always something interesting on the lot in the 4 months or so that I had to fly into DTW weekly. Enterprise on the other hand, not so much. There they give you a hateful shitbox and tell you how lucky you should feel they didn’t pick something even worse.
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Aug 8, 2023 11:47
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Ireland, a Cupra Formentor Sounds like something from Harry Potter, but Cupra is a performance-oriented sub brand of Seat, and Seat is part of VAG. It’s a CUV built on the same platform as the A3, Golf and a bunch of other VAG models, and apparently a dedicated Cupra model. Now that that was confusing; the actual car is grand. The engine is basically inaudible other than when you really put your foot down. Plenty of zip, even if it’s just the 1.5 with 150 horse (mostly, Formentors are supposed to have 250+ hp given they’re Seat’s performance brand, but also given this is Irland, Vehicle Registration Tax on displacement / CO2 is brutal). The manual can best be described as unobtrusive. Comfortable, maybe with slightly excessive road noise given the sporty rubber. Sufficient space in the back for a rear-facing child seat, a front facing child seat, and my claustrophobic wife in the middle. Negligible consumption. Also, pretty good-looking in our book. The color is dark camouflage, something like a really dark jaguar racing green. Comes with approximately all the driver aids that you can shake a stick at, all of which have been implemented competently. Kind of a “best of VAG” in this segment: fully competent in a technical sense, comfortable, but with design the Germans couldn’t come up with and/or approve no matter how many drugs they’d take.
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Aug 29, 2023 18:20
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Aaand in today’s entry, an Opel Crossland. Picked up in BER, drove over to Silesia, and back. Best summarized by my 3.5 year old daughter when I asked her just now how she liked it: “it’s a poo poo car”. Earlier, she offered “this car, it’s a poo poo one”. So consistent feedback on that front. She loves the Cupra btw. It’s technically competent, I suppose, but every single thing feels bottom-tier component bin. Surfaces are lovely hard plastic, steering wheel feels like lovely plastic, controls… you guessed it, lovely plastic. Kinda like the Opel blinker controls in our Exige, which creaked every time you used them. It kinda has cruise control, but not acc; instead, it has a lovely collision alarm if somebody pulls out in front of you. But it has a pseudo-top down parking view, except only for the rear quarter. Weird-rear end bargain bin components in a hodgepodge configuration. Seats? My right arse cheek still hurts. Cabin is loud at German and Polish highway speeds. Power? Meh. I had it up to 160 mph, true, but it felt terrible at that speed. It also took 10 seconds to get from 140-160. Mpg is pretty good I guess. Bottom line: it did its job, inspired no emotion except mild bemusement (why build this? who buys this?) on a few fronts, and I’m looking forward to driving the Cupra again. Oh, and apparently a well-specced Crossland costs as much as a standard Cupra…
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Sep 1, 2023 19:49
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SlowBloke posted:Their name is so similar my brain short circuited. Apologies. SlowBloke posted:Their name is so similar my brain short circuited. Apologies. I was about to say that I was also skeptical on the argument - our 2023 4Runner has acc, and that’s on a truck that Toyota started building in 2014. Granted, you can hear the relay flip when it sense a vehicle ahead, and it’s only from/down to 28 mph, but above that, it works like any acc system ever. The Crossland doesn’t just have limited functionality, it’s also been implemented with basically zero motivation.
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Sep 2, 2023 21:01
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SlowBloke posted:Cupra is the sport variant of the now defunct Seat brand. Tech wise it's a MQB evo vehicle, so current tiguan might be an option for US buyers if you don't mind a more drab interior. This was my summary on the previous page after driving one in Ireland last year. morothar posted:Kind of a “best of VAG” in this segment: fully competent in a technical sense, comfortable, but with design the Germans couldn’t come up with and/or approve no matter how many drugs they’d take. So sadly, a Tiguan isn’t even close. A Golf GTI might be the closest product available in the US in terms of feel/package.
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Apr 16, 2024 21:55
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SlowBloke posted:While I don't think the US get all the current MQB evo variants yet, a golf is a very far cry from a Formentor, one is a low riding hatchback and the other is a high riding soft suspensions suv. I know what you mean, but hence why I said closest: Weight: Formentor and GTI approx 3,100 lbs, Tiguan about 3,600 lbs Clearance: Formentor 16cm, GTI about 12 cm, Tiguan 19cm Height: Formentor 60”, GTI 58”, Tiguan 65” Length: Formentor 175”, GTI 169, Tiguan 186” Interior space: about the same in the Formentor/Golf, the Tiguan is way bigger The Formentor felt like a modern rally-spec Golf Country; the Tiguan is just an SUV.
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Apr 17, 2024 11:52
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Picked up a Mazda 3 AWD Turbo in Newark this week. I was briefly contemplating if a Mazda 3 would make a good 2nd family vehicle, so the opportunity to drive it for a week was a treat. In short, it’s about a 7.5/10? Would recommend, but I suspect a Golf GTI may be a more well-rounded offering. More of a warm than hot hatch, but fun enough to drive. The Mazda 3 is quick, but not fast. Compared to our ID4, it’s… kinda slow, but that’s EVs for you. Significant turbo lag from a stop - you smash the go pedal and it takes a full second for the car to move. The gearbox is unobtrusive; a Porsche PDK / VW Doppelkupplung it ain’t. Hugs the road well, but kind of soft. Definitely tuned for comfort. I was surprised that it weighs in at 3,300 lbs, because it feels lighter. Interior is upmarket, with a e.g. soft-touch middle console. It’s also snug, but I love when a car hugs me as a driver and you sit “in” the car. Rear doors are on the small side, and I’ve had some passengers complain about ingress and egress. The trunk is adequate with a narrow opening. Would drive again.
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Apr 26, 2024 18:24
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:Sedan I assume? I've been considering the hatch for when it's time to replace my 6. Your impression seems to match pretty much what I've heard/read elsewhere. "Warm" but not "hot", "sporty" but still a bit soft, quick but not exactly aggressive. I could definitely live with that as a DD. No, it was the hatch alright. In some kind of baby diarrhea color. Design-wise, I think it looks way better than the sedan, or the golf.
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Apr 26, 2024 19:25
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And in this week’s entry: a CX-50. In a vacuum, it’s probably a good CUV. Compared to the Mazda 3 of last week, it felt like a car on stilts. It does CUV things: it’s taller than a car, with longer travel. Do you need the additional travel on NJ highways and interstates? Eh. The potholes you need to watch out for need bigger tires, not more travel. So the end result is easier ingress and egress, and more wallowing. Little has been gained otherwise. Quick enough, but nothing to write home about. Weirdly aggressive mapping and gearbox compared to the Mazda 3. It would hold gears for longer than necessary, and weirdly have rpms hang for a second. Interior is fine, if anonymous. The 3 had an alcantara dash, which stood out and is fun to run your hand over. The CX-50 had soft-touch, and puffy material across the bottom of the dash. Also, no usb-c.
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May 3, 2024 11:01
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