# Test driving...Update



## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

Doing this at the moment, and the list is as follows (in no order):

S2000 2005 GT
350Z
Monaro VXR
SLK 350
Z4 3.0

I'm just testing the water at the moment (might increase the fleet soon :wink: )and so far have only driven the S2000 and I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with it, it seemed sluggish to me and whereas I liked the positioning of the instruments (all geared towards the driver) it was a little too plasticy. Nice short throw on the gears too. Rattled like hell for a '30 miles on the clock' car, and with such high red line you must use as much oil as petrol.

Doing the Monaro on Wednesday and I must confess to looking forward to that one the most. 

Nissan, have not even replied thus far which isn't holding them in good standing with the others who all replied to e-mails within 24 hours, and their website didn't even show the 350 as being something you could test drive :?


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

stgeorgex997 said:


> .....and so far have only driven the S2000 and I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with it, it seemed sluggish to me


You were obviously not driving it right!  Don't forget the engines are N/A, so the power delivery is different to a Turbo car- and in the S2 VTEC comes in at 6000rpm.



stgeorgex997 said:


> and whereas I liked the positioning of the instruments (all geared towards the driver) it was a little too plasticy.


All jap cars are like that unfortunately, however i have had a lot of comments when people have sat in mine, how it's not as plasticy as other jap cars.



stgeorgex997 said:


> Nice short throw on the gears too.


Great isn't it! 



stgeorgex997 said:


> Rattled like hell for a '30 miles on the clock' car, and with such high red line you must use as much oil as petrol.


All demos are ragged to fu*k so on first appearances will be a bit 'rough' - mine is 3 years old however and there are no rattles or squeeks.

But oil consumption is quite high on them i must admit. About a litre every 600-800 miles. What do you expect for a car that revs to 9k tho!


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## CapTT (Mar 2, 2003)

stgeorgex997 said:


> Doing this at the moment, and the list is as follows (in no order):
> 
> S2000 2005 GT
> 350Z
> ...


What a disappointing list :? Poor you [smiley=thumbsdown.gif]


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

CapTT said:


> stgeorgex997 said:
> 
> 
> > Doing this at the moment, and the list is as follows (in no order):
> ...


 :?

Probably just stick with what I have too, sadly I'm just not a fan of the V6 TT, it doesn't out do the 225 IMO


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

kmpowell said:


> stgeorgex997 said:
> 
> 
> > .....and so far have only driven the S2000 and I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with it, it seemed sluggish to me
> ...


The rattle, from what I could tell, was the soft top that was obviously down with the hard roof on...

Maybe it seemed sluggish because it wasn't run in although the salesman insisted it didn't need to be, it just seem to climb those 9000 revs slowly. I did make a point of slipping the back end out (on a quiet roundabout) so I was driving it fairly hard :wink:


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## S11 W TT (Jul 29, 2004)

what kind of top end budget are you looking at?


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

S11 W TT said:


> what kind of top end budget are you looking at?


I've got the TT and the Griff, so I'm just looking for something else to inspire me, I'd love a TVR 350 but don't want two TVR's and won't sell the griffith just yet.

Probably looking at about ~Â£35-40k top end. Or I could just wait and get a V8 Vantage  for a snippit more :roll:


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## S11 W TT (Jul 29, 2004)

i definatley think you should look at what im getting then... An alpina Roadster s amazing car for the money and BMW will budge a fair amount on the price... www.alpinabmw.co.uk


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

Looks good mate, when do you get it?


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

stgeorgex997 said:


> S11 W TT said:
> 
> 
> > what kind of top end budget are you looking at?
> ...


You could buy a Boxster S for that kind of money!! 

I take you don't like Porsche's??


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

The Silver Surfer said:


> stgeorgex997 said:
> 
> 
> > S11 W TT said:
> ...


Good guess, something to do with them all looking the same for the past 50 years or so


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## S11 W TT (Jul 29, 2004)

hello mate sorry for the delay, end of the month/start of April... i feel like a little kid again (although im only 21 :roll: ) trust me go have a test drive, its a dream (even after trying a boxster s and an s2000 and a 350z and sad to say even the TT :? )


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

stgeorgex997 said:


> Doing the Monaro on Wednesday and I must confess to looking forward to that one the most.


  Lucky you - if it's an 05 spec VXR - on sale from May - it will be the revised model with the new 'LS6' 6.0 litre 400 bhp V8 (up from 5.7 litre / 382 bhp), bigger brakes, and drive by wire throttle. The bodywork has also been given a more agressive look with a revised front end, bonnet scoops and different wheels etc. Not too sure on the new look myself, but each to their own. I prefer the unadulterated shape of the original Monaro myself so I opted for the CV8 model and spent a few k bringing it up to vxr spec power wise.

Coming from a TVR, you may think that the Monaro exhaust note is a bit quiet - Vauxhall had to put on a quieter system for the UK, something to do with low volume type approval - but don't worry as a headers and a stainless system vastly improve the sound. The chevy V8 is also very easy to tune, just changing the exhaust on it's own will add 30 - 40 bhp.

Had my Monaro for 10 months / 7.5k miles now, and still love it, every time I drive it. It seems well built I've had no problems with trim or rattles. It looks lovely and sounds great, goes like stink, the handling and comfort are excellent, and it's a rare sight on the roads. Oh did I mention the fuel economy .... :roll:


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

Mmmmm!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18180&item=4535362497&rd=1


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

digimeisTTer said:


> Mmmmm!
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18180&item=4535362497&rd=1


Nice car, but I wonder how much a cam belt service costs?? :roll:


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

I'm a fan of eBay but I wouldn't trust that kind of money to it...


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

PaulS thanks for the review, I've only ever seen one Monaro on the road, which I like  and also find strange, for the amount of power and relatively cheap money, the only reason I can think of is snobbery...testing it tomorrow at 1600 really looking forward to it I have to say...


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

So the Monaro...

Completely different to what I expected, quick, very quiet V8 engine. Probably the tallest gears I have ever experienced; 50 in first  very refined.

It was last years model though so I am going back in a few days to try the 6 litre 400bhp '05 model VXR which was the one I wanted they had it in but had just been delivered. I had a look at it though and it does look really good with the few changes they have made.

The list of options is pretty long....not they comprise of rear ashtray and mud flaps, that's it, no sat nav or anything like that...

It just begged the question "why aren't Vauxhall really advertising it?"

Top car really liked it


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

Top Gear really liked it too! , I just can't get the superhero Omega vision out of my head 8)


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

stgeorgex997 said:


> PaulS thanks for the review, I've only ever seen one Monaro on the road, which I like  and also find strange, for the amount of power and relatively cheap money, the only reason I can think of is snobbery...testing it tomorrow at 1600 really looking forward to it I have to say...


You don't see many on the road as they are imported in limited numbers - only 300 per year. Last year 250 CV8s and 50 VXRs were sold, the VXRs sold out almost immediately, so this year it will be a 50:50 mix of CV8s and VXRs. As well as the '05 VXR being upgraded, the '05 CV8 is upgraded too. Still uses the 5.7 V8, but the power is upped from 333 to 350 bhp. Gets better brakes too - the CV8 now has the brakes from the Mk1 VXR. On both cars, the torque is increased too, and, more importantly, the peak torque now comes in lower down the rev range, so the new cars pull even better :wink:

When I bought mine last year Vauxhall said that they were not making a lot of money on the Monaro (hence the keen pricing) the main focus was to expand the performance car range and have something at the other end of the scale to the VX220. The 'VXR' moniker has now been introduced across the range.

Badge snobbery, ahh yes that old chesnut ....Not that it bothers me (I sold a Porsche to buy a Vauxhall :lol but if you're that worried you can always fit the correct Holden badges all round. Not that I would do that :roll:

I've always been interested in RWD GM cars, and some of those obscure 'foreign' versions of cars that you see, that have big engines - South African XR8 V8 Sierras, V8 Perana Capri, 5.0 litre V8 Chevrolet Firenza, Holden V8 Commodore (Omega) etc etc - so when Vauxhall announced the Monaro for the UK, I knew I had to have one


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

stgeorgex997 said:


> So the Monaro...
> 
> Completely different to what I expected, quick, very quiet V8 engine. Probably the tallest gears I have ever experienced; 50 in first  very refined.


Yep, at 80 mph in 6th the engine is turning over at 2000 rpm.

Due to the abundance of torque, if I'm not in a hurry I'll often skip gears and change 1-3-5 or 2-4-6. It's also quite happy to be driven around town (and uphill) at 800 rpm idle speed in 6th gear :lol:

But if you are in a hurry, the real pulling zone is between 4000 and 6000 rpm :wink:


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## nellsey (Nov 16, 2004)

PaulS said:


> stgeorgex997 said:
> 
> 
> > So the Monaro...
> ...


I have been admiring one in a garage close to me  
Can I politely enquire about the average MPG


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

nellsey said:


> PaulS said:
> 
> 
> > stgeorgex997 said:
> ...


My test was about 10mpg and the MD who had been using the demo car was on about 18 over the tank, but PaulS will, I'm sure give you a better idea I think the published best was 27.x


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

On the Alpina roadster, saw one yesterday at the new BMW dealer in Canary Wharf. metallic black with a very high spec. The base list price is Â£38k and they were doing this one will all the options (TV/nav, 19" Alpina wheels etc etc) for Â£38750 and the salesman hinted that more could be trimmed off.

Serious alternative to a Boxster S, probably a better/faster car if you could live with the badge.


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## S11 W TT (Jul 29, 2004)

Why couldn't you live with a BMW badge???? easily as prestigious as audi, merc and id say porsche too! :lol:


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## Antwerpman (Nov 4, 2002)

Carlos wrote


> On the Alpina roadster, saw one yesterday at the new BMW dealer in Canary Wharf. metallic black with a very high spec. The base list price is Â£38k and they were doing this one will all the options (TV/nav, 19" Alpina wheels etc etc) for Â£38750 and the salesman hinted that more could be trimmed off.
> 
> Serious alternative to a Boxster S, probably a better/faster car if you could live with the badge.


Are indicators on the options list?? :lol:


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

S11 W TT said:


> Why couldn't you live with a BMW badge???? easily as prestigious as audi, merc and id say porsche too! :lol:


I have lived with it, I've owned 2 BMWs in the past. Just IMO the Porsche badge is a level above BMW. The dealer even admitted it yesterday. The Alpina's dont sell (despite their superior spec and faster engine) compared to Boxster's because everyone wants a Porsche...


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## S11 W TT (Jul 29, 2004)

but to be fair id rather have the highest spec BMW (or Alpina) than the cheapest porsche avaliable and only being 21 id rather not be driving round in a mid life crisis car :roll:

...and... how many porsches do you see on the road!!!!!!! im gonna be owner of a very limited edition car compared to a boxster, almost as many as mondeos on the road (and TT's to be honest where i am :? )


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## teucer2000 (May 14, 2002)

Porsche has far more kudos due to their racing heritage and the Boxster is a classc. If three or four years time, the Z4 will look as daft as the Z3 does now, high spec or not.

Mind you, I'd prefer both to what I have now.....


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## Wolfsburger (Oct 21, 2002)

S11 W TT said:


> ...and... how many porsches do you see on the road!!!!!!!


The thing is, Porsche make very good cars now, Cayenne included. The reason there are lots about is that Porsches can be used as daily transport whereas some of their competitors are fun/weekend cars only.

To be honest I`d be after a nice 993 but there you go.


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