You know that "big dealer" that I mentioned on the MBs? Well, despite the TERRIBLE and NASTY weather that prohibited the use of cameras (I'm sorry. Next time when there's decent weather, I'll take pictures. I promise), I went there AND still got to sit in stuff! Wahoo!
First up: a Saturn Sky automatic. Nice interior, but a bit small for the rather-tallish BBC. He prefers the Pontiac Solstice manual that he sat in before.
Next: a BMW Z4 automatic. Yuck. Interior was DREADFUL. Cold and uninviting. Seats were somewhat uncomfortable, and cramped also. Sat on the seat instead of in it, which is a bad thing for a small roadster. It was a 3.0si, so maybe if I drove it I'd have a better opinion? Hmm...
Next: a Chrysler Crossfire manual. Although I couldn't figure the reverse lockout, it still shifted nicely. Clutch was pretty good also. Interior, as per its mid-2000s Chryslerness, was somewhat nasty, but better than the 300C that I'm not going to do a writeup on. Unlike the other small cars I sat in, I didn't feel cramped in this one.
Next: a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi sedan manual. Had some ill-advised mods on it, not least including less-than-tasteful decals and a stiff clutch. The problem was that it was a short clutch, but stiff. Hmm. Smelled bad also. Doors felt tinny and unsubstantial. As I exited the vehicle, I said "Bad Subaru! Bad!"
Next: a Hyundai Tiburon GS manual. The most regrettable manual transmission I've ever shifted, except for a Toyota Matrix and a Scion xB. Clutch was sloppy and long, and the shifter was balky and ridiculously high-effort for what it was. Not such a slick car.
Next: a 1989 Corvette automatic. OK, so this one was locked, but I still got to look at it! Hehe... :(
Next: a 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLK 280 auto. Nice interior, but those of slighter stature might have trouble keeping a constant throttle depression. Had a manual mode to the auto which was nice.
Next: a Nissan 350Z manual. Now we're talking! After such a string of lousy cars, this was refreshing. Nice shifter, nice clutch, didn't feel cramped... this one's on my short list.
Next: a Nissan 370Z manual. Brilliant! I loved it. All the roadstery goodness of the 350Z, but more refined.
Next: a Mazda RX-8 manual. Sublime clutch, smooth shifting action with well-defined gates, (hey Tiburon! Take a lesson from this thing!), nice interior... horrendous gas mileage. Urgh. Oh well.
Next: a Mitsubishi Eclipse GT V6 manual. Had fairly well defined gates, but this particular example had a massive subwoofer mounted in between the rear seats. I haven't been in very many Eclipses, so I don't know if that's stock or not, but it looked ridiculous.
Last, all kinds of 05-09 Mustangs, autos and manuals. Now, we own one of these, but I'm not allowed to sit in the driver's seat, much less use the clutch and shifter on ours, because of a prior incident. (will relate that later) These cars make me happy every time I sit in one. LOVE THE HECK OUT OF THEM.
Will continue with prior cars in next post.
The RX-8 is a really attractive car, but the horrendous gas mileage makes it a non-contender in my book. When will they get rid of the rotary engine?
ReplyDeleteRight now, they don't plan to remove the rotary from the RX-8, but the next generation should be more fuel-efficient, as well as being dual-fuel. Here's a link that I turned up:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.leftlanenews.com/mazda-rx-9.html
Thanks!