I think they overreacted. Many of the quotes you posted point to a 4.5 star car (save the 5 stars for one with 50 more hp) so I'm still scratching my head over why they weren't happy. Maybe 4 stars for the auto version but there should be an asterisk.
The chassis is too good? Too balanced and composed? Brakes and steering are perfect? Yeah that sounds awesome actually. The "
underlying rightness" of this car is what has stuck with me and is the reason I haven't stopped thinking about it for a couple months. It's just an amazingly pure driver's car with tons of feedback to tell you what's happening and connect you to the road in the best way.
You can push it safely and enjoy doing it. You can just drive it a decent clip and have a blast on normal roads. Going to the store on boring suburban roads is enjoyable. It's firm but not overly harsh...fine for long trips IMO.
Absolutely no reason to
need to hang the ass out on every corner to have fun. If that's what someone is looking for, a Mustang is a good buy (and honestly a very good car too).
Also, tons of grip on average 215 width tires on stock suspension and alignment just makes me so happy. This thing has so much potential and honestly some very minor upgrades will make it an absolute beast....a Renault slaying beast.
I can see being disappointed in the automatic transmission (haven't driven that) and having that detract from the overall fun of the car. But not enough to complain like this.
And uh, from what I hear...it's not too difficult to kick out the rear in a low speed corner with the manual car.
- drew
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryephile
Thanks for the sanity check. Do you feel that EVO [keeping in mind it was Jethro Bovington heading up the comparison, and all his biases] perhaps over-reacted with their conclusion in giving the car only 3.5 stars? With the extreme hype-machine this car has been subjected to, I find it very likely that even upstanding rags like EVO can succumb to an emotional over-reaction and downplay the car because there's no way it can live up to the super-hype.
There are many rather gushingly positive comments in the review; "...steering is beautifully weighted", the "underlying rightness", the "instant and well-judged throttle response", and liken the car more to a Cayman than anything else. More things like "the sense of agility is imprinted on my fingertips" and "The brake feel is truly incredible. Like the steering, the brakes require a firm, positive input but then stream back information." seem to portray an experience that is special.
It seems the primary point EVO seems to be harping about is summed up nicely [as always] by Harry Catchpole: "And the chassis...well, it's very special in some respects but getting access to it with so little torque isn't easy."
It seems that more than anything, making the car dance isn't easy unless you're at 10/10ths on a racetrack....unless you add power or reduce grip even more.
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