wedouglas
August 9th, 2008, 20:48
Figured I'd post this because the V10 R8 will be nearly identical.
Just a short post about my experience with it. Focuses mainly on my complaints.
So I took a test drive in the new LP560. Totally awesome car. I thought E-gear was excellent. Shifts were quick enough for me in Corsa, Sport was smoother but still fast enough, and Auto was, well, auto. No reason to use Auto in my opinion, but whatever, it's there for cell phone driving perhaps.
I did have a few issues with it though, but perhaps there is a reason for it. I was cruising in 4th and wanted to see what the shift was like when going to second. I tapped it twice quickly, but it put me in third. I didn't think I was too high into 4th, so I'm not sure what happened. Can you not do this? Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough one time.
Also, I always thought it was odd that the paddles on the R8 were fixed to the wheel, but when I drove this (my first E-gear experence,) I realized why. I was in a nice, smooth corner at moderate speed, and I wanted to downshift. Unfortunately, my wheel was turned to a position in which I couldn't shift without letting go of the wheel with one hand. I drive 3/9, so it was awkward. I was told that the car will downshift for you in all modes when using the brakes, but it didn't do it when I thought it should.
Auto mode also didn't shift to higher gears when cruising. Where I would normally be in 6th gear when relaxing and cruising, it was 4th and didn't upshift. Because of this, unless there was some reason for it, I would never use Auto.
Even with some of these issues, I really think I could give up a 6-speed manual for it. Even though the Scuderia may shift in 60 ms, and the GTR/M3 have DSG, this was plenty fast. I also like the slight kick from it. DSG, though I haven't tried it, is apparently as smooth as an auto, and I don't think I'd like that. I like a little kick in the ass.
Exhaust note was sublime, especially when taking it up to redline. Acceleration was awesome and definitely faster than a standard G. I didn't launch it, as it was actually a dealer car, not a manufacturer demo, and I didn't feel the need to rag on their car and what would possibly be a future customer. Faster than an SL? Don't know, as I've never driven one. However, even if the SL is just as fast, the performance bundled with amenities really makes the SL obsolete IMO (based on paper,) though they are getting might cheap.
Now, the car felt exactly like my R8, just faster. One would be hard pressed to find any differences other than the engines. All of the electronics in the car are the same. Same LED (but color,) Nav system is exactly the same but with a different button layout, not sure about the stereo options. The levers and such all did the same things as far as I used them. It really is the same car inside too, with some cosmetic changes.
I did have some minor complaints. The rear view camera didn't have guiding lines or distance markers imposed on the image. This doesn't make sense to me because the R8 has them and the implementation is purely software. You just need software to monitor the steering input. No reason why it shouldn't be there. Also, it didn't have beeping sensors. This makes even less sense. The R8 has them in front and back, and they are very helpful. This is kind of lame, because just about every car these days has sensors. No excuse. I also didn't see an AUX port, but maybe I missed it. They have an iPod package anyway, so no big deal. I also don't get why they removed some of the R8 features like est. MPG and miles left on the tank. I clicked the menu button a cycled through the menus, which were the same (lap timer etc) but some things weren't there.
Overall, it's an awesome car. Though this posts focuses more on the issues I had with it, it's because everything else struck me as excellent. If I didn't mention it, it was fine or great, or I didn't encounter it.
The sticker was $240K and had a lot of options. I didn't notice anything missing other than the iPod thing. Wheels were the black ones. Looked fantastic, but I prefer the apollos. No real comments on cost because it doesn't really matter and you can decide if it's worth it. If you want a car that looks like a Lamborghini, prepare to pay for it.
When I get the V10 R8 I'll try them out side by side. As it stands now, the LP's power advantage is obvious and needed, but is nearly identical in it's other characteristics. When both are out, I'm guessing it will come down to style preference and price.
Just a short post about my experience with it. Focuses mainly on my complaints.
So I took a test drive in the new LP560. Totally awesome car. I thought E-gear was excellent. Shifts were quick enough for me in Corsa, Sport was smoother but still fast enough, and Auto was, well, auto. No reason to use Auto in my opinion, but whatever, it's there for cell phone driving perhaps.
I did have a few issues with it though, but perhaps there is a reason for it. I was cruising in 4th and wanted to see what the shift was like when going to second. I tapped it twice quickly, but it put me in third. I didn't think I was too high into 4th, so I'm not sure what happened. Can you not do this? Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough one time.
Also, I always thought it was odd that the paddles on the R8 were fixed to the wheel, but when I drove this (my first E-gear experence,) I realized why. I was in a nice, smooth corner at moderate speed, and I wanted to downshift. Unfortunately, my wheel was turned to a position in which I couldn't shift without letting go of the wheel with one hand. I drive 3/9, so it was awkward. I was told that the car will downshift for you in all modes when using the brakes, but it didn't do it when I thought it should.
Auto mode also didn't shift to higher gears when cruising. Where I would normally be in 6th gear when relaxing and cruising, it was 4th and didn't upshift. Because of this, unless there was some reason for it, I would never use Auto.
Even with some of these issues, I really think I could give up a 6-speed manual for it. Even though the Scuderia may shift in 60 ms, and the GTR/M3 have DSG, this was plenty fast. I also like the slight kick from it. DSG, though I haven't tried it, is apparently as smooth as an auto, and I don't think I'd like that. I like a little kick in the ass.
Exhaust note was sublime, especially when taking it up to redline. Acceleration was awesome and definitely faster than a standard G. I didn't launch it, as it was actually a dealer car, not a manufacturer demo, and I didn't feel the need to rag on their car and what would possibly be a future customer. Faster than an SL? Don't know, as I've never driven one. However, even if the SL is just as fast, the performance bundled with amenities really makes the SL obsolete IMO (based on paper,) though they are getting might cheap.
Now, the car felt exactly like my R8, just faster. One would be hard pressed to find any differences other than the engines. All of the electronics in the car are the same. Same LED (but color,) Nav system is exactly the same but with a different button layout, not sure about the stereo options. The levers and such all did the same things as far as I used them. It really is the same car inside too, with some cosmetic changes.
I did have some minor complaints. The rear view camera didn't have guiding lines or distance markers imposed on the image. This doesn't make sense to me because the R8 has them and the implementation is purely software. You just need software to monitor the steering input. No reason why it shouldn't be there. Also, it didn't have beeping sensors. This makes even less sense. The R8 has them in front and back, and they are very helpful. This is kind of lame, because just about every car these days has sensors. No excuse. I also didn't see an AUX port, but maybe I missed it. They have an iPod package anyway, so no big deal. I also don't get why they removed some of the R8 features like est. MPG and miles left on the tank. I clicked the menu button a cycled through the menus, which were the same (lap timer etc) but some things weren't there.
Overall, it's an awesome car. Though this posts focuses more on the issues I had with it, it's because everything else struck me as excellent. If I didn't mention it, it was fine or great, or I didn't encounter it.
The sticker was $240K and had a lot of options. I didn't notice anything missing other than the iPod thing. Wheels were the black ones. Looked fantastic, but I prefer the apollos. No real comments on cost because it doesn't really matter and you can decide if it's worth it. If you want a car that looks like a Lamborghini, prepare to pay for it.
When I get the V10 R8 I'll try them out side by side. As it stands now, the LP's power advantage is obvious and needed, but is nearly identical in it's other characteristics. When both are out, I'm guessing it will come down to style preference and price.