Perrouse1's Cars

Hard to say that I love it.
First, because I'm not sure it's very healthy to LOVE a car, and second because the accelerations are not ... as thrilling as I hope they would have been.

On the other hand, it handles like a dream. I've got the ESP (an optional extra, so shame on you BMW) and no matter the weather conditions, you can hammer it as much as you want.

It weighs about the same as the 206 I had before, but my God it handles better! You are always looking for twisty roads just to enjoy the perfect steering, the way the car moves under braking and then the way it balances itself when you get back on the throttle!

Sure, it is a bit thirsty, and costly, and I wish it had more power, and yes, the ride can be harsh on a bumpy surface, but just look at it!
So cute and there's this "so British" touch that I love.
  

See in the comment section below. Yeah, I know, I messed it up, but hey, I'm just starting!

This car belongs to my father's girlfriend who often - even though not every time I ask - give me the keys for a spin.
It is a wonderful car, no question about that. Yes, it is unfortunately "only" the 280hp version (not the 300 or 313), but God it goes!

I am well aware it's a heavy car, but I dare anyone who drove one of these to say that it FEELS heavy, because it just doesn't! Noisy? Yes, but that's music coming out of this exhaust system.

It proved to be, so far, extremly reliable and only the brakes and tyres must be changed too often to please the owner, and she doesn't care much when I explain that it is because of the weight of the car. You don't feel it when you drive it, but the brakes and tyres do!

Another issue is the interior quality. Well, it looks nice with the Satnav and the ventilated leather seats (that we fitted as a retrofit in a Nissan dealership) but the plastics, the switches just don't feel strong enough. We've had this car for 2 years now and I think it's gonna be gone soon but even in this short amount of time, the interior seems to have been made 20 years ago!

Well, I'm not being fair here: forget what's inside, just look at it, just drive it ... it's probably one of the best coupes ever. And that's even before you consider the pricetag!

My father isn't a big fan of cars, and convincing him to buy this one was very, very hard.
It is fast, no question about that, but then he doesn't care (you know the thing: speed limits, pollution, bla, bla, bla).
It's 4-wheel drive, so when it rains or snows, you continue without a hint of a problem, and my father liked this idea.
He also thought that being unconspicuous was a good thing and that if I was happy to take the keys from time to time, then, why not buying it after all?
And at the beginning, all was well. This car has so much grip, you can't believe it, you just can't!
I've never driven it in the snow (too bad, I know), but in the rain, it's beyond belief ... I imagine (for what I've read) that Subs and Evos are better, but the R32 is already plenty!
And it's so confortable inside ... ok, maybe my back was already used to the Mini's harshness but I truly think that the R32 is an almost perfect long-cruiser.

"The noise?", you may wonder ... it is gorgeous, pure music! My father, his girlfriend, all our friends of all ages and myself agree (ok, many don't care, but they agree nonetheless) that it sounds even better than the Nissan 350Z.

Unfortunately, it's not a looker. No matter how you put it, it just isn't. And now my father is tempted by an Alfa Romeo Brera Q4. I keep telling him it must be rubbish because so much slower ... but look at the Brera, that's a serious beauty this car!

Anyway, the R32 may be a bit thirsty (10l/100km) but the overall experience is worth a 4/5 stars. Oh, and I almost forget! The DSG gearbox is an absolute dream ... at least, it must be ... such a shame our R32 doesn't have it!! Options don't mean much when you often change you car ...   

The truck you see behind me and the Corvette is the one that brought to this truly wonderful day 5 supercars. First, let's start with Miss Kentucky, the Vette.

This C6 had 404hp (440 for the 2008 model) and a 6-speed manual gearbox that was quite manly, but it was manageable, so I actually liked it ... just like the whole car, to be honnest from the beginning.

It looks superb, the V8 sounds great, and on the track, it was able to follow the Ferrari and the Lamborghini, leaving the Aston and the Porsche in its dust! Not bad for a $US 50,000 car!

On the road, French and bumpy roads should I add, everything was perfect ... till we went over the speed limit (there was a Toyota LandCruiser in front of us to check that the police wasn't here).
Then, the magnetic suspensions didn't seem to bother anymore of confort and I found myself a couple of times driving like an Englishman, on the wrong side of the road!

Apart from that, it was fantastic! I loved the Targa roof, easy to store in the trunk, I loved the Heads-up Display, like on a fighter jet, and I loved the performance.

We were not nice with these cars, but the Corvette just didn't mind. The brakes were red, a little bit damaged, but it kept on braking and braking, as good as the others (well, much better than the V8 Vantage, that's for sure)!

The only other drawback is the stability control (ESP for Bosch, Active Handling for GM) ... it worked on the road... thank God! But DO NOT, DO NOT turn it off!
If you want to avoid crashing at least, because somehow, without this electronic aid, the back feels twitchy at the limit, and no matter how hard I like to train, I'm not a professional racing driver, so I spun, again and again!
When you do slide, it's wonderful, but on the road, especially on a slippery one, just let the ESP on!

Anyway, great car and really well priced!  

The Lamborghini Gallardo ... so sweet!!!

Actually, this car was very difficult to understand. On the roads, it felt heavy, probably because of the steering, which required some strength to be used at low speeds, when you usually want it to be as light as possible.
And the noise was coming out from the 4-wheel drive transmission system, not from the V10 ... and it was very hard to see out of, especially when some buildings and houses blocked my view in a crossroads ... and the brake pedal was useless on the first centimenters before putting your head in the windscreen if you dared breaking too much ... and the nose was very, very low (it can be raised but it take ages and the guy in the passenger seat was still very unconfortable when we had to go over a sleeping policeman).

And yet, I adore the Gallardo. Because had it had started to rain, it would have been the only car able to take advantage of the weather, and also because it was remarkably confortable.
Besides, on the track ... Oh my God!! It didn't feel as much ... alive as the Ferrari, but it was at home. The E-Gear responded brilliantly - although a bit brutally - in Sport Mode, the brakes never fade and appeared to be more easy to use once they were in temperature ... and then, the sheer amount of power delivered by that V10 ... 500hp of heaven ... It was very, very hard to leave this car at the end of the day.

Now, I can honnestly say that I wouldn't buy one because the Nissan GTR is better in every way, but that day ... yes,I was completely sold ... that car really is fantastic!   

It was the worst car I drove that day and I want it to be straightforward: don't buy it, no matter how rich and/or tempted you might be, avoid it!

Yes, it is one of the most gorgeous piece of design ever, both outside and inside, and those doors opening with 13° of angle ... wonderful!
Oh, and that sound ... when you hammer it, it roars so nicely that it becomes an addiction. You're driving normally (i.e above the nonsense that are the speed limits) but ... you can't resist, so you shift down for no reason except to hear that music.

There are gonna be a few problems with that. First, this car couldn't keep up with the Ferrari, the Lamborghini ... or the Corvette! Second, the gearbox is just utter rubbish!
It almost made me regret the one I had in the 206, and that's saying something! The guy told me "it's manly", to which I answered "and what's that supposed to mean for Aston: impossible to use?"
Ok, I'm not Mister Universe, but I swear that when I wanted to shift for the 1st time between 2nd and 3rd, I thought I would have to use both hands to move the gear lever!
There's eventually a third issue: we had the window slightly open ... but the whole wooden dashboard was vibrating like a mad cow, not very convincing for a car of this price!

Really, I didn't like it. But then I did. Because, c'mon, it's an Aston Martin and it's cool.

Just don't buy it. Really.

The Cayman S ... another huge disappointment.

Yes, despite the lack of a locking rear differential (my God, the tyres suffered on the track), it handles beautifully and with only 295hp it could easily keep up with the Aston, and yes again, it was the most practical of the bunch, along with the Corvette ...
Oh, and the interior quality is not a myth ...yep, it is that good!

However, it had to many drawbacks to convince me. First, I'm not too sure about the look. It was (see picture) in black, so the color masked some of the lines ... and thank God for that because the other ones I saw in different colors are just ugly.
Sorry Porsche, but you need to hire designers that are not blind!

Another issue is the lack of sensation. You feel very safe in this car, and the stability control is great: let you slide a little bit before intervening, I loved it. And on the track, it was very, very stable. I spun only once with it ... only because I wanted to.
Still, the Gallardo proved that fun could come along with safety and the Cayman S just didn't seem to get that idea.

So, I couldn't give it credit for the wonderful PASM (suspension) system or for the best manual gearbox I've ever come accross ... it should have mattered but then it didn't because this car left me cold.

The Corvette gave me a nice surprise, the Gallardo was sublime. Even the V8 Vantage irritated me ... The Porsche? Nothing. Just like a daily driver ... a nice one, no mistake, but it's just the type of car that you leave in your garage at night without looking back at it ... so not my type of car.

Ahhh, the F430 .... I know that an even better version (the Scuderia) was launched recently but it's hard to believe that it can improve this already perfect car.

Perfect, really?
Well, no of course, but not that far!

Where do I start? I mean, this car leaves you over-excited, and it is hard to explain it, to translate the feelings into words ... so I'd just say that the F430 was a pure wonder.

Yes, if it starts raining you'd be smashed by the Gallardo, and yes it's no so brilliantly built as the Lambo (let alone the Porsche) but the driving experience ... it beggars belief!

The steering is much lighter that on the Lambo, and much more accurate at the same time. The brakes, the throttle response, the F1-system sequential gearbox all work in perfect harmony to give you the feeling to be Michael Schumacher.
And the sound of that V8 is spine-tingling: not as civilized as the V10 in the Gallardo, but that wilderness feels sooo goood!!!

On the road, it was fantastic, and very confortable. The manetinno was in SPORT mode and I never lose even a bit of grip, no matter how fast (very, very, very fast sometimes) I was going into the corners.
Then, on the track, in RACE mode, it was in a class of its own. Just like with the Gallardo, I did not spin it once.

Ok, ok, the E-diff was probably helping more than my driving skills but the fact is that this car knows how to appeal to the amateurs.

Unfortunately, I was so excited that I forgot to switch off completely the system before I had to pull over, so I can't tell you how it feels without electronic aids, but what I can tell you is that in RACE mode, it was the best handling car I've ever driven, period!  

This car belongs to a family's friend (the previous owner of the 350Z) and I drove it in a couple of occasion, even though it never happened on a racetrack ... but that's not really the natural territory of a SLK, is it?

Anyway, this SLK is a 280 with a V6 producing up to 231hp, and it was coupled with a 6 speed manual gearbox.
A very nice engine. It's just a bit hard to live with the fact that exactly the same engine now gives 305hp ... but I'm not the owner, so I'm not supposed to be bothered about that.

So, a nice engine. And a nice gearbox, as good as on my Mini at least: not a bad reference!
It's also very, very, very confortable. You sit low, like in any proper roadster, but you just wouldn't believe how smooth this car is.
Then, there's the look and c'mon, isn't it one of the best looking cars ever? I love this SLR-nose and the whole design of the bonnet ... some disagree and called it the SL-Gay, but plainly, they're wrong: the SL is gay(ish), not the SLK.
Others said it is a girlie car ... well, they say it about my Mini too, and again, they're wrong.

Eventually, there's the folding metal roof, which is just brilliant. In the coupe version, you do feel like in a well-made, confortable, quite fast GT. Press a button and it becomes a convertible, letting you enjoy the sound of its V6 with a quite fun driving experience.

Bottom line? A nice car. A very nice one.