Hi all,
Been a bit quiet recently, so here's a post for y'all. <G>
Took a lovely, near new, 1995 MG RV8 out for a spin today. Dark metallic
blue, leather interior and just 20,000kms on the clock. Thought you might
like to hear my impressions.
Pros:
Went like stink! Great acceleration, even at 1/2 throttle. I wasn't game to
push it too much on my first drive but wow the power was quite startling.
I've driven much quicker cars yes, but this would outgun most every std car
I've driven.
Reason - the power is very 'on tap', low down and a reasonably light kerb
weight. She'd potter along in 2nd gear at a tick over 1200rpm (!). Redline
is 5300 (apparently) but I was chickening out at 4000 or less, the power was
so much I'd reached more than illegal speeds in no time at all, and at
anything over 3500 the sound was quite raucous!
Went round corners well, no sign of wheelspin under power, and turns in much
better than I expected. I wasn't pushing it tho, but apparently the car has
great grip and I had no reason to disbelieve this, it certainly gripped well
on my drive.
Nice interior, lovely woodgrain dashboard and door caps. The leather isn't
the highest quality I've ever seen, or the prettiest, but leagues ahead of
anything else in an MG, including the F's IMO.
Simply drop dead gorgeous to look at, especially topless. Always the way eh?
<G> The rear end treatment is just stunning IMO. Woohoo. ;) Best feature of
the car. They could have done a better job with the front, but all in all,
the impression it leaves you with is a very classy, handsome car.
Quiet with the hood up, pretty good vision all round. Much quieter than any
B or BGT I've driven.
Lovely burbling exhaust note, especially at idle and low revs, with a jet
like whoosh under acceleration. Feels every bit as fast as the 0-62mph
quoted time of 6.4 secs. Engine feels bulletproof. No driveline 'snatch' was
apparent either which made it very pleasant to drive.
Cons:
Lack of legroom for both passenger and driver. Driving it was a bit
interesting at first. I had NO space between my leg when on the clutch, the
lovely steering wheel and the handbrake. I am 6ft 3". I had to change from
my lazy (p.a.s. jap car) style of managing the wheel to the correct style of
passing the wheel through the hands to overcome this problem. <G> This can
be alleviated to a degree (see mods). The passenger legroom is pretty much
ruined by the a/c bottle that's mounted under the dash. I wonder if it's
possible to relocate that to the boot - ?
Interior build quality - panelling to be specific. Looks a little dodgy ala
MGB. I guess it's not possible to completely reinvent the car, but this
looked a little tacky with the leading edge part of the trim board coming
away in typical B fashion from the front footwell area. Apart from that, the
interior is nice - classy. Colour is not my cup of tea and looks an absolute
bas**** to keep clean. :)
Shakes & Rattles. A number of them were quite evident, but nothing like any
other MGB I've driven. It can't be looked on as a modern car, but at that
price, it's hard not too. The rattles weren't really a big issue, and
something I forgot when I took the wheel. Doors shut with a not so nice
rattle too.
Suspension compliance. Doesn't ride anything like the MGB - much much
better, but still 15yrs behind the eight ball. I'd say it rides like a late
eighties solid rear type family car. Not too bad, but not great either. But
what do you expect, it is a revitalised MGB not an MGF.
Mods I'd make:
Legroom. Lower the drivers seat to increase legroom. Modified clutch pedal
to lower the height needed to lift the foot up to the clutch, hence causing
interference with the wheel. Worst case - different seat. The mentioned mods
are all available from the supplier.
Try and relocate the A/C unit, it really interferes with legroom. However
not a prob. for most average height types I expect, but still maybe
uncomfortable on long journeys as it really is bent knees for the passenger.
Freeflow exhaust. Why? Coz I wanna hear more of that V8, MATE!! <VBG>
Seriously. :)) One lovely sounding motor car. The sound alone is enough
reason to forget a stock MGF 4 ever. <G>
Umm, not much else, except I think a hardtop would be nice for winter.
Naaah.. <G> Who needs it, I'm sure the heater works just fine it is English
after all. <G>
Well thats it from me, and if you're wondering, yeah, I need a new daily
driver have to ditch the Mazda, and yep, I'm seriously thinking about one of
these beasties. Tax write off y'see, yep, thats it. Yep.... (keep deluding
yourself Neil, yep).
SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! Arggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Cheers,
Neil
--
61 A / 70 BGT / 68 CGT/ 56 BN2
URL: http://www.apphosting.com/mgstuff/
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