The "I just drove a..." Thread

[Ferrer]

It's longer.

You see, that's the sort of useful consumer advice you just don't get from other motoring websites.

Probably.

[henk4]

You see, that's the sort of useful consumer advice you just don't get from other motoring websites.

Probably.

by more than 17 cm even...

[Vanishing Boy]

-> This past month:

Just Drove -> Toyota Yaris LE 5-Dr A/T '12, Scion iQ '12.

Just Ridden -> Chevrolet Volt ('12 spec)

[Rizaven]

On a trip to Reno we rented a Chevrolet Captiva, it's a reincarnation of the Saturn Vue, You can't find it at a Chevy dealership it's available at rental agency. Not a bad SUV, no rattle noise inside the car courtesy of the UAW, The ride was pretty comfortable. The handling: Not recommended for abrupt lane changes, and on those sweeping turns coming back down from the mountains, You can really feel the body swaying and the tires feel like it's about to lift off the ground. The V6 engine have more than adequate power. It doesn't sound stressed at 70-80 MPH cruising, although on the way up the mountain with the cruise control set at 70 the transmission got busy, kicking down and the engine revving up. All in all, Not a vehicle I would buy myself, I just don't like SUVs, but If somebody ask me yeah I would recommend it.

[RacingManiac]

Rental Chevy Impala, probably a few years old as it comes with the 3.5L V6 instead of the 3.6 that the current one comes with. I think it has 220bhp in this 3.5. Sh!t car. Bad tranny with lazy shift and refuse the kickdown til last sec. Sloppy steering. Brake pedal is surprisingly stiff, but so is the gas pedal....The driving position is terrible. The pedals stick out quite far, while the steering wheel does not telescope. So a decent steering reach results in ridiculous pedal position. Driver seat is power adjustable in for-aft, up/down, and seat base rake. The seat back is manual reclining. No lumbar adjustment, and I HATE seats with a lumbar support that sticks out in the middle of my back. In the rental trim, the car has NO rear cup holders(!), WTF, I thought this is America....no arm rest or rear air vent neither. NVH is horrible, the road noise is loud, wind noise is loud....

Probably easily one of the worst car I've driven in a while....granted though, the driving experience in the VW Routan was probably no better, it was better appointed though...If this is old GM, I am glad its gone...

[Kitdy]

Why did you have it?

[RacingManiac]

Rental car for a business visit....

[Ferrer]

Not really a car, but anyway.

Rotax DD2 Kart.

A friend of mine owns one and told me if I wanted to come to try it out. So, yes sure!, I said.

The Rotax DD2 kart is a rear-engined rear wheel drive kart. It has a single cylinder 125cc engine which delivers about 30bhp and a two speed gearbox. It has flappy paddles, but unlike any other such system I've come across before, the paddles of the kart engage first for the right one, and second for the left one. Putting them level sets gearbox in neutral.

I didn't get to drive it much, because at first the gear linkage was broken and then there was a problem with the engine, a misfire. However even in my short drive, I was in for a big shock. Before this my karting experience was limited to rental karts and little did I know how different it would be.

Before I took the wheel I was given some instructions. Run it high on revs, otherwise the engine wouldn't run properly. Always brake in straight line. Downshift only after braking. And generally be careful or you'll crash.

The last of the recomendations gives you a hint what it's like to drive such a machine. Before even driving I didn't want to break anything or crash so I decided I would take it easy. I asked if the engine cut out if I reached the rev limit and I was told that yes, but that it would be better to not reach this point because it could damage the engine. So having to drive it lively and despite the 12,000rpm rev limit, I was confined to 3 or 4 thousand usable revs. Not much with something that has a 367bhp/tonne power to weight ratio.

Well, after all this it was time to go out on the track. I have to say I didn't know the track at all since it was my first time on it, but not that it mattered at all. The first sensation that you get is that everything happens very quickly. The straights are pretty much devoured in no time at all and at the end of the main straight you could reach about 140km/h apparently. Gear change is pretty much lightning fast, but you have to be strong about it because the paddles aren't easy to operate. Word of warning though, if you downshift at high revs (like I did) the rear can step out violently, however fortunately I could catch before it resulted in a spin.

Handling as you would expect is pretty good, with no understeer at all to bother you. Direction changes are instantaneous and brakes are good, since it is almost impossible to lock them up. Basically grip is plentiful, however the back can step out if you play the gas quite easily usually quickly and sometimes unexpectedly. In short, this is a vehicle which rewards a tidy driving style, braking, turning and accelerating where you have instead of being messy about it.

I have to say, however, that the sensation that has stuck most of all is the avalanche of things and feelings that come to you when you drive it. Especially since I was trying not to crash, to change gear when I had to, to drive moderately fast and to not break anything. Even if it all seemed very fast to me I doubt I was actually going very fast. I doubt I actually hit any of the apexes or that I braked where I was supposed to (sometimes too early, others too late). But still, everything you had to do left you almost no time to think where were you going, or how fast did you have to take the corners. At first it seemed a but like a survival game...

It was certainly and adrenaline rush, though!

[f6fhellcat13]

Yes, karts are pretty much distilled essence of car and work quite nicely as adrenaline delivery vehicles.
Whenever I drive fast vehicles, I never seem to have enough time to fully get a hold on what I am driving. The few times I've been in karts, the sessions have always been too short to come to terms with what I had underhoof. I do remember doing an "endurance" stint once in which I finally began to find a rhythm and the course became fluid and natural.

In our FSAE car, which is basically an upsized kart, I have similar problems but they are mostly because the car breaks down so often that by the time your brain begins to catch up something has gone wrong and all momentum is lost.

[Ferrer]

Yes, I gues that if I had had more time in the kart I would have been able to get behind the way it worked and how I had to drive, and then I could have learnt the track and finally I would've been able to really enjoy it.

Because we had had so little track action (due to the mechanical issues), at the end of the day we did a ten minute session with the rental karts they had at the track and they were very different. They were far slower and easier to use, but mine also undesteered far more than the Rotax DD2 I drove earlier. I was told that the differenc in lap times is about 15 to 20 seconds (I did 1:29 in my first time on the track, my friend told me they had lowered their times in the rentals to about 1:27). However, I was finally able to learnt the track.

What my friend told me, I think he is right, is that difference between both karts is the difference between a road car and a racing car, and I think I can see what he means. In a road car, even a fast one (and the fastest I've driven is an M3 V8) the reactions are somewhat tamed down, filtered. Yes you can go very fast but the controls usually don't react imediately to your inputs. However in a race car those filters do not exist, and therefore you have to measure your actions much more thouroughly because getting it 1% wrong will have much worse consequences than in a road car.

I also learnt yesterday that the lower the limit is the easier it is to go fast and the less the differences between drivers are seen. However in a really fast vehicle it is much more difficult to get it to limit, because it is far higher, and therefore the differences between drivers are much more evident.

[clutch-monkey]

drove the '02 around to get parts for servicing. it's covered about 4000km in the last month or so in cross country trips.

[csl177]

^^^ Great looking 2002! Eats up mileage, yes? Nice to hear you're driving it appropriately.

[clutch-monkey]

yup the revs are a little high on the motorway - is the gearing usually quite short on these? but eats up back roads very quickly. also steams up the hills no problem. seems to have a lot of torque, but lacks a bit of power on take off when you ring out 2nd gear etc.

[RacingManiac]

I also learnt yesterday that the lower the limit is the easier it is to go fast and the less the differences between drivers are seen. However in a really fast vehicle it is much more difficult to get it to limit, because it is far higher, and therefore the differences between drivers are much more evident.

This is whats in essence the issue with the feeder formula in racing. In F3 or something along that line, the grip in those cars are so high that you can get it to the limit and stay there since its difficult to overstep the line. The differentiator between the fast and slow car therefore is the minute setup differences. Thus successful teams often breeds successful drivers. But then when those guys move up to much faster cars, some might not be able to adapt to the faster cars because the car will bite back now....

Another thing about driving those cars, Kart or FSAE cars. Stuff people tell you about driving, like to be smooth, look far ahead and so on are much more important. The car will react to you small input, when you are not looking far enough, your input will tend to be more "noisy" and you can't be smooth.

[Ferrer]

2012 Mercedes-Benz A 200 CDI 7G-DTC Automatic

Just a short test drive, but here are my impressions.

Ever since Daimler presented the new A-Class it has been shown to be a radical departure from the two previous generation. Gone is the mini-MPV concept and in its place there's completely conventional 5 door premium hatchback. The unusual sandwitch chasis has also been replaced by a more conventional arrangement, altough with a fully independent rear suspension. Market-wise, it's aimed squarely at the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series.

Styling wise it follows the recent Mercedes-Benz trend of slitghtly swopping headlamps and big grilles, and there's a whiff of flame surfacing on the sides. Overall not bad, if not particularly distinctive. It has to be said, though, that all cars have the big, optional, 18 inch wheels and sports body kits, so it remains to be seen if all the detailing also translates well to the standard car with its standard wheels.

The interior is well put togehter with nice materials. However the dashboard screen feels like an afterthought and it is standard for all versions, regardless of the equipment selected. All in all though it feels like a welcoming place and it easy to get a good driving position, seats are comfortable and suportive. Visibility is good all round and space isn't bad, if not massive.

The car I was given for the drive was an A 200 CDI with the optional 7 speed dual clutch gearbox. There's no console shift lever, instead the gear lever is column mounted. It's not that intuitive to use, altough you get used to it. It does clutter the space behind the steering wheel a bit too.

The engine is a brand new 1.8 litre four cylinder diesel with 136bhp that is premiered in the A-Class. The drivetrain combination is possibly the highlight of this car. The diesel is smooth and quiet at low revs, altough it has to be said if you push you still notice you are driving a diesel. Nevertheless one of the best in terms of NVH I've ever driven. The engine feels peppy and eager, esepcially for the advertised power, altough it is not lightning quick, but certainly rnough for most driving situations.

It is certainly aided by the excellent dual clutch 7G-DTC gearbox. My only previous experience with dual clutch gearboxes was in an Audi A5 Sportback, and there I found it good but not entirely convinced it was worth it. Now I am though. If you want an automatic this is pretty much as good as it gets. It's smooth and fast, noticeably better than any torque converter auto I've driven before. Gear changes are pretty much seamless and only noticeable by the change in engine noise. There are a couple of paddles behind the wheel for manual control, and they provide lightning-quick gear changes. The only drawback is that low speed smoothness (like for instance when parking) can be difficult. Contrary to torque converter-equipped cars, the automatic A-Class doesn't crawl forwards (or backwards) if you release the brake, i.e. it acts like traditional manual. However, unlike a manual, you cannot slip the clutch for ultra-low speed maneouvres, because there's no clutch pedal. As a result in can be a bit jerky in those situations. But other than that a top notch job by Daimler.

Once on the move the steering feels solid and decently weighted, if slitghtly artificial at times, but overall not bad at all. It is certainly helped by the nice, grippy and small steering wheel. I think there was a bit of speed senstive variable power steering, but it wasn't very noticeable. Since I was in Barcelona I couldn't test the handling too much, but lacking an extended test drive outside the city limits, my preliminary opinion is the falls more on the safe than in the fun end of the scale. There's plenty of grip, especially on the optional 18 inch wheels, so you'd have to go pretty fast for things to get frisky but it feels like the rear is not very playful. Linear stability is good.

Where things start to go wrong is in the ride. As I said, the car I drove had the optional 18 inche wheels, but I was told it had the standard suspension. The simple fact of the matter is that it simply rides too hard, this car. It crashed about in any pothole and made it feel bigger than it really was. Let's remember here that we are talking about some mid-range version, not a radical turbocharged AMG. The harshness of the ride was simply unacceptable. Maybe things can be improved with the standard 16 inche wheels, but I doubt the changes will be significant enough, if the car I drove had the standard suspension. I frankly do not understand why they have fitted standard version with such a stiff suspension.

In terms of value for money, it's not as bad as having the three pointed star on your bonnet might imply. It costs about the same as the equivalent rivals, but it comes with more stuff standard, like xenon headlamps or bluetooth connectivity. A word of caution, though, like all premium german cars things can get scarily expensive if you play with options list. My fully loaded car cost 37.000€ for what basically is a 136bhp front wheel drive hatchback with an automatic.

I have to say, in the end I'm not entirely convinced by this car. The ride alone would be enoguh to cross it from my buying list. However, it is moderately good value for money if you keep extras in check and the drivetrain combo is its biggest highlight, but I'm not entirely sure it is worth the asking price and the silly ride. Also bear in mind that if you opt for the basic A 180 CDI with a manual you do not get Daimler's 1.8 litre diesel engine, but a 1.5 litre from Renault instead. So you have to go for the automatic to get the Daimler engines, which means that for a start you have to add 2.362€ to the basic 25.500€ list price.

To summarise not a bad effort, but in such a competitive segment with so many worthy alternatives maybe it's wiser to opt for something else.