Is there any point in reading . . .

[alan_leamy]

Just read the CAR Performance car of the year and Im baffled and thinking of never reading a car mag again. The Noble having recieved plaudits from every quarter but didnt make it into the last 11.

Yes Im a Noble fan but this jsut doesnt make sense. It has beaten most of the cars tested in other tests so why the difference.

[Barry Ives]

To many motoring journalists bank at berkleys,ive had all sorts of porches and feraris and they dont come close even at twice the price,thats without the 400bhp thats on the way for my 3r.I agree if they cant talk sense then whats the point of buying there mags.One of them said that the Noble dash was poor,its absolute art what are they talking about.I wonder what most of em drive anyway!!! Oh by the way i can spell but just thought id P155 THEM OFF!!!

[DanH]

If you are only buying a car because its flavour of the week with a magazine, you are on a hiding to nothing. Especially with a specialist hand built sports car. Seek your validation when you drive it.

Not when some journo who may or may not be shit at driving opines about it.

I own an Elise, and thats gone from best handling car to very boring in over the last few years to be overtaken by the MX5 apparently (which was out before it). Its hardly consistent, and frankly you need to realise that magazines are motivated with providing interesting stories about the new 'giant slayers', or their primary advertisers. They'd sell no copies if they kept on saying car X is the best (although frankly I think the Elise was overstated at times, but then again I'd say the same about the Noble).

Be your own man!

[daveyc]

Yep - couldn't agree more! Resoundingly crap article by any standards. To be fair, all the mags have the thankless task of persuading non-enthusiast punters to buy their rag to get volume sales. So they're tempted to dumb-down and hype-up to deliver a 'Shock' result in every test.

Some mags manage to rise above this stuff (Autocar, Evo etc) and others go straight for the high-impact story. Reading Car's article from top to bottom, there is literally nothing of value - no 'soul' and no sense of what any of the cars are really like to drive. Worthless. Embarassing even. Ignore it.

Anyway, I'd like to share my own little story. Being a keen driver, like all of us here, and having parted with my much-loved E46 M3 several months ago, I've agonised long & hard over what to buy next. I was lucky enough to get an order slot on an M3 CSL for Dec delivery (try this one for wildly varied press ratings!). But I've had doubts ever since ordering it and I've tried other stuff to be sure: 911s (both C2 and C4), Tuscan S and even an EVO VIII (not my cup of tea).

But all the uncertainty and deliberation, ended last weekend. I finally test drove an M12 GTO 3R. Even alongside 911s and Tuscans, this car stood out by a long way. The chasis is simply the best on any car I've ever driven - it feels so composed, so rigid and so impossibly supple over niggly road surfaces. This, combined with the almost comical levels of grip, perfect turn-in and gorgeously real feedback just leaves the 911 for dead - and the Tuscan was never up there, once you've got over it being straight-line fast.

For me, the Noble is a better car than any of these by miles, even before you take into account the giggle-inducing performance. If the Noble was only two thirds as fast as it is, I'd still leap at it.

So I guess this is a long-winded way if saying bugger what Car magazine have to say. They wrote about 38 cars & said nothing at all.

Sorry for the mad long post - and Noble didn't pay me to say it! I just drove the car and fell for it. It may have some ford buttons, but it's just obvious that it's beautifully engineered by people who love driving - and you can feel that in every yard you drive.

Just have to wait til April for my next fix. But I'm still grinning days after the test drive ...

[joust]

Daveyc - I presume you put your name down for a M12 then? (sorry - you post didn't seem clear - but I presume the "wait until April" meant you bought it?)

[3rtt]

daveyc,

Welcome to the club. Come April, you will enjoy it even more and that grin WILL get even bigger.

I waited 12 months for my 3R (R35). Now I own the car, that wait seemed such a short time.

As I have posted in my 3R Heaven thread, anyone with the slightest interest in a Noble should take a test drive. After that, you will need to make appointment with you bank manager, discuss with wife, sell your ..........


Cheers,
Ian.

[3rtt]

Justin, You're up early ?

[alan_leamy]

I have the answer to my car mag problem. From now on Im looking at the pictures and ignoring the written word.

I like many have test driven the 3R and as soon as I did I knew and no CAR mag would chnage my opinion. I think the editors of these mags have alot to answer for. Sure opinion is personal but when writing about cars surely criteria needs to be set.

My wait is until Feb (I hope) and then I can smile like the Joker.



>> Edited by alan_leamy on Friday 7th November 11:27

[daveyc]

Yep, I forgot to say that I put down a deposit immediately after my second test drive. The dealership were're terriffic - they let me drive for a whole hour! Wonderful - even the salesman was giggling (didn't see any of the Porsche guys do that - maybe they're not allowed)

PS. Alan, my message wasn't aimed at you - I just get bored of so many mags writing drivel when they could do so much more. And it looks like you're well ahead of me in experience of Nobles ...

[alan_leamy]

Daveyc .. . Agree.