Discussion
Just had a go in one.
Pleasantly surprised after reading a lot of adverse reports.
I reckon after a couple of hundred miles in it, you'd be able to make the shift action in manual mode very good. Even on the 15min drive I had, I started to realise that it only needs a very slight lift to smooth out the changes (kind of like flexing your toes rather than moving your whole foot). When doing this, the shift is quick and smooth. If you leave your foot on the throttle, it's a bit more brutal. And too much of a lift results in you lurching the car rather than the gearbox.
Down shifting is exceptionally good, and the throttle blipping is perfect for the intended purpose (matching revs to road speed. And sounding cool
). Would be very handy on track or a spirited cross country drive.
Auto mode (the D button) might be quite handy in slow moving town driving, but out on the open road the shift is too "lurchy" for my taste, and as you don't know when it's going to shift, you obviously can't smooth it out with a lift. I wonder why they can't program the ECU to "lift" for you in both modes (auto and manual) - the amount you need to lift to smooth it is minimal so it'd barely slow the shift down...and they can do the blipping on down changes very well. So why not back off a touch on the way up the box...?
Didn't use comfort mode - was advised it's not great.
Paddles feel quite nice (if a bit thin), and I like the way the additional buttons have been done. Also like the additional oddments tray you get with not having a gear lever (that I still went for when first pulling off).
I think with a bit more programming this could be a very good box indeed. Will be interesting to see how it develops, and also what else they do with the Vantage over the next couple of years. Less good for my bank balance though.
Pleasantly surprised after reading a lot of adverse reports.
I reckon after a couple of hundred miles in it, you'd be able to make the shift action in manual mode very good. Even on the 15min drive I had, I started to realise that it only needs a very slight lift to smooth out the changes (kind of like flexing your toes rather than moving your whole foot). When doing this, the shift is quick and smooth. If you leave your foot on the throttle, it's a bit more brutal. And too much of a lift results in you lurching the car rather than the gearbox.
Down shifting is exceptionally good, and the throttle blipping is perfect for the intended purpose (matching revs to road speed. And sounding cool
). Would be very handy on track or a spirited cross country drive. Auto mode (the D button) might be quite handy in slow moving town driving, but out on the open road the shift is too "lurchy" for my taste, and as you don't know when it's going to shift, you obviously can't smooth it out with a lift. I wonder why they can't program the ECU to "lift" for you in both modes (auto and manual) - the amount you need to lift to smooth it is minimal so it'd barely slow the shift down...and they can do the blipping on down changes very well. So why not back off a touch on the way up the box...?
Didn't use comfort mode - was advised it's not great.
Paddles feel quite nice (if a bit thin), and I like the way the additional buttons have been done. Also like the additional oddments tray you get with not having a gear lever (that I still went for when first pulling off
). I think with a bit more programming this could be a very good box indeed. Will be interesting to see how it develops, and also what else they do with the Vantage over the next couple of years. Less good for my bank balance though.
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