Spinal
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2004
- Messages
- 4,806
- Location
- between Uxbridge and the Alps
- Car
- x254, G350, Duster, S320, Mach1, 900ss and a few more
So it's been a week that I've been driving the Ford Probe...
Before anyone asks... no, it hasn't broken down yet!
What do I think of it? It is definitely a change from a W202 C180… it’s nowhere near as sophisticated as the W202, and when I stop at a set of lights and see a W202 next to me I look over with a tear in my eye…
Until I put my foot down and hear that glorious V6 pull me away…
The engine sound is nowhere near as nice as the V2’s scream on the Ducati… or the V12’s rumble on the CL600 my dad had… it’s more of a… well… let’s leave the metaphor out; would rather not get banned
Official figures are in the 7.x second range for 0-60, and a top speed of 137… I can believe the 0-60, but the top speed feels wrong… The other day, while on my way to a client (on a private road/track of course) I put her in 5th, and decided to lower the volume on the radio. In the couple of seconds it took me to lower the volume, I noticed that I was overtaking most cars… Looked down at the speedo, and I was approaching 120… the part that I found most worrying was that I couldn’t hear the engine screaming at me (which the C180 would have done at that speed), the wind noise was barely audible and overall it was very quiet…
Fuel economy wise, I went through my first tank at 30-ish mpg (mixed driving), which was quite a pleasant surprise. So I decided to drive in a bit more… well… let’s say “Italian” fashion… this tank disappeared in 16mpg… I’m onto my third tank now, and am trying to drive sensibly… problem is, it’s just so much fun to drive!
The car is VERY immature… pulling away from a standstill, if you put your foot down, the front wheels will skid to no end. I’m looking for a set of wider alloys (the previous owner nicked the wider alloys and put the ones from the non-GT version of the car…)
It has no abs (or at least, none that I’ve been able to kick in while testing), no skid-control, pull-away control (or whatever you call it – the one that stops you from spinning the wheels while pulling away) and feels very “basic” to drive. That said, it’s fun for precisely that reason, it truly feels like you are in control of the car.
Cornering is impressive, I was expecting MUCH more under-steer from comments on the other thread – so far, it’s felt like its on rails compared to the W202 (esprit). It’s on par with the Z3, which is a much smaller/lighter car.
Now the downsides…
It’s white…
The leather seats are “weird” (there are buttons to modify the lumbar support, “fluffiness” of the base, and how wide the bucket-seat sides are). I keep fiddling with them, but cant find a position that is as comfortable as any of the mercs I’ve had.
It’s designed for smaller people. If I sit normally, I cannot open the window as the buttons are at my wrist-height’s resting point. Similarly, the seat controls are tucked away on the side, and I need to move sideways to play with them. The sunroof controls are also too close to me. Finally, if I raise the seat to the highest and make it as fluffy as possible, my head touches the roof.
The engine goads you on to waste fuel. It really sits there, whispering to you trying to tempt you to put your foot down. In covered car parks, you can hear its moans bouncing off the walls. (and this is with a stock exhaust. The intake is one of those naff mushroom wastes of space… looking for a stock air intake as we speak) so that may help, but otherwise it’s stock.
The rear seats are tiny. I cannot fit on them, I need to sit sideways to get any space. The one behind the passenger seat isn’t so bad as the passenger can move forwards, but the one behind me (the driver seat) is for shopping bags only. (though the boot is MASSIVE! It’s definitely bigger than the W202, and I would hazard on par, if not bigger, than the S-class.
The stereo is CR*P. No bass what-so-ever (and I’m not a bass junkie… I was listening to Pavarotti, who was quite round… both physically and in song… and he felt flat). High notes turn into squeaks… and it has 3 volume settings “Low” “Too Loud”, “Burst your eardrums”. (this is the stock unit too!) I keep it at 1, 2 or 3… our of 34 (another weird thing… why have a volume scale from 0-34? I understand 0-10, 0-20, etc… even 0-11… but not 0-34…). This will be changed on the 28th on the month, with a cheap Chinese touch-screen jobbie… let’s see what that’s like!
Finally... the name... My coworkers take every possible opportunity to jest about the name... I've heard them all now... admittedly, it isn't as bad as the Pajero... but it isn't good either...
Anyhow… is it worth the £500? Definitely! I may even keep her after getting the CLK… it’s a fun car to drive, albeit the ride is nowhere near as sophisticated as the mercs… for half a grand, uncluding 6 months of tax, it’s a no-brainer!
Now… where did I put my keys…
M.
Before anyone asks... no, it hasn't broken down yet!
What do I think of it? It is definitely a change from a W202 C180… it’s nowhere near as sophisticated as the W202, and when I stop at a set of lights and see a W202 next to me I look over with a tear in my eye…
Until I put my foot down and hear that glorious V6 pull me away…
The engine sound is nowhere near as nice as the V2’s scream on the Ducati… or the V12’s rumble on the CL600 my dad had… it’s more of a… well… let’s leave the metaphor out; would rather not get banned
Official figures are in the 7.x second range for 0-60, and a top speed of 137… I can believe the 0-60, but the top speed feels wrong… The other day, while on my way to a client (on a private road/track of course) I put her in 5th, and decided to lower the volume on the radio. In the couple of seconds it took me to lower the volume, I noticed that I was overtaking most cars… Looked down at the speedo, and I was approaching 120… the part that I found most worrying was that I couldn’t hear the engine screaming at me (which the C180 would have done at that speed), the wind noise was barely audible and overall it was very quiet…
Fuel economy wise, I went through my first tank at 30-ish mpg (mixed driving), which was quite a pleasant surprise. So I decided to drive in a bit more… well… let’s say “Italian” fashion… this tank disappeared in 16mpg… I’m onto my third tank now, and am trying to drive sensibly… problem is, it’s just so much fun to drive!
The car is VERY immature… pulling away from a standstill, if you put your foot down, the front wheels will skid to no end. I’m looking for a set of wider alloys (the previous owner nicked the wider alloys and put the ones from the non-GT version of the car…)
It has no abs (or at least, none that I’ve been able to kick in while testing), no skid-control, pull-away control (or whatever you call it – the one that stops you from spinning the wheels while pulling away) and feels very “basic” to drive. That said, it’s fun for precisely that reason, it truly feels like you are in control of the car.
Cornering is impressive, I was expecting MUCH more under-steer from comments on the other thread – so far, it’s felt like its on rails compared to the W202 (esprit). It’s on par with the Z3, which is a much smaller/lighter car.
Now the downsides…
It’s white…
The leather seats are “weird” (there are buttons to modify the lumbar support, “fluffiness” of the base, and how wide the bucket-seat sides are). I keep fiddling with them, but cant find a position that is as comfortable as any of the mercs I’ve had.
It’s designed for smaller people. If I sit normally, I cannot open the window as the buttons are at my wrist-height’s resting point. Similarly, the seat controls are tucked away on the side, and I need to move sideways to play with them. The sunroof controls are also too close to me. Finally, if I raise the seat to the highest and make it as fluffy as possible, my head touches the roof.
The engine goads you on to waste fuel. It really sits there, whispering to you trying to tempt you to put your foot down. In covered car parks, you can hear its moans bouncing off the walls. (and this is with a stock exhaust. The intake is one of those naff mushroom wastes of space… looking for a stock air intake as we speak) so that may help, but otherwise it’s stock.
The rear seats are tiny. I cannot fit on them, I need to sit sideways to get any space. The one behind the passenger seat isn’t so bad as the passenger can move forwards, but the one behind me (the driver seat) is for shopping bags only. (though the boot is MASSIVE! It’s definitely bigger than the W202, and I would hazard on par, if not bigger, than the S-class.
The stereo is CR*P. No bass what-so-ever (and I’m not a bass junkie… I was listening to Pavarotti, who was quite round… both physically and in song… and he felt flat). High notes turn into squeaks… and it has 3 volume settings “Low” “Too Loud”, “Burst your eardrums”. (this is the stock unit too!) I keep it at 1, 2 or 3… our of 34 (another weird thing… why have a volume scale from 0-34? I understand 0-10, 0-20, etc… even 0-11… but not 0-34…). This will be changed on the 28th on the month, with a cheap Chinese touch-screen jobbie… let’s see what that’s like!
Finally... the name... My coworkers take every possible opportunity to jest about the name... I've heard them all now... admittedly, it isn't as bad as the Pajero... but it isn't good either...
Anyhow… is it worth the £500? Definitely! I may even keep her after getting the CLK… it’s a fun car to drive, albeit the ride is nowhere near as sophisticated as the mercs… for half a grand, uncluding 6 months of tax, it’s a no-brainer!
Now… where did I put my keys…
M.
) a real Ford RS petrol head including owning over the years a large proportion of the RS cars that Ford produced including concourse cars. I am afraid to say that I really didn't like the Probe when it came out (my mothers friend had one) and I think it has really dated badly, the seats look like something you would have seen in an 80's science fiction series....
