So I decided to finally get out this weekend and finish up some test drives I have been wanting to look at. I was able to test drive two Z (manual & auto), Hyundai coupe, and Lancer Ralliart (more on this).
370z:
Automatic - I was leaning towards this more because of where I live and the traffic I have to go through, and I thought it would be nice to have paddles which might give the idea of manual(?). I was wrong, the auto is nice, but I was extremely bored, it gave me time to learn a lot of the car while driving, but not having to shift was a dull ride. Also, from when I hit the paddle to when the car shifted was interesting. Between 1 to 2 was pretty quick, maybe <.5 second, 2-3 was about .5 second, 3-4 was .5 second, 4-5 .7-.9 second, and 5-6 was .7 second. I really did not go into the 7th gear as I felt there was no need. I was satisfied when I got off the line with the first couple of shifts, but after that it slowed down and I could really feel the delay. I know this is not a top of the line automatic system, but I guess I wanted more.
Manual - I have driven a touring with sport, but today they only had a base model without sport. I felt a lot more at home, but did miss the SRM system while driving. I never have had to really heel-toe in a car, I know how, but never really needed to. But with that said, the non-sport car I just felt it was lacking something. Not just the SRM, but the bigger breaks I could tell a difference, plus it was extremely quiet (I sort of wanted some noise).
Hyundai:
Manual - They did not have an automatic so I just test drove the manual V6. Off the line I could really feel the lack of power, once on the freeway and into fourth gear it was able to quickly get up to about 90 without much effort. The car does feel very big, compared to the Z, and was a bit easier to see 360° around the car. In the end though I was left feeling that pushed back in my seat, feel the car. I got out and told the salesman, "That's it?" He agreed it was a good car, but it will be tough to sell me on it since I have driven the Z. Which, by going from the Z to the Hyundai, I could tell the Z had the edge, but when we got to talking about price, the Z feel very short. He wanted to give me the track, which I just drove, for 27,500 or so, not a bad deal since invoice is about 28,000 or so.
Lancer:
Automaic - Well, since the dealership is a Hyundai/Mitsubishi combo I decided to jump over and try the lancer. Well, they had a MR Evo on the floor (exact model I was hoping to drive), but they said "We have to run your credit before you can test drive." Ok, lets go try the Ralliart. The paddles/shifts were quicker than the Z but just the same feeling as the Z. Bored out of my mind when driving, I had no real interactive with the car other than pushing a paddle every so often. I will say the car was very big and gave me plenty of room inside, but the gauges were a bit tough for me to read. I am tall and since they do not slide up like in the Z I lost some visibility a bit.
After the Lancer drive, I told them if they want to sell me the MR they will have to let me test drive without a credit check. They stood there shocked as I spoke against some code, so I said, send me your numbers (they are going to email me the best they can do today) and if I find them reasonable I might be back. If not, then they do not have to worry about me driving their car, though I was very turned off by this and not sure any number will get me back their.
The end:
I did want to stop by and drive a mustang, but I would rather wait and see a 2010 model but not sure they will be out before I make a decision. So did any of these test drives change my mind about anything? Nope, but it did show me that the 370z with sport is the only way to go (base or touring). Hyundai has a solid car and I think will become great, but I do not want to buy into a first year model. Lancer, well just not sure I want to talk to them again, but will wait to see their numbers tonight.
I will say, I am not getting an automatic Z though, the manual is just to much fun.
