Pros:
1. The intellectual pleasure of driving a 4 cylinder car which, at the time of its launch, went quicker to 100 km/h than a 911 Turbo (6 cylinders), a Ferrari 328/348 (8 cylinders), and a Lamborghini Countach (12 cylinders).
2. Handling. No hype. Julia Roberts was right. It does drive like it's on rails.
3. Looks. It is stunning from any angle.
4. Value for money. Where can a normal car guy buy into the supercar league?
5. Bonus: Fiberglass body means no rust!
Cons:
1. Not suited for tall people.
2. On-off nature of turbocharging.
3. Mundane sound and feel at normal speeds.
The on-off nature of the turbo-charged engine represents a paradox: the turbo-charging is exactly what makes it such a special car in the first place and is in fact its unique selling proposition!
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is important to add that turbo-lag is actually very well managed in this engine. The high-pressure air has a very short distance to travel to get to the combustion chamber from the turbo. This is thanks to that very special water-intercooler which sits on top of the engine. There is no complicated plumbing to get the air through a air-to-air intercooler.
Thanks for the great post!
E ;-)