I would of liked to have been at the meeting where they decided that they wanted a hot hatch.
They clearly wanted to out do the competition but there must have been too much alcohol at the buffet because they went WAY over and above.

Just think, this is their FIRST attempt.

 

A stunning example

 

I'm going to have to take the lead on this one arn't I.

No one has clearly read the post properly.

 

Carnut,
"Just think, this is their FIRST attempt."

I never thought of it like that.

Harryr34,
Thanks mate.

 

people still moan about no manual option

 

The way most performance cars are going there wont be manual option anymore!! Eventually the normal everyday cars will be using auto/flappy boxes!!

But these auto boxes in performance cars are fool proof, even the average driver can get the same 0-60/1/4 mile as a professional race driver.

 

I'm not anti manual at all; I chose the auto in the BM because it's quicker and better on fuel. But the other two vehicles are manuals; because I feel the manual on these two is better.

I'd still choose manual on a Porsche.

 

Looking for a BMW to drift but needs three pedals and a petrol six.

 

M135i manual with a birds LSD?

 

Handover day is this Saturday...... I wonder how many tanks of fuel I'm going to blow this weekend, especially as I've booked Monday off work as well.

 

Is it a used example? So no running in?!

 

I made the sensible choice (he says lol) and have bought a 4 month old car with 2.5k miles on it. I can drive it away and rag the **** out of it.

 

This is going to be my next car when the lease runs out on my current one, I have been hooked since watching you tube clips etc....


Got to have that exhaust upgrade though !!

 

And some of us despise paddle shift automatics!

I just don't like them, and it's put me of several cars because of it.

 

Things are moving at a pace in this area of technology though. Soon manual will be a thing of the past so you'e going to have to get used to it... or keep buying old tech ... ah yes Subaru

The paddle shift on my SL is pretty poor compared to the current stuff, I drove an E63 with paddle shift and was amazed at how good it was in comparison to mine. After 2 hours I wondered why I would ever want a manual tbh and the A45's box is better again.

At the end of the day if it's good enough for Lewis it's good enough for me

 

Clarkson talks about auto boxs in the magazine a few months back. He says how in the modern day with traffic as bad as it is and fuel prices and so on the new gen paddle boxs with hybrid technology are way better. He then makes the point of saying that when the horse became obsolete it didn't stamp out the horse but instead made it a weekend enthusiasts past time.
It seems to me that once we are all driving round in hybrids with trick boxs us petrol heads will have some V8 manual tucked away for weekend fun. After all, it's a bit daft driving in traffic doing 15mpg anywho.

 

Not sure I agree with the link between stick shift and enthusiasts. If the box does what I want it to do, when I want it to do it, alls good. I'm an enthusiast through and through, but times have moved on and this is progress imo.

 

Because it's harder to drive with manual and a little bit more skill is involved.

 

Similar thing with the BMW 8AT, its mega.

 

I'd suggest that's subjective (as the difficulty/skill difference is negligible). It's just different imo.

 

If i was fortunate enough to be in your situation and Merc offed both manual and auto then i would choose auto. (I think).
But if lets say i had a caterham*seven i would want a manual. Another example may be if i was to be given the opportunity to have a full days racing tuition from a professional racing driver and could choose between a manual gt3 or a pdk gt3 then i would want the manual. The skills obtained by driving a manual can be transferred to a auto but someone who has only ever driven a auto (paddle shift) would be useless in a manual.

 

Agreed!

 

Mattee, do you wish the paddles were a little bigger? And can you change gear from the original position and if so do you?

 

Paddles are fine, bigger would be too much IMHO. Yes and yes

 

slight tangent to topic but I was speaking to MB today again re my dads wants a 2nd hand BClass, once id sorted that, I asked my guy about the new C63 C63s and the new up n coming C450...

Id love a C63 if I was 4matic but it aint, however after speccing one mine was 71k LOL and did you know you can spec a 350 quid air freshner called Air Balance or something how weird....

Anyway the C450 is petrol and 362BHP c class to compete with the S4, and its 4matic...but its another AMG so its got the handbuilt engine to boot..
So this could be a contender for Teds replacement should I move away from Pocket rocket...

The deals on the C63 were 699 a month with 8k down.

What he did mention to me was the E63 has some good deals, 10k down 629 a month over 2 years, but the balloon is 47k LOL.

I know on the Aclass forums one of the guys is swapping the A45 for a RS6, I think if I was anywhere in the 70K mark it would have to be a Porker... I,ll wait and see how much this C450 is, rumour says 39k ish, so I prob bet same as my A45 once ive tinkered

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/mo...oit-motor-show

 

They seem okay - they are SO much better than the 335d efforts - left is down and right is up. I have to admit I don't use them loads but when I do, it feels like I'm in charge rather than the car - it lets you redline without intervening.

It's an incredible box really - so quick. A sustained bout of acceleration (hard to achieve as your going at daft speeds pretty quickly) is a real joy - the engine snarls, the exhaust pops on every upshift and it really feels a bit special.

The fact BMW stuck a 320bhp/335lbs-ft turbo'd six pot in a wee hatch then coupled it to an 8 speed loon box and RWD just makes me smile. Just like AMG went a bit bonkers too.

Sorry, I got a bit carried away...

Oh, the facelift A45 is out soon - 375bhp...

 

When I picked up my dream car - an Integrale Evo I - on a Friday night in 1997, I was out hooning in it all weekend (Fri night till Sun night), only stopping for sustenance and bed.

I did 372 quid in fuel... Bearing in mind it was only about 57.9p/ltr back then, that's 642ltrs/141gals!

IIRC, it had a 50ltr/11gal tank... So would've refilled with 12 tankfuls within a c.53hr period! lol

 

The best car I ever picked up was the first Escort Cosworth I owned...... I felt like a lottery winner driving that car back from the dealer in 1998. Even though that was a second car, I used to drive it so much..... rain or shine. Loved it, as it was such a crowd draw. lol I then sold it, had another car and then went and bought a second one.

I blew the first one up on the M69.... hooning around shall we say.

I must admit I'm starting to get the same kind of build up feeling to the A45 purchase now. I think I might have to sleep in it on Saturday night.

Matteeboy,
That will be in response (power wise) to the new RS3 then I suspect. I best get a tuning box sorted then. lol

 

Got such a soft spot for the Escort "Cosseh"

Were both of yours the "small turbo" variant?

 

Behave..... both large turbo. First one was a motorsport and the second one was a LUX.