The cars and bikes thread!

[litlmn]

Love the Alfa @scottjc

Drove a BMW X4 for a week in Denver. Great driving SUVlike vehicle. Fast, super comfortable. Infotainment system was a bit tricky to figure out though. Starting to think I need something like this, I’m getting old….Becoming harder to peel myself out of the A4 with the lowered sport suspension.



Got back home and had the same issue as Geoff. A4 went into limp mode. Had to get a new water pump and thermostat.

[Raza]

Emira reviews are out https://youtu.be/w_jGkBzhIp4

Six and a half minutes in and I want one. He had me at V6 manual. Plus, Lotus pretty much only makes amazing cars, I love the looks (reminiscent of the Evora, but possibly even better), and it seems pretty practical for a car of this type.

Funny. They now make two cars in the world that I want. The Supra manual and this. Maybe two and a half, I do quite like the manual Bronco as well. Not sure I’d ever buy one, though. Maybe I’m getting old, but the Touring model seems to be the one to get; at that size and weight, I wouldn’t really consider it a serious track car and even I can appreciate a car that both handles well and rides well. I’d bet the Sport model wouldn’t bother me much, but the Touring seems like it could easily be a car you can drive daily and take longer trips in.


Anyone else notice he’s wearing two watches?

[scottjc]

Love the Alfa @scottjc

Drove a BMW X4 for a week in Denver. Great driving SUVlike vehicle. Fast, super comfortable. Infotainment system was a bit tricky to figure out though. Starting to think I need something like this, I’m getting old….Becoming harder to peel myself out of the A4 with the lowered sport suspension.



Got back home and had the same issue as Geoff. A4 went into limp mode. Had to get a new water pump and thermostat.

I can't fault the Alfa after 3 weeks.
Higher driving position is good for visibility on country lanes, as well as better for my ageing knees and back.
It drives like an absolute beast when you ask it to.
Not disputing the benefits of the BMW but you don't see many Alfas on the road around here and I like to be that bit different.

Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk

[Raza]

Love the Alfa @scottjc

Drove a BMW X4 for a week in Denver. Great driving SUVlike vehicle. Fast, super comfortable. Infotainment system was a bit tricky to figure out though. Starting to think I need something like this, I’m getting old….Becoming harder to peel myself out of the A4 with the lowered sport suspension.



Got back home and had the same issue as Geoff. A4 went into limp mode. Had to get a new water pump and thermostat.

What did you think of the looks versus practicality? Personally, these “four door SUV coupes” that have been coming out over the 10-15 years have always seemed silly to me. If I’m going to give up driving enjoyment, I want to maximize practicality. And, to my taste, they look a bit silly compared to a proper two box SUV shape. I’d much rather have a more traditional SUV if I wanted something of that size.

[litlmn]

What did you think of the looks versus practicality? Personally, these “four door SUV coupes” that have been coming out over the 10-15 years have always seemed silly to me. If I’m going to give up driving enjoyment, I want to maximize practicality. And, to my taste, they look a bit silly compared to a proper two box SUV shape. I’d much rather have a more traditional SUV if I wanted something of that size.

Don't get me wrong, it's super ugly. But it drove like a BWM, which to say it had great acceleration, and held up very well going up the road to Red Rock. I wouldn't sling it around a corner the same as I would my A4, but it did well. There's plenty of room in the Boot as our northern friends would say, but you do lose some height with the sloping roof. I personally wouldn't buy one, but I wouldn't be mad if it was my daily driver.

I'm actually leaning towards the Alfa or a Q3 myself if I were to go down the SUV route, The Alfa has the power and I know I can add the power to the Q3 and the Quattro could handle it.

[geoffbot]

Love the Alfa @scottjc

Drove a BMW X4 for a week in Denver. Great driving SUVlike vehicle. Fast, super comfortable. Infotainment system was a bit tricky to figure out though. Starting to think I need something like this, I’m getting old….Becoming harder to peel myself out of the A4 with the lowered sport suspension.



Got back home and had the same issue as Geoff. A4 went into limp mode. Had to get a new water pump and thermostat.

Gah sorry mate. Hope it's an easy fix. You can do a lot of it yourself no?

[geoffbot]

Want one! Tempting to sell the Elise to help pay for one.

I could sell my m4 but I have no equity in it so if still have to buy the whole lotus

Its not a convertible though, and I do like back seats and a usable boot. Not sure it's worth 2.5x my car. And it's not that quick. I know I'm sure it handles beautifully (I must try hydraulic steering), but most of my driving is on boring roads so I can't really appreciate dynamics. If it's a nice sunny day I'll ride my bike...

Irrelevant anyway - they're on a 2 year waitlist, and I can't afford one right now.

[happyscrappyheropup]

What did you think of the looks versus practicality? Personally, these “four door SUV coupes” that have been coming out over the 10-15 years have always seemed silly to me. If I’m going to give up driving enjoyment, I want to maximize practicality. And, to my taste, they look a bit silly compared to a proper two box SUV shape. I’d much rather have a more traditional SUV if I wanted something of that size.

I'd prefer a wagon to these crossovers but we don't get many performance wagons here. I think the gen 2 CTS-V wagon was the last performance wagon sold in the US with a manual transmission.

[litlmn]

Gah sorry mate. Hope it's an easy fix. You can do a lot of it yourself no?

Generally I could, but I didn't want to deal with it this time. I have a local shop I go to for some things, with a very reasonable labor charge. It wasn't bad at all.

[Raza]

I'd prefer a wagon to these crossovers but we don't get many performance wagons here. I think the gen 2 CTS-V wagon was the last performance wagon sold in the US with a manual transmission.

I do believe that’s the case, yes. I’d love an older S4 Avant with a 6 speed, though. That would be awesome.

Just reminiscing, but does anyone remember when the Audi A6 was available with the 2.7L twin turbo engine and 6 speed manual out of the S4? Oh man, those were the days. Midsize luxury sedans with manual transmissions? Back then, you could get a manual on any engine 5 series.