Was it just the run-flat tyres, or
were the dampers upside down?
Ultimate Driving Machine? Not
without an ‘M’ badge, apparently.
CDavies,Crowborough
Automatic for the win
I was delighted to see how much
Adam Towler is enjoying his new
Mustang long-termer (Fast Fleet,
evo263). As he rightly says, it’s not
perfect, but one thing it certainly
doesn’t lack is character, or the ability
to put a smile on your face.
I have to take issue, though, with
his description of the ten-speed
automatic gearbox (which is not fitted
to his car) as ‘hideous’. Does he just
have a downer on automatics or is
there something specific aboutthe
Mustang ten-speeder he doesn’t like?
Adam mentions that the Mustang
is intended to be a blank canvas that
allows everyone to tailor it to their
own requirements. Mine’s a daily
driver and a convertible, and at my age
I’m more into enjoying the sunshine
and V8 soundtrack than maximum
attack, so the automatic does a great
job – at least as good as Mercedes’
seven-speeders and the eight-speed
ZF in my wife’s 530d.
If, on the other hand, you want
maximum acceleration from your GT
it has to be... the automatic again.
The torque converter locks up almost
as soon as you get rolling and then
stays locked during gearchanges,
and the closely stacked ratios mean
it keeps the engine in the optimum
powerband. And don’t just take my
word for it: a US car magazine ran a
side-by-side comparison of otherwise
identical Mustang GTs and found the
auto was a full second faster from 0
to 100mph than the manual (8.7sec
versus 9.7sec). Hideous!
Gary Walsh,Kent, UK
Clionaysayer
Having just read your test of the
Renault Sport Clio Trophy alongside
the Ford Puma Racing in your
‘Specials’ issue (evo262), I felt I
had to give you my opinion of this
special Renault.
Back in 2014 I owned an ex-Swiss-
market Trophy, number 40 of 50. And...
I didn’t really like it.
When I bought it, I had read a
lot aboutthe car and I guess my
expectations were very high. The fact I
had (and still have) a 997 GT3 certainly
didn’t help. The little Renault [pictured
above] was acquired as a weekend toy
- small, light, pure and, as everyone
seemed to agree, an enormous thrill.
Well, the Recaros seemed nice
until you sat in them and realised the
seating position was still very much
too high and not sporty at all. The
interior is pure Renault from 2005 but
that’s OK, except the hideous steering
wheel, which was not a delight to the
touch. The gearlever was also not
particularly direct or nice to use, all
being a little vague.
Dynamically? Well, trick dampers
it may have had, but I hated the way
the car couldn’t brake in a straight
line as soon as you had two degrees
of steering lock applied. No weight on
the tail meant the back was always
trying to switch places with the front
every time you braked hard. It was fun
at first, but soon became tiring, and
was quite stressful if you encountered
something unexpected in a corner.
Then again, I was usedto the planted
feel of the GT3 under braking.
The engine was strong enough
for the car’s weight, but the sound
was as dull as that of any basic four-
cylinder. It was not a joy for the ears
to rev the 2-litre all the way, but it was
necessary to make decent progress.
I ended up selling my Trophy six
INBOX
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