Flak
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hi all,
Got to spend some time with an EB today that just came in. I was probably one of the first customers to get a shot with it on the lot.
Let's start with the good - this car is refined. This is seriously the best all-around driving American car I've had the opportunity to drive. You can find more aggressive cars (Z06), you can find more pedestrian and comfort oriented cars (Lincolns, Fusions, etc.) but I think this is the best 'drivers first' luxury ride you can get anywhere near this price point from the US. It compares favorably to baseline BMW/MB drives, in fact I'd put it ahead of those base models. It really can't hold a candle to the 50-70+ models with upgraded suspensions that I've driven in, but it isn't a luxury sedan either.
Part of that experience comes with the PP in this model, I'm sure. It corners extremely well. It is very close to my WRX (noticeable lack of understeer for the most part with the 255s on it) on flat surfaces. Where you start to see the difference is 'in the real world'. It doesn't quite handle grade changes during a corner, bumps and pavement imperfections as deftly as my current vehicle - to be expected because it is RWD. That said, I was surprised how I could get some hop out of the back end pretty easily in sport with the EB while taking fairly benign corners on anything not flat - granted nothing in the car was broken in. The IRS handles well, and you can definitely tell the difference. For reference, I ran the same course in an A/T '14 GT about 14 days earlier. I must point out that my last RWD was an RX8 (which has net zero torque at low RPMs), so some of this could just be me experiencing having torque in RWD with a well balanced suspension.
The A/T was surprisingly fun to drive. I have hated A/Ts since the dawn of time and even though I only briefly considered one for this vehicle, I have to say it did not diminish my driving experience very much. The paddle shifters are responsive and the rev matching on down shifts makes the experience seamless and intuitive for a driver who is used to a stick. They are not shotgun shifts but they are responsive in sport mode - normal is definitely for DD duty. I was never left 'wanting' for lack of a gear change in sport mode. I will say that it does not seem to queue gear shifts, which is unfortunate. A few times on the highway I would have preferred to 'double click' to get back from passing in 4th up to 6th. This makes the paddle shifters surprisingly unintuitive because the cabin is very quiet and the EB engine response is extremely tame with normal road noise added in. This meant I had to wait more than a couple seconds to ensure a shift had already 'cleared' the paddles or watch my gauges. Now, I'm sure with more experience it would be second nature, but as a first drive in the car it left me somewhat puzzled why a basic and intuitive programmable feature was left out - there's really nothing needed on the transmission side. Maybe it can be added in later.
As for power? The EB is quite capable. It definitely does not kick you in the pants, though - one downside to the extremely refined ride quality. You have to rely on engine noise or the speedo to tell you that you are going too fast. It's almost impossible to hear the turbo spool, even down shifting twice for fairly high instant revs. The turbo lag is almost invisible, coming from my WRX, which I don't consider to be bad at all. It feels like you have an NA V6 with two cylinders dead until 2K-2.5K RPMs. The O/D is VERY gracious all things considered with the A/T and the 3.55 rear end. The car is hurting for gearing at 60mph in 6th, so I can see how the gas mileage on this car will live up to standards even for the 75-85mph highway crowd.
The interior is spectacular. Though roomy, it is almost disappointing to sit in coming from the expectations set by all these wide angle glamor shots. However, lower the seat and settle yourself in and I wouldn't change it for anything. The cockpit wraps around you and is in your face in a good way - it very much felt like the left seat on a small plane instead of just a bucket seat inside a car that is adjacent an awkwardly arranged panel of buttons. The non-Recaro seats are fabulous as well. They hug you better than the 'designed/inspired-by-Recaro's I have in my current car. I'm very glad I didn't opt for the Recaros as these were plenty snug and the A/C seats are great. They do not give me wet butt feelings like the Buick ones I've used lately but are cool enough to know it's working. Like many owners, I could not feel anything on my back, but I did feel the difference with my bare hand on the seat.
The 12 speaker Shaker Pro system is more than adequate as a 'base' audio system. I own a VOX AC30 tube amp so I know what 'permanent hearing loss' loud can be. It gets plenty loud for any normal listening. That said, I'm sure you can get better aftermarket... but then you have road noise interfering with your perfect fidelity. Of course, I'm a lo-fi guy and I think autotune is the devil, so perhaps if you enjoy lazer beam sounds in DJ remixes of actual music or wub wub dub with enough bass to cause dash panels to unseat and rattle, you're not going to like it as much. C'est la vie.
Now, onto the bad. Panels. The rear trunk had a slight misalignment. Moving panels not being perfect seem like it could be bad, but it wasn't really bad enough for me to care. The hood though, oh boy... same as every other model coming out of Flat Rock apparently. It is pulled down too tight in the middle. Additionally, the front fascia needed an adjustment. It was pulled too tightly on the right side, which probably exacerbated the obvious hood latch pull in the middle.
It wasn't as awful as some examples I've seen here on the forums, but I wouldn't have accepted delivery without adjustments at least on the hood and front fascia. They were very noticeable from 10-15 feet away. The curves on the body really cause the off alignment to pop in your brain, causing you to look closer until you confirm that something is off. It's like seeing a picture on a wall that you just know is not level.
Oh, and triple yellow is amazing... but not a color I could own.
Got to spend some time with an EB today that just came in. I was probably one of the first customers to get a shot with it on the lot.
Let's start with the good - this car is refined. This is seriously the best all-around driving American car I've had the opportunity to drive. You can find more aggressive cars (Z06), you can find more pedestrian and comfort oriented cars (Lincolns, Fusions, etc.) but I think this is the best 'drivers first' luxury ride you can get anywhere near this price point from the US. It compares favorably to baseline BMW/MB drives, in fact I'd put it ahead of those base models. It really can't hold a candle to the 50-70+ models with upgraded suspensions that I've driven in, but it isn't a luxury sedan either.
Part of that experience comes with the PP in this model, I'm sure. It corners extremely well. It is very close to my WRX (noticeable lack of understeer for the most part with the 255s on it) on flat surfaces. Where you start to see the difference is 'in the real world'. It doesn't quite handle grade changes during a corner, bumps and pavement imperfections as deftly as my current vehicle - to be expected because it is RWD. That said, I was surprised how I could get some hop out of the back end pretty easily in sport with the EB while taking fairly benign corners on anything not flat - granted nothing in the car was broken in. The IRS handles well, and you can definitely tell the difference. For reference, I ran the same course in an A/T '14 GT about 14 days earlier. I must point out that my last RWD was an RX8 (which has net zero torque at low RPMs), so some of this could just be me experiencing having torque in RWD with a well balanced suspension.
The A/T was surprisingly fun to drive. I have hated A/Ts since the dawn of time and even though I only briefly considered one for this vehicle, I have to say it did not diminish my driving experience very much. The paddle shifters are responsive and the rev matching on down shifts makes the experience seamless and intuitive for a driver who is used to a stick. They are not shotgun shifts but they are responsive in sport mode - normal is definitely for DD duty. I was never left 'wanting' for lack of a gear change in sport mode. I will say that it does not seem to queue gear shifts, which is unfortunate. A few times on the highway I would have preferred to 'double click' to get back from passing in 4th up to 6th. This makes the paddle shifters surprisingly unintuitive because the cabin is very quiet and the EB engine response is extremely tame with normal road noise added in. This meant I had to wait more than a couple seconds to ensure a shift had already 'cleared' the paddles or watch my gauges. Now, I'm sure with more experience it would be second nature, but as a first drive in the car it left me somewhat puzzled why a basic and intuitive programmable feature was left out - there's really nothing needed on the transmission side. Maybe it can be added in later.
As for power? The EB is quite capable. It definitely does not kick you in the pants, though - one downside to the extremely refined ride quality. You have to rely on engine noise or the speedo to tell you that you are going too fast. It's almost impossible to hear the turbo spool, even down shifting twice for fairly high instant revs. The turbo lag is almost invisible, coming from my WRX, which I don't consider to be bad at all. It feels like you have an NA V6 with two cylinders dead until 2K-2.5K RPMs. The O/D is VERY gracious all things considered with the A/T and the 3.55 rear end. The car is hurting for gearing at 60mph in 6th, so I can see how the gas mileage on this car will live up to standards even for the 75-85mph highway crowd.
The interior is spectacular. Though roomy, it is almost disappointing to sit in coming from the expectations set by all these wide angle glamor shots. However, lower the seat and settle yourself in and I wouldn't change it for anything. The cockpit wraps around you and is in your face in a good way - it very much felt like the left seat on a small plane instead of just a bucket seat inside a car that is adjacent an awkwardly arranged panel of buttons. The non-Recaro seats are fabulous as well. They hug you better than the 'designed/inspired-by-Recaro's I have in my current car. I'm very glad I didn't opt for the Recaros as these were plenty snug and the A/C seats are great. They do not give me wet butt feelings like the Buick ones I've used lately but are cool enough to know it's working. Like many owners, I could not feel anything on my back, but I did feel the difference with my bare hand on the seat.
The 12 speaker Shaker Pro system is more than adequate as a 'base' audio system. I own a VOX AC30 tube amp so I know what 'permanent hearing loss' loud can be. It gets plenty loud for any normal listening. That said, I'm sure you can get better aftermarket... but then you have road noise interfering with your perfect fidelity. Of course, I'm a lo-fi guy and I think autotune is the devil, so perhaps if you enjoy lazer beam sounds in DJ remixes of actual music or wub wub dub with enough bass to cause dash panels to unseat and rattle, you're not going to like it as much. C'est la vie.
Now, onto the bad. Panels. The rear trunk had a slight misalignment. Moving panels not being perfect seem like it could be bad, but it wasn't really bad enough for me to care. The hood though, oh boy... same as every other model coming out of Flat Rock apparently. It is pulled down too tight in the middle. Additionally, the front fascia needed an adjustment. It was pulled too tightly on the right side, which probably exacerbated the obvious hood latch pull in the middle.
It wasn't as awful as some examples I've seen here on the forums, but I wouldn't have accepted delivery without adjustments at least on the hood and front fascia. They were very noticeable from 10-15 feet away. The curves on the body really cause the off alignment to pop in your brain, causing you to look closer until you confirm that something is off. It's like seeing a picture on a wall that you just know is not level.
Oh, and triple yellow is amazing... but not a color I could own.
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