I've only had the car a week or two now and and very impressed to say the least. Coming from the cars in my past (MR2, BMW Z4, Lotus Exige) I was fully expecting to be slightly underwhelmed by the GC. As most of you know I sat in one last year at the Toronto Auto Show, then test drove a V6 a while later, it was quick, slightly out of my price range, but it had me hooked nonetheless.
After drawing up my list of sensible practical family cars (to join our current Mitsu' Outlander) I included it alongside the standard Civic, Lancer, Golf etc. But after driving some of the competition and weighing up the whole RWD thing I came to the only sensible conclusion, GC wins. And I'm sooooo glad it did, I just love RWD...
The deal I got from Alpine Hyundai in Kitchener was awesome, and their service seems great to, I look forward to dealing with them for a long time to come.
On the car itself: The handling is fantastic, the torque can easily push out the back end when the TC is switched off, and it's very predictable too. The cabin is very well spec'd for the price, iPod integration, Bluetooth, XM radio, steering wheel controls, it is so far ahead of the competition in this respect.
I remember commenting to GD when we drove the V6 that the driving position was perfect, exactly like the Z4, my wife has since said the exact same thing!
The clutch can be a bit juddery when really cold as the biting point is very low and the pedal travels about twice what it needs to, but this doesn't bother me too much. I haven't driven a manual for two years so it may just be me acclimatising to a clutch again and getting used to a new biting point.
In time I think I will add larger wheels (like the 19's that come on the higher up models), more power, better brakes and an uprated clutch, but I am certainly very happy with the performance out of the box, this is one amazing car for the money.
So some pics... (it was -8C when I took these today, froze my nuts off!)
Some of you will recognise the fact I have used this location before on the NSX shoot, there was a reason for this. Everything near me is covered in dirty melting snow, I knew this would at least be clean...
Yes they fit in the back, who needs a frickin' minivan!
Some snow
Front Qtr
Rear Portrait
Black & White
Rear
Dash
Far
Logo
Rear Light
Rear 3 Qtr
Front Light
Front
(fixed that last pic)
