Good evening all - looks like I am joining a growing club of Stradale owners! Congrats to Stormbrew for his weekend purchase of a lovely car.
Many thanks for the very kind comments below - these are much appreciated. I also want to express my specific thanks to Richard and Stuart who gave very freely of their time and experience, which was incredibly helpful. Lots more to learn on the idiosyncrasies of ownership – looking forward to it immensely, as well as contributing to this forum.
I collected the car late Friday and it's fair to say the drive home was an event. Very early impressions are extremely positive, and the sense of occasion is everything I hoped it would be. If there was one overarching memory from the first drive home, it would be the way, even at low speeds, the car just “feels†much faster. It shares a lot with the Tuscan in this respect. I am also getting used to driving through the gears above 4-5k revs which doesn't come naturally, but when it does – even in the lower gear range – it invokes a smile as wide as the howl is as loud.
I spent a lot of time thinking, researching and then asking questions before taking the plunge and am glad I did; however, it's also fair to say I probably over-read and over-thought on a few items. Yes the infotainment isn't great, but then again, there is nothing in the TVR (!) and the Land Rover one is poor as well up until very recently. Yes the Auto mode isn't great – but then on a long motorway drive, it's absolutely fine – and I tend to err on driving in Sport anyway. Overall, and in these early few weeks of ownership, my overarching focus is much more about the feel of the car/drive, the overall sense of occasion, and the fact you need to concentrate to get the most out of the car but can equally pootle if needed. In other words - the really important stuff (for me at least)!
Anyway - pics
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