Met up with Vanda and Caroline (works for auto-express' publishers) - so we had 3 ccs there. Auto Express brought along a cc and the Tigra.
Posed pics with the cc's lined up in the background and us girlies having a nose at the Tigra. This will be used for the article. As well as individual pics, to which they will add our comparison comments. We got to do a couple of laps of the track to get a feel for the car and to give our comments to Lesley.
So, what did I think?
Build quality is good, feels solid, good grip through the corners...no rattley windows or squeaks. Handling and steering are both good...good feel from the variable power steering. Stable, but quite boring - not fun and nippy like the cc, but then the Tigra felt alot heavier.
Rear visibility is poor, in part due to the central part of the roll bar not being flush with the rear shelf. With roof up, the rear window is small and hampers it more.
Front visibility is good, with the screen posts not curving in, unlike the cc. Front screen is less slanted than the Tigra, so feels more compact than the cc, which I didn't like. Claustrophic with the roof up.
Brakes were unresponsive in comparison to the cc, but nice gear change..small shift with smooth clutch movement. Acceleration is OK..we were testing the 1.4 engine, which felt smoother than my 1.6 cc, but slower than Caroline's 2.0
Interior design was quite bland (grey and taken straight out the Corsa), though white on black dials were smart and the radio set up means you couldn't put an after market one in. The switchgear was small and fiddly with the window switches on the door panel...right infront of the boot switch..which I pressed whilst doing 50mph and thinking it was the window switch!
It's only a 2 seater..so no use if you do use the rear seats in the cc. They've converted this in part into storage area, with netting.
Boot is electrically operated and wouldn't play ball. With the roof down, there is a deeper space than the cc, but a very high boot lip that many won't like. Roof is quicker to go up and down, but don't know if it can be remotely operated or if its a one touch.
The spec we had was a direct comparison to the 1.6cc...and costs £400 less. Apparently 700 deposits have been taken already, though only 1,000 are being put out this year.
Overall, I'm not tempted to get one. It didn't have the spirit or personality that the cc has in my opinion. Its external looks will give people a difficult choice between the Tigra and the cc, but the cc will win on interior. Depending on what kind of drive you like (fun or boring) will also play a part in making the choice.
There are a load of pics on the gallery (thanx Lyndon).
It was a fun couple of hours and will be in the issue released on 25th August. Oh yes, they will be mentioning that us testers came from this site and Vanda and I will be receiving a copy in the post!
If you have any questions, please post up and I'm sure either myself or Vanda will try to answer them.
Ali
