I think what I meant is that... well, consider the following scenario:

You roll up to a roundabout in 2nd gear, almost to a stop but not quite. You've got a tight but manageable gap, meh you've got 220bhp under your right foot so you floor it to get into the gap.

Except nothing happens.

You crawl onto the roundabout, RPM dial is at about 2,500 and still nothing happening. Then... bang, 3,000 odd and you're suddenly flying

Yes it's probably less effort than the S2000 which, by all accounts, you need to rag the life out of until you get any real torque, but it still requires some forward planning in some situations. It's a totally different driving style, but I don't wanna knock it for one minute - you'll love your first Coupé

Just keep the turbo spooling and its gooood.

My Merc is dark blue, one of the last of the classic shape E-class Coupes, though you'll hear it before you see it if I'm having to brake (its not just Fiat Coupes brakes that squeal).

If its having a rebuild, be gentle with her at first, Coupes are sensitive souls

welcome and good colour choice as already mentioned

Welcome mate, i guess you couldnt find a scots green one then?

I am looking forward to having some effortless torque though.


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I find the 20vt's power delivery fairly effortless, you only have to tap the accelerator and let the revs build slowly and there is a nice wave of torque available and other cars soon become dots in your rvm. I like the s2000's, always have done, nice design and great engine but i would imagine they are tiresome to live with on a daily basis whereas i find the coupes very comfortable and as long as you keep on top of the maintenance, a huge pleasure to drive, you will see what i mean when you get one. Welcome to the world of brake squeal

Well one week in and its been eventful to say the least. Though not in a good way...particularly today.

As I am restricted to 3k rpm for the first 1,000 miles I had resigned myself to less than exciting ownership in the early days.

However, every time I have driven it I have found something new that's wrong with it.

Day 1: Left mirror not working properly
Day 2: wheel bearing shot
Day 3: pretty sure my clutch is slipping - reversed up a steep incline - doesnt feel right, under hard acceleration also feels like its not biting at the begining
Day 4:... first of all noticed engine smells in the cabin, making me quite nausious then suspecting somethings up in the engine bay I noticed a leak on the left hand side at work. Then get home to see that the drive I only had laid two weeks ago has oil spill.

Please tell me it get's better than this! Once I am passed that 1,000 milestone I hope that I can start to enjoy it. Because right now I am seriously p'sed off. Especially as I paid a significant asking price to have a well sorted car.

Oh well back to the garage tomorrow morning

roll on 958 miles....

Don't worry Clarkey, should be all sorted in about 2 years time.

Hi Clarkey,

Sorry to hear about your troubles - I am surprised, that's not like Solo at all in my experience.

Welcome to ownership, I've just (Thursday) picked up my second Coop, a silver LE, and I'm in High Wycombe.

Might see you around!

its about average for a coupe? well for the 4 I have had, mine have always been had on a budget however

sorry to hear of your trouble clarkey.
i am affraid coop ownership can be a right pain in the backside and you just have to get on with it. my coop has never left me at the side of the road but it has left my wallet in cardiac arrest.
i am sure you aware it drives very different to the coop. lower down power and but i find in high revs in higher gears it doesn't feel that qick.
the main thing is as well the handerling. now the s2000 is the better handling car without doubt but the coop is so much more forgiving and easier to drive. i miss rwd for 10% of the time when i am having a real road attack moment but i love the fwd for 90% of the time i want to drive without thinking about dialing oppersit lock.

as for the car give troubles i though solo ran a 12 or 24 month warrenty on there cars and noramlly changed the cambelt and clutch as a matter of course with there cars?

Thanks guys,

Got her back from Solo today. They were pretty good and understanding, rocker cover gasket was leaking and they sorted that out without a problem. I will keep an eye on it. Next I have to figure how to get oil spills off the freshly laid drive.

Yes Coop comes with 12 months warranty and they do all the belts. Also as they thought the turbo didnt need replacing, they've covered that for 12 months as well for piece of mind.

Oh well look forward to getting some miles under my belt so that I can use it properly when I break that 1,000 mile barrier. Have a long trip in it tomorrow which is good.

Even under 3k rpm its been a nice drive, especially today in the good weather, so I will forgive its foibles for this week.

It's going to take me some time to get used to FWD - still figuring out how to take corners...feels very odd right now, got some retraining to do.

Nice LE, looks great in the pics! Will keep an eye out for you, assume you use Solo for your servicing?

Me me me me

That one in the pics is my previous one that someone rear-ended and wrote off - I haven't got around to putting pics up of the new one (or even had a chance to drive it yet!)

But yes, I will be using Solo for servicing, as does my Dad who is based in Thame with a broom yellow 20VT.

Did you buy the LE in the end Matthew?

I think the Coupe is a good purchase whatever happens because you simply find yourself getting bored with a car after a number of years and if you like cars, I think it's best to sample a broad range of affordable performance cars and what they offer, while you can.
That said, I too owned an s2000 (GT with the hardtop) for a number of years and it's simply a better car than the coupe from a "if you had to choose and could only have one, which one would you have" scenario, no comparison really.
I have to admit though, that my coupe (although only a weekend car) has given me absolutely no trouble whatsoever, not even a hint, in the 22 months I have owned it.
Amazing really... the only negative is that it gives an unsettled, crashy ride because I think it needs a suspension overhaul at some stage, it's only ever had the wishbones changed in it's 90k life and it's starting to show it's age, dynamically speaking.

100% agree with your philosophy of sampling as many performance cars as possible - life is short and there are so many good and different combinations of performance car out there - that way you can really discover what you like. I normally keep mine for two years and then sell them on, always in better condition than when I bought it - it always becomes an obsession to sort out any niggles.

Interesting observation in the S2k, my initial comparisons are - yes defo choose the s2k if you are going to go on the track, keeping the s2k on the boil through the corners is one of the best car experiences I've had - you can just carry incredible speed when you get it right and its a great and rewarding feeling. It sounds like a racing car in the VTEC zone. A memory that will stay with me. On that basis I would recommend an S2k to anyone. Particularly that gear box!

...but, in the real world - public roads - I think the S2k is flawed. There are not many places where you can use the VTEC properly, if you do you will be doing 90+ in no time. Also its a lot of hard work when you dont want to have it on the boil all the time. For this reason, I dont think I would have VTEC again. If I wanted a track car however... i would go VTEC but slotted into a lotus elise Mk1 - awesome combination. Maybe one day that will be in the garage...

Been really impressed with the coop on the roads so far - today's impression is that it is a really good motorway car nice to be doing 80 and only doing 3k rpm and power is just there at a press of the right foot... feels nice and meaty.

...soooooo looking forward to being free of my 3k rpm shackles!!!

BTW, anyone else find it very difficult to get comfortable in these seats - I am pretty skinny, yet the seats do feel very narrow towards the base of your back.