Had quite an interesting day today, went down to Millbrook and had a play with the new S80 and some of its competitors.
Had a passenger ride in the diesel S80 on the high speed bowl and it is very quiet and smooth while sitting at 140+mph.
Went round the handling circuit in each car and I must say for me the BMW 525d was so much better than the others. It had lots of grip and poise and just encouraged you to go faster.
The Audi A6 (2.0tdi) was OK but seemed to understeer quite a lot, and was making a lot of tyre noise where the other cars were quiet and smooth.
The E Class was far and away the worst of the bunch. It didn't seem to want to go round the corners in any hurry. It was only a E220CDI not a bigger model, even so, the straight line performance was dismal. It actually slowed down up one of the hills! Oh and the glovebox kept coming open round the corners too.
The Volvo was typical Volvo. It was smooth all the way round, and had good grip, but had a bit too much bodyroll for my liking. The diesel is a bit more peaky than the BMW's, but is a bit louder too. I'm sure it'd be better with the sports suspension though.
Overall I'd have the BMW I think...
Had a passenger ride in the diesel S80 on the high speed bowl and it is very quiet and smooth while sitting at 140+mph.
Went round the handling circuit in each car and I must say for me the BMW 525d was so much better than the others. It had lots of grip and poise and just encouraged you to go faster.
The Audi A6 (2.0tdi) was OK but seemed to understeer quite a lot, and was making a lot of tyre noise where the other cars were quiet and smooth.
The E Class was far and away the worst of the bunch. It didn't seem to want to go round the corners in any hurry. It was only a E220CDI not a bigger model, even so, the straight line performance was dismal. It actually slowed down up one of the hills! Oh and the glovebox kept coming open round the corners too.
The Volvo was typical Volvo. It was smooth all the way round, and had good grip, but had a bit too much bodyroll for my liking. The diesel is a bit more peaky than the BMW's, but is a bit louder too. I'm sure it'd be better with the sports suspension though.
Overall I'd have the BMW I think...
