Originally Posted by RadioRon  Good article. But I cannot let it go without commenting on the undeserved negative spin in the phrase "While some complained that the car handled horribly..." in describing the Z8. This echoes the fact that the British motoring press did not fall in love with the car like many American reviewers did, and in particular shows the influence of Jeremy Clarkson specifically. But "horribly" is an extreme opinion to repeat and is neither balanced by the counterpoint of so many other reviewers who exclaimed the car's virtues both on and off the track, nor is it anywhere near accurate in my opinion.
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So, it doesn't seem fair to say that some called the handling horrible without also pointing out that "some" were trying to entertain, not teach. |
It is most definitely true that Jeremy Clarkson likes to blow things out of proportion, and having read some of his reviews and seen him on television, I was aware of this tendency, so I checked with other reviewers. Most were generally positive, but I found a few that echoed his concerns:
Barry Winfield of Car and Driver: "The feel of the car at speed doesn't impart immense confidence, so you're not encouraged to let it really hang out." To be fair about this quote, his fellow reviewer in the same feature, Peter Robinson, did call the Z8, "easier to drive quickly immediately than a Ferrari."
Neil Dunlop of Edmunds remarked on how the Z8 was prone to oversteer and understeer when using the DSC (sorry, I only have my notes on that one, I can't find the exact quote).
Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to drive a Z8 so I'm at the mercy of reviewers when determining some of its qualities, but if I find a review of a car and then find two other independent sources that support that review, there is usually a fair amount of truth to it. In retrospect, though, "horrible" may have been a bit strong.
What about the cabin noise? Is it pretty loud? That complaint seemed a bit more universal than the handling criticism. Looking at the car, one can tell that it was designed to echo the 507 and not necessarily be the smoothest vehicle in a wind tunnel.
-Josh
