| First week - first impressions | |
This is my first RR so most of it is new to me, but I used to own an E38 7 series so I'm familiar with the gearbox and a lot of the electrical equipment. I've moved from an Audi A4 quattro 3.0TDi so it's quite a different thing.
Fuel - haven't accidentally picked the diesel pump up yet. It's burning a lot of Petrol as expected but the range is still OK due to the size of the tank. I just shut my eyes while filling but it's a real drag when the pay at pump system tells you "Max Fuel £99" and you just know you're going to run out of cash before you run out of space in the fuel tank 
Comfort - really pleased. It was 10 degrees outside this evening so I put the heated seat on. What a girl  I've been impressed in general at the quality of the leather. Even very high mileage cars had leather in nice condition, with the exception of a few that had some really fat arses on them in their time. Also I'd forgotten that in some cars speed bumps just don't exist. The RR is one of them  The driving position is odd at first but easy to get used to and very beneficial in traffic.
Performance - it's reasonably fast but nowhere near the pace of my Audi. I have other cars for going quick in though so that's not a problem. I bought the RR for two reasons: First was as I need a good tow car for dragging a large car trailer around and loads of extra gear in the boot (meaning self levelling suspension was important), and second - well - just "because". Oddly I find it harder to stick to the speed limit in the RR without switching on the cruise control. I don't mean speeding; rather the opposite. I drift downwards below the speed limit a bit.
Quietness - I was surprised when I started testing cars that the V8 was quite so audible when under acceleration, as I recalled my E38 it was fairly silent by comparison. RR is still quite eerie at 30mph on a quiet road though at minor throttle deflection. I'm loving being back in an auto again as well.
Equipment - due to my car being a 2003 build, the satnav gear is a bit behind the Audi even though the A4 was only 1 year newer. The difference is the Audi was an all new design whereas the RR in 2003 had been designed some years prior so the technology was older. I miss the better sat nav, high quality sunlight readable screen, and other such stuff.
All in all I'm very pleased with what I've got. I'm still constantly looking for excuses to drive it at the moment. I'm off to a BBQ tomorrow evening and I might just confess I'm more looking forward to the drive over than I am to the burgers  (but not the company, in case one of my friends is watching!!)
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11th Jun 2011 12:50pm
