Performance Car Of The Year

[fungoolie]

I find it amazing that the GT-R seemed to cop the flak for not being a "road friendly" car because of a harsh ride (granted), playstation dash (what the?? how does this detract?), paddles that don't turn with the wheel (more a track problem I've found) and a small rear seat (better than none). What's ironic about this statement for me is that as far as everyday motoring goes, I could not actually use the R8 as my everyday driver as I do my GT-R. Yes the ride is harsh but I can actually live with that, it's not a show stopper. But I take my two kids to daycare and school several days a week and drive to work and take lots of items along with me in the quite substantial boot. So yes my kids are squeezed in there but they survive! The alternative would be for me to keep the R8 at home and buy another car to drive to work and take my kids to school, clearly very "practical" and wheres the fun in leaving my R8 at home most days????

[Col-GTSX]

Must admit R8 makes people weak at the knees

Also Aud will have invested heavily in the outcome with the motor mags...

[Birds]

Back seat complaint is a bit of a moot argument...does the Audi even have one? Almost all Japanese cars have next to useless back seats; it wouldn't be a Jap car without one

Fair call on the static paddles though. I think the Audi wins in the looks department but it's way overpriced for what it is. Modern NSX...

[Snowman]

I'm not convinced on the static paddles.

When I first got the car the static paddles was one of my issues with it. My wife as a VW R36 with moving, and I'd driven the R8 on the track and loved the moving paddles. But everything on that drive went smoothly. But when I drove a VW in Germany I was a little more angry behind the wheel and found quite a few moments when I got crossed up out of corners - and when that happens you lose your grip on the wheel and then you have NO IDEA where the damn paddle you are looking for is. And when that does happen generally you've stuffed up and need to grab a lower gear straight away so it sucks.

When that happens in the R35 at least you know immediately where to find the down shift paddle to get straight back into it. It wasn't until I started having some fun in the R35 that I discovered this and should I ever find myself in the situation of building an R35 Targa car I no longer would swap to a moving paddle set-up.

It's definitely a personal thing but having now driven both styles over the edge I can see the pro's and con's of both and I actually now think that fixed is the way to go.

Anyhoo - just my stupid opinion.

[Marlin]

Snowy, this was exactly my argument when Russ went to moving paddles with that aftermarket wheel. The way I see it, at least when them in a fixed position, they are always to be found in the same spot. I've navved for him, and I know more than once I know he's gone looking for the paddle but it's moved! lol probably cool for circuit racing though...... maybe......

Did your automatic gearbox NSX have paddles? LOLOLOL

[Kujotk]

I agree, who cares about the back seat argument, you don't drive from the back seat, its a racing car for christ sake.

The dashboard comment is absolutely stupid, i bet you in 5 years every car will have the (playstation feel) to it, most cars have already started...

And the fixed paddle shift is much much better than having one that moves around with the wheel, in the merc my dad has, the paddles move with the steering wheel and they are the most useless things unless you are in a drag race or on slight bends and turns, when your comming out of a spirited drive and your searching for that gear paddle you have no idea where it will be so you always go for the traditional gear lever to change gears. I hope Nissan doesn't change the paddles because of that stupid review.

lol and Birds the R8 is far from the NSX, the R8 is basically a Lambo that was assembled in germany and has a better shell on it lol

[dan_the_man]

I wonder what the Audi forums are saying

[Sammy-qld]

I'm not convinced on the static paddles.

When I first got the car the static paddles was one of my issues with it. My wife as a VW R36 with moving, and I'd driven the R8 on the track and loved the moving paddles. But everything on that drive went smoothly. But when I drove a VW in Germany I was a little more angry behind the wheel and found quite a few moments when I got crossed up out of corners - and when that happens you lose your grip on the wheel and then you have NO IDEA where the damn paddle you are looking for is. And when that does happen generally you've stuffed up and need to grab a lower gear straight away so it sucks.

When that happens in the R35 at least you know immediately where to find the down shift paddle to get straight back into it. It wasn't until I started having some fun in the R35 that I discovered this and should I ever find myself in the situation of building an R35 Targa car I no longer would swap to a moving paddle set-up.

It's definitely a personal thing but having now driven both styles over the edge I can see the pro's and con's of both and I actually now think that fixed is the way to go.

Anyhoo - just my stupid opinion.

I agree man, I drove the BMW M3 2009 and didn't like the gear shifts that move with the steering wheel.

Personal preferance i guess but I really found the R35 quite natural. Not ideal for track use I can imagine but this car is made for everyday use firstly.

[Birds]

Anyhoo - just my stupid opinion.

Far from stupid, that's actually a very valid point. And come to think of it, I'm sure Nissan would have been in two minds about it themselves. There's no way they wouldn't have considered mounting them on the wheel at some stage and arrived at static as the best option.

lol and Birds the R8 is far from the NSX, the R8 is basically a Lambo that was assembled in germany and has a better shell on it lol

Still say it's overpriced and underpowered. Admittedly I haven't seen the stats on it since it had the V8 engine but the R8 should be faster in a straight line than it is. And after seeing a couple on the road, dare I say it, they are starting to lose some of their unique supercar-esque aesthetic appeal to me. Audi have taken design cues from it and placed them on the rest of their range - I have pretty bad eyes but in the rear vision mirror I've mistaken the latest TT for an R8 a couple of times.

[Kujotk]

Far from stupid, that's actually a very valid point. And come to think of it, I'm sure Nissan would have been in two minds about it themselves. There's no way they wouldn't have considered mounting them on the wheel at some stage and arrived at static as the best option.

Still say it's overpriced and underpowered. Admittedly I haven't seen the stats on it since it had the V8 engine but the R8 should be faster in a straight line than it is. And after seeing a couple on the road, dare I say it, they are starting to lose some of their unique supercar-esque aesthetic appeal to me. Audi have taken design cues from it and placed them on the rest of their range - I have pretty bad eyes but in the rear vision mirror I've mistaken the latest TT for an R8 a couple of times.

true that, I recon that all Audi's look the same lol.....

Yes it is slow for what it is and the money you put in it, there are quite a few cruising around now.

But i think the GTR should have won that award hands down purely because it is a performance car that wont really break the budget (assuming your looking for something alittle under the $200k margin anyway)

[Birds]

Yer they do all look the same, it's the way of the European prestige stables...BMW, Mercedes, Audi...they've always used shorter and longer wheelbases of what is aesthetically the same car :S

[GTR-N1]

I'm not convinced on the static paddles.

When I first got the car the static paddles was one of my issues with it. My wife as a VW R36 with moving, and I'd driven the R8 on the track and loved the moving paddles. But everything on that drive went smoothly. But when I drove a VW in Germany I was a little more angry behind the wheel and found quite a few moments when I got crossed up out of corners - and when that happens you lose your grip on the wheel and then you have NO IDEA where the damn paddle you are looking for is. And when that does happen generally you've stuffed up and need to grab a lower gear straight away so it sucks.

When that happens in the R35 at least you know immediately where to find the down shift paddle to get straight back into it. It wasn't until I started having some fun in the R35 that I discovered this and should I ever find myself in the situation of building an R35 Targa car I no longer would swap to a moving paddle set-up.

It's definitely a personal thing but having now driven both styles over the edge I can see the pro's and con's of both and I actually now think that fixed is the way to go.

Anyhoo - just my stupid opinion.

Good points!

[skyline_man]

As is expected from Motor magazine. Those journalists are pretty biased towards anything Euro.

Wtf is it with them saying that launch control was removed from the Aussie version R35? Ignorant fools. If they had used the LC on the R35, it would've whipped the R8 in almost every single performance category and hence take the title. But oh no, these incompetent journals couldn't hack seeing a cheap Jap car decimate the competition. They had to make up rather stupid excuses to downplay the R35 such as "useless rear seats," "playstation console," "harsh ride" etc etc. Like wtf, this is a 'performance car of the year' not 'luxury car of the year' competition!

Why didn't they mention that the R8 doesn't even have back seats?

And the complaint about the fixed paddles is just lame. Anyone who knows anything about track driving would rather prefer the fixed shifters. Even the new Ferrari Italia has fixed shifters.

Finally, the R8 looks like a friggin girls car. I saw one parked next to a GTR and the GTR made it look like a toy car. Even my gf said that the R8 suited a female driver more than it would suit a male driver.

Audi should market the R8 as 'supercar for the ladies'

[Spunky Munky]

Unfortunately, it's not a fair judgement. As awesome as the GTR is, it is (in the bias eyes of most magazines) still a Japanese car and doesn't have the glame nor price tag of an European supercar. So there we have it.

The Audi R8 and the Nissan GTR are two of my all time favourites. I am actually looking at purchasing an R8 next year so it's hard to say - both are great cars. Each have their positive and negative points. However, all in all - for the price tag, the R35 GTR wins hands down as an overall package for the $150K price tag.

[Gibbo_R35]

Well here is one comparison......

[Snowman]

And the complaint about the fixed paddles is just lame. Anyone who knows anything about track driving would rather prefer the fixed shifters. Even the new Ferrari Italia has fixed shifters.

Ferrari's have always had fixed shifters FYI.

[skyline_man]

Ferrari's have always had fixed shifters FYI.

And I bet if it was a Ferrari in that test - they wouldn't be whinging about the fixed paddles, 2 seats only, low ride or the temperamental nature of all Ferraris.

Come to think of it, this is not the first time MOTOR magazine has said that the Aussie GTR does not have LC. They mention it in their comparo with the GT2 a while back and readers have bombarded them that the GTR does indeed have LC. I'm beginning to wonder whether they are just plain ignorant or that they know that LC is available but pretend that it doesn't exist so that the R8 can at least beat the GTR in 2 performance categories (0-100km/h and 0-400m), hence justifying why it should tie with the GTR overall.

I can't wait to read 'Bang for you Buck 2009'. If the GTR doesn't win hands down, those Journals should be lined up and shot! Ok, maybe not, but they would definitely lose all credibility as motoring journalists.

Edited December 9, 2009 by skyline_man

[Snowman]

In fairness to Motor - the official line from Nissan is that the car doesn't have LC. It does have it - but its not promoted as having it by the company.

The SST EMO X's are the same - officially it doesn't have LC either...

[skyline_man]

In fairness to Motor - the official line from Nissan is that the car doesn't have LC. It does have it - but its not promoted as having it by the company.

The SST EMO X's are the same - officially it doesn't have LC either...

But why does every other magazine in the world use LC and not MOTOR? What makes MOTOR so special? Well if they want to stick with the rules and follow procedures then the GTR should've won hands down in their 'performance car of 2009' test shouldn't it?

Bias and double standards, that's what the test is.

Edited December 9, 2009 by skyline_man

[handbrake]

there simply isn't 200k worth of fit and finish improvements nor grand tourer capabilities that the audi offers over and above the GTR and its cost/performance. I love the audi but not at that price.