The "It's Good But it'd be Great if..." thread

[martinbo]

So I've been thinking of this thread theme for some time now. All too often I look at a particular car and go, gee - that's good but it's a pity that... or, it would be better if... or, if only it had...

So, it works like this; there are many good cars on the market but so many of these have an Achilles heel or fall just short of true greatness by virtue of a certain characteristic or lack thereof.

This is a fun thread and shouldn't be taken too seriously but the idea is to explain why you feel a certain way about an almost-great car. I'll go first with a couple of my examples:

The BMW M5, it's good but it'd be great if it had a proper gearbox



It seems to me that the S85 V10's timing was just a tad out of phase with the progress of transmission development. The S85 is a peerless, technical tour-de-force of an engine that sadly got lumbered with a less than perfect SMG III gearbox that was too slow and slury at its lowest setting and too violent at its highest. If only the appropriate dual clutch technology had been available a few years earlier - I believe the car would be nigh-on the perfect luxury performance saloon.

The Renaultsport Clio R27 is good, but it'd be great if it had the Cooper S' turbo'd engine.


Not an R27 - Just a Clio Sport - couldn't find nice pics of R27

I like the Clio Sport R27 - it's a good hot hatch with superb road agility and great driver appeal. However, if ever there was a 2.0 litre naturally aspirated engine that felt limp it's this one in comparison with MINI's feisty, torquey turbocharged 1.6. Renault claims 215 Nm at 5550 rpm but below 4000 rpm it feels like 115 Nm up here at 1600m above sea level. A Cooper S by comparison feels infinitely more sprightly and "hot" and I reckon its fizzy, punchy 1.6 engine is the toast of its segment.

The Honda Type R hatch would be so much better if it had proper rear suspension



Honda's peppy, futuristic Type R is a joy to look at and has a terrific engine. Sadly, even in latest Championship White limited edition guise, its torsion beam rear suspension leaves the car trailing its dynamically brilliant JDM sibling. Now, we all know that torsion beam suspensions are cheaper and liberate more boot space, but here in SA the CTR is the same price as a GTI and who ever bought a hot hatch for ultimate trunk carrying capacity?

and my last one for now...

The Audi R8 is perfect. If only it didn't have an Audi badge.
Ducks flying bricks and bottles

Over to you lot...

[cawimmer430]

Originally Posted by martinbo

The Audi R8 is perfect. If only it didn't have an Audi badge.

You can kiss your friendship with DaSilva and VroomVroom goodbye.

[Giannis]

Very nice topic Martin! So here is my go:

VW Golf: It's great, but if only it had a more inspiring rear design and the front wasn't the same as the Scirocco



Ok, ok, I know that we have discussed this thing a million times so far, but this thing is still all over my head. I like the new Golf. I like it very much! The only thing that still keeps me from going to the closest VW dealer and buying one right now, apart from the price issue, is it's design. I mean that the Golf is a milestone for VW and is immidiatelly recognized as a Golf, thanks to the design evolution that still is connected to the Mark I. But the fact that it has the same front fascia as the Scirocco and the uninspiring rear lights really annoy me. I want it to be unique and inspiring. It's a great car! It's classy and elegant. Unique it is not.

[cawimmer430]

Originally Posted by Giannis

Very nice topic Martin! So here is my go:

VW Golf: It's great, but if only it had a more inspiring rear design and the front wasn't the same as the Scirocco

Ok, ok, I know that we have discussed this thing a million times so far, but this thing is still all over my head. I like the new Golf. I like it very much! The only thing that still keeps me from going to the closest VW dealer and buying one right now, apart from the price issue, is it's design. I mean that the Golf is a milestone for VW and is immidiatelly recognized as a Golf, thanks to the design evolution that still is connected to the Mark I. But the fact that it has the same front fascia as the Scirocco and the uninspiring rear lights really annoy me. I want it to be unique and inspiring. It's a great car! It's classy and elegant. Unique it is not.

I actually think the new Golf looks amazing.

I could never stand this Golf design:



So bland, boring and utterly lacking that "cool look" that all Golfs used to have. The new design brings this back IMO.

[Monster]

The Nissan GTR, it's good but it'd be great if it weighs less than 1600kg. Just imagine what an absolute weapon it will be.




The Audi R8 V10 is good, but it'd be great if it has the RS6's engine.

[VroomVroom]

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

you can kiss your friendship with dasilva and vroomvroom goodbye. :d

:d

[VroomVroom]

It's great but it needs RWD

Would be soo much fun to drive if it was RWD. The engine choices are amazing but FWD isn't my thing...

[Vivaki]

BMW: Their good, but they cant be great until Mercedes Benz are around

[cawimmer430]

Originally Posted by VroomVroom

It's great but it needs RWD

Would be soo much fun to drive if it was RWD. The engine choices are amazing but FWD isn't my thing...

There was a video not to long ago on German TV showing Hans Joachim Stuck racing the VW Scirocco in Sweden on snow-covered landscapes and doing awesome drifts. If the Scirocco had been RWD it wouldn't have handled that well on the snow.


But yeah, I hear you. Still, the Scirocco is an awesome car. If I had one I couldn't care less if it was FWD or RWD!

[VroomVroom]

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

There was a video not to long ago on German TV showing Hans Joachim Stuck racing the VW Scirocco in Sweden on snow-covered landscapes and doing awesome drifts. If the Scirocco had been RWD it wouldn't have handled that well on the snow.


But yeah, I hear you. Still, the Scirocco is an awesome car. If I had one I couldn't care less if it was FWD or RWD!

Don't suppose you could PM me the link?