Lamborghini Gallardo: Test Drive Review

[BigFoot]

Well chaps, here are my impressions.


Summary
'nuff said.

I test drove a white Gallardo at lunch time. Let me tell you something: for who know me, I don't skip lunch. And if I have to, then I am a miserable git for the rest of the day. I skipped lunch to test drive the car and I am still high, with a huge grin on my face. Yeah, like this

I drove in Tokyo, which is not very conducive to really test the car but my 40 minutes or so of driving were, well, inspirational. Yes, they inspired me to work harder (ie. there goes my postcount ) and be able to afford one of these cars.

The car had 5,500 km on the clock with e-gear (Lambo's version of the selespeed gearbox) and the salesguy mentioned that it had been treated fairly roughly.

Anyway, I'll try to breakdown the features of the car.


Exteriors
Although the Murcielago is more menacing, the Gallardo is very beautiful. In pearly white, it looked perfect despite the slightly dodgy yellow calipers (not really looking good on a white car).

The car looks very well proportioned with minimal overhang. The rear spoiler is small and tasty (almost unnoticeable) and the wheels pretty, though I think a car this size needs 20'' wheels, though it only comes with 19''.

The rear exhausts look a little pudgy (!?) but the front and back grill are very cool, they sort of give the car a stealthish look.

It's a shame it's got regular doors (not scissor ones) and no keyless entry but other than that, it's got looks that I can't fault at all. Oh, it doesn't have a start button, but frankly I do think these start buttons are too gimmicky.


Interiors
Well, to be honest, I was expecting something better. I know that Lambo is not a luxury carmaker but a sports-car maker but darn it, the indicator stalk was made of plastic so cheap, I felt it was about to break. Generally the switchgear is subpar as so is the dealer fitted SatNav and the standard stereo. Of course, we all want to hear the engine rather than music but then why bother at all with one?

The seats are comfy and hold you quite well but the ones in my GranSport are better, believe it or not. The roof is quite low and as a consequence headroom is limited but I am short (5'.6'') so that works fine for me. The one odd thing was the position of the pedals: completely to the right and I almost had to sit sideways. What's up with that?

The steering wheel's shape is sporty, with the bottom bit flat. It feels of the right size and grips well. The e-gear stalks are also cheapish, feel flimsy and are odd looking (with long narrow beams coming out of the steering wheel block), I'd rather have the ones in the GranSport anyway.


Engine
This car has 520hp and 510Nm of torque, of course the engine is a monster. The noise is amazing.

I mean, how can I possibly describe this powerplant?



Handling
The only thing I could do with the car is drive it in the city, so it's hard to say anything particularly meaningful. When pressing the throttle a little, I felt the car to be very stable and could hold it easily in its lane. The balance is 42% front and 58% back, and I am too inexperienced to tell you if the car oversteers or not, but it just felt good.

This type of car obviously doesn't like rough surfaces and upon braking, I felt some torque steer (which for a AWD car is a bit odd I'd think). I wonder how it would react under heavy braking.

I couldn't really test the brakes but the car had the steel Brembos with 8 pots at the front and 4 at the back. Never felt they wouldn't be able to do the job but there was simply no chance to find out.


Gearbox
I tried the e-gear in auto mode, manual mode and sport mode. As a sidenote, the sport mode in this car only changes the speed of the shifts (no change in suspensions or engine settings) so I am not really sure why they bothered even having a sport mode.

At low RPMs, the car stutters a bit too much (salesguy said it was because it was a test car and had been driven hard, but I don't quite believe him) and you cannot quite do anything about it but try to be super smooth with the throttle.

The auto mode is alright but sluggish, as you'd expect it to be and frankly probably something you should never use as this car requires complete control over it. I just wouldn't let the computer do all the thinking for me.

Even in manual mode, the car dowshifts by itself. However, I felt the downshifts are not as well calibrated as the ones in my GranSport, they sort of seem to happen too late, leaving you in a taller gear than you'd want.

So in essence, the overall transmission was ok (my expectations were low after reading the e-gear reviews on the web) but not spectacular.


Conclusion
I was honestly surprised by how easy it was to drive this car. I grew up with a poster of the Countach in my room (well not quite, as I never had my own room, but you know what I mean) which was famous for being nearly undrivable. Well, the Gallardo is a car that can really be driven by almost anyone.

The car is truly spectacular, with sheer power being the defining characteristic of this monster. But the looks are also extremely attractive: suffice to say for the first time in my life I saw someone whip out a camera and take a picture of me (well, the car really) whilst I was at a red light.


Post Scriptum
Whilst pulling out a red light, I moderately pushed the car (I mean, very gently) at which point some guy with an Impreza or whatnot tried to keep up. All I had to do is push the throttle down a little bit (honestly, just a tad) and the whole world became a blur. I mean, the car just took off like a friggin' rocket


That's all folks


Below is a picture of the car I test drove (off the dealer's website, I wasn't gonna blow my cover and start taking pictures of the car )

[EddieGTA]

So has BF won the lottery or had a mahussive pay rise???

[GhostyDog]

Nice review, I want one

[Dirk]

Nice one BF :aaANYWORD:

[TeamAlfa]

i want one too even with dodgy yellow calipers a fantastic reveiw BG for Clarksons job you'd be a million times better you really captured the drive for us good descriptiions throughout.

[Pud237]

Originally Posted by BigFoot

I was honestly surprised by how easy it was to drive this car. I grew up with a poster of the Countach in my room (well not quite, as I never had my own room, but you know what I mean) which was famous for being nearly undrivable. Well, the Gallardo is a car that can really be driven by almost anyone.

The car is truly spectacular, with sheer power being the defining characteristic of this monster. But the looks are also extremely attractive: suffice to say for the first time in my life I saw someone whip out a camera and take a picture of me (well, the car really) whilst I was at a red light.

Thats exactly what I thought.. Other than the brakes, which are very sharp, you could just jump in it and drive. I suppose you'd get used to the brakes, but if you press them like you press a normal car's brakes in normal driving you will butt the wheel Although I was driving the one with ceramic brakes so I'm not sure if the steel would make any difference. Sharper when cold but less good when hot maybe?

Glad you enjoyed yourself Biggie

[Trailbraker]

Nice review BF.

BTW I think you probably are experiencing tram-lining below, rather than torque steer (which occurs only under acceleration)?


Very wide low profile wheels tramline like crazy generally - so I'm not suprised!

Originally Posted by BigFoot

This type of car obviously doesn't like rough surfaces and upon braking, I felt some torque steer (which for a AWD car is a bit odd I'd think). I wonder how it would react under heavy braking.

[BigFoot]

Originally Posted by TeamAlfa

a fantastic reveiw BG for Clarksons job you'd be a million times better you really captured the drive for us good descriptiions throughout.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

BTW I think you probably are experiencing tram-lining below, rather than torque steer (which occurs only under acceleration)?

Thanks TB, I knew it was one of them things

[GTACharlie]

Great review BF (as my face turns green with envy )!

One question - you put a down payment on the Maser GTS which I think has the eGear transmission. Sounds like your impression of the Lambo's eGear wasn't entirely positive - has this affected how you feel about the GTS you have coming down the pipe?

[BigFoot]

Thanks Charlie


I think the GT S' gearbox is going to be better than the e-gear in the Lambo, though the Lambo's is still ok, particularly as it is seemingly free of the clutch issues that Maseratis tend to have.

TBH, right now, my head's a mess (and my bank manager looking very worried )

[GTACharlie]

Originally Posted by BigFoot

Thanks Charlie


I think the GT S' gearbox is going to be better than the e-gear in the Lambo, though the Lambo's is still ok, particularly as it is seemingly free of the clutch issues that Maseratis tend to have.

TBH, right now, my head's a mess (and my bank manager looking very worried )

Yeah, but whatever you choose (Lambo, GTS or 8c) is bound to give you a smile so big that you will soon forget your bank manager (and perhaps wife's ) worried looks!

[BigFoot]

By the way, I must add the Lambo dealer had a nice marketing touch.

The salesguy didn't speak much English and they brought on board their official translator (!), a pretty lady in high heels, mini skirt and fishnet stockings.

I mean, when will Alfa dealers learn

[GTACharlie]

Originally Posted by BigFoot

By the way, I must add the Lambo dealer had a nice marketing touch.

The salesguy didn't speak much English and they brought on board their official translator (!), a pretty lady in high heels, mini skirt and fishnet stockings.

I mean, when will Alfa dealers learn

Woulda worked with me...

[Astro]

Interesting review BF...I really want to come and visit you know when you test drive the 8c.

Well in terms of Alfa dealers...all I had was a very sweaty guy whose breath could make a female skunk's hair stand on end. When test driving my car, all I could think about was not the crazy women driving towards me at suicide speed, not the little old lady who crossed over right in front of me and not the TINY tiny streets I had to navigate after school hours had finished...but on the salesmans breath...damn, it really would melt ice bergs.

but wow...if I had the choice between the massa, the lambo or the 8c...sorry but the 8c would win hands down. Or I would just choose the new Aston Martin DB8 (I think thats the model) and be done with it.

Sorry BF, I know you are a fan of the "Massa's", but I just think that they have the worst interior design and is comparable to walking into a Goudy Baroque Church that had been reinvented with Kitch in mind. Good quality, just ugly...sorry mate...try not to flame me too hard ok...please!

Originally Posted by BigFoot

By the way, I must add the Lambo dealer had a nice marketing touch.

The salesguy didn't speak much English and they brought on board their official translator (!), a pretty lady in high heels, mini skirt and fishnet stockings.

I mean, when will Alfa dealers learn

[Damien_C]

DB9's are heavy and slow haha Go for an 8C all day long haha Good write up BF

[Astro]

Yeah but they look sleek...although I have absolutly no info on their weight or numbers. Its just the visual appeal, its not too loud IN that appeal. But yeah the 8C would get I guess based on that. Sexy car...!

[Damien_C]

I think off the top of my head the DB9 weighs in at 1600kg's maybe even more. Which is mad for a RWD drive car.

My uncle has driven a few says they sound nice and aren't too bad to move once you get going but the M5 he says is better for half the money in Ireland. And also the fact the DB9 has the worst key ever, it's basically from a Mondeo haha.

[Astro]

Well that tears it then...8C, 8C...repeat!?
Do you know how much the Lambo and 8C are up for in terms of weight...? Myself, no time for a finger trip through the web at present.

[Damien_C]

I'm not sure at the moment brain is fried 3 days of drinking and being up late does that to ya, I think I am gone, I will find out tomorrow for ya.

[BigFoot]

The Gallardo is (dry) 1,430kg.


BTW, emailed the Aston dealer for a test drive of the DB9


The 8C Spider I registered my interest for will be an unattainable dream as I know from a source at Fiat Japan that they've all been presold but still going through the motions to let the public show interest.

[BigFoot]

The DB9 is 1,760 kg (see here: Aston Martin - The Cars - DB9 - Specification)

The 8C (coupe) is estimated at 1,585 kg (see here: http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...108_Alfa8c.pdf)

[MattBrera]

Great review BF.

Ye BF, from what Ive been told:
All 8C's have been presold with a price of £111 000.

My mate also recently bought the Gallardo (Pearl Yellow) with e-gear.
I pulled into his drive-way with the Red Brera, couldnt have wished for a better sight seeing the 2 italian cars parked next to each other.
I also found the throttle very "jerky" at low revs. But the sound and acceleration together is just insane. No way to describe it. Goose-bumps all over my skin, and the biggest smile in the world.
Almost made me sad when I drove the Brera home - Come on Alfa, Give more BHP!

[BigFoot]

Where are the pictures of that encounter Matt???

[Astro]

yes...again, yet another defiler of the car gods. You can not just state such visual splendor and not post pics...thats just insane.

BF...nice avy mate...thought you might have snagged that one, and the DB9...oh you are a naughty lad are'nt you. Now, you know you keep up with this pace and Im there in Tokyo with a bottle of great red and we can christen the DB9 the fashionable way... I would love to test one of those machines. Take it out the traffic and onto the ETC.

[MattBrera]

Originally Posted by BigFoot

Where are the pictures of that encounter Matt???

Will upload after the weekend, Im away from this evening, so wont have time.