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EP3 FN2 test drive thread

Also, not sure of the prices in the UK, but fully loaded GT model, on the road price here, £17,165 (included £940 tax paid for importing from the UK)..

Can't complain.
 
lol postage might be a bit ;)

Here's a pic from earlier to compensate haha the missus isn't small, i told her to duck and she must have looked up :rolleyes:

Love it :woot:
 

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I have noticed, with no small satisfaction that many people who have owned an EP3, that have now driven a new FN2 have found it in many ways to be an improvement over the original. Much like I tried to tell everyone who were being slightly negative about it.....before even taking one for a drive, and basing information soley on what they have read. I have found this to be the case on many forums I lurk on :D.

Those few who have driven it, and are not overly enthusiastic (though in many cases still seem to be pleasantly suprised by it) often as not come from a non sporty/high revving Honda owning background.

I am glad to see that you guys so far have found what I did andtake the new car for what it is, not a compromise, but a car that offers all the fun elements of the outgoing EP, but with the improvements to steering feel, chassis stability that make it more fun. And that the extra toys, far from watering it down make it even easier to live with.

For me once we have finished the finance on the wifes car (in about a year). It will make the new G ride choice a little more interesting...


...second hand NSX, S2000 or FN2.....(I just cannot see me leaving Honda tbh).

spot on G.

its even more free revving / more fun [ tbh too much more fun that one tends to drive too worrying fast ] / easy to live with / more toys / better design [ in and out ]...........my wife loves it and is forcing me to buy one !!............but i am undecided still.

have tested the ford ST back to back with the FN2, and
will be testing the subaru also.i am leaning towards an oldfashion dash and 4 wheel drive with that lovely flat 4 sound.

G you have a subaru, what are your thoughts ? are they just as reliable and sensible running costs ?
 
I think I will be test driving one of these on my return from Iraq...

It seems to get some great reviews off people who have test driven one, Though i dont think it could tempt me away from the DC5 :twisted:
 
Pics in magazines really don't do it justice until you have a walk around it :D
Was really impressed by the interior, will get some pics up later on :D
JD
 
She was moaning about it being cold and wanted to stay in the car lol even after telling her to get out 'she was ruining the shot' haha ooops!
 
Sorry to say, good drive or bad drive is irrelevant to me. The front looks mean, the interior looks nice, even the side profile looks ok... but this just looks really really ugly (to me) (photo grabbed from JDType-R's site):
 

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Interesting point, about it being ugly from behind. I just think it looks different to everything else. The ugliest car as viewed from behind that i know is the facelifted version of the first Hyundai Coupe from about 5-6 years ago, the one that looks like a bugeyed DC2 Teg that's been beaten with a big stick. Can anyone better that? It is truly horrid from all angles, but especially the back.

Marge
 
Grays Honda has a Milano red FN2 in the showroom.
It looks absolutely stunning inside out. Interior design is far better than EP3.
 
Had my test drive this morning at Peter Brooks in Sheffield (Black GT) and I have to say the drive is fantastic. I miss the kick from the i-vtec changeover but power delivery once you are above 3k is so smooth. The car feels planted and didnt step out of line once although i did take it a little steady due to the rain and greasy surfaces... and the sales guy who had to come out with me since someone stacked a premier last year was asking me to go slower as it was too fast for him (why go out on test drives of the type-r then i ask) :mad:

Seats are just awesome, even for my fat a$$ and thighs and the toys inside just add to the value, even if i didnt take any notice of them once i'd left the forecourt. The looks are still iffy from the rear but i could live with that as it looks good from most other angles, and at the end of the day i'm sat on the inside where it is superb. The ride is softer but without losing any feel thru the steering and chasis and that on a long journey must take priority.

I'd have one if it wasn't for me just buying a new house and until i'm sorted out with my finances, new cars are purely pipe-dreams. Maybe in 6 months it'll be a possibility but by then it may well be too much of a regular sight due to the much larger target audience of this model. We shall see but i'd point people in its direction if they were in the market for a new motor and had 20 grand to spend.

In terms of preference id have it over everything else i've tried, just waiting to give the leon cupra a go asap.
 
I have a lunchtime test drive booked at John Pease Honda in Braintree on Saturday - followed by an S2000 just for good measure.;)

This time the lass will be with me.:eek:
 
Bitten the bullet and booked myself in for a drive of the FN2 tomorrow. Hoping the weather stays dry as I know some good roads here that the Integra just eats up.
 
Well I'm back after driving the FN2 GT Type R on a mixture of roads, including roundabout laden dual carriageways and on some twisty backroads. I gave the guy at the dealership a bit of a fright :eek: :D

Well, start off with the looks. It's an incredibly good looking car from all angles at the front. I like the front lip, the mesh grille and the headlights. The MPV wipers kind of spoil the shape though. From the side it looks as if they didn't really know what to do with the back end of the car. It gives the impression that the designers really didn't know what to do and joined up a few lines. It has a very aggressive stance, and the side reinforces this, but the back end is extremely fussy. It's kind of like when you draw something and give up by just joining two lines together with a ruler. One line on the car leads into more that lead sinto more. I stand by my initial comments of the first pics that were released. The wheels are nice though, and look much better in real life.

The inside is very nice indeed, and makes my DC5 look old. But the buttons all over the steering wheel and dash make it feel like your in a BMW packed with extra's. The seats are not too dissimilar form my Recaro's and are a major improvement of the EP3 non premier seats. The wife sat in the back and she was impressed with the room, and the extra storage space under the seat. The driving position was far too high though, even when the salesman opened the door I looked and thought the car sat too high. Overall it's a really nice place to be on long drives and the daily commute, but on a track there are far too many things to mess about with.

Onto the drive then. The salesman went out first, and blatantly didn't have a clue. He dropped it into 2nd at 50 and went straight onto the limiter for a good 5 seconds before finally changing. I was just thinking, give me the keys knobber. Finally I got behind the wheel and off we went. Played around with the low end torque, of which there seems more then the EP3 before finally caning it in third from about 30 mph. The engine note is louder then the EP3, a bit like an open cone filter, but less hard edged, I think due to the extra sound deadening. The car picks up very nice, and incredibly smooth due to the low cam switch and the fake VTEC hit being taken out. But it was a little too linear, even my KPRO'd DC5 has a noticeable step up after about 5k rpm. The car does shift though, on cam it revs quickly and the gears are over quickly, far too quickly I think, are the ratio's that much shorter?

Went over a few round abouts, hard on the brakes, fast through the corner and hard on the gas for the first time. I don't know if it has traction control or not, but it was extremely tight. Even in the complete lack of steering feel I got the feeling that the car didn't want to unsettle. So the next one I give it the full beans as if I was sat in my DC5. It under steers a a bit, but under control and the slight lift off can is rewarded with the back end wanting to slide out, even though it was far too easy to do so, a bit too easy I think. When this happens, it does take care of itself very well and responds to inputs from the driver eagerly. The seats hold you in nicely too, all adding to the experience. Overall the car is very nice to drive, though it felt heavy. I got more of a feeling that the car handled the weight well to the car handling the changes in direction well. It's certainly more civilised then the EP3 when you push on, but it lacks a certain hard edge of the old car that made it fun to drive. In the FN2 you get the feeling that you're being taken care off rather then you taking care of the car. Need I mention again that it feels heavy? Speed wise it seems fast, and could probably keep up with the old EP3 to about 70-80 but after that I think it would be left wanting.

It would be a great family car for someone who wants a fast hatchback that's practical and comfortable on long journeys, but I don't think it's a car for the Type R enthusiast. Buy a DC5 instead or stick with the EP3 as from what the salesman said today, the prices should stabalise now. In a way I'm disappointed that the car felt the way it did. After reading some comments on here I was thinking that I'd be in for a surprise, but I wasn't. It feels slow, feels heavy, the back end doesn't feel in control , and while it corners well it didn't feel fast you kind of get the feeling that you should be going faster but the car can't. You certainly don't get that "wow" factor that most get from the EP3.

I preferred the drive of the FN2 over my old EP3, but the EP3 was much more fun to drive aggressively. The EP3 is the hooligan car and the FN2 is the grown up conservative car.

Sorry Honda, but you'll have to do better for me.
 
Fair review Chris.

I shall post up my report when I have a blast (Take note Dave S) ;) :lol:
 
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