ErrErrminator said:
The 3.0i is generally the one that get's all the recommendations and for the very good reasons mentioned above. However, I don't find my (pre-facelift) 2.5i to be slow or disappointing at all and like you OP am also an ex-TVR owner (4.0 V8S). Ok, it gives away around 40 horses to the 3.0i (70 ish to the 3.0Si), and yes, it does 'only' have 5 gears, not 6, but it really rather depends what sort of use you will put it to and on what type of roads. I do very little motorway or trunk road cruising, so the loss of a sixth gear means little. In fact I find the ratios of the five speed box to be very useable and for the majority of the time I'm on rural B roads so both the box and the engine performance is great. Whichever you choose it will without a doubt be a very different experience to the Tiv, but one which I am sure you will enjoy.
your spot on.
Always makes me chuckle that people are quick to dismiss the 2.5i.
and yes I fully understand the more bang for your buck, but as you rightly point out, it depends on the type of driving your doing.
even on a motorway you can sit at 80mph in your 2.5 and the same in your 3.0
and a lot that say its got to be a 3.0, you find go for a spin round the twisties, a trip to tescos, or a commute to work in traffic.
given the choice between a well sorted 2.5 and a unloved 3.0 I know which I would have.
A lot of it is all peer pressure, because everyone says so.
Had the same with sports bikes, and I have had most and tracked them all as well.
you will always be limited by the conditions and your ability.
I have been just as fast on an 18yr old R1 as I was on a year old Rsv4.
Just my opinion, but in the real world on our roads, it will make little difference to your fun.
I had and I like it twice as much .
North West Surrey
