I Drove A Gallardo Yesterday... And Hated It!
 

Yep you read that right. I wanted to love it, I hope I loved it but no I hated it. It was uncomfortable, it felt really heavy and it had a tough time sticking to the road as I was pounding the corners on the track.

I also drove the Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche 911 Turbo and a Ferrari. By far the Aston Martin was the best. I really want one now.

auston martin = sickness the shit :)

Ive heard people complain about the handling of the gallardo a bunch of times already

Ross, I didn't want to have to be the one to break the news to you, but... you didn't pass the test. You're a homosexual.

Well I can understand why you would say that. I wanted to love that car, you have no idea how much I wanted to love it. But I just have to be honest, its not a comfortable car to drive for anyone who's not a midget. If I had an insane amount of money I would buy one just coz its a Gallardo. If I were looking to buy one of these cars with my own money it would be the Aston Martin hands down. Even the Porsche was insanely better than the Gallardo.

In all seriousness, I can agree with you about the comfort factor. Same thing happened to me years ago when I got my first chance to drive a Lotus Esprit. But then, that car was made for the track, not comfort.

You gotta buy a car you love to drive, not just so you can say you own one.

Would you daily drive the aston over the porsche?

Shit man, i just adore Aston Martin ,was it DBR9???
But Viper is my numb.1!!!!

That sounds like fun Ross! Do you have pics or movies from your day at the track?

And what kind of Ferrari did you drive? Probably a F430 if I look at the other 3 cars.

Hey Mike, yeah I got some pics. I'll post them later today. I think it was the F430 but I forgot to ask LOL. The Ferrari had the paddle shift gears which were cool but took too long to engage the gear. It felt like driving an automatic.

In all seriousness I could drive that Aston Martin everyday and be very comfortable with it. The Porsche was just amazing tho as well. Its a tough choice but for me the Aston just shaded it.

It was the Aston Martin Vantage I drove.

The last high-end sports car I owned (corp car) was a 911 turbo. Not only was it the best performer but being over six feet tall it was the only one i fit in.

6'1" here and fuck i think 911 is the one.

Aston Martin rocks as much as the others, but, how could you hate a gallardo?? I can't understand...

I sucks when test-sitting for headroom is the first step in model selection. Thankfully the 911 is a great car.

Very cool, were you at a track day or a rental company or something? I have never driven a Gallardo but sat in a few... 911 turbos = ALOT of fun :)

It was a track day. When you see the Gallardo on the track you can't wait to get in there and pound it but its a dissapointment. I had to take my helmet off to drive it. Thats not a problem, but the pedals are waaaay too close together, the gear stick is balls and the handling was the worst out of the 4 cars I drove.

I'm just short of 6 1 and I agree. The Porsche is perfect and so much fun to drive.

Odd you found it to be tight. I'm 6' and about 185 and don't have any problems at all fitting in my Gallardo. I finally sold my Porsche Turbo and kept the Carrera and the Gallardo because the G handles so much better than the Porsche Turbo did. If you are a very skilled driver you can get a Porsche GT2 or 3 around a track faster than a Gallardo. I have run with more than one 911 turbo and they couldn't stay with me on the twistys. The awd system in the G makes an average driver a whole lot better.

I will agree that the Gallardo is NOT a car I would drive cross country. It's about a 3 hour car and I'm ready to get out and stretch.

Hey Minte, I'm basing my opinion on 4 laps in each car in a twisty track. The pro drivers who are in the car with you were asking if I did this often when I said this was my first time they were shocked at how well I was handling the cars and finding the proper racing line. Obviously you own a Lambo and are in a much better place to put your opinion across than I am. I'm just over 6 feet tall and weigh about 180 and I just found it difficult to get comfortable in the Gallardo. I think the Ferrari would have been the same had the top been up but as it was the top was down so we won't know.

For me the Porsche is an outstanding car, everything about it was great. What I noticed with the Gallardo was that the racing line had to be a bit different due to the handling. I had to go in deeper to get round corners etc whereas the Porsche and Aston Martin just went in and out of the corners with no hassle whatsoever. I would love another crack at a Lambo of course to see if I change my mind. I just can't get over how good the Aston Martin was tho.

This thread needs pics !!!

Just got my camera here, putting the pics onto my desktop now

No question Porsche is a great car. I still have a 911Carrera cabrio and a CayenneS and the cabrio is fantastic to drive. The thing about 911's are the limits come up real quick. The line between hitting the apex perfectly and doing a couple of 360's or worse is very narrow. The width and the center of gravity on the Lambo is so different than Porsche I find it's a lot easier to drive the Lambo fast.

All that being said. If I were only going to have one car. It would be the Porsche. The Lambo is not a great around town car because of that width and ground clearance. It's heavier steering at slow speeds is also an issue. The Lambo really does come alive on a fast twisty road. The Porsche works great everywhere. I could drive it cross-country.

I've not owned an Aston(yet)

http://www.mintesbabes.com/gfy/054_800.jpg

I still think the Gallardo is sick, but your right for the most part it drives really hard.

my friend bought one a few years ago and i was quite surprised how it drove. although it is a sports car, it does feel like a rocket strapped to a skateboard.

Here's some pics I just grabbed from the camera real quick

http://www.dirtyweeman.com/track/1.jpg
http://www.dirtyweeman.com/track/2.jpg
http://www.dirtyweeman.com/track/3.jpg
http://www.dirtyweeman.com/track/4.jpg
http://www.dirtyweeman.com/track/5.jpg

The one thing I will say for the Lambo was when you came out of the corners there was a long straight and you could nail it right down there... none of the other cars accelerated like it did and you could get on the brakes later coming to the corner as well since they were so damn good!

The trick to driving the Lambo is come into the corner high,then hit it and leave lower. The AWD transfers power to the front and with Pirelli's the grip will nearly make your eyes bleed. I ran about 60 miles last summer with 2-911Turbo's and a CGT the CGT would burn me in the straights but I stayed with him on every tight corner. We had to slow way down a lot to let the 911 Turbo's catch up to us.

Too bad they didn't have a GTR there. Would have spanked all those cars, with your grandfather driving it too!

On the last lap I started to kinda get the car but by then my legs were hurting a bit being cramped in the car. I have long legs, short body LOL.

Hi Ross
Totally agree about the Gallardo. I had one for 6 months last year, but ended up hating the thing. Way too uncomfotable, and not an easy car to drive round corners because of poor vision through the A pillar. Its fast, but has too many compromises.

The icing on the cake was test driving an Audi R8, whilst owning the G. Within 4 weeks, the G had gone and the R8 is still here now :)

I also happen to think ther R8 looks better than the G too.

http://www.dream-cash.com/promo/myg.jpg

http://www.dream-cash.com/promo/gr8.jpg

Thats interesting you liked the Aston best. I always had the impression the Lambo was a bit of a poser car with the AWD. But I always thought the Aston's seemed like a bit of an old mans sports car I guess its just cos they look like Jaguars and old blokes love Jaguars

Something I remember when I was looking at Lamborghini's was that the electric seats sat quite a bit higher. I ordered mine with the manual seats and it makes a huge difference in headroom and leg space. There is a solid inch yet between my helmet and the liner.

Those pics you posted makes me want to leave the office and hit the track today! It's about perfect, cool with no humidity.

My friend would sleep with you for your Audi R8 Gordon! LOL
He has the Audi TT but would do almost anything for the R8. He's a real big Audi fan

Hey man get out there and do your thing! Life is too short. Take a few hours out of your sleep tonight to finish off work. Post pics tho if you do haha

Sounds like you had a great time!

Must have been cool to get a feel for each car.

I had to laugh at you guys trying to squeeze in at 6' 1".
I'm 6' 7" so even if I could afford it I still couldn't get behind the wheel of any of those rides :(

I did get to drive a Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet once but had to take my shoes off
to be able to move from the accelerator to the brake :winkwink:

Thats a 996 911 Turbo... the last generation Porsche Turbo, and I'm pretty sure thats a Ferrari 360 Spyder.

Didn't you find the Vantage to be underpowered?

For me the Vantage was just brilliant. Pulled out of the corners great, and nailed it on the straights. Wasn't as fast the Gallardo and Porsche tho but that wouldn't bother me.

oh man, you would love any of the Lotus range :Oh crap

I'll stick to go-karts. :1orglaugh

Which reminds me, when are we getting a Grand Prix sorted ??

Aston Martin rocks