Only if you don't have a good imagination. The first time I drove DSG it was exactly how I'd imagined from the descriptions I'd heard. F1 was exactly as bad as I'd been lead to believe. 599 and 430 was just ok, just as I'd been lead to believe. If Simon gets enjoyment out of changing gears, heel toe, choosing the right time to do all that etc etc, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that click click is not the same and requires no skill.
John I don't need to change gears or go any faster in the car I'm in at the time. That's really what it's all about. I would probably not be interested in driving an F1.
My response to John pretty much sums my interest in what I'd prefer. Ian offloaded his 550 and just recently,either here or on the GAD,expressed that the next (if any) Ferrari he would buy will be a 3 pedal...
Of course a manual requires more skill, an F1, DSG etc is just a different driving experience and they’re engaging in their own way. Your opinion is valid because you have driven them extensively
The only experience I have is being a passenger in a 360 F1 in about 2009 when the 330 rear wheel bearings (again!) shoit themselves. The bloke was having trouble finding gears and when he did the car was bloody awful,jerking and weird power deliveryso tht probably stayed with me until being driven in Gizz's 430 (forgot) a few times. A great driver as he is it still doesn't inspire me to have a go....just not,here's that word again,engaging.
Funny.... You seem to like poking fun at me for not liking GTS'. Nice double standard! Anyway, you can, but be real! No skill involved. Where's the engagement? Don't say silly things. Leave that to me.
They do take a bit of getting used to and you need to learn when to apply the accelerator changing gears
Thank you, John. Well said. Simon seems to feel that he can judge whether someone else's enjoyment of their car or a drive on some country roads is worthy or not, based on nothing but his own narrow-minded prejudices. Ridiculous.
Not at all. You're more than welcome to whack out your point of view re the discussion. if you're happy just leaving your hands on the steering wheel while thundering up and down great winding roads then that's your,and others,speed. I would prefer not to change gears in nanoseconds because it doesn't interest me. I and others here have a different point of view,whether it's age related,quite possibly,then we are beginning to be the minority as car makers,particularly sportscars,are now junking the 3 pedal.
Yet I've owned and driven many manual cars. So out of the two of us, I'm the only one who has significant time with both. OK. You mean they take some skill to drive correctly? And there's satisfaction is getting it right? Whom would have thought?!
No skill required. How many manual Ferraris have you owned? I forget. And what significant manual sports cars have you owned? Asking for a friend.
I said nothing about skill,only the drivers engagement with their vehicle. Two completely different things.
You are wrong. The early F1 boxes need a significant amount of time spent to learn how to get the best out of them, as Simon's passenger experience shows. In that sense, they are exactly like a manual car. It takes time and effort to get right and when you do it is a nice feeling. 458 onwards with the DCT obviously is more point and shoot, but as Moretti points out, at that level of performance it's just as well. I've owned the same number of manual Ferraris as you have F1 Ferraris. Although not owned by me, I've spent plenty of time driving a manual M3 (E46) and - don't laugh - one of the early Boxsters. Sure, I'm not a BTC like you, but I've spent more time driving manual cars of all sorts than either Simon or you have in early F1 cars.
How's that chip on your shoulder going? I was just asking! I think your experience is significant enough to count, but you're wrong lol
