An amateur opinion of the 360 vs. 550!

Certainly not a scientific comparison, rather, just a "seat of the pants" opinion of the two cars. I've had a chance to put just over 100 miles on the 550 this past week and have been able to make some interesting comparisons. Some of my observations may simply be characteristics of my cars and not necessarily reminiscent of the models.

Handling. The 360 is more sporty feeling and has a more firm ride. Steering response is considerably quicker. Car feels lighter. The 550 is more comfortable. More of a cruiser by comparison. You can definately feel the weight of the car. It is no slouch by any means just a feeling of considerable mass in motion.

Power. Although the cars are similar in terms of acceleration times they put the power down very differently. The 360 has linear power which is consistent from the moment you mash the pedal. Conversely, the 550 has massive amounts of torque that really come to life after 5000rpm. It feels almost like a turbo Porsche where there is a little bit of lag in the lower rpm range and then the power really comes on in a rush as the rpms climb. Very exhilirating!

Clutch and Shifter. The 360 has a much lighter clutch and shifts easier than the 550. Again, this may be attributes relating to my cars and not necessarily attributes of all 360s and 550s.

Enjoyment Factor. A few people have asked me which car I like better. In all honesty I cannot choose between the cars. They are different enough whereby the experience is exhilirating in both. Both give me a smile factor of 10 whenever I drive them!

On a sidenote - which has nothing to do with performance or driving impressions - I did notice two annoying qualities in the 550 that made me believe the designers were sleeping on this particular day. First is the amount of storage or pocket space. There is literally no place to put your sunglasses, cell phone, keys, wallet, Fastrak, or any number of other small objects for you to retrieve easily while driving. There is a small narrow pocket next to the shifter where your sunglasses or cell phone barely fits, however, it is canted at such an angle and is so shallow that the moment you make a semi-aggressive turn everything is in your lap or on the floor. At least the little storage area in the 360 is relatively large, deep, and flat where it can hold a few things that manage to stay put 90% of the time. Second, the parking brake is on the left between the seat and the door sill. Unless you have a hand the size of a 5 year old you cannot easily grab the brake handle when the door is closed. You end up scratching the leather on the door with your watch as you reach down into the narrow cavity to grab the emergency brake. The most irritating point of all? There is this GIANT open carpeted space between the seats behind the shifter where they could have easily installed both a larger pocket area AND the E-brake (like the 360). Instead I have plain black carpet wide enough to fit a vacuum cleaner on it! I almost feel like buying one of those $10 plastic storage bins they sell at Pep Boys that go on the floor in Chevy Novas between the seats. They hold everything. One of those babies will do wonders for my storage needs!

The 360 has no negatives as far as I can tell. Nothing bothers me about it. It's kind of nice ...