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I own a regular 2004 mondeo 2 litre manual petrol. My friend acquired (very cheaply), a Rover 827 Sterling automatic on an M plate (1993?) and claims not only is it faster than my car but also apparently more fuel economical as well because the engine doesn't need to be pushed as hard. Does anyone know if this is true?
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In day to day driving, i.e. combined cycle, I would find that hard to believe.
A 2.0 manual vs a 2.7 auto - I think the 2.0 manual would win on economy everytime.
However in isolation, say on a M'way cruise at a steady speed, the autobox (usually a higher top gear than a manual) may prove me wrong.
Edited by Chad.R on 09/06/2008 at 13:30
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These Honda V6s are lovely things, but they're not economical. A friend had an 827SLi manual, and it would do teens if driven hard, or about 25 average. Your Mondeo would trounce it on economy.
Can't argue with your friend on performance though. The 2.7 800s go very nicely (as do the 2.0 turbos)
Cheers
DP
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Theres only one way to find out. Fight! (as a certain big collared comedian might say)
He might be faster than you above 80 mph upwards but you'd probably very similar up to 60 - you might even be a shade quicker. The 827 automatic when it came out wasnt hugely quicker than the 140 bhp 2.0 manual car if at all in most circumstances.
There is no way a heavy 2.7 litre automatic car is more economical than your 2.0 litre manual Mondeo.
Is he trying to sell it to you? :-)
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Your car is still worth something not a lot but something his is worthless and no way could it match yours on economy.
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I'd just like to thank everyone for their replies. Thank you very much. Quite apart from anything else, even though our cars seem a similar size from the outside, mine feels more spacious inside and is a lot quieter at speed. One small test I did do with him as a passenger in his car was the 30-70 acceleration. His car did it in around 10.5 seconds.
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Wow, 30-70 in 10.4 seconds is exceptionally poor.
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My only experience was with the manual version which went very well indeed. 0-60 in 7.9 seconds from memory, and truly one of the smoothest engines I've ever experienced, being near silent and totally vibe free at idle. I remember the engine being an awesomely complex looking thing with virtually no "fresh air" under the bonnet at all, but a typical Honda installation with all cables and hoses routed tidily and logically, and with everything clipped up and supported every few inches.
The 800 itself was a strange beast. Many fell apart and suffered constant problems, yet others were superb. A former employer had an 820 Vitesse Sport on the fleet (with the supposedly unreliable 200 bhp turbo four pot engine) which was pensioned off with 130,000 miles on the clock and had had virtually nothing other than routine servicing. In its last month in service it carried a bunch of us on a business trip to Germany where we had it four up at 220 km/h for a good few hours overall. I remember actually toying with the idea of buying it until common sense kicked in. It was a lot of car for the £1500 it made at auction.
Cheers
DP
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That Vitesse turbo was the one Tony Pond drove for the 100mph lap of the Isle of Man. Hit 150mph several times, and it was allegedly an unmodified car.
Edited by Lud on 09/06/2008 at 16:19
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I can believe it, Lud.
They were not an easy engine to tune as the bottom end was built to a price (cheap pistons and rods) and, as such couldn't withstand big hikes in boost like the Ford Cosworth or Volvo turbos. They had to be virtually rebuilt if they were to be tuned.
I know ours would hit an indicated 140 without any trouble at all, and that was with six figures on the clock. I don't doubt a carefully prepped standard example would make 150.
A lovely turbo installation too, with real grunt from 2,000-6,000 RPM and very little lag. I half heartedly looked at a couple over the following few years, but none drove as well as that one or felt as "together". They really did seem to vary.
Cheers
DP
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it was the 827 Vitesse he used, manual, with straight through exhaust and slick tyres. Other than that bog standard...although sadly to prove it to myself, I had to dig out the video ... because although I thought i remembered the V6 growl, your post had me doubting myself.
was impressed I could find a 1990 video casette, when I haven't had a video player for at least 7 years
Edited by Westpig on 09/06/2008 at 17:20
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it was the 827 Vitesse he used manual with straight through exhaust and slick tyres. Other than that bog standard...
Its on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnKyMgry9iQ
Great stuff!
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Oh dear, another mistake? I was sure it was a four-cylinder car. There used to be a full-length film, very poor quality image though, of the entire lap on youtube, but it soon vanished.
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I searched for it just now Lud, the first link that came up was a dead link which I thought was a damn shame, but then I found a working link further down the search page..
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just watched it again....the You Tube version is well shortened. My cassette box definitely says 827 vitesse... but the commentators on the you tube version only say 800 vitesse. Can't play the cassette as no longer have video recorder, i do remember the full version has Tony Pond going right through all the details
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There's his commentary on this shortened version too, especially the best bit where he rattles the o/s door mirror on a stone wall at 100 plus '... if we get the line just right we should hear the car touching the stones... (RATTLE) ... yes, (smugly and who wouldn't be?) there it was...'
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