Thought i'd give the 197 a few miles before i gave my thoughts on it.
Done about 800 miles now so it has had a few redlines under its bonnet so far!
problems so far:
Had the rear brakes making a loud noise under very light braking at stop start speed. having checked the RS forum this was quite common and went after a few hundred miles. This problem has now gone.
had a flat tyre 3 days after buying her... that was annoying but i got a new tyre for £105 fitted so wasn't too bad. sadly i couldn't getit repaired... nevermind.
apart from that no other problems... so far... (i am wating for the long list i had with my 182!)
good things:
engine noise - it makes such a lovely noise at low revs and sounds really throaty at around 3.5k when you tickle her. Let alone the noise up to the rev limiter! great stuff.
grip - it has immense levels of grip. There is a corner i used to go round with my 182 and it felt twitchy at 60mph. the 197 feels so much more stable and it happily went round at 60mph. i reckon it would go round at 70.. but i haven't had the balls yet to try it!
gearbox - lovely smooth quick gearchange. and it is nice to have a normal gearknob unlike astra vxr etc i tried as they felt odd to hold.
performance - feels quick to me and pulls very well in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. 5th and 6th it begins to slow down but by then i see how quickly i am going! the 197 needs to be driven hard and revved to get the most out of it but that is how i like it! Having read peoples views on the RS forum who have covered 6k the engine does begin to pull better lower down so i will look forward to that.
keyless entry - really nice touch. makes getting in the car whislt holding all my shopping a lot easier. took me a while to get used to it though! keep reaching for the key in the ignition!!
seats - so snug and have a nice fit.
gearlight - in a more prominent postion and is bigger and i find it a great dela easier to see.
bad things:
fuel economy - it is absolute s**te at present. doing about 26mpg. That is with crusing to work for a 15 mile motorway drive at around 90mph. I did get it to manage 31mpg on a crusie for 30 miles at 70mph... hopefully this will improve a bit. If you drive it hard you get easily below 20mpg! eek! (too much fun!!)
wheels - look too small inside the wheel arches but maybe if it was lower it would improve things.
too big! - for cleaning that is!! takes longer than the 182!
revvy - although the 6 speed boxc makes ragging the tits off her great, it makes for high revs on a motorway crusie in 6th... can be annoying!
at present thats all i can think of at the moment for the bad things.
overall i am exceptionally happy with the 197. It is quicker than i remembered and i enjoy the nice smooth power that is consistent and goes right up to the redline. lovely. it is slightly bigger than my previous car and feels slightly more refined. Thisis exactly what i wanted in my new car.
I have tried to not compare the 197 with the 182 but i will do as it has and will be continued to be compared....
For me the 197 improves on all the things that annoyed me on the 182. It is definetely built better, it has a more consistent power delivery and the seating postion is soooo much better. Having said thatthe 182 is such a delight for a xcountry blast. the 182 is so nimble and light it is such good fun. having driven the 197 over the same roads it obviously feels bigger but to me, it still handles fantastically and altohugh you don't feel as if your going as fast you look down and see the 3 figure speeds your at! it really is startling.
Am i pleased i changed? hell yeah, the 197 is a f**king sweet motor. i love it to bits.
sad i got rid of the 182? yeah, the last of the ture small pocket rockets, but the 197 moves the game on nicley for me.
I could probably write a lot more, but i tried to keep it brief! sorry!
the full report and comments
