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Went into the dealer today to check on progress with my car. Suspension is being installed with car on hoist and one corner done. More on this in a mo.
A MG dealer demo car had arrived for customers to drive so I took that for a relatively short drive on some back roads tighter and bumpier than main highway. Car is DCT on standard suspension. My impressions were that the jiggly ride at 50-60kph town speeds does smooth out and the ride over bumps and through corners is quite well tied down. For my taste a perfectly satisfactory compromise for DD. I will have to wait a few days to compare with my new suspension. Regarding other impressions of the car. I didn't redline it given not many kms on the clock but the car is fast enough and certainly entertaining and feelsome in a way that the M3/4 isn't. As with all modern steering we have lost some of the feedback and feel. I found the steering quite light and would prefer more feel and a bit more weight but then this for me is a DD and my other cars are quite extreme (Caterham replica with no power assist on anything, 72 911 also no power assist, Subaru Impreza tarmac rally car with 3 way adjustable shocks and sequential dog box.) Although the body is well tied down by the suspension you can still feel the weight transfers front to rear and side to side clearly and this not being near the limits.
I have not driven DCT much before and used all 3 modes comfort auto as well as sport and sport+ using paddles. I liked the instantaneous downshifts and burble on the over-run from the exhaust. I am happy with the DCT choice as a DD car and I have other manual cars should that urge need scratching.
Here is a pic of the right rear corner of my car - so far the only corner installed. One thing I did notice was the weight of MP rear shock was much heavier than the standard. Given that the shaft diameter is not much different the weight difference must be in the body and the internals. Certainly the body feels more substantial.
Re ride height the tech measured before any change (but remember only 8km on the odo) and then when we looked at the recommended height on the spec sheet the difference was about 25mm. An earlier post suggested 15mm on their car. The car may settle a bit lower once it has been driven a bit so I am wary of setting it too low. I will go look at the car once set to spec but before wheel alignment in case I want it raised a bit.
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