Yes.

I work with a couple of guys who totally rely on it,

One an Evo 7 driver who crashed in the snow going round a roundabout on the same road i use to go to work, i took the S2000 and got there no problems.

The other an utter pleb with a 1 Series who had a fault on one of his sensors so his TC wasnt working (and he knew this) and crashed it comming off a roundabout.

Utter ham fisted/lead footed stop start drivers with no car control.

 

Quick - phone Richard Dawkins; there IS a god!

He's called Mr Darwin...

 

Mike (or other). What is the difference between a Spec B and one that isn't labelled as such?

 

Not a lot to be honest, over the 3.0R it's got Bilstein shocks, inverted struts, tweaked steering and wheels which look nice but are too big (IMO).

The manual's got the STI 6 speed box too.

There are also some very subtle bodywork differences but no badging so you need to be nerd to spot one.

It not the sort of spec to set the world on fire but it makes for a bloody good drive when you consider what a barge it is.

 

In your opinion is it worth getting it over a non spec B when it will be used as a 2nd car and a towcar?

 

I've never seen the S3s skiddy car light flash but I do quite frequently drive like a total cock obviously just one with a bit of car control.

Or it's got insidious FREDs that don't let you know when they've been activated! That would be really bad.

That of course may change when I get the 310bhp chip (no additional premium!) for the car on Friday

 

I would.

I don't think there's much of a premium over a normal one and they're so bloody cheap s/h anyway it would be minimal.

That said, knowing what else you own, the Spec B tweaks might not impress as much. It's all I've got to drive in between Caterham track outings so every little helps

Damn good tow car too

 

Yeah the Spec B is very subtle, a car for those in the know! My bro loves his, think he paid

 

Can you point some towards me? There doesn't appear to be many around.

Given my other car, you can see where I am coming from then.

It's between one of these and a Grand Cherokee at the moment.

 

Moggy, as you know I have the Exige and I went for the non Spec-B. There was one available for similar money, but I don't really need the performance, just the space, the AWD and the comfort.

It has a 2.5 engine so it's torquey, but I wouldn't call it quick - adequate, but not rapid. However it's perfect for towing, I've towed right up to it's (1750kg) braked limit and the car didn't miss a beat, strong accelleration and firm braking even with a twin axle livestock trailer full of animals on the back.

Body control is excellent and I can hustle it down the country lanes round here with far more abandon than a car of it's size ought to be able to muster, but that's not really what it's about. It's an auto (Kate's choice, but I do like it when I just want to get somewhere and it's great in traffic) and does a pretty static 30mpg, the Spec B is about 5mpg less I believe if that's important to you. So fuel economy isn't it's strong point, though compared to a 4x4 it's positively frugal.

It's one of those cars you don't notice getting under your skin. We're both very impressed with the car but it's done everything with so little fuss that we've hardly noticed. Yet when either of us is asked, we wax lyrical about the thing, it's coped with everything we've thrown at it and just got on with the job while still being comfortable and easy to live with. The perfect 'utility' car.