Shumdit said:
I know we have heard a few vs. comparos, but I would like your feedback on the differences after you put a few miles on her.
Obviously I haven't put a ton of miles on the Gallardo yet, but here are some thoughts after spending a reasonable amount of time behind the wheel thus far.
1) Comfort:
* The NSX is much more comfortable to sit in, I say that with a bit of a disclaimer in that I am not a short guy, and at 6'5" the Gallardo seats just don't have the luxury comfort that the NSX has. That being said, the Gallardo seats are very rigid, as is the entire car which one would expect from such a car.
2) Power:
* Clearly the NSX is going to feel underpowered compared to the Gallardo, however the difference isn't such that you feel the NSX is extremely weak either. One thing about the Gallardo that I still can't get over is how going 90 feels like going 50, I have not experienced this in any other car before in the same way that I do with the Gallardo. This will surely get me a few tickets before I get this down...heh.
3) Length and Girth:
* The NSX feels like a small car, in many ways that's a big plus. The Gallardo is very deceptive in this area, on one hand there is so little car in front of you that you really feel like you are in a video game watching the street fly by (I used to think the NSX gave this feeling more than most, but the Gallardo really puts your eyes and the road very close together
). It's everything behind you in the Gallardo that is tricky to get used to (so far). I just haven't gotten a great sense about the width of the car and the size of the car behind you and as small as everything feels looking forward it feels equally massive behind you. The balance of the NSX really minimizes this effect, but it is very pronounced in the Gallardo.
4) Driving:
* I have always (and will always) love the NSX transmission and the feeling of driving it. Having said that, the quickness and power with which the eGear system engages shifts is remarkable. When you really get on it and start blasting through the gears the "SNAP / BANG" you get (in a good way) of a split second shift and sudden burst of power is exhillirating. The downshifts are phenomenal as well. Having the pure automatic mode in the eGear is also nice for just cruising through slow speed or high traffic zones as the Gallardo is not happy idling around at 10MPH in 1st gear and will put up the occasional fit if you try it
Other little things that I immediately noticed are things like the awesome storage space the NSX has, I am not kidding that storing a jacket in the Gallardo "trunk" could be a challenge. After driving the Gallardo for awhile and then getting in the NSX, the width of the Lamborghini is very apparent, the NSX feels so much smaller to me now than it ever has.
I frequently think while driving the Gallardo that this is what a current NSX *could have been*, there are some very similar things between the two cars that make the Gallardo feel like it could be a next generation NSX, they are hard to quantify but after driving my NSX a lot over the past 6 years I feel nicely at home in the Gallardo as if it really is a big brother to the NSX.
I have thought about selling my NSX of late and I just can't bring myself to do it, the NSX is special and even with a Lamborghini sitting right beside it in the garage, I know there are many times where I will choose the NSX when I head out for a drive.
jonathan