I went to the casino the other day...

"PanchoVilleneuve ST" (PanchoVilleneuve) 02/25/2016 at 14:52 • Filed to: None

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...and the current car they are giving away is a black over black/red Polaris Slingshot SL LE. My girlfriend’s reaction to seeing it and learning the price was “why get a Miata over that?” along with permission to get one if it ever became financially feasable, and I fell a little bit more in love than I already was. She also forbid me from pretending I’m Batman while driving it, which is understandable.

Rainbow > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 14:54

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Well, I personally prefer a soft top to a motorcycle helmet when it comes to driving in the rain.

But otherwise, I agree. If you just want a track toy, why get a Miata over this?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 14:55

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WHOA

can’t be batman while driving?

DEAL BREAKER

PanchoVilleneuve ST > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 02/25/2016 at 15:01

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I’d pretend I was a space fighter pilot instead.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Rainbow 02/25/2016 at 15:03

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What it all comes down to is these cost about the same as a Miata, if a little bit less, and as far as performance goes, blow the Mazda out of the water.

It’s amazing how you can get a car that is this fast for so little money as long as you register it as a bike.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 15:10

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I was going to crack wise about a Morgan Three Wheeler, but then I was compelled to actually go and look up the price. $43k + options is a tad bit more . No real used market depreciation, either.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/25/2016 at 15:12

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The fact that these things start at $21,500 and only increase in cost with extras that you really don’t need makes them hard to ignore as far as performance bargains go.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 15:16

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Too true. However, I kind of wonder if I was in the position to buy a dedicated track day and goofing off car, just how mugh price is an object. $43k is pricey for a new car that doesn’t even have a roof, to be sure, but there’s kind of a three zone thing: so cheap it’s “why the fuck not?”, middling of “maybe when I’m all grown up”, and “no way, no how”. A semi-roadable go-kart is in the first zone, an Ariel Atom is in the third... but I think both the Slingshot and the Mog are in the middle zone, with the Slingshot just a lot closer to the edge.

Chteelers > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 15:33

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Having driven this thing, while fun, I’d way much rather crash in a miata. Most car’s bumpers sit at face level. It’s a fun toy, but not sure I’d want one for longer than the few hours I drove it.

TheOnelectronic > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/25/2016 at 16:19

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The thing to remember is that the next lowest thing in this category would be the Can-Am Spyders which...

Wait, sorry, those actually cost more.

TheOnelectronic > Chteelers 02/25/2016 at 16:20

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Well a miata weighs 600 or so pounds more because it has to conform to crash safety standards. The Slingshot has no such obligation being a “motorcycle.”

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > TheOnelectronic 02/25/2016 at 16:23

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And this more strongly resembles a tiny, silly, car. Room for two side by side. It’s a hell of a deal. It’s very possibly the strongest value in the Grownup Dreams category, though there are a lot of intangibles like Exceptional Britishness that come into play for the Mog.

certified cool guy > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 16:34

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Meanwhile I’m like I can’t get a miata or a polaris

jk just a prank bro

TheOnelectronic > PanchoVilleneuve ST 02/25/2016 at 16:38

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· My mom has one. She’s looking to sell it. You near Santa Fe?

On a serious note: They’re a lot of fun but they do have downsides. The motor is loud and raspy but has no top-end at all. There’s also no rev limiter so you have to be wary of over-revving. The rear wheel is the tractive weak spot and you’d be amazed how many bits of sand/gravel/oil you accidentally hit because you forget your rear wheel is on the center line.

The stock windshield is worthless. Don’t get one if you’re going to wear a helmet, or get an adjustable screen like a Madstad if you’re not (as there’s not a whole lot of point in a car with seatbelts and a roll bar).

The steering has poor on-center feel owing to what I assume to be a lack of caster and a slow ratio.

The brake pedal feels like a sponge, and the throttle requires a lot of travel, making heel-toe shifts very difficult.

The brakes can’t take much abuse at all before fading.

You will get tired of SO MANY PEOPLE looking, waving, honking, asking what it is (IT’S WRITTEN ON THE FUCKING SIDE) and trying to race you. Oddly enough, it suffers from “common rarity” in which they mostly look alike, yet everyone assumes there’s only one. We actually had a drunk guy try to fight us for stealing “his buddy’s ride” even though we clearly had a key.

Other than that, they’re really fun vehicles. No convertible is going to feel as open-air (sans helmet), and being able to actually see the front tires is interesting. The seats are comfortable, the transmission is nice with good feel, and the gauges are excellent. It even has cruise control. And, unlike a motorcycle, the headlights actually shine in a pattern that lets you see through turns. The handling is phenomenal, although when it breaks loose, it behaves a bit oddly.

I’ve had the thing at 85mph on sustained interstate drives. With the stock windshield, you’re going to need earplugs and a helmet or you’ll be battered and deaf. With the adjustable madstad, the earplugs reduce fatigue but aren’t required. The helmet only comes out if it rains. you WILL want some form of eye protection, however, as the little spurts of wind will dry them out like crazy.

There’s no AC or heat, obviously, and you won’t get as much airflow that might cool you down on a bike. Still, it wasn’t bad during a NM summer. If you keep the engine excited, the heat bleeding through the firewall will keep you warm enough down to about 50 degrees.

You seem to understand the core point: It’s not a motorcycle. It’s not even close to being a motorcycle. It’s a very lightweight car.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I’d like to think I’m pretty familiar with the thing by now.

[I should note here that some people (and states) might take issue with my suggestion to forgo a helmet. Obviously, if you’re on the track you should be wearing one, as well as have some sort of arm restraint in case of a (very hard to do) rollover, but in normal driving the only real use for a helmet would be in guarding against hitting your head on the steering wheel. You’re not likely to be ejected from the vehicle given that it has 3-point seatbelts, and the oversized roll hoops mean you’d have to be very tall to risk hitting your head if you take a tumble. Given that the car does not have to adhere to any crash standards, if you hit anything you’re probably going to die anyway so you might as well not be overly hot and deafened by turbulence.]

TheOnelectronic > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/25/2016 at 16:46

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Yeah, the Spyder is essentially a road-going ATV. Neither it not the Polaris should be considered motorcycles in the least