"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic)
05/31/2015 at 19:00 • Filed to: Three Wheels Not Bad
13
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"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic)
05/31/2015 at 19:00 • Filed to: Three Wheels Not Bad | 13
| 21 |
Yes, that’s right. My mom did in fact end up getting the Slingshot, and it is fucking awesome.
This will be a bit shorter than my Monster review, since that took several hours to write and I don’t feel like doing that again.
First and foremost, I’m going to contradict Polaris’ legal argument and say THIS IS NOT A MOTORCYCLE. It is a three-wheeled car.
The only thing it has in common with a motorcycle is the open-aired, doorless, roofless, wind-in-your-face nature.
And in case you haven’t read any of my previous bits, I’ll remind again that I’m at about 7000ft elevation. Most NA engines up here lose 30-40% of their power.
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Power:
The Slingshot weighs in at around 1700 pounds, a decent chunk of which is the aluminum-block 2.4L Ecotec 4-banger as previously seen in the Solstice, Sky, and in supercharged form in the Cobalt SS. At sea level, it makes a balanced 170 hp/170 lb-ft. To quote Matt Farah, “It’s quick but it’s not fast.” 0-60 wise, I’d say it’s similar to a WRX or GTI. It’s really not much of an issue because being so low to the road and so exposed to it, 30mph seems like a fast speed. The only time the power really felt inadequate was trying to maintain the 80mph traffic speed getting it back home from Albuquerque. In 5th gear (5-speed) it took a good bit of time to build speed, although downshifting to 4th remedied this to an extent.
While this motor has a pretty high headroom for upgrades, that’s of limited value since the single drive tire reportedly* can’t put much more down than it comes with. The true value of something like a turbo kit is at highway speeds, as mentioned above. That and I would probably like to get close to the sea level numbers up here.
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Driving Dynamics (Driver Experience):
I’m going to break this down into a few sub categories.
Controls:
As noted in most reviews, the steering ratio is a bit slow. Once you get used to that, it’s not a big deal, but your arms will get a workout. I really think this thing would be even more fun with a quicker ratio. Come on, Polaris. The steering wheel is a bit low-grade compared to automotive equivalents, but is a fairly small diameter.
The shift knob is kind of strange and soft-touch rubbery, but the shift action itself is incredibly crisp and positive. This is one of the better shifters I’ve used.
The clutch is somewhat heavy, but very linear. I had no problems finding the friction point on the first go, and it doesn’t get at all in the way during shifting.
While the brakes themselves are excellent at stopping you, the pedal feel is shit. It’s soft, spongey, and vague. Various fixes have been found, from replacing the brake pads to reinforcing the master cylinder mount which has a tendency to flex under hard braking. I haven’t tried any of these since, you know, not mine.
Handling:
This thing handles like a go-kart. The amount of grip it has is unbelievable. I’ve done everything I can think of to unsettle it and have thus far been unsuccessful. I’ve never been in a car that can change direction this quickly or easily. It can oversteer a bit of you give it a lot of gas mid-corner, but, duh. It reportedly can manage 1.5 Gs in lateral grip, which sounds about right based on the my-face-is-falling-off-o-meter.
90% of the time there’s no indication you’re missing a wheel out back. The only time it’s really noticeable is if there’s a lot of dirt or oil down the middle of the lane.
Traction/Stability control can be turned off via a rocker switch, but there’s little need as even when on it allows a good deal of wheelspin and sideways-y-ness before it intervenes. The best reason to leave it on, of course, is that it will intervene if one of the front wheels does manage to come off the ground.
The biggest issue I find so far, is that the front wheels have very little caster. The on-center steering feel is vague (Once you’ve turned the wheel, the power steering is very communicative) and the steering does not self-center from a moderate offset.
Comfort:
Ride is excellent for how sporty the suspension is. Bumps are soft and gentle, without dulling the sense of the road.
The seats have yet to cause me any problems, and are nice and grippy.
There is a fair amount of wind blast that hits me right above eye level, but I have a really long torso. Anyone under about 6’ shouldn’t have much of an issue. That said, I’m installing a Madstad adjustable windscreen for her which should alleviate any problems with wind.
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Interior:
Once you consider that the interior has to be essentially completely waterproof, it’s really quite impressive. The seats are soft but supportive, and slide forward and back as well as recline. The gauges are of high quality and are nicely illuminated at night. The painted plastic down the center console actually looks really nice, as it has the same metal-flake surface as the body.
The turn signal stalk is a bit long, a bit too far forward, and doesn’t have a very positive action when you use it.
The radio isn’t exactly feature-laden, but it does support bluetooth, FM/AM/WX, as well as having a USB iPod/iPhone hookup. It also helpfully switches displays to help you determine which buttons are which at night, as the labels aren’t lit in any way. It has Bass/Mid/Treble adjustments, as well as an adjustable degree of volume compensation for speed.
While the sound quality isn’t great, due to the smallish waterproof speakers (that’s them in the footwells), it is actually usable up to about 60mph, at which point the wind and road noise mean you’d have to turn the stereo up to painful levels to hear anything remotely clearly.
It does in fact have two cup holders, as well as a 12V outlet between the seats. There’s a decent-sized glovebox, as well as two locking milk-crate-sized bins behind the seats, which will hold an XL helmet easily.
Speaking of helmets, wearing one depends on the situation. (Eye protection is essential, however.) On the interstate, a helmet and earplugs makes things far more pleasant, but anything below about 65mph you’re better off without one due to the lack of clean airflow.
Whether you should wear a helmet for safety reasons is up to you. On the one hand, this isn’t like a motorcycle where you almost certainly will be thrown from the vehicle in the case of a crash. On the other hand, while it has seatbelts, it does not have airbags or crumple zones, and there’s always the chance of getting hit by a heavy object at speed.
Headlights are excellent, with four lamps in total that provide a broad, far-ranging beam, with high beams that provide additional, farther reach down the centerline.
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Value and Misc:
The Can-Am Spyder is really the only thing that competes with the Slingshot, and that still manages to be pricier.
Morgans, Caterhams, Ariels, KTM’s, and almost any other sort of small, open-air car/trike like this that I’ve found have all been nearly three times the price.
If you’re considering the Slingshot, there are a few things to keep in mind; For one, be prepared to get a lot of attention. Since they are quite new, and very striking, you get a lot of people asking questions about them. You can’t exactly hide, either, as you’re very exposed.
Secondly, despite the legal definition and price range, this really isn’t meant to be considered alongside motorcycles. It really is far more similar to the XBow, or Atom than it is to, say, the Spyder or an actual motorcycle.
That’s not to say Ariel or KTM owners have much to fear on the track; by all accounts the Slingshot really doesn’t offer the same sort of raw performance on a track.
jkm7680
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 19:08 |
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Such a strange looking vehicle. I wouldn’t buy one, but it’s cool to look at either way.
ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 19:13 |
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I can’t wait until they do a spec series for these! I can’t believe elevation robs such a significant amount of power from an engine.
citizennick
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 19:15 |
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How is the Can-Am more expensive? I would never consider one of those over this.
Spark
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 19:22 |
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Defo motorcycle
blacktruck18
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 19:27 |
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I want to see how long it takes for someone to come out with a kit to add another back wheel. As you said the power is limited do to only having one.
bfromop2
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 20:10 |
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Saw one last week at Wegman’s in Blasdell, NY. Thought I was fairly current on the lastest vehicular contraptions, but I had no idea this was a thing. Kinda wondering about handling and structural rigidity with only 1 rear wheel...
Drew
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 20:38 |
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I’ve had mine for about a month. Hard to explain how fun this thing is. For $20k its very hard to beat. At first I tried to compare it to my other fun car, a Lotus Evora. It is no Lotus, but that would be a very unfair comparison. The Lotus was 4x the cost. I tried to compare it to my MiniCooper S but still hard to compare.
Best to compare it to a original older British roadster crossed with a Star Wars X-fighter.
For open air fun that is highway legal, the slingshot is almost impossible to beat
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TheOnelectronic
> citizennick
05/31/2015 at 22:32 |
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A few people suspect Polaris is selling them at a a loss and will gradually ramp up prices.
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citizennick
> TheOnelectronic
05/31/2015 at 22:41 |
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Hmmmm, interesting. They look like a lot of fun, though the things that you mentioned that bother you would probably drive me crazy.
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TheOnelectronic
> bfromop2
05/31/2015 at 22:45 |
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It corners super flat. No flex at all.
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TheOnelectronic
> blacktruck18
05/31/2015 at 22:47 |
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More likely you'll see massive singles.
BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
> citizennick
05/31/2015 at 23:42 |
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Looking at CanAm’s accessory retail prices... either they are getting away with huge markups, or inflation has hit the economy MUCH, MUCH harder than I thought.
Almost every little accessory bit is in the 3-digit price range, EACH.
If they are selling the vehicles at similar markup, no wonder the F3 is 20-25K.
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I would consider a CanAm Spyder F3 before a Slingshot, because I like overly-exposed open air motoring to be in or near motorcycle format, and something like Slingshot is so close to a car... one might as well have a car. Used Miatas and MR2 Spyders are available, and don’t require eye protection and a helmet... as long as you don’t mind the lack of storage... but Slingshot doesn’t have much, either.
I would consider a CanAm Spyder F3 before a cruiser or bagger motorcycle, for the uniqueness factor and stability of the reverse trike, but I would consider a sportier motorcycle over a Spyder F3, because sporty bikes still have a power/weight ratio and handling advantage over a non-leaning, heavier reverse-trike design.
But I think there is room to improve on the reverse-trike format, specifically in terms of keeping the motorcycle trait of leaning and counter-steering, which none of the trikes or reverse trikes currently do, other than a custom Tilting Motor Works conversion.
And frankly, a TMW conversion with the guts of a GoldWing/Valkyrie 1800 and some of that cool/slick bodywork (somewhere between a Spyder F3 and a BAC Mono) that keeps the tilting nature, and round-section motorcycle tires, would be VERY fun. The tilting aspect favors physics, and feels more like rolling and banking turns in an aircraft, but on the road.
boxrocket
> TheOnelectronic
06/01/2015 at 01:11 |
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How easy would an engine swap be? The engine certainly sounds lackluster, and the Ecotec was never that great a design. Thinking FiST/FoST, Miata, or Sciotaru as alternates.
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TheOnelectronic
> boxrocket
06/01/2015 at 01:39 |
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I’m not really sure. Engine swaps aren’t my specialty.
Power isn’t -really- an issue, given that it’s pretty easy to make a ton of it off these engines. Just ask the Cobalt SS crowd. And it’s aluminum block, so I’m not sure it’s any heavier than a similar engine.
The most compelling reason for a swap would be a more... exciting engine. The Ecotec doesn’t much like to rev, although it is wonderfully torquey.
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TheOnelectronic
> citizennick
06/01/2015 at 01:40 |
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You mean like the slow-ratio steering and vague brake pedal? The brake pedal at least is a pretty easy fix.
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boxrocket
> TheOnelectronic
06/01/2015 at 10:11 |
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That’s where I’m coming from. To eke the best power from an Ecotec typically requires turbo or supercharging (especially since the factory made a lot of legit parts available), and it doesn’t look like there's much room for the extra parts in the Slingshot.
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TheOnelectronic
> boxrocket
06/01/2015 at 15:41 |
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Quite a few people are running turbo kits, I know.
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> TheOnelectronic
06/12/2015 at 00:34 |
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Question - how good is the fuel economy on these for non-manic, real world driving?
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TheOnelectronic
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
06/12/2015 at 01:12 |
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Pretty low, actually. High twenties to low 30’s
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themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> TheOnelectronic
06/12/2015 at 01:16 |
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Ah, so it’s no Elio?
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TheOnelectronic
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
06/12/2015 at 01:19 |
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No. My guess is it’s the super-wide front end and GM motor.