JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
With the continued delays to the V6 auto Emira, I have now activated plan B.
Since I sold my Evora 410 Sport in October 2021 in anticipation of the Emira, I have been missing having a nice car. With the V6 auto not likely to appear for some months, I decided that I should look around for something to fill the gap. @Leonard very helpfully pointed me in the right direction with his Alpine A110 thread. I started to read up about these and watch some Youtube videos. The reviews across various car channels big and small are full of praise.
I went to my nearest Alpine showroom in Manchester and had a look at the three available models, the A110, A110S and A110GT. Interestingly, reviewers opinions are that the sweet spot is the base model the A110. The S and GT have slightly more power, but the car does not really need it for normal road use. The suspension is stiffer in the S variant and the GT variant has a upgraded interior with electric seats and upgraded finishes. There is a £10K premium for the GT on a new car.
If I wanted to spec a car myself, delivery would be March 2023 for alpine blue, the orange paint option would be May 2023. There were also some ready to register cars available immediately, if the spec suited what you wanted.
I didn’t take a test drive on the day as the traffic in Manchester was gridlocked. The salesman said that he usually arranges to meet you at your favourite road for test drives rather than battle through Manchester. I thought this was a very good idea, but I wasn’t sure how he would get the car to Route 66 !
By amazing coincidence, a supercar dealer just 15 minutes from where I live had an A110 just 3 months old with 2,500 miles and £6.5K of extras. I bought my Evora from them 2 years ago. It is an amazing place, it literally takes your breath away when you walk in. I phoned them yesterday to go and have a look. The Alpine was parked in front of a McLaren Senna (which was a bit distracting!), I was tempted by the Senna but then remembered I didn’t have £1.1 million to spend!
They happily handed me the keys for the Alpine and I set off for a test drive with my wife. It very much reminded me of the Evora with the driving position, power and a very good soundtrack (obviously very different to the Evora but sounded good nonetheless). It was way more comfortable that the Evora which had the Exige carbon bucket seats and with a more forgiving suspension, the ride quality was excellent. The steering was very similar to the Evora. The gearbox seems really good with rapid gear changes and in Sports mode you get extra noise form the exhaust with pops on the overrun. You also get whooshes from the turbo as it does its thing.
The interior finish is really good and it has got Apple Carplay & Android Auto which makes up for a more basic but functional Infotainment system.
The Alpine does not have the supercar looks of the Emira, but I will certainly be happy with the performance and everything else about the car. Other benefits are much cheaper insurance, I got a comprehensive quote for £199 with a manual Emira (can’t get auto quotes) coming in at £550. Fuel consumption is very good with 40mpg expected. Road tax is £520 (1st 5 years).
Collection will be next week and here is a picture.
My plan for the Emira is to leave me deposit in and see what happens next year. One of the big attractions about getting a First Edition was being amongst the first to get the car, but that is not going to happen now with the delays to the auto V6. I will be able to assess real world reviews and any issues encountered with the early manuals, plus the base configurator should be available and there should be more news on the I4. Although I am disappointed not to have the Emira, I feel that I have maneuvered into a strong position with a very nice car to drive in the meantime.
My options next year could be to just simply go ahead with the V6 Auto when it becomes available, spec up a base car, get an I4 or to stay with the Alpine. Lots of options really, these are just some of them, no doubt the world will have changed again by next summer, but I will wait happily now. I feel chilled out again now!
I will of course continue to read these forums and post whenever I feel I can add anything to the conversation. Thanks for reading.
Since I sold my Evora 410 Sport in October 2021 in anticipation of the Emira, I have been missing having a nice car. With the V6 auto not likely to appear for some months, I decided that I should look around for something to fill the gap. @Leonard very helpfully pointed me in the right direction with his Alpine A110 thread. I started to read up about these and watch some Youtube videos. The reviews across various car channels big and small are full of praise.
I went to my nearest Alpine showroom in Manchester and had a look at the three available models, the A110, A110S and A110GT. Interestingly, reviewers opinions are that the sweet spot is the base model the A110. The S and GT have slightly more power, but the car does not really need it for normal road use. The suspension is stiffer in the S variant and the GT variant has a upgraded interior with electric seats and upgraded finishes. There is a £10K premium for the GT on a new car.
If I wanted to spec a car myself, delivery would be March 2023 for alpine blue, the orange paint option would be May 2023. There were also some ready to register cars available immediately, if the spec suited what you wanted.
I didn’t take a test drive on the day as the traffic in Manchester was gridlocked. The salesman said that he usually arranges to meet you at your favourite road for test drives rather than battle through Manchester. I thought this was a very good idea, but I wasn’t sure how he would get the car to Route 66 !
By amazing coincidence, a supercar dealer just 15 minutes from where I live had an A110 just 3 months old with 2,500 miles and £6.5K of extras. I bought my Evora from them 2 years ago. It is an amazing place, it literally takes your breath away when you walk in. I phoned them yesterday to go and have a look. The Alpine was parked in front of a McLaren Senna (which was a bit distracting!), I was tempted by the Senna but then remembered I didn’t have £1.1 million to spend!
They happily handed me the keys for the Alpine and I set off for a test drive with my wife. It very much reminded me of the Evora with the driving position, power and a very good soundtrack (obviously very different to the Evora but sounded good nonetheless). It was way more comfortable that the Evora which had the Exige carbon bucket seats and with a more forgiving suspension, the ride quality was excellent. The steering was very similar to the Evora. The gearbox seems really good with rapid gear changes and in Sports mode you get extra noise form the exhaust with pops on the overrun. You also get whooshes from the turbo as it does its thing.
The interior finish is really good and it has got Apple Carplay & Android Auto which makes up for a more basic but functional Infotainment system.
The Alpine does not have the supercar looks of the Emira, but I will certainly be happy with the performance and everything else about the car. Other benefits are much cheaper insurance, I got a comprehensive quote for £199 with a manual Emira (can’t get auto quotes) coming in at £550. Fuel consumption is very good with 40mpg expected. Road tax is £520 (1st 5 years).
Collection will be next week and here is a picture.
My plan for the Emira is to leave me deposit in and see what happens next year. One of the big attractions about getting a First Edition was being amongst the first to get the car, but that is not going to happen now with the delays to the auto V6. I will be able to assess real world reviews and any issues encountered with the early manuals, plus the base configurator should be available and there should be more news on the I4. Although I am disappointed not to have the Emira, I feel that I have maneuvered into a strong position with a very nice car to drive in the meantime.
My options next year could be to just simply go ahead with the V6 Auto when it becomes available, spec up a base car, get an I4 or to stay with the Alpine. Lots of options really, these are just some of them, no doubt the world will have changed again by next summer, but I will wait happily now. I feel chilled out again now!
I will of course continue to read these forums and post whenever I feel I can add anything to the conversation. Thanks for reading.
