Tuna
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2011
- Messages
- 817
- Location
- Mustang, OK
- V-Series Cadillac(s)?
- '11 V Wagon, ( '13 427 Vette & '21 Vette)
I took delivery of my V Wagon on Pearl Harbor Day of 2010. That was 20 months ago and almost 14,000 miles ago. Thought I'd pass on my thoughts and impressions of my V Wagon.
I LOVE IT!!!. :biggrin:
The V Wagon suits my needs perfectly - I wanted a family car that performed similar to my Vettes and the V is it. I wanted a family car that could haul groceries, hardware, mountain bikes (inside), grand kids and family. It also had to haul A$$ and turn and brake - the V Wagon does that.
The LSA engine is very smooth but has a bit more noise as the RPM rises compared to my Vette. Plenty of power and even more when the boost comes up and it comes up quickly and smoothly. Last year we cruised the hills of Big Bend National Park and just left it is sixth gear at 50 MPH and it pulled smoothly up the hills without losing any speed or requiring a down shift and it didn't complain.
The Recaro seats are very comfortable and work great on long trips or around town or around tight turns. Wearing helmets and full length clothes on a "warm" day in south Texas, the seat cooling fans were a blessing. We finished the Big Bend Open Road Race without sweating to death.
MagRide - Love it too. This is our 4th car with MagRide (3 Vettes before had MagRide and my new Vette does also). The old V1 hooked up to the road very well but as as stiff as a truck spring, you felt every ripple in the road. The V2 MagRide is a delight. We leave it in Tour for most drives but select Sport for the open road runs and other "spirited" driving opportunities.
The Wagon's rear seats fold flat and create about 70 inches of space behind the front seats. There are cargo tie down racks and a cargo/pet net to keep stuff and junk in place and my wife and I have put stuff and junk back there. Two mountain bikes go in the back, along with bike helmets, water bottles and back packs. Luggage, racing helmets, fire extinguisher mount, etc. for a week on the road all fit and get tied down with simple straps bought at Wal-Mart.
There is a shallow cargo hold below the rear floor (above where the spare tire should be) that I use to store safety equipment, an umbrella, the cargo/pet net and the tie down straps. (I bought a spare tire kit from Euroteck Designs so my spare tire well is full.).
The Michelin PS2 tires ain't cheap but I haven't had to replace them yet. That's great. By the time I had this many miles on my 2004 V1 with Goodyear SuperCar tires, they were all shot and had to be replaced. My wife appreciates that. The tires still have about a 3rd of their tread left. The Michelins aren't that great in the rain but they are okay. I don't drive the V in the snow or ice!
If I have any complaints, it's the outside rearview mirror and the 2-3 shift. The drivers side mirror is too far forward and too high so it adds to the blind spot of the A-pillar. I would rather see if a little farther to the rear and/or a little lower. It blocks the view to the left in turns. I like to sit low in the car and the mirror is in my normal sight line. The Vette's rear view mirror is farther back on the door and a little more out from the edge of the door so there is a sight line between the A-pillar and the mirror - better vision into left turns.
As for the 2-3 shift: The V likes/needs a little encouragement to the right to make sure the shifter actually goes into the 3-4 shift line and selects 3rd gear on fast shifts. This is different from my Vette which only needs to be pushed forward from 2nd gear for it to go into 3rd. The big issue here is probably consistancy between my two rides as I have to "think" about the 2-3 shift in the V and I don't in the Vette. Oh well.
The V Wagon is mostly a daily driver now as it's the oldest car in my garage. It's a pleasure to drive and it's a sleeper being Crystal Red and a wagon. Most folks don't have a clue what they are looking at. That's generally okay with me as I get to surprise them every now and then.
I think that's it for now.
I LOVE IT!!!. :biggrin:
The V Wagon suits my needs perfectly - I wanted a family car that performed similar to my Vettes and the V is it. I wanted a family car that could haul groceries, hardware, mountain bikes (inside), grand kids and family. It also had to haul A$$ and turn and brake - the V Wagon does that.
The LSA engine is very smooth but has a bit more noise as the RPM rises compared to my Vette. Plenty of power and even more when the boost comes up and it comes up quickly and smoothly. Last year we cruised the hills of Big Bend National Park and just left it is sixth gear at 50 MPH and it pulled smoothly up the hills without losing any speed or requiring a down shift and it didn't complain.
The Recaro seats are very comfortable and work great on long trips or around town or around tight turns. Wearing helmets and full length clothes on a "warm" day in south Texas, the seat cooling fans were a blessing. We finished the Big Bend Open Road Race without sweating to death.
MagRide - Love it too. This is our 4th car with MagRide (3 Vettes before had MagRide and my new Vette does also). The old V1 hooked up to the road very well but as as stiff as a truck spring, you felt every ripple in the road. The V2 MagRide is a delight. We leave it in Tour for most drives but select Sport for the open road runs and other "spirited" driving opportunities.
The Wagon's rear seats fold flat and create about 70 inches of space behind the front seats. There are cargo tie down racks and a cargo/pet net to keep stuff and junk in place and my wife and I have put stuff and junk back there. Two mountain bikes go in the back, along with bike helmets, water bottles and back packs. Luggage, racing helmets, fire extinguisher mount, etc. for a week on the road all fit and get tied down with simple straps bought at Wal-Mart.
There is a shallow cargo hold below the rear floor (above where the spare tire should be) that I use to store safety equipment, an umbrella, the cargo/pet net and the tie down straps. (I bought a spare tire kit from Euroteck Designs so my spare tire well is full.).
The Michelin PS2 tires ain't cheap but I haven't had to replace them yet. That's great. By the time I had this many miles on my 2004 V1 with Goodyear SuperCar tires, they were all shot and had to be replaced. My wife appreciates that. The tires still have about a 3rd of their tread left. The Michelins aren't that great in the rain but they are okay. I don't drive the V in the snow or ice!
If I have any complaints, it's the outside rearview mirror and the 2-3 shift. The drivers side mirror is too far forward and too high so it adds to the blind spot of the A-pillar. I would rather see if a little farther to the rear and/or a little lower. It blocks the view to the left in turns. I like to sit low in the car and the mirror is in my normal sight line. The Vette's rear view mirror is farther back on the door and a little more out from the edge of the door so there is a sight line between the A-pillar and the mirror - better vision into left turns.
As for the 2-3 shift: The V likes/needs a little encouragement to the right to make sure the shifter actually goes into the 3-4 shift line and selects 3rd gear on fast shifts. This is different from my Vette which only needs to be pushed forward from 2nd gear for it to go into 3rd. The big issue here is probably consistancy between my two rides as I have to "think" about the 2-3 shift in the V and I don't in the Vette. Oh well.
The V Wagon is mostly a daily driver now as it's the oldest car in my garage. It's a pleasure to drive and it's a sleeper being Crystal Red and a wagon. Most folks don't have a clue what they are looking at. That's generally okay with me as I get to surprise them every now and then.
I think that's it for now.
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