My amateur review of the NC1 NSX!

[drmikey]

So I had the pleasure of driving the new NSX from Honda R&D in Frankfurt, across the Eiffel mountains to the Nurburgring then down along the Mosel and back to Frankfurt. One day, 500k and a big smile. I think I was one of the first non-press member of the public to drive one - thanks to Honda Europe, NSXCE (and my bank account) for making this possible.

Here is my short and honest review

Inside
Visibility very good all round including side and rear view mirrors. Staring at the rear intakes in the wing mirror is quite satisfying.

Steering and pedal position all spot on. Starting, stopping, engaging reverse, parking brake etc took a little getting used to with various buttons needing to be engaged and pressed before the car would function. Although once you get the hang of it, there isn’t too much else to play with other than the various modes from EV to Track. I had it mainly on Sport + throughout the day (one below track)
Interior finish wasn’t that great and certainly looked like it would not last as well as the Mk1 NSX. Irregular stitching, mix of alcantara and leather on the dash didn’t seem to make sense with still bad reflection into the screen like the MK1. Seat bolster already signs of wear (leather wear) after only 9000kms and lower seat cushion coming away from base.

Seats – whilst they offered good lateral support, had zero leg support for me (6ft) with no adjustment. After 500kms my leg and back were aching quite badly. If I was spending 150k on a car, I wouldn’t want to drive it with a cushion under my leg. I believe the production cars will have different seats so hopefully that will be sort.

Outside
Car looks amazing from all angles. That’s all I can say. Only minor negatives. They put a keyhole in the drivers door – was it really needed? And the door handles, what can I say, they make no sense at all. Very difficult to describe – push and pull with one hand, or use your finger to pull out (thus ultimately scratching the paint over time) or just use two hands. Who knows what they had in mind!
Carbon engine cover is very nice, but you really cant see any of the engine at all. Seems a shame

Driving
Now for the good part. It is awesome to drive. Despite (or because of), the technology, the car feels very analogue. You feel very connected to the road and the brakes give you a surprising amount of feel. The power curve is very linear even from low down, and the only indication you have that it is turbocharged is the occasional hiss of the dump valves in the rear - it really does drive and feel like a naturally aspirated car. The transition between EV motor and boost is quite seamless.. The torque vectoring enables you to direct it with ease with no indication that it is, on paper, quite a heavy car. And it is fast – very fast.

Gearbox – 9 gears!! As expected upshifts are instantaneous, downshifts give a nice throttle blip when you up the rev range. Maybe I missed a function, but no ability to locate a neutral gear for a boy racer throttle blip. Similarly if you wanted to be a real hooligan, its quite difficult to light up the tyres with no clutch and a complicated launch control option.
So there is is.

My very amateur review of the new NSX.

[Pride]

Some very interesting observations drmikey, which I'm sure we might not be aware of from the many flattering motoring journalists, so thanks.

The big question is would you buy one if you had the cash and where are your bib and braces to go with your laderhosen??

[drmikey]

No ladenhosen Clive. I stayed distinctly British which helped when the Polizei took an interest lol

Not having ever driven anything this expensive or on this level, its hard to say whether (in the unlikely event I could ever afford one) I would buy one or not. Id have to compare it with the likes of Mclaren and Ferrari I suppose. And even though Im a Honda nut, for that price, Id certainly be eyeing up the competition.

Certainly the EV/turbo integration is genius and (correct me if Im wrong) only Mclaren have attempted anything similar. It also looks stunning, in my eyes better than the competition. And by all accounts, it is more of an everyday supercar than the others.

[Mistercorn]

Very nice review with some interesting observations. It certainly is a very tough segment of the market to be in right now with some cracking cars out there. There is a decent chance that with limited production numbers though the prices will stay high until the next major correction in the car market (I would say classic car but with limited production numbers many new cars are the subject of speculative buying too).

MC

[Nick Graves]

Thanks for the review, Mikey.

The leg thing is interesting/disappointing as I'm 6'. Even the ND MX-5 has a wind-up cushion leading edge.

Did you find the sheer width of the thing tiresomel, or is it not a problem on Germany's roads?

[drmikey]

Thanks for the review, Mikey.

The leg thing is interesting/disappointing as I'm 6'. Even the ND MX-5 has a wind-up cushion leading edge.

Did you find the sheer width of the thing tiresomel, or is it not a problem on Germany's roads?

Hopefully they rectify the height thing with the production models.

Width not an issue at all, and we took some narrow villages down the Mosel. It really doesnt feel much wider than the MK1

[Nick Graves]

Thanks, Mikey.

That's interesting to know.