Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Fifth gear Jason Plato on the +8

What do a Tony Crook of Bristol?

Not sure it worked for him in the long run...

I was musing this very point while watching the golf!

I've spent my entire working life in the media/marketing industry, so have a vague feel for managing brands.... Unlike the latest Mercedes or Toyota, a car review is not going to persuade many to buy a traditional Morgan, the car is so individual. So MMC are putting their head in the lion's mouth every time they release a car to TV or magazines - unless that magazine is Classic & Sportscar or similar. This is compounded by cars not being prepared properly maybe.

Well its a very poor/damning review - very difficult to find any positives - and the Plato conclusion is just the very worst outcome possible.

Its the price and the comparisons that really do the damage - and may well have put would be buyers off a Morgan (of any type) for good.

Plato is well respected for his authoritative/driver view

Not a good brand steer and makes the Aero derivs sound much less well resolved than they are. Totally fail to understand why JP was given a car that was unrepresentative, so perhaps it was fettled and as good as the Plus 8 gets??

A few things surprised me - the understeer (not something I find on my Aero S3) and the buffeting (again - pretty calm inside Aero 8s with windows up). I find the pedal layout great on my S3 too, but perhaps for full-on track driving he's right.

I enjoyed driving the new Plus 8 last year but found the doors / locks / side screens / stereo / rather plain fascia / upright screen / lack of boot all a bit of a step backwards from the Aero, and totally disagree with JP about the Aero's looks. But I do sort of agree that the Plus 8 is a rather odd marriage of old and new.

The steering has often been criticised on Aero derivatives since the electric power steering option, but has just been changed. Has anyone any experience of the new set-up and does anybody know if it would be possible to retro-fit it to an Aero 8 S3 (assuming it's a lot better). Having said that I'm used to the steering on the S3 and find it acceptable now I know how it's going to behave. I don't find it weights up but the power steering pump is slow to respond which gives a feeling of stiction and some inconsistency, and I have to agree it's not something that gives confidence on first familiarisation.

I'd still prefer an Aero 8 S5 to the Plus 8 but there's clearly a reason the factory has gone down this route...

JP surprised me a bit - he was not really trying to find the best parts of the Plus 8 - although having done a Robb Gravett track day in a Jag XK R-S last week that car was actually pretty good and felt a lot lighter on its feet than I expected.

It feels like the factory is desperately trying to find a model that makes sense and they can make money from - for me the Plus 8 is not really this car, but then I don't think the Aero Coupe is ideal either without a removable roof, and the SS is simply much too costly. I'd like an Aero S5 GT3 - simple equipment, side double exhausts, lightweight but adjustable seats, not too low-profile tyres, and it needs to be £70 - £80K. I would try to bring back the boot lid look of the S1 and the small rear glass window which looked so much better than the later treatments. I doubt they can make money on this car though at this price...

Perhaps the bespoke one-off specials for the uber-rich is the right way to go?

But is there anybody in here who really bought a modern Morgan thinking/hoping to compete with any of the industrialized, high automatized, standardized and high budget sport cars that are on the market?

In here in my opinion there is a good summary of what to expect from a modern Morgan:

Min 09:23 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g2fLZiZvKqM#!

Min 17:40 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mkeaRYrXwV8#!

Fifth Gear has always tested sports cars around a circuit with Jason or Tiff driving usually at Anglesey - a tight twisty circuit.

So either don't submit a car for this kind of test, or if you do, make sure you do your homework on what the car is going to be asked to do and make sure it's properly set up to achieve it.

I certainly didn't.

I didn't want a conventional sports car, I've had them. I wanted something different for enjoying country lanes.

I enjoyed the TG America review.

I road tested that very car over a year ago and all of the issues Mr Potato picked up on were present at that time. I know it's a development "hack" but if MMC insist on sending cars to the press they should at least "fettle" them so they are in tip top shape. My other experiences of the "Aero" chassis are far more acceptable. That car can only be described as "well used". A simple chassis set up, a couple of screws tightened and the power steering upgraded to latest and greatest spec would have done wonders and no doubt painted a very different picture. Hope they get it right next time.
P.s if you watch the "Car and Driver" review against the Aston I think using facial expressions alone we can all guess young Jethro's favourite

This is interesting.
Could you give me some further details?
Thanks!

Mr Potato complained of understeer so maybe soften the rear to allow a bit of roll oversteer, you could also add some toe at the front to increase the initial "bite" and lessen rear to to stabilise the rear end. Castor adjustment will affect the "steering weight" issue he complained of and camber angles more suited to the track than the road. After all the Aero platform is adjustable in every concieveable direction. Surely "Aero racing" could have worked their magic?
As for the screws tightening, he mentions a rattly piece of metal trim in the footwell. That was probably the lose edging trim which I kept getting my foot stuck on.
Nothing involving rocket science and I'm sure his opinion would have been much different.