Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Aero 8 S5 Flaws

The recent summer weather has somewhat subdued my love towards my Aero S5 and made me look at it in a different way to my previous S3. In my view the S5 has two major flaws (and one minor!) that had I known about them before putting my deposit down, I may well have stuck with my S3. They are as follows;

1. The roof. I buy a convertible car to take the roof off when the sun shines and put the roof up when it rains. In my old S3 I could go out in it with the roof down, quickly put it up in seconds if it rained, and drop it again when it stopped. You cannot do this in the S5. It is a work of art putting the roof on/off and if you suffer a sudden hard down pour (of recent!!!), you are soaked to the skin by the time you've managed to get the roof on!! Given the British climate, and the need to keep raising and lowering a roof I consider Morgans design of the roof on the S5 a huge retrograde step.

2. The boot. Planning how to pack the boot is like planning the D-Day landings and just as messy!! In reality, because none of the available gaps either side of the boot hinges are of any substantial size, using any type of standard baggage requires you to have to squash it in some shape or fashion. This was not the case with the S3. So whilst the boot actually looks bigger from outside the car, in practical terms it is not.

3. Minor point - squat down 15 feet back from the side of an S5 and look at the rear wheel in the rear wheel arch. It sits forward of the arch!! The gap from the tyre to the rear of the arch is twice the size as the gap from the tyre to the front of the arch. The tyre/wheel should sit in the centre of the wheel arch...so why doesn't it??? To my eye it looks odd and when I point this out to other people (some have already noticed by the way so it is not me!) they all agree and look puzzled!!

Now...I know there are going to be a few clowns who choose to make fun of this (i.e. "what you scared of.....a bit of rain!!" etc...). Yeh yeh......I've heard it all before. But in all seriousness, I would be interested to hear others views on the above and if you have what you consider to be major flaws in the design of the S5 over previous versions or if you don't own an S5, your views would be equally valuable.

I miss my S3!!

Your three observations have all been addressed in prior threads on here albeit they appeared in individual threads, so you are not alone out there in S5 land.
This I would think will ensure you get a reply I would have thought even from the rose tinted one's.

Thanks Richard,

I know a number have made issue over the boot. I wasn't aware of people making issue over the roof and wheel arch (other than me of course). I must have missed that.

Cheers

Rob,

When some of the SW TM'ers and a few others went on a factory visit back in April we noticed that 2 out of the 3 finished S5's had offset rear wheels within the arches and I agree with you they look odd.

I have a feeling it was asbo that asked if anyone had sourced any suitable luggage for optimising the available area but not much came back I seem to recall.

I'm sorry I can't recall the roof issue totally but someone (dealer) went to great lengths to demonstrate the hood to the unconvinced, like most of us he thought an in depth lesson really should not be necessary to put the roof up.

Regards

Richard

If two out of three had offset wheels that might suggest there is a fix given some S5's do not have that problem :-)

ANYONE - got an S5 without this issue?

Cheers Richard.

Rob.

Unfortunately the pictures that Graham took on our visit to the factory of the Buttermilk S5 in the finishing bay were all subject to the botophucket ransom so we lost them, this was the one with centralised wheels.

I did find a nice image of one with "normal" wheel spacing just to reassure you it is achievable, just in case the dealer has other ideas.



Regards

Having seen pictures of the S5 i was ready to put my deposit down. However upon closer examination during a factory visit, the first two faults were the prime reason i changed my mind. The third reason for me was the wheel styling and the extra cost MMC wanted to correct it.

The wheel arch fault is surely a build issue and i have seen some aero plus 8's with the same off centre. My Plus 8 is perfectly centred.

My "entry model" 4/4 was delivered to its first owner without the wing side lights connected, without twin horns, and with the ugly central pod brake light perched on top of its spare wheel. Each grouse long since rectified. My much loved machine continues to delight, with 50,000 miles put on the clock in 6 years. What amazes me, having toured the factory, is how such a relatively tiny workforce manages to produce these magical motors at all.
Hopefully the S5 will not become the "exit model" but it does look gorgeous, though for me the full frontal aspect is less appealing than the rear and side views. I can't comment on the drive experience, having not even sat in one but perhaps one or two driver owners could describe this pleasure for the rest of us please.

Here we are Richard, but looks to me as though this one has wheel offset too:





Ian (Wirewheel) found out the Audi colour for me. Looked good enough to drink

Rob, I understand your feelings regarding the top. I much preferred the manual hood on my base model Z3 over the powered hood on the Boxster. The Z3 was so quick and easy. I got soaked in the Boxster once. By the time I could stop and then wait the 15 seconds for the roof to raise the short cloudburst had almost finished...

I guess the S5 is a true Morgan, and therefore marmite. There's things to like, and to dislike.

I don't mind any of the flaws that Rob mentions - and my S5 has them all.
:-)

I *do* mind that
- the doors leak when the car's left out in the rain,
- that the boot lid was barely bolted on, and with non-stainless bolts which are now giving a dusting of rust.
- the 'cool white' light package doesn't change the bulbs in the sidelights or the central screen light to match the rest of the package: the original 2007 Mini bulbs are left in place
- that the air con leak that drips onto the driver's left ankle was reported by Shooter on his mid 2016 car, but is still there on my early 2017 car.
- the clock time is never right; it should have its own battery, independent of the car's electrics
- and that the carbon roof doesn't fit (& wasn't painted in the colour I ordered)
I mind because all of these are avoidable flaws.

I had the pleasure of spending time over the weekend with the interior designer of the new Bentley Speed 6 e concept. Its footprint is similar to the Aero - and therefore much more usable on UK roads than most Bentleys.

The detail finishing is astonishing. And unlike the Aero S5 mule that Rich shows above, the Bentley will likely hit production with many details intact. It won't have the retrograde steps between concept & production like, oh, for example, the ugly plastic capping on the leading edge of the bootlid.

& while these Morgan marmite flaws are maddening (especially those that are the result of a casual attention to detail in the factory build process) it's remarkable that Morgan manage to build the car at all, with the resources they have.

& therin lies the fascination, and the frustration.

I don't like Marmite
I do like my Aero - in spite of its flaws, and the factory's repeated efforts to piss me off.
After two weeks away on holiday I'm looking forward to pulling off the covers & going for a drive.

Will