Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Car and Driver PlusFour Article

This article has appeared in Car and Driver over here in the States.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a33428238/2021-morgan-plus-four-drive/

It seems a fair write up. Shame they haven't tried the autobox

A plausible report... from the perspective of a contemporary tester. He won't know what I like about the traditional model, but the more positive the report is about how the new Plus Four is experienced in handling. One more argument for the automatic. 80 mph in second gear means you just can't use the manual gears on the country road the way you want to.

The report is written factually but is a rather bland read which lacks any kind of enthusiasm or appreciation for the Morgan which isn't a mass market sports car.

I'm sure the author is completely baffled as to why Trad Morgans remained as he says 'archaic' but were the longest running production car in the world.

He isn't an enthusiast for sure and this sort of statement doesn't ring true at all of the Plus 4 I drove at Heart of England Morgan a few years back it was a spirited well balanced car to me.

"Despite looking as traditionally English as a thatched inn in the Cotswolds, the Plus Four delivers a very different driving experience than its predecessor. To demonstrate how much so, Morgan let us drive both the last Plus 4 and the new Plus Four back to back, which felt a little like comparing medieval medicine to modern surgery. The weakness of the old car's structure and inexactitude of its suspension saw it shuddering like a wet dog over apparently smooth asphalt, while struggling to deliver even modest amounts of cornering grip. It had wooden-feeling brakes, unassisted steering that was both heavy and almost totally devoid of feedback, and a straitjacket cabin clearly designed to accommodate smaller, leaner 1950s people".

Those alloys do look good..

Take that one with a pinch of salt, I am continually surprised by how much grip the trad has, and as for cabin room we go away with lots of gear and it all fits inside try that in a CX (we are both 6') . Of course after observing the average American at Waikiki more room may be necessary between the wheel and driver for that market.

I think it’s a rather enthusiastic write up on the new model.

Sadly the description of the traditional model is a bit ridiculous and reflects a limited understanding of the magic that was (and for many of us still is) a trad Morgan.

Ahem....the average American in Waikiki is a to a Morgan owner as Rosie O'Donnell is to Bernard....or stated differently....sadly many Americans are fat slobs.

Where is Bernard these days?

Tom ... some of the fittest and unfittest people I've met are Americans .... not sure if it's just me, but over the 40+ years I've been road-tripping round the States it seems the 'average' American is a disappearing breed .... at one end you have a tribe who waddle when they walk or cruise the sidewalk overflowing a mobility scooter .... and at the other end a tribe of ferociously fit 'live on nuts and berries, marathon before breakfast' greyhounds ..... the middle ground is shrinking .... ok, bit of an desciptive exageration, but not by that much!

Back on topic ..... I doubt many Trad Morgan drivers buy their cars in the expectation, or desire for, the 'modern car experience' .... it's the last slice of 'every mile an adventure' vintage motoring .... but with enough development time that you are unlikely to have to undertake a roadside engine rebuild on any journey over 300 miles. If the reviewer didn't understand that then they missed the point .... it's a car for driving the 'road less travelled' by drivers who appreciate the value of that.

K