Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) Test Drive of the new Plus Four

On Monday I did a pretty good and thorough test drive of the BHM demo car around the lanes and highways of Kent.

I was mightily impressed with the car and have done a full report for both BHM and my local centre. Rather than post it here, and bore everyone to tears, please send me a PM and I will send it to you as a Word document.

Don’t be bashful Im sure many of us would like to read your report. I was mighty impressed bar a few arrears like poor seats and squeezing brakes

+1

Me too

Two rather well known motoring enthusiasts were testing two PlusFours at the factory today

How was Zog? Did he bring the Hamster?

+1. Post the report for all, we will keep it quiet.

Yup. Zog, as always, was a happy chappie!

Come on Andy, we'd all like to read your impressions on the road with the new model.

OK I will try to post it here, it is quite long so you only have yourselves to blame:

A test drive in the new Plus Four

Firstly many thanks to Keith and Sarah at Brands Hatch Morgans for allowing me and my car-mad daughter to test drive their demo car by ourselves. She is an avid enforcer of social distancing but BHM handled everything really well and each risk point was minimized, so even she felt comfortable.

To my eyes the car looks so much better proportioned than the Plus Six, and truer to its roots . Everything looks neat and tidy and really well put together. It actually felt smaller than my +8, although there is much more space inside the cockpit. The seats are different, you sit slightly higher and they are quite firm, and I felt I could have used a little more lateral support once I started to corner enthusiastically (but being an ex-racer I was trying quite hard) The adjustable lumbar support did make a minor difference so you can tailor the comfort to your liking.

Starting the engine is a lovely experience, key turned fully, clutch held down, then touch the illuminated starter button , nothing happens for about a second, but then the motor bursts into energetic life. The clutch is light and the motor pulls well from low rpm so getting off the line was no problem and immediately the torque makes itself felt as you fly off down the road.

We went through the village and from the roundabout up the hill towards Brand Hatch circuit. As I applied the throttle the car leapt forward in each gear reaching less than legal speeds very easily and I was glad of the digital speedo built into the display immediately in front of the driver informing me at glance just how illegal it was. A stop for some photos (ever the photographer) at the layby on the summit looking over the Weald, before motoring on down to Yalding via seven mile lane. The downhill section gave an opportunity to try the brakes, which have drawn some comments, I was really happy with them. Yes there is quite a long pedal travel, but the power is certainly there and I had confidence in them immediately. There is a tiny squeal when coming to rest, but at speed they are reassuringly good.

The steering initially feels light and over-assisted at parking speeds, but weights up nicely immediately once underway, and there is good road feedback at all times. The ride is another feature that is immediately noticeable. My +8 is really well sorted with SSL front and rear suspension, but this car was a whole quantum leap forward from there. Yes it is still firm and enjoyable, but it rides minor bumps and road imperfections really well and there are no rattles or squeaks. Applying the throttle in mid corner gives a tiny touch of understeer initially (well it is a Morgan) followed by a very quick turn in and then neutral behavior through to the exit. Had this not been a demo car I might have tried to explore throttle induced oversteer, which I am sure is there for the asking (but possibly not at sensible speeds)

At Yalding we posed the car in front of the new riverside houses, but this was not a great success due to the barrier in front of the development. We followed back roads to Teston and Wateringbury when the fuel light came on. We pulled into a filling station and was only able to get 25 litres into the tank before the pump cut. I was puzzled by this, but the gauge confirmed it was brim full. So if the tank capacity is 46 litres, there are over 20 litres remaining when the warning bulb illuminates. This is just like my +8 when there is 15 litres once the gauge reads empty. Perhaps some things just won’t change at MMC.

Now we made for Maidstone via more Kent country lanes and the A249 towards Sheerness. I was hoping for a blast up the hill towards the M2 , but alas the road is peppered with 50 mph speed cameras. The road onto the Isle of Sheppey is also monitored for average speed around the Swale bridge, so we had to be quite diligent. I had hoped to pose the car against one of the wind turbines as a backdrop, but they all proved inaccessible, likewise a shot across the water to the shipping lanes, so we had to be content with a nice scenic drive around the island.

On the return journey I found myself trying to explore more of the performance. Most of our journey was spent in 3rd and 4th gears, 5th and 6th seemed like both were an overdrive, I only used the latter on the M20. I found there was plenty of instant pull available in each gear and I was never caught needing to change in a hurry. I tried using the Sport Plus button on the transmission tunnel , the steering weighted up a tiny fraction, but I could detect no other differences , but I am informed that there is more popping and banging on the overrun. I gather this button is much more effective on the auto box where it will sharpen up the mapping and allow higher rev ranges to be attained.

Regarding comfort I decided to try the air conditioning as we came upon a tailback at the A249/M2 junction. It was lovely having the cabin cooled as the car crept forward. This would be perfect for those hot days at the Le Mans Classic. It was so effective that my daughter asked me to turn it off as she was getting too cold! Then came the only real negative point in the entire test, in a manual box you need to rest the left leg somewhere and normally this is on the padded transmission tunnel, but now this is a hard plastic moulding, so it is a trifle uncomfortable and I would be keen to do something about this, but I am sure those trimmers who specialize in Morgans will be on the case before long. All the instruments were clearly visible, the steering wheel does not obscure anything, and the digital read out is very useful (although purists might not agree with it)

On our return Keith and Sarah were keen to hear our impressions and exchange views about the various features that the new car offers. We were largely in agreement this is a great car, and hope it will sell well. Yes £70,000 (for a well-specced car) is a lot of money but compared to the run out trad models it is not a big increase , and it is so much better in very many ways

So after this test drive the acid test is “do I want one” and the answer is a resounding YESSSSS! I never thought I would even contemplate parting with my +8 after honing it to perfection over the last 18 years. However the extension of the ULEZ to the North/South circular means I will have to pay £15 each time I use the car and a new Plus Four would of course be exempt.

On return home I immediately went onto the configurator and started to play with specifications. I would either want to replicate the blue car/red upholstery of our current +8, or perhaps resort to my previous +4, a bright yellow car with black inside. I would also prefer a walnut dash and centre console, and a luggage rack would also be essential. I think the only real question is whether the automatic box improves or detracts from the manual. It is a truly superb car and I want one.