I had the pleasure of a very short drive in a for sale very low mileage 2018 Roadster the other day with the 5 link suspension and power steering. Certainly the 5 link and power steering made the car much easier to drive with more compliant ride at the rear.
There was no getting away from the crudeness of the sliding pillar front suspension, but it's always difficult to tell when it had last been greased. On a slightly damp section of road the tyres (which were still original) certainly did not like it and spun even in 3rd. Had the same problem with my 3 litre Roadster on damp roads in the lower gears even with new tyres.
The foot well was tight for my size 10 feet compared to a Plus 4 and I didn't manage to work out what the curved carpet intrusion on the right hand side of the foot well around the upper shin.area was all about, I assumed to do with the power steering The clutch had a nice progressive feel but still quite heavy and I'm sure in traffic the foot well would get very hot very quickly with little room for free movement for the feet.
Great engine but would have been more practical and better suited for me, if an auto was fitted as foot well space was at a premium for operating the pedals and finding some where for your left foot.
Obvious the build quality in general on the later cars is to be admired with far more options and modern conveniences making it a more accomplished conveyance, but still can't get away from that crude front end.
I'm sure its only a matter of time before the price differential with the CX will erode, and then question of annual running costs VED etc may swing more in favour of the CX, with its more accomplished ride and automatic options as they are easily on par performance wise. Then of course it becomes very subjective as to the feel of how the power is delivered, turbo 4 cylinder vs V6, for some it will never equal or be a substitute for a V8's grunt.
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