Have to admit, I'm a bit excited to write this
The seller wanted to head up North to look at an E63, so we arranged to meet at Stevenage station. This made it a 40 minute train ride and similar-length drive back, rather than more than twice that to get down to the far side of London. So an easy trip, and a familiar 45 minute drive home.
Paid the seller by bank transfer from my phone, ensured he got his stuff out of the car, and opened the laptop to tax it online. Paid for the car parking and eased out onto the ring road.
First impressions - the car is mint inside, genuinely could be new despite its 99k miles. The parking sensors are smart, with a little display in the roof so when you crane your neck backwards you get the visual feedback about how much clearance you have. Visibility is generally decent, you can see plenty to your left when pulling in after overtaking, the bonnet slopes down more than you'd think, so the low nose gives you a good view of the road immediately ahead. You wouldn't think it has such a big engine up front, but of course that's what the V8 package gives you.
This is the first automatic I've had, which took a tiny bit of getting used to especially the feeling that you have to fight the engine when starting to apply the brakes. Having said that, it has a lot of benefits, makes entering roundabouts easier for one.
Taking it cautiously across a dual carriageway roundabout, a red Audi TT came past me at speed. As he passed I pulled out into his wake and instinctively squeezed the throttle, this wonderful bub-bub-bub growl arose from behind - not super-loud, but enough to make me start laughing in the carThere's a single-carriageway leg of the journey later, and I was behind another driver who was obviously keen to press on, so we both made a couple of overtakes when it was clear. The engine and gearbox team up well together, it's always 'ready to go' when you see the opportunity, so with the visibility makes overtaking straightforward.
The cruise control is also good when passing speed cameras.
The car felt good in roundabouts, the steering has a reassuring weight and 'tips in' to turns nicely. At lower speeds when you try and spin the wheel quickly, I felt a bit of inertia in it, unsure if this is the PAS or just how it is. So perhaps not the best for autocross, but in higher speed turns it's rather good. Overall it's a fairly compact car (68" or 173cm across) which feels wieldy with the good visibility and taut well-weighted steering, just how I like it.
A few pics of the car on my drive. The seller washed it last night, but it's done 100+ miles on damp winter roads so is far from pristine. The car's on it's 17" winter wheels with Pirelli Sottozero winters; the original staggered 18"s in mint condition are now tucked up in my garage. The winters are same size all round so don't fill the rear arches, but a small price to pay for not crashing in the snow ;-)
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[Much better bushings all around]