Hello. I am interested in a crossfire and was wondering a few things. I really like these cars from a physical standpoint, inside and out, but was wondering about how to improve performance. I am not terribly worried about how fast I can go in a straight line but the steering is what I was curious about. I understand that it has a recirculating ball instead of a rack and pinion. Is there anyway to increase steering feel? I have more interest in corners than most and was wondering on ways to improve feel. Next, I understand that the shift linkage on the manual leaves a lot to be desired and was wondering the same thing. Can this be improved? Thanks, Jordan

 

I went from an 06 VWGTI to a 05 SRT, the steering is different but once you get some time with it, you will find it very responsive. I have the auto which is by far the best I have ever used in any car.

I really love my SRT, I was iffy about the expense of owning it and all the other concerns. I loved my GTI, third one of those in 8 years, but would trade again in a heart beat. Go for it!!!

 

Have you driven an SRT6? I find the steering and handling great.

 

No I haven't gotten a chance to drive a srt yet. I would love to but there aren't any for sale anywhere near me. I did drive an 06 auto today though. It drove nice, but the previous owner screwed up all of the wheels, curb rash, and the interior is less than perfect. However, the dealer knocked the price to 14,400 by the time I was leaving.

 

how many miles were on the 06 for that price?

 

19600 miles. If it was cleaner I probably would have bought it.

 

The steering ratio (amount of steering wheel turn to angle of front wheels) is slower than most sports cars but you get used to it fairly quickly. The steering feedback (road resistance transmitted back through the steering wheel) is the same as other sports cars with power steering. If you're used to a Spitfire or Miata it will feel a little dead.

Cornering power (G force) is about the same as a Porsche Boxter.

The manual gearbox feels a little "notchy" in normal driving. That feeling goes away when you shift it quickly. Because of the way the pedals are set up you can't heel and toe the downshifts you have to use the ball of your foot on the brake and rotate your foot to use the right side on the gas pedal.

 

Is this one priced accordingly? It seems high considering that I was offered 14400 by a dealer with one 2 years newer and 30K less miles.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/830475587.html

 

I think that the designers of the Crossfire wanted to have a trade off between pure handling and a comfortable car that wouldn't be "squirley" on the autobahn cruising at 120 MPH. You have to decide what kind of car you want. I agree with the other posts that after you drive the Crossfire for a while you can compensate and will be happy.

If you read all of the test results, and you can find these online if you do a search, the Crossfire excelled over the competition on skid pad tests, and that tells it all.

Why would you " have more interest in corners than most ?"

What other cars are you considering? I'll guaranty that the Crossfire offers more performance for your dollar than any other you could name. Even the NA Crossfire.

I can't comment on the manual shift other than when you read the reviews and road tests they have been somewhat critical on the manual. I think that AMG when they designed the SRT 6 went with the autostick for a reason. I personally, like the other posters above, think that the autostick is the best transmission I've ever had.

 

I am probably going to test drive both an srt-6 and a manual coupe in the next week or two.

As for the " have more interest in corners than most" comment. I meant that compared to the average driver, handling is more important to me. Also, I do attend a few auto-xs a year and wouldn't mind hitting a track day or two. I do go down the occasional back road or two and would like to be able to better than my MR2 does at the moment, which is on par with an early miata.

I have looked at a anything from an s2000 to a GTO. I just wanted something more unique than your average corvette or 350z.

 

I think it is over priced. But everyone overprices when they sell in anticipation of the inevitable "talk-down". It has quite a bit of miles... and is almost 5 years old. That is how much I paid for my car with 21,xxx miles and only 2.5 years old. I would not pay more than 10k for it... that is if everything is mint and works properly.

 

This is not true though. Skidpad is really only a measure of tire grip. Slalom and lap times would give a better indication of the overall handling. The XF should do quite well on a skippad because it comes with decent quality and large tires


I think the reason why AMG went with the automatic in the SLK and therefore the Crossfire SRT6, is because they did not have an acceptable manual transmission that can handle the torque of the those motors. I am not aware of any recent AMG car with a manual trans.

I think the question posed in the OP is verz vague and quite ambiguous. I could say I took a turn at over 1OO mph. But the could have really just been a bend on a highway where I was able to attain such speeds. Or I could say that I have only taken a hairpin at 15 mph because I do not personally feel that anything faster was appropriate, which is not to say that the car could not take that type of turn faster.

The XF is a great handling car. With even better tires and a proper aftermarket suspension consisting of appropriate spring rates and swaz bar selection one could probably make the car handle even better. So you shouldnát have any problems in the handling department with this car. As long as an application exists, it is possible to dramatically improve the handling of almost any car.

 

Here's a good review. It covers the shifter and handling. Skidpad, slalom, etc. It compliments the shifter and said that the Crossfire was faster through the slolum than a Boxter.

Not too shabby eh.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...3/pageId=56842

 

I wasn't asking how the car handled, I know it handles very well. I was asking about the vagueness of the steering. I don't really want to have that detached feeling that can be had when driving some cars. I don't that is a very vague question. I am not asking "how fast I can take a corner" I know that is a subjective question, as well as one that isn't very well thought out.

Thanks, Chuck. Thats very helpful

 

Well I think that I am fairly certain that I am getting a crossfire. The article listed above provides a lot of great information. However, now I am down to which model. I am looking at either an 05-06 coupe manual or an 05 srt-6. Insurance is almost the same so that isn't going to help. I know that the srt is much faster and makes a better track car, but I am not so sure that I want to pay for gas and tires for that monster, plus I really don't want to give up a manual trans just yet. It looks to be about a 3-4K difference as well. For that I can get the TVT kit and do a number of suspension upgrades.