Autocar Road test

[Richard Houlgate]

Westfield Sport 250 road tested in the issue of 29th November

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

I hope it fairs better than previous motoring press, write ups!

[XTR2Turbo]

Generally a bit negative, especially compared to a Caterham (handling, aesthetics, fit and finish) - basically kit car. Positive was the performance at price point. Car was £35k as tested.

 

[DonPeffers]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1706514&i=0

https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/images/car-reviews/first-drives/legacy/dsc_4229.jpg

both photos show same driver if my old eyes aren't deceiving me.

Stock photo?

[chriss1455]

Looks like the same driver. Same road same bend and everything

[Ian Podmore]

Autocar own Pistonheads

[CraigHew]

On the whole it's quite a positive review, although the tester didn't like the feel of the brake pedal at all and had a couple of other minor niggles (handbrake getting in the way, heavy steering etc).

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

Can’t understand why the factory haven’t cut the brake pedal push rod to adjust the pedal to the same height as the accelerator! Dead easy to do!

Interesting that they want the steering to be quicker and lighter? How, without going electric (which it doesn’t need)? Usually quicker means heavier!

[Matthew Haynes]

It's here https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/westfield/sport-250

 

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Seems a much more balanced and thorough review this time.

Points out a fair comparison of performance vs price of the catering van. Handbrake easily rectified with an s2000 lever as lots have done. The ford KA one is too ungainly and f ugly in my opinion. I chopped a good chunk off the pushrod to align the pedals, surprised the factory don't. They must have also addressed some of the handling issues as whilst they acknowledge it's not as nimble as a Caterham they don't really criticise too much so a to the factory if they are finally listening to the feedback. The factory know about the noise and judder of the race brake upgrade as Simon warned me about it when I was discussing my order. Maybe  a tweaked design with Hispec is in order? Or reverting to the sweet AP calipers as the upgrade option.

The comment "people will always pay a premium for a factory car" always make me chuckle. I'd pay a premium for a well built home assembled car over a factory built any day of the week! Some af the care and attention shown in a lot of the builds on here vs the built to a deadline of a factory, I know which I'd have.

Anyway am sure the factory will be much happier with this review from a massive mainstream car magazine 

[DonPeffers]

Certainly a much better review and the suspension changes seem to have helped overcome some of the deficiencies previously noted by members and reviewers.

If I was the owner of Potenza Sports Cars (who took over ownership of Westfield in Dec 2006) I would be getting a bit peed off with journos forever pointlessly banging on about a decades old lawsuit that related to the previous owner and bears no relation to the current product. Is it done merely to fill space on the page?

With a 620 Caterham at £50k or possibly a 10 year old S2 Exige for over £30k buyers can make up their own mind.

I would add that IME the Westfield IRS rear setup does ride mid-corner bumps much better than the De-Dion semi-independent rear setup. Also rear tyre wear is much less from my experience.

[Davemk1]

I wonder just how well set up the cars that the factory lends out to test are?

Many years ago I worked for a very high end bicycle company that sent its bikes out to national bike magazines and as often as not the reviews would have a number of small negatives that in the end would add up giving a negative impression of an otherwise wonderful bike. So we took the step of having our best mechanics tweak and test and re-tweak the bikes until they were just right before any journalist ever got near it. And when the bike came back from the test it was gone over and test ridden and cleaned to perfection before it went back out the door to be once again tested. And....every bike always came home to check over before it went to the next test. Journalist are not kind to gear and most don't care if they pass on bikes that are compromised in some way to the next magazine. This process resulted in glowing reviews and a real life bump in sales - so worth the time to get the bikes just right.

I wonder if Westfield, and other car companies, take the steps necessary to present their products in the best possible light. I recall a number of years ago EVO magazine tested the then new Miata and they had little good to say about it and the tone of the piece was largely one of disappointment. Their core complaint was the handling and the details of their complaint all pointed to a poor alignment. As I read it I wanted to jump into the pages of the magazine and set the toe properly just so they would talk about something else. I can't fault the magazine - are they supposed to report that they think the car would be great if only it had a proper alignment and tire pressures? No - they test the car they are given.

It feels like Westfield might do well to have their best guy assemble the demo cars and make sure they ride and handle just so and that they are 100% rattle and squeak free. It's time consuming and therefore not cheap but it's time/money very well spent. If I can make my own car handle and ride just right and be free of rattles and squeaks surely the factory can do it and do it faster and cheaper...and no doubt the reviews would be more positive and be less "it's not as good as a Caterham but it's cheaper". Properly done they could have "it's every bit as good as a Caterham and much cheaper" and no doubt sales would increase.

dave

 

[Kit Car Electronics]

I agree 100%. Yes, preparing cars for test costs money - but this should always be offset by the sales revenue a positive test brings (or at least, a non-negative test!)

Major car manufacturers have press garages dedicated to keeping the test cars in tip-top shape - journalists expect this, so if a car is badly presented it will be marked down immediately, even if the points seem minor.

[6carjon]

Dave

A good point well made on careful setup. Also journalist are normal individuals like you and I. They are also not racers. Every racer has their preference too. There is a real art to find the right setup. Sometimes even tyre pressure ?

It seems very easy to praise Caterham and put Westfield second, so they will need to over achieve for some time to be on a level playing field.

This review seems pretty fair and we should also remember our cars like our children are not perfect, but we still love them 

There may be some useful feedback for the factory to consider.

It does remind me of reading practical classics magazine driving impressions of readers restorations. You would think there was no need to invent a modern car ! I love my classic for its character but compared to a new car it's utter rubbish..?..

 

[CraigHew]

well said @Davemk1

If the factory only read 1 post every blue moon, then I'd suggest that's one to read.