Compare the Nissan GT-R vs Rocco
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 9:29 pm
Heavily influenced by Clarkson's antics on Top Gear, it seemed only sensible to book an inquisitive test drive in a Nissan GT-R. This is a comparison with my Rocco GT in the sense I jumped out of one into the other and went on a few of the same urban roads.
Bear in mind this Nissan is very near the top of Top Gear’s and Nurburgring’s production car fastest laps. At just over double the price of a fast Rocco, it’s not an unreasonable upgrade consideration for some given that it is a 4 seater with a boot. That said the Nissan seats don’t fold flat and there are no known roof bar options. The colour choices are also rather tame.
Initial impression was that the Nissan was a muscle car for the USA market with significant street ‘presence’ from its butch lines. The Rocco wins on style straight away. Surprising then that the sightlines in the Nisan were much better than of the Rocco so the Nissan winning on comfort until you go over a crack in the road and then the very stiff suspension revealed itself. The Nissan was also noisy as the 4WD automatic transmission cut in and out at low speeds.
Despite my requests to the dealer for a launch control and motorway test, I was restrained to a few 50 mph dual carriageways and roundabouts. That didn’t stop me dropping the clutch at some traffic lights. For a sense of what happens next, you’ve probably seen the old Start Trek movies when they go to warp speed. There’s always that 0.5 second lag before everything goes blurred and the horizon ends up in front of your nose. Clarkson similarly commented that it sort of tears your face off as the 3.8 litres V6 assisted with two turbos and traction control kick in. There is no doubt in the first 0.5 seconds on launch control, my GT diesel Rooco would have had its nose ahead. After that, it would been chewing the Nissan’s exhaust fumes as 2.5 seconds later the Nissan would have passed 60 mph and there is little on four wheels on the road can beat that. It was truly jaw-dropping acceleration and that alone might be a reason to buy. Or even do a few more road tests !
The second reason was the 4WD road holding although the Rooco would on a par as I did get the Nissan’s wheels squealing on a roundabout a lot easier than mine. However with over double the power, it would be game-over if you tried to compete for real. In summary, for day-to-day use give me the Rocco but for a trip to the track give me the Nissan.
P.S. Nitrogen filed types they may be, but they are seriously expensive to replace.
Bear in mind this Nissan is very near the top of Top Gear’s and Nurburgring’s production car fastest laps. At just over double the price of a fast Rocco, it’s not an unreasonable upgrade consideration for some given that it is a 4 seater with a boot. That said the Nissan seats don’t fold flat and there are no known roof bar options. The colour choices are also rather tame.
Initial impression was that the Nissan was a muscle car for the USA market with significant street ‘presence’ from its butch lines. The Rocco wins on style straight away. Surprising then that the sightlines in the Nisan were much better than of the Rocco so the Nissan winning on comfort until you go over a crack in the road and then the very stiff suspension revealed itself. The Nissan was also noisy as the 4WD automatic transmission cut in and out at low speeds.
Despite my requests to the dealer for a launch control and motorway test, I was restrained to a few 50 mph dual carriageways and roundabouts. That didn’t stop me dropping the clutch at some traffic lights. For a sense of what happens next, you’ve probably seen the old Start Trek movies when they go to warp speed. There’s always that 0.5 second lag before everything goes blurred and the horizon ends up in front of your nose. Clarkson similarly commented that it sort of tears your face off as the 3.8 litres V6 assisted with two turbos and traction control kick in. There is no doubt in the first 0.5 seconds on launch control, my GT diesel Rooco would have had its nose ahead. After that, it would been chewing the Nissan’s exhaust fumes as 2.5 seconds later the Nissan would have passed 60 mph and there is little on four wheels on the road can beat that. It was truly jaw-dropping acceleration and that alone might be a reason to buy. Or even do a few more road tests !
The second reason was the 4WD road holding although the Rooco would on a par as I did get the Nissan’s wheels squealing on a roundabout a lot easier than mine. However with over double the power, it would be game-over if you tried to compete for real. In summary, for day-to-day use give me the Rocco but for a trip to the track give me the Nissan.
P.S. Nitrogen filed types they may be, but they are seriously expensive to replace.
well dealer took a blind eye 