Marshall Booth wrote: > I drove ONE 190E-16 with a 717.404 and it didn't feel much different > than the 717.41x series in my other cars (despite the different gearing).
My 16v has over 210k on it and has a tranny noise. I've driven it about 200 miles, half at freeway speeds and half in freeway gridlock. My impression is that the lever is fairly short, giving the feel of being short throw. Shifting is positive but not smooth or lightning quick, at least in the condition mine is in. It'll take a fair bit of practice before I can manage a quick 1-2 upshift, the dogleg from 1st to 2nd seems worse than from 3rd to 4th. I find the sportline seats and steering to be an improvement. I won't comment on the sportline/SLS suspension because my SLS is shot to heck. The rear rides like an unsprung go-kart. The SLS pump seems to be working but the rear will not lift. Hopefully it will raise and lower properly when I replace the control valve, then I'd be willing to buy new accumulators and fix it. The one thing that impresses me about the 16v is the way the speedometer swings from 70 to 100 when you drop the pedal to the floor in 5th. Getting 23-24mpg on the highway (with premium) is less impressive, but that's what you get with a car that does less than 75mph at 3500rpm. The mileage is comparable to my old Saab 99, which turned similar rpm on the freeway but only made 120hp.
