The Stig: Bad idea using The Stig to test cars ?

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dd_545i

New Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
9
Location
Germany
Car(s)
BMW E60 545i
I've always thought that using The Stig to test cars is a bad idea. Yes he's an awesome driver, and yes it's fun listening to the introductions "some say he's ....." and the whole mythos of who he might be is fine.

My point though, is that it's not giving us regular folks an idea of how good the car is to drive. For example, cars like the 911 GT2 and Corvette and things like the Maserati MC12 are all difficult to drive fast around a track. I'm not saying they're bad cars, but they're "a handful". So to see The Stig, with his super-human driving skills, get them around the track in times that make them appear high up the timing board isn't really fair. Is it? Cars like the Audi R8, BMW M5, Lambo Gallardo that are all extremely fast cars but also extremely good handling cars. They might achieve that through electronics, but the point is, any of us could drive them fast. Maybe not kids, grannies and dogs, but us regular fast drivers could.

I think it would be much better if they sent Jeremy, Richard and James around the track in the cars being tested. Take an average of the 3 times they achieve and put that time on the board. I think we'd see the cars that require you to be a racing driver to get the best out of them find themselves further down the board. They should also leave all the ESP, DSC, traction control aids on when they're going for a hot lap.
 
The review tells you what the car is like to drive (also how difficult), and the Stig's lap tells you how fast it is round the track. I see nothing wrong with that.
 
the Interceptor said:
The review tells you what the car is like to drive (also how difficult), and the Stig's lap tells you how fast it is round the track. I see nothing wrong with that.
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Sure, there's some value in knowing that, but don't you think it's more useful to know how fast a car is around a track when driven by someone as talented behind the wheel as yourself? That would be more important to me if I was at home pondering whether I should buy something like a 911, R8, Aston or Lambo. I'd want to know how fast I might be in such a car. If I thought my driving ability mirrored Richard Hammond for example, then I could take particular note of how he got around. The key point being, the better handling car will reward him with a better time.

The cars that least help the lesser skilled driver (by not having all the driver aids) are artificially helped towards the top of the board by the skill of The Stig.
 
they might as well as get the camera crew and the producers to test the cars.
 
. <-- The point of the Stig








The op of this thread --> .
There is no point to the stig other then testing how fast the car is.
And Clarkson said: The faster a car is the better it is... :D
 
The whole idea of the Stig is brilliant. If it was not a mystery man everyone could doubt the times and think that someone else might be even faster.
Because of Stig the list of laptimes is as accurate as it gets. Every car at its absolute best.
Stig eliminates the difference of drivers and that is absolutely crucial to produce a meaningful list.
 
The review before the power lap does exactly that imho. I don't see what's missing when review and power lap are combined, from how a car feels like to drive to what it's actually capable of on a track (although not always in identical conditions).

BMI might be slightly more informative with their army of talking Stigurais and the comparisons are definitely more conclusive, but they also have a lot more time devoted to it and can be a little long winded.

Fifth Gear and D MOTOR have pretty decent reviews, probably more informative but also often less entertaining.

I can't really say I feel any of them neglect some major part.

Edit: A timed track test for the average driver might be interesting once or twice, but I can't say it'd be meaningful in any way. That'd be like having 6 year olds test Whisky.
 
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dd_545i said:
Sure, there's some value in knowing that, but don't you think it's more useful to know how fast a car is around a track when driven by someone as talented behind the wheel as yourself?
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No because a person like myself is inconsistent around a race track whereas a racing car driver isn't. And you'd want consistency on the drivers part to be able to accurately compare the cars.
 
Koppel said:
The whole idea of the Stig is brilliant. If it was not a mystery man everyone could doubt the times and think that someone else might be even faster.
Because of Stig the list of laptimes is as accurate as it gets. Every car at its absolute best.
Stig eliminates the difference of drivers and that is absolutely crucial to produce a meaningful list.
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Not quite.

But having the Stig & the TG test track there does remove some of the variables that could have made an impact on the laptimes.
 
dd_545i said:
Who'd watch that? It'd be boring.
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TG Crew's driving skill = James May's driving skill = Normal avg oke's driving skill


Both are pretty bloody awful to watch, so let's rather leave the job for the Stig
 
SL65 said:
No because a person like myself is inconsistent around a race track whereas a racing car driver isn't. And you'd want consistency on the drivers part to be able to accurately compare the cars.
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I am coming round to this way of thinking now I have to say. It is making sense.

I guess the GT2 time-burning thing did highlight it for me though. Although it was obviously a faster time, it didn't impress me and I don't feel the need to know the time because I know if I were driving them both, I'd no doubt be significantly faster in the Lambo as I sure ain't no Stig :) Now there's an Autobahn out there waiting for me to tear it up :)
 
I think you get the actual value of how good or bad a car is to drive when you combine the knowledge you get on Top Gear with the cars specs and what else you can find on the internet.
 
a fast car does not always equal a good car. Which is why they have reviews by people who tell you how the car feels, etc. Then they have a laptime done by a robot who tells you nothing except how fast the car can really go if you're inhumanly quick.
 
the Interceptor said:
I think you get the actual value of how good or bad a car is to drive when you combine the knowledge you get on Top Gear with the cars specs and what else you can find on the internet.
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You're right. Don't know what I was thinking. I'm not starting threads on a monday morning anymore.
 
Don't worry, we've seen much worse.

Nice car by the way, 545i must be great. :)
 
the Interceptor said:
Don't worry, we've seen much worse.
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:mrgreen:

the Interceptor said:
Nice car by the way, 545i must be great. :)
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Just sold an Audi A6 Avant 2.7T Quattro to switch to the BMW. It's a controversial choice. So many people hating the Banglebutt, and I can see it too. I hated it also when it first came out. It's grown on me enough that I gave one a test drive and that was it. Hooked.
 
Technically the cars are still excellent, it's just that Bangle needs to be shot in the face repeatedly. :yucky:

But you don't see it when you're in it, so for you, it's a win-win situation. :lol:
 
the Interceptor said:
Technically the cars are still excellent, it's just that Bangle needs to be shot in the face repeatedly. :yucky:
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Shooting in the face? That's a little harsh isn't it? Plus it'd make so much mess. I'd rather he was given some radioactive breakfast cereal and left on a desert island to suffer. Much less mess to clean up.

The annoying thing is, people look at BMW's sales and say he must be doing something right. No he isn't. It's just there are enough people willing to put up with how it looks because they drive like nothing else in the same sector. Audi's look better, Mercedes are more comfortable, but the BMWs drive the best.

Shame we can't look in a parallel universe where Bangle never got the job at BMW and we'd see how much better their sales would be. They should have poached Walter da Silva.
 
It all about providing a consistent, professional benchmark. Introducing anyone less than a world-class driver to the equation would introduce unwanted variables.
 
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