so what exactly is the Alcantara trim? and how does it differ from the factory? did most of the exiges come with “con air” in them? and i guess form the name you guys give it, its not too good? not worth having for the weight? and whats the advantage of the emerald ecu? im guessing this replaces the 177 or the 190 upgrad ecu? does it just give you more options? or more versitility? is insurance a legal requirement in england/europe? because if i end up buying one i dont thik i would be able to resist the temptation to drive it around europe for a while and explore in it…
Alcantara is an artificial suede-look material. It comes in a variety of colours.
It’s standard for the roof lining, and standard on the sports seats.
It was a factory option for the door trim panels and the dash inserts.
The aircon was not an option on early cars, I’d say less than half have this fitted. It’s notoriously ineffective and unreliable, but some people say it’s just about worth having.
The emerald replaces the standard engine management. It’s a better system and remappable, so you can reprogram it to suit any other mods done to the engine at a later date.
Insurance is of course a legal requirement.
thanks for that - it clears things up a bit. i htink NZ might be one of the only places where insurance isnt a legal requirement - but of course i would be insuring it anyway, just out of interest how much would a 19 year old male expect to pay for insurance on a car of this calibre?
I guess you don’t have any so you would be paying the maximum amount for example i’m currently paying about �700 but this is with 60% bonus (for good driving history) so without the bonus i’d be paying �1750 a year… but i’m a wee bit older than 19… I doubt you’d get a uote but if you do it’d be at least �2k i think… best thing to do is phone a few insurance co’s up…
However if insurance isn’t required then I’d imagine it’d be a lot cheaper… The only reason it’s sooooo expensive over here is because it’s compulsary.
For comparision just look at how cheap home insurance is!
If you only want insurance to drive it round Europe, I’d contact a specialist like Competition (I think, mike?). At 19 in the UK you’d find it very hard to even get insurance.
Can you really just drive on the road in NZ without any insurance?!
BTW, you can’t have A/c in a car with an Emerald ECU.
hmmm well im not too bothered by no ac it does have windows for a reason… and id rather loose the weight. Yea no insurance needed in NZ but of course it is advised - if you have a wee tiff with someone that has no insurance your insurance will jsut take him/her to court for the money. makes life alot easier and keeps insurance down (it will be cheeper for me to insure the exgie in NZ than it is to insure my POS 89 dodge caravan here in canada thats worth less than 400 pounds…) but all our cars go through very strict inspections every 6 months so that can be a pain but it does ensure the safty and peice of mind that the oncoming car isnt a rust bucket… like over here in canada, i saw somebodys leg through thier door panel yesterday…made me sick
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