01 Nov 07
You can look at this two ways. Two hundred notes for a bit of lubricant and probably not more than an hour's skilled labour seems exorbitantly steep. On the other hand, if the car goes another 20,000 miles before its next service, it will have done 40,000 miles for £200 or, put another way, 0.5 pence per mile which, given that this is a mechanically complex car with nearly 300bhp, could seem like one of the most conspicuous bargains you're ever likely to enjoy.
I subscribe, emphatically, to the latter view. I couldn't care less if it takes five minutes to service the car and they charge £200. What I care is that it has proven phenomenally cheap to run over 20,000 miles and that is as strong a point in its favour as any of its other more obvious talents.
In that time there have been no faults and, aside from my rather frosty relationship with its runflat tyres, there is precious little about it I would change. There will come a time when fitting both my children and a mate in the back becomes tricky, but that is hardly the car's fault. Its fuel economy continues to stagger - I regularly see 40mpg, which from a car with junior supercar performance is something that still beggars belief, almost a year after I took delivery.
On one journey the sat nav refused to give details of any traffic delays and it annoys me that the rear parking sensor display freezes the entire information and entertainment interface long after you've take the gear lever out of Reverse, selected Drive and continued on your way. Not much of a complaint, is it?
