I dropped into a Fiat dealer who had a 12 month old Fiat Grande Punto TJet Sporting for sale. Interestingly, the salesman was most put out that I hadn’t made an appointment and would not offer a test drive. However he would take me out in it as a passenger for a short spin. OK I say.

Now then he says, I do lots of track days and I can drive. OK I say. With your permission I will go for it he says. OK I say, just do it. Blimey.

This was simultaneously the best and worst time I have ever had in a potential purchase. He boots it hard, real hard, we’re in 3rd doing 75 approaching a 90 degree right. All my instincts are screaming we are going off here, and we’re gonna hit stone hard, I am mashing the brake pedal that I don’t have in the passenger footwell, and speechless. Watch the dash he shouts. Astonishingly we make the corner with ESP lights flashing. Now I know we should have gone off. This is the tech in action he declares. He does it again twice more, I am sort of horrifyingly fascinated, and again my instincts tell me we are going past the cars limits, but again we get round with a lot less drama than I expect.

This is not ABS, this is not Traction Control, this is not ASR. This is ESP. ESP saved my life and the life of the lunatic salesman driving the thing who hit a ton 3 times in an urban area for crying out loud.

I will never forget that test-ride, it really brings it home to you with a personal demonstration, even if its lunacy to do so on public roads. SWMBO has a GP sporting now (not the one I went in!) and I rest assured that the electronics far surpass where she will push this cars limits, and in extremis, where I hope she never is, the electronics will hopefully bring it back from the brink.

Sharky, if you read this, please drop your You-tube links in with your comments, and lets hope more folk get the fact that ESP: (A) is worthwhile and, ( wont stop your progress in slippery conditions. It is your safety net when things go wrong. Also happy its standard in me VRS, which is reasonably crap in snow, but thats the tyres.

I ordered ESP/ASR on my new fabia

Edited 29 April, 201115 yr by adamc260

ESP won't save every idiot though! There will be someone who will push too hard, and amount of electronics will prevent an idiot, or some innocent getting involved in some major fender bending (and probably body bending...)

ESP Ftw imho lol

Well specced Adam! I hope you never need it, if you know what I mean. Nice link.

Mr Gorebrush, I agree. The laws of physics re-assert themselves if all else fails. The trouble is when a clever technology is developed, some people rely on it. But hey, if it saves lives.

...you didn't buy the car then? :p

Reminds me of that horror story on the news recently of that guy who went to the Peugeot 106 with the faulty shock absorber. He was the passenger going round a corner in an urban area at 75mph....:no:

I dropped into a Fiat dealer who had a 12 month old Fiat Grande Punto TJet Sporting for sale. Interestingly, the salesman was most put out that I hadn’t made an appointment and would not offer a test drive. However he would take me out in it as a passenger for a short spin. OK I say.

Now then he says, I do lots of track days and I can drive. OK I say. With your permission I will go for it he says. OK I say, just do it. Blimey.

This was simultaneously the best and worst time I have ever had in a potential purchase. He boots it hard, real hard, we’re in 3rd doing 75 approaching a 90 degree right. All my instincts are screaming we are going off here, and we’re gonna hit stone hard, I am mashing the brake pedal that I don’t have in the passenger footwell, and speechless. Watch the dash he shouts. Astonishingly we make the corner with ESP lights flashing. Now I know we should have gone off. This is the tech in action he declares. He does it again twice more, I am sort of horrifyingly fascinated, and again my instincts tell me we are going past the cars limits, but again we get round with a lot less drama than I expect.

This is not ABS, this is not Traction Control, this is not ASR. This is ESP. ESP saved my life and the life of the lunatic salesman driving the thing who hit a ton 3 times in an urban area for crying out loud.

I will never forget that test-ride, it really brings it home to you with a personal demonstration, even if its lunacy to do so on public roads. SWMBO has a GP sporting now (not the one I went in!) and I rest assured that the electronics far surpass where she will push this cars limits, and in extremis, where I hope she never is, the electronics will hopefully bring it back from the brink.

Sharky, if you read this, please drop your You-tube links in with your comments, and lets hope more folk get the fact that ESP: (A) is worthwhile and, ( wont stop your progress in slippery conditions. It is your safety net when things go wrong. Also happy its standard in me VRS, which is reasonably crap in snow, but thats the tyres.

this is a thing fiat do on their track days displaying cars... the saleman must have been to one.. the staff are always invited. the thing they do to demonstrate the ESP is drive at a 90 degree corner at 70 mph and just turn (and of course the car goes round) just as a display of what would happen in a potentially unexpected emergancy situation! he's obviously tried it on the track , and transfered it to the road! not sure its the right place for it, but it sure demonstrates what it can do!

I've done my own tests in the snow in my grande punto.. I've travelled up newlands valley to the top of the fell (in winter) where the carpark (big run off area) at the top has been covered in snow, and the roads cleared, I've then thrown the car off the road and into the snow, and steered hard right (expecting to spin every time) and the car has just turned back onto the road , no drama

it could potentially save your life. no doubt about it.

My Octavia still corners better!! :yes:

The only worrying thing is people who think it makes you go faster and rely on it too heavily. Definitely a good thing to have though

The only worrying thing is people who think it makes you go faster and rely on it too heavily. Definitely a good thing to have though

I defo see where ur coming from... with me though my driving style will always be the same in the snow/ice.

Leave early, take your time, don't rush and don't have a bump!!

Knowing I have ESP/ASR will just make me feel that bit safer but I'll still be super careful, don't wanna wrap my car around a lampost!

Exactly ESP won't change my driving style but its nice to have some sort of safety net

I would have ordered ESP on the Fabia anyway as a £400 option. As ESP comes standard on the DSG it means the DSG is only £200 more than the manual. Not bad to say VW relieved me of £1300 for DSG.

I remember when ESP first came out on the Ford Focus about ten years ago, the model was called the 2.0 Zetec ESP. Ford brought one to a Donnington track day and I was there with the scoobynet guys in my Subaru Impreza Series McRae. We all had a play in it and were very Impressed. Of course more modern systems are even better, ncap mark down the Fabia due to it not having ESP across the range.

I wouldn't buy a car without it.

Cheers

Lee

Good to know the ESP works a treat, never had a car with ESP before and I like driving fast when conditions allow and the misses isn't in the car

Salesman sounds like a right knob head! Should never be driving like that on public roads.

True but he did ask the OP if he could show him how it works!

No-one's really said it yet Latte, but that is one funny piece of writing, if a little hair-raising. Excellent stuff.