I'm not sure if the Sporting has an ARB - I've never looked, but it's pretty ineffective if it is there. I used to have a Cinq SX, and I can't spot any difference between that and the Sei Sporting in terms of body roll. I haven't driven either the 106 or the Saxo, but I find that very hard to believe. The Fiats really do not handle well. I suggest those on the Fiat forums may be slightly biased... Don't get me wrong - just because the car rolls, that doesn't mean it ain't fun! You just have to remember that it's going to give up a lot sooner than you think! :)
No I don't, at least not in everyday driving anyway... Driving the Elise has taught me a lot about braking as it has no servo buttistance or ABS, and it's fitted with very meaty disks and racing pads, but has a better spread of front-rear load - I think about 66%-33%. The Sei feels a lot more front-loaded, like 80%. Shifting some more work to the back could improve things a lot, spreading the work over 4 tyres instead of 2 and allowing harder braking before it locks the fronts. This is just my theory, and until I get the new springs-dampers it is purely a guess. Maybe a rear disc conversion would help, but I don't even know if they exist, and it kinda goes against the whole 'budget runaround' thing.
I'd say that it ain't the best car around. 3-10 is maybe harsh, but 5-10 would be fair. Certainly no higher. There are too many downs for it to be much higher.
Remeber, it's somebody elses opinion. I like the Sei because it does exactly what I need it to and very cheaply. It would be hard for somebody with different requirements (like space for 6 kids and golf clubs) to be unbiased, and they would probably rate it differently.
It's hard to compare it to anything else, as even the Saxo-106 are slightly pricier, so their build quality is bound to be better. It kinda has it's own little corner of the market...
Graeme
