Stratus grey appears to be almost black in some pictures. Just curious how the color does when dirty? Is it like black that shows every swirl and spec of dirt? I was originally going to order my 16R in black, but after washing my current black car this weekend, I can't deal with another car looking dirty all of the time.

 

I can't speak to Stratus Grey specifically, but I can speak about lighter greys and silver. Both are very easy to maintain and hide dirt/swirls really well. In the end, it all comes down to the paint job supplied on the car, but grey/silver vehicles are easier on cleaning maintenance than most.

 

Thanks, that has been my experience with lighter greys and silver as well, but I am curious about stratus since it appears almost black in the pictures I have seen.

 

The darker the color, the more it will show dirt and paint swirls, and they're most visible on black as the darkest color. If it's almost black, it will be suspectible to the same thing.

Light silver is the best color for hiding all paint evils.

 

The new storm grey is slightly lighter looking than stratus but darker than ammonite (at least it appears that way on the configurator)

Looks damn nice..am now considering changing my order from black berry to storm tbh

 

I don't see storm on the configurator, only ammonite.

 

It's on the UK one, guess they havent updated the others yet

 

My XJ8L is quartz and it hides the dirt pretty well. Salt, on the other hand, is glaringly apparent.

 

I have a Stratus Grey Coupe. Having owned several black cars in the past I can say that this color is much easier to take care of than solid black. The main reason being the color is metallic, not solid. Therefore it does not show the fine scratches and swirls like a solid dark color does. They get masked because of the reflective flake.

If you really like black, the Ultimate Black is easier to maintain than the Ebony Black because of it's metallic property.

Any color is going to show dirt, but it sounds like you are more concerned about the fine swirls and scratches. If that's the case and you like darker colors; you should stick with metallic's over solids.

The Stratus Grey is a deep charcoal with a very slight hint of green. It's a brilliant color in bright sunlight and looks similar to Ultimate Black in the shade; and black at night.

 

I have Stratus convert. I agree the metallic makes big difference. My last car was solid black Merc and it was much worse.

 

I agree with MI-Ftype. Stratus grey is definitely easier to manage than black (my RS5 was black and the dust showed up really quickly). It's dark but definitely nothing like pure black, especially in daylight. Here's mine

 

Oz, did you lower the suspension (which springs?), or is that the standard ride height.

 

That is definitely standard, which is why I don't feel the need to lower this car. It already has ground clearance issues.

 

Based on the US order guide for 2016 I saw, I don't think storm grey is an option.

 

No, mate - that's just the standard ride height. I already scrape the lip spoiler getting in the driveway at work, and often have to take it very carefully over other crossovers. Lower would be a real problem.

 

I'm surprised. All of the F-Types I've measured at the dealership have a full 5.5 inch clearance below the lower lip. Yours looks much lower than that. I only have 3 inches of front lip clearance on my lowered MINI and have no problems at all. Certainly I scrape the lower lip on a regular basis, but when it starts looking too ragged, I replace it every 2 or 3 years. Of course, the other mitigating factor is the front overhang is significantly shorter on the MINI.

 

Yep, that front overhang is a good 12" forward of the relative distance between F-Type front wheels and those of your Mini. It makes a huge difference, and that 5" will disappear pretty quickly when entering many driveways. Based upon experience, I'm unwilling to give up another inch.

In the vast flatlands of this country, it probably isn't much of an issue.

 

Yep, I have the same issue with my race car and it's splitter. Given how far it extends out, it makes things worse when trying load it since the splitter will hit the incline before the front wheels can get to the ramps (required some longer race ramps but you can't really carry those around to help with driveway curbs for the F-Type ).

 

I think any color will look bad after awhile with improper maintenance. I wash my own cars too, have 2 Black ones. With proper maintaining they look good. But I feel the same way, I always say no more Black cars, and then end up with another. I have a Tuxedo Black (Xirallic) F150 and it does hide the dust much better than plain Black does. I use Adams products, and they are the best I have ever used, better than anything you can buy off the shelf. Adam's Polishes | Premium Car Care Supplies

 

I've been very pleased with Chemical Guys waterless car wash on Stratus. Not very much work and makes car look freshly polished every time.