[The car's stance] seems a little more tilted downwards, which is either suspension or the new front. The grille is nowhere near as intrusive as I'd thought, although the lamp clusters are a little too aggressive for me, but then apparently it's a much more aggressive drive. There is also a pair of cross braces added at both ends - over the engine access panel and under the bonnet, presumably to add stiffness. Love the Le Mans green too - nowhere near as bright as I thought it'd be. My most distinctive impression of it though, is that it's still an F.

We spent a little time looking for body changes, and really very little has been done exterior-wise. Only front and rear bumpers, and sill panels are different - not much more than a body kit in fact. I'm pretty certain they've been very clever with the new lamps to allow same bonnet to be used - that extra, pointed part of the lamp housing intrudes into present bumper space, rather than metalwork. Didn't get to see under-bonnet, so don't know about shut panel, or exact placing of lights, but would think it might have been possible to fit them... don't know. But I'll bow to Rog's knowledge.

Was also wondering about these stiffening bars - first impression (and I only saw the rear ones), is that they'd be a pretty easy retro-fit: a little welding would be all. They have to be easily removeable for engine access, anyway. Would have been a great option to do at same time as 60K service, with engine dropped for belt changes. Oh well, expect the bank manager will be happier without it.