Cars you love(d) driving

[MrJan]

This doiesn't have to be all about speed, more the way that the car made you feel when you were driving it.

My old man recently sold an Austin 7 special that we'd had for about 5 years. Although the money from it maybe going to a Locost that we can race I was very sad to see it go. Never has a car put such a smile on my face. The steering was heavy, the brakes were poor (tended to steer left) and you were pushing the engine too much at 50 mph, it never failed to make me feel good.

The sound for a start was great (if a little loud due to a silencer with no silencing ability). Secondly it looked cute. Apart from kids between 12 and 17 everyone loved to see it and you could watch the smiles as you drove past.

Anything else is hard to pin down but whoever drove it always had a great time . So, be they fast, powerful or just great fun, what cars have you really enjoyed driving?

[rah]

2 cars I loved driving were both dads.
Mk II Jag in old english white. That was a great car and could really get up and move considering its weight. Was technologically advanced for its time too.

Alfa 105 GTV. This car was my favourite to drive, loved to handle, loved to slide, loved to backfire in shopping centres. I alwas felt comfy throwing it around. Only lost it once in the wet when I was trying to lose it.

[Malbec]

Lancia Fulvia. I expected not to like it being another FWD car but fell in love with the prompt throttle response, its ability to totally smother rough surfaces and the engine sound.

I love the sensitivity under braking of my Integra Type R and the feeling I get once I break through 5500rpm and the VTEC kicks in.

I drove an Alfa GT junior and I didn't feel it to be much different from other mid-powered RWD cars. That said if you offered me anything from that GTV range it wouldn't take much for me to say yes.

[Easy Drifter]

Z8 BMW. Need I say more.
Broadspeed Mini GT. A blast. Sexier than a Mini Cooper S and as much fun.
The first Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. I mean the first!! Vin 1. Factory prototype on the road. Stuff on it that even the Factory Trans Am car didn't have. ZF 5 speed box and 4 downdraft Webers.
Elva Mk6, but that was my favourite race car.
Shows how ancient I am. The bimmer is the only modern car.

[Allyc85]

When I was an apprentice mechanic I drove a left hand drive BMW M3 for a mile to another garage. I was extreamly nervous but it was one of the best miles of my life lol

[Crypt]

Any Porsche I've ever owned and currently own.

VW GTi's are also a blast to toss around.

[MrJan]

I love the sensitivity under braking of my Integra Type R and the feeling I get once I break through 5500rpm and the VTEC kicks in.


Damn straight! My old man has an Accord Type R and it sounds so good once you let it sing. Is also cool that you can drive it around town and it's like a normal car so you don't feel like a total prune when you're only doing 20mph. He loves it so much that he won't buy a new car even though it's a bit past it now.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I've only owned one car but I love driving it. I don't know if that because it's a good car compared to others or just because I like driving in general.

[J4MIE]

Always loved driving my mum's Saxo and still miss it, her Punto is just not the same :(

[pino]

Lancia Fulvia. I expected not to like it being another FWD car but fell in love with the prompt throttle response, its ability to totally smother rough surfaces and the engine sound.



I am not surprised to read you fell in love with it, I was so lucky to drive a Group 4 Fulvia prepared by Lancia Team, many time during my short codriver-career...I am still in love with it :s mokin: That will be the car (expencive to buy, but there are still many in Italy) I will drive when I retire from work and will back to Sanremo :D

[Daniel]

2 cars I loved driving were both dads.
Mk II Jag in old english white. That was a great car and could really get up and move considering its weight. Was technologically advanced for its time too.

Alfa 105 GTV. This car was my favourite to drive, loved to handle, loved to slide, loved to backfire in shopping centres. I alwas felt comfy throwing it around. Only lost it once in the wet when I was trying to lose it.
My brother used to have one (A GT Sprint with a 2L engine) and it was lovely. Sadly it left the family before I got my licence :(

[Daniel]

I am not surprised to read you fell in love with it, I was so lucky to drive a Group 4 Fulvia prepared by Lancia Team, many time during my short codriver-career...I am still in love with it :s mokin: That will be the car (expencive to buy, but there are still many in Italy) I will drive when I retire from work and will back to Sanremo :D
Can I come to visit? ;)

I'll just rattle off the few cars I've driven :p
First car I drove

Honda HRV. Boring and bland as all hell. My first experience of wheelspin in a road car with my instructor holding on for dear life as I (unintentionally) got the perfect launch at some traffic lights with the perfect amount of clutch and throttle.

Fiat 131 1.6 my first car. Handled really well thanks to the Bilstein shocks my dad put on and was bulletproof until I had a small prang :mark: Managed some lurid power on oversteer around a roundabout once which is pretty good for a car that only had a 1.6, was automatic and was 25 years or so old.

Hyundai Excel/Accent. Horrible horrible car. Was my brothers. Thankfully was written off when another car hit it and pushed it into a tree while my brother wasn't in it. I despised that car for it's cheapness and lack or torque.

Daihatsu Charade 3 cyclinder. Horrible car to drive but not as bad as the Accent.

Seat Cordoba. Horrible car. I used to stall it at every second traffic light on the few occasions I drove it due to the stupid clutch pedal even though it had a shedload of toque. Bad build quality too! Bits just fell off too.......

Saab 900i. My mum's car. Very comfortable to drive and handled nicely after my dad put Bilstein's on it.
Toyota Hiace van. Strangely fun to drive. You could see kerbs and everything!

Peugeot 504. I've driven two and they were both slightly different. My dad's has lovely soft Koni suspension and mine had slightly more hard dampers. Awesome to drive on gravel. Suspension is soft enough for it to just cruise over corrugations, to stop the road from throwing you around and to give it lots of traction and the engine is enough to get you around and sideways on gravel. Only broke down once due to a broken wire to the coil which you can't complain about. Very relaxed car to drive. Would gladly buy one again and I will when I find a saloon here and when I have a bit of spare cash and a garage!

Audi 80. Horrid horrid car. Horrible looking, horrible handling, horrible steering, horrible fuel consumption, horrible engine. I could go on but won't. Broke down multiple times and was kind and thoughtful enough to blow it's heater matrix on the way home one night filling the footwells with hot water and fogged up the interior windows in an instant. Scary moment.

Subaru Legacy Turbo. Caroline's car. Being able to put your foot down and go past most other cars is great. Has a horrible nasty interior, a possible faulty fuel pump at the moment but still a good car. AWD is a bonus as well as not looking like a slightly richer boy racer in an Impreza which I'd look like as I'm only 24.

Peugeot 406 Turbo Diesel. The first diesel car I've ever owned. Drives nicely and handles well. Comfortable to drive in and fairly economical. Couldn't really ask anything more of a daily driver. Will probably get rid of it next year for a common rail diesel purely for reasons of fuel efficiency as I drive 20 miles to work and 20 miles back each day. It will be another 406 though!

[Drew]

Having not driven quite as many cars as everybody else, I'd have to say my old 1986 nissan micra.

I was always smiling in that thing. Body roll galore and no power steering. Yet it seems to accelerate so fast up to 50mph!

[Daniel]

Having not driven quite as many cars as everybody else, I'd have to say my old 1986 nissan micra.

I was always smiling in that thing. Body roll galore and no power steering. Yet it seems to accelerate so fast up to 50mph!
Ive always been wondering if I've seen you while driving through Bangor. Now at least I know what to watch out for :p

[wedge]

I miss my 1.4 Pug 106. I put in a new air filter, loud exhaust and had it lowered and it was absolutely ace go-kart handling. Loved thrashing it around B roads because it weighed close to a ton.

They don't make small hatches like they used to, no matter how sporty the suspension is ;)

[Magnus]

I am pretty happy with my BMW 330 Ci-06. It´s perfect when stretching out a bit on some highway, allthough swedish speedlimits may sometimes be an issue. Now I am looking at the new 335ci instead though. Hmm...
On the other hand, I have never been as pleased as I was when I got my first car: a rebuilt Volvo 245 with b23e and m41 :)

[Caroline]

My 2CV was fun, practical and different. There was never a dull moment with that car and I would love to get another (less rusty) one. It ran on fumes, handled like a drunk dog and sounded like a deranged hairdryer. People loved having rides in it. My Honda Civic was fun to drive, my first and only automatic car. It was cheap to run too. My Subaru Legacy gives me the widest smiles though. I can't imagine not driving this car, although I can see a day when I will have to get a sensible cheap second car and keep the Legacy for the weekends or something. There were other special cars but I shan't bore you with them now. :p :

[A.F.F.]

I had Citroen 2CV4 and I absolutely loved it. The next best thing after riding a motorcycle. :up:

[dyfi1]

I had Citroen 2CV4 and I absolutely loved it. The next best thing after riding a motorcycle. :up:

I agree :up: :up: I had a white 2CV6, and the only way to drive it was flatout! Great fun. Fold up the side windows, open the roof for wind in the hair motorin`! Heh, left foot braking to keep up the momentum, never lift off the accelerator unless in mortal danger, and you could park badly everytime, because people almost expect that from 2CV driver! West Wales roads were made for 2CVing.

If it broke down, well no problem, because it was a simple car to work on, you could fix it. Today, outside the house sits my current car which I can`t drive because for the last 2 days the immobilizer has taken control. Now I have to wait for the dealer to recover my car and re program the `problem`. Wouldn`t have happened to a 2CV driver......

[Malbec]

I am not surprised to read you fell in love with it, I was so lucky to drive a Group 4 Fulvia prepared by Lancia Team, many time during my short codriver-career...I am still in love with it :s mokin: That will be the car (expencive to buy, but there are still many in Italy) I will drive when I retire from work and will back to Sanremo :D

Lucky you!

One day when I have my own dry garage I'll get a Fulvia. Out there in a nice warm Italian barn is waiting just the right Fulvia for me, no rust, nothing.....

[Malbec]

Subaru Legacy Turbo. Caroline's car. Being able to put your foot down and go past most other cars is great. Has a horrible nasty interior, a possible faulty fuel pump at the moment but still a good car. AWD is a bonus as well as not looking like a slightly richer boy racer in an Impreza which I'd look like as I'm only 24.

I think the Legacy is the perfect Q car, boring to look at but deeply deeply capable and leaves most other cars for dead in the wet. Its the kind of car you'd choose if you were only ever allowed to have one car for the rest of your life.

[Drew]

Ive always been wondering if I've seen you while driving through Bangor. Now at least I know what to watch out for :p

No no, I don't drive that car anymore. I drive a Ford Fiesta :)

At least now I know to look out for a Finnish flag :p :

[Crypt]

This doiesn't have to be all about speed, more the way that the car made you feel when you were driving it.



Exactly. I remember the first time I drove a Porsche 356, it was and still is one of the funnest cars I've ever driven. It's so lite and nimble, and the funnest challenge with a car like that is keeping the momentum going through the corners. Nothing really beats it. Since then I've driven countless monsters and I still love the 356 most of all.

[KILOHMUNNS]

I once drove a racing Jaguar E-Type at Silverstone on one of these track days. Fantastic noise from the engine and handle really well around the corners but very heavy on the steering and extremely hot.

[GridGirl]

I love my ST because its so pretty and the hard suspension doesn't annoy me yet. :p My favourite car is always the car I own at the time, when I don't love them anymore I get a new one. :)

The car I miss the most was my old Renault 5. It was my first car and it sounded like a tractor. You could hear it miles away and had made weird rattleing sounds from the heaters when it was cold. I always smile when I see one now which is quite rarely these days but it was my first car and my first stop the road to freedom. ;) Sadly someone crashed in to it and then drove off and it ended up going to the scrap heap in the sky.

My best passenger ride was in a Ford GT40. If only wish I'd have been insured on it and could of had a drive myself. :)

[Marshall]

Some cars I've driven...

Nissan Pulsar (Almera in the UK I think)...the first car I drove with the driveschool...must have been knackered from all the drive school dodgy starts because it was really difficult to get off the line. Almost put me off driving manual cars for the rest of my life.

Nissan Tiida...made me confident with driving manual cars. Passed my test in this. The rest was nothing to get excited about though.

Toyota Camry 4cyl. Big. At the time it was the biggest car I'd ever driven and it was frightening to do low speed maneuvers in, as I was still a learner when I drove this one too.

Toyota Corolla. Not as bad as people might think...did everything that was asked of it without fuss.

Subaru Liberty. Responsive and goes well too. Brakes were grabby and took some getting used to though.

Volvo V40. Quite nice to drive, sharp steering, pretty horrible suspension. Engine not bad but coupled to 4speed Auto it was a bit gutless. I guess a turbo or a manual gearbox would alleviate this though...

Nissan X-Trail. Again big but actually quite nimble and comfortable. Most interesting feature was centre mounted gauges.

Suzuki Swift. Had a lot of fun in this car...manual gearbox and actually quite nice steering made it a pretty good drive, despite tiny size and 1.5 litre engine.

Volkswagen Golf V. My current daily driver. Its a 1.6 so not the fastest thing in the world but 6 speed semi-auto gearbox is pretty good to play with and handling is ok. Car is bland though. Despite the fact I drive it, its actually my parents car. I'll be buying my first car in a month or so time, and it will be an...

Alfa Romeo 166. 3.0 Alfa V6 responds fairly nicely, is very smooth, and sounds awesome. Suspension is a bit floaty but its really nice to steer as well. Decided I wanted one a few months back, now I've test driven a few and although they've all had something about them that put me off buying them, each and every one has put a smile on my face.

[Magnus]

Forgot: the funniest car I have ever driven is of course my ice-car, which I use in winter to make wiiiiide slides and not so fast cornerings with on the lakes of Värmland, weather permitting that is...
When I sometimes have borrowed my brother-in-laws rally cross car, that is also very funny. It is amazingly easy to drive allthough it is quite powerful (he has been swedish champion with that car in the Supernational class)

[A.F.F.]

I agree :up: :up: I had a white 2CV6, and the only way to drive it was flatout! Great fun. Fold up the side windows, open the roof for wind in the hair motorin`! Heh, left foot braking to keep up the momentum, never lift off the accelerator unless in mortal danger, and you could park badly everytime, because people almost expect that from 2CV driver! West Wales roads were made for 2CVing.

If it broke down, well no problem, because it was a simple car to work on, you could fix it. Today, outside the house sits my current car which I can`t drive because for the last 2 days the immobilizer has taken control. Now I have to wait for the dealer to recover my car and re program the `problem`. Wouldn`t have happened to a 2CV driver......


Mine was white too, year 1971. It was very modern ccar because it had a cruise control. You just needed to push your right foot further on the gas pedal and it got stuck. Hence, flat on all the time. Also, I once ran out of fuel in the middle of an intersection. Nobody was angry even I caused a rush... Let's face it, how can you be mad to a guy who drags a whole car away from the rear bumper. Jeez.. the car must have weighted 500 kgs :D

Brilliant car and I can imagine those roads in Wales are suited for it. Twisty roads with small crests... Voila. :)

[Caroline]

I agree :up: :up: I had a white 2CV6, and the only way to drive it was flatout! Great fun. Fold up the side windows, open the roof for wind in the hair motorin`! Heh, left foot braking to keep up the momentum, never lift off the accelerator unless in mortal danger, and you could park badly everytime, because people almost expect that from 2CV driver! West Wales roads were made for 2CVing.



I loved the flappy windows, simple to use roof and the fact that everything in the engine was accessible. Hell, you could even take the front wings off with a wheel brace to get a closer look at it.

2CV6s were only to be driven flat out, especially round bends and roundabouts :) I wonder who else out there has had the luck to own one?

[Daniel]

I loved the flappy windows, simple to use roof and the fact that everything in the engine was accessible. Hell, you could even take the front wings off with a wheel brace to get a closer look at it.

2CV6s were only to be driven flat out, especially round bends and roundabouts :) I wonder who else out there has had the luck to own one?
Whenever I went to French car day in Perth I was always tempted to change all the panels around on the 2CV's that were there. "Sacre bleu! Zees eez not my weeng!" :p

[Zico]

Cars Ive owned..

My 1st car was a Pug 106 Rallye S1.. fantastic little screamer, very light.. nimble, handled realy well. Very quick for a 1300, loved it. But perhaps shaded by my 2nd Pug..

106 Gti, bought from new.. slightly heavier and softer than the Rallye but better/quicker, the extra torque really helped drivability, more progressive handling, sensational.. I could do anything with it. So comunicative, driftable, fantasticly balanced.. understeer/oversteer on demand and punched far above its weight when up against anything quick on a suitable B-road.

Old VW Polo as a runabout. Hated it.. wooden suspension.. very uncomfortable, gutless, timing belt slipped and the head had to be replaced. Spent as much time underneath it as I did driving the old banger.. never again!

Ford Escort mk5 1600.. Passmarks re- reliability but poor handling, slow. but ok-ish, did what it had to do as a general runabout.

Then another 106 Gti, nearly as good as before, I've had to replace all the bushes due to wear & tear (quite high miles now), fitted Bilsteins, braided brake hoses and some fast road mintex pads to get rid of a spongy brake-pedal.. transformed the braking feel and performance.
Fitted Bilsteins as a replacement for the tired OEM dampers.. they are superb, didnt think the handling would be improved much but it it has.
Previously owned by a Peugeot mechanic its really been looked after.. It came waxoiled underneath fitted with a K&N and S/S exhaust.. sounds faster but feel its robbing me of a few horses.. wish it still had standard intake and exhaust but cant complain. One of the engine mounts snapped the other week, other than that its been faultless. Bodywork is still in great nick for a 10 year old car.

Hoping to upgrade to an Integra Type-R when funds allow.. Should be a blast. :)

[Marshall]

A teacher I had who used to live in the UK had a 2CV when he was there. Him and his wife loved it too, to the extent that his wife cried when they sold it to come here.

[Powered by Cosworth]

I love the sensitivity under braking of my Integra Type R and the feeling I get once I break through 5500rpm and the VTEC kicks in.


http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/6/6d/Vtecdriver.jpg

Never fails to put a smile on my face :D :p

[cap'n crunch]

Though i am clearly biased as i own one but the mini has to be one of the greatest/fun cars to drive. Obviously i mean a real mini not the german imposter from BMW.

you cannot not help but have a stupid grin on your face when you drive a mini it is just so much fun, handing like the thing is "on-rails" and a classic shape.

the ultimate drivers car :p

[555-04Q2]

Loved the following:

1. Golf GTI MK2 1.8 8V with cam, head, valve, carb and exhaust mods. Still cry everyday that I was stupid enough to sell it :(

2. Porsche 911 GT3 RS that I test drove. All I can say is: 'one day I'll get one' :)

3. Ferrari F355, my mates car that he eventually wrote off and still the best Ferrari ever made.

4. 1980 Mazda 1.3 323 hatch with more rust than paint. We used to party everywhere in that hunk of junk :)

[kraftwerk]

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/6/6d/Vtecdriver.jpg

Never fails to put a smile on my face :D :p

No what you mean mate brilllant I own a F360 but I get more fun driving my Civic type R

[ChrisS]

the only car that I owned that was special driving was a mkiv Toyota Supra. not really good at handling but the power... taking off and getting wheel spin in 2nd and 3rd gear... that's something, and the power when the 2nd turbo kicked in :D :D :D

I have to tell you though, no car can compare to a bike, doing 200+km/h in a fast car you are in a total control, on a bike its a totally different matter.

[MrJan]

Yeah but going fast isn't actually that much fun. It really gets the adrenaline pumping and makes you feel great (I love really ragging around some country lanes at night) but I never really smile when I'm driving quickly.

In general it's actually the slower cars that I enjoy more because you know that you are going as fast as you can. Take the cars that have been mentioned above, Ferraris, Porsches, Beemers and the like. I bet that these cars aren't being driven at anywhere near what they should be because the drivers talent runs out a long long way before the cars does.

Take the Ford Pop that my brother had, you could race around roundabouts and country lanes getting sideways but you could never really go faster than 50mph. To me that is more enjoyable (not more exciting) thandriving a supercar because with a Ferrari i'd always feel that I was a weak link.

[CCFanatic]

I love smaller cars.

Porsche Cayman. Fun little car. Would drive that everyday if I could afford it. The dealer let me test drive the thing with his for 2 hours.

2004 Corvette Z06. Dad's car. Got to take my date to a school dance to it, and that was the only time I got to drive it.

BMW M3 or M5. Would kill to drive one of these cars.

Skip Barber R/T 2000 open wheel race car. Fun and fairly fast.

Dallara Indy Pro Series car. Only drove it around the pits at Indy, but the best handling car I have driven.

Speed is not what wins me over. It is the grip and handling at the high speeds that gives me a rush. That is mostly why I love road racing over oval racing.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I love smaller cars.

Porsche Cayman. Fun little car. Would drive that everyday if I could afford it. The dealer let me test drive the thing with his for 2 hours.

2004 Corvette Z06. Dad's car. Got to take my date to a school dance to it, and that was the only time I got to drive it.




Your 17 and got to drive a Z06 ? :eek:

I've never (legally) driven anything with a bigger engine than a 1.5!

[Daniel]

Your 17 and got to drive a Z06 ? :eek:

I've never (legally) driven anything with a bigger engine than a 1.5!
How do you mean legally? :mark:

Are there engine restriction limits on your licence?

[Brown, Jon Brow]

How do you mean legally? :mark:

Are there engine restriction limits on your licence?

No, but I have to be insured ;)

I don't think that I could get/afford insurance on a Z06

[Daniel]

Ah of course :)

[RallyfanNZ]

My old ST205 Celica. The new BMW 7 series diesel V8. Porshe 911. Evo 9. Honda Civic Type R.

Cars I've most hated driving: Every SUV bar the Cayenne and X5 which were passable.

Scariest car I've ever driven: Bentley Continental, just because of the value.

[Allyc85]

not my current escort, its going to be up for sale very soon