Best car you ever had (not most luxurious)?

2lazytogetup

just wondering if people have had a car that they really enjoyed driving.

I used to borrow an Alfa Romeo 156 when i was younger. really loved that car. lots of trouble, but it was a car that i just loved to drive. Mondeo was the worst, the steering was so heavy on it. might not be the case with other mondeos.

what about you? It might not be a really expensive flashy car, might have been something unusual.

biko

I used to have a Saab 93 turbo, loved driving it.
Plenty poke and comfortable.

ianobrien

Mine was a Citroen AX GT Sportif fitted with a "slightly" bigger carb. It was a riot to drive as it weighed less than a packet of crisps (it had a feckin' plastic boot!). Handling was typical French Hot Hatch, loads of grip but with plenty of lift off oversteer.

Close second is a MK2 Escort Ghia. It had a built 1300 engine (ported head, cam, bigger Weber carb, etc) but all the suspension was new standard Ghia spec. It was nice and relaxing, comfortably motoring along at 80km with fantastic feedback through the controls. However, sink the shoe, the Weber started opening the second choke and then it started motoring.........

Common factors were carbs with manual choke, no power steering, good feedback through the controls and fun to hustle at "almost" legal speeds

Ubbquittious

Peugeot 304

Duke O Smiley

Nicest car I've driven in the last year or so anyway



Not at all quick but still a great car to drive. Lovely weighted steering, mad low driving position, nice exhaust note etc all contributed to a class driving experience.

This too



Only a bog standard 30 year old Civic, but it is a fantastic car. 1.3 16v, 100 bhp, manual box - its a quick little car (or feels quick anyway) and it eggs you on. I can't drive up or down the m1 these days without feeling like I'm in the film Accelerator

Civic is mine, Porsche was my fathers

beauf

A lot of the fast edgy cars I've driven weren't mine so never got to really enjoy them as you'd have to drive them too fast, or on the edge to get them to come alive.
Many cars were like go karts with rock hard suspensions, but that gets old fast. Same with cars which were blisteringly fast but you got to use it like 5% of the time.

My favorite car for years was my old Mrk2 8V Golf GTI K-Jetronic. But it wasn't fast or that exciting. I just liked it. Thirsty on leaded though. Needed two hands to park it. No power steering.
Drove lots of other things over the years, trying to think what stood out. Really liked my mates new BoxsterS, could bite mid corner though.
Likewise various MR2's.
CRX 1.6-16v liked the car, but mine was very twitchy. SRi of that era, CRX, Civic, Accord 2.2 rockets. Theft magnets all.
Ran a Primera 2.0GT for a while which was a surprisingly good handling car. Not all that fast but a sweet handling car.

Our 2nd car at the moment is some warm hatch version of the Mk V Golf with a factory sports suspension. Not fast but another sweet handling car. Really enjoy driving that. Manual dials etc.

Ran so many sporty cars, that almost never left the city, that I've kinda lost interest. Driving in the city is torture these days. Old and boring I guess.

AmberGold

Mazda Xedos 6 in the 2.0 V6 was a beautiful drive in its day. I had one in ‘95, metallic wine, full leather, auto.

The 626 was streets ahead at the time & this was a level up again.

Changed it for a new C180 Merc and it was a trade down.

whippet

it's all about context for me …

I had a couple of spins in a Caterham Super7 and it was wild, edgy and great fun. I took an 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera for two laps of the Nürburgring - drove like a granny but it was out of this world as an experience.

I owned a MKV GTI and it was such a perfect car at that time in my life.

route66

I've driven lots of very nice cars - and also lots of not-so-nice cars in my time.

The highlight for me is driving one of those cars I wouldn't describe as one of the nice ones - a MK1 Fiat Panda:



The stand out feature was the steering feel - pretty much the same feel of the road you get on a bicycle (which in fairness, much of the car's engineering standards matched ) I have never driven a car since that matched it for feel of the road.

Rowley Birkin QC

I drove a Porsche 911 GT3 for a a few laps on track. Everything I've ever heard about Porsche was validated in a few moments. Point the car at the corner and it just glided through effortlessly and seemed to seek out the fastest line itself on the other side of the turn. Felt flat all the way through and the steering felt connected in to every dip and wrinkle on the road. Changing gear really did have that rifle bolt precision feeling. Bucket list car since that day.

In the real world, I had a Quattro A6 recently in Italy for a ski trip and it was a car perfectly suited to its environment which made it nice to drive.

I have a 6 cylinder E92 MSport Coupe which I still think is a nice mix between handling and comfort. It's happy to sit on the motorway for hours and then has enough hustle to be fun when the twisty stuff appears.

Jude13

My OH has a 2.0l Mx5 manual which is a riot to drive.

Tazzimus

Are we talking cars owned or just got a spin in?
If it's the latter, then an Ariel Atom, awesome little car. Closely followed by a 458.
For the former: The DC2 is fun.

beauf

I'd consider getting a MX5 as a future classic, to keep. Still need a back seat for now though.

whippet

i've spent two weeks in my new 330e MSport Plus and it's quite fun to drive - considering I've been driving boring family cars for the last decade

I have a Lexus CT200, a very reassuring car to drive, lots of safety equipment, although it feels slightly wooden. Its cousin, the Toyota CH-R shares a lot of spec & engineering, but has a much sprightlier feel, the nicest car I’ve driven and actually feels very like a BMW 520 I once had a loan of, although the former is fwd. my last cat was a VW Touran, and although it doesn’t look like a nice car to drive, it actually was very pleasant behind the wheel, although I wasn’t too fond of the Diesel engine for my kind of driving.

Worst car I have driven is an Opel Corsa, dreadful steering.

marcos_94

Dad has had a Jag XKR and now has an XK8. I loved taking the XKR for a spin but the XK8 is a better balance between comfort and power. I currently have a 6 cylinder e92 like you Rowely, and any time I consider changing it for something different, I struggle to find something as good as an overall package.

Out of cars Iv driven, it wouldnt be the softest ride but I loved taking a 360 Challenge Stradale for a spin round a track and think I would tolerate the ride comfort to have that as a daily.

Kilboor

Definitely the Tesla Model 3 AWD.

Acceleration never got old and the steering was perfect.

BrianD3

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

Only a bog standard 30 year old Civic, but it is a fantastic car. 1.3 16v, 100 bhp, manual box - its a quick little car (or feels quick anyway) and it eggs you on. I can't drive up or down the m1 these days without feeling like I'm in the film Accelerator

Very nice example but are they not 74 bhp? That's what a magazine I have from 1990 says. They are super easy to drive and I have always liked the lowline styling and stance of the car. Some downsides though, the very design philosophy that made them appealing probably contributed to Hondas of the time performing very poorly in crash testing.

route66

route66 wrote: »

I've driven lots of very nice cars - and also lots of not-so-nice cars in my time.

The highlight for me is driving one of those cars I wouldn't describe as one of the nice ones - a MK1 Fiat Panda:



The stand out feature was the steering feel - pretty much the same feel of the road you get on a bicycle (which in fairness, much of the car's engineering standards matched ) I have never driven a car since that matched it for feel of the road.

My first car was an Austin Metro, I’d say positively sophisticated compared to the Panda, which were popular around the same time. Surprisingly the Metro proved very reliable as I knew how to keep it going, but took constant maintenance, and oddly it steered very well in snow compared to sophisticated cars I’ve had since. I had it tuned to drink a lot of petrol, had it running very well in the cold and though it had poor acceleration in general I found it could climb hills very well. Though designed as a city car it was quite good at negotiating country roads. Downside was that pedals were horribly offset, which led almost to foot cramps.

chicorytip

The humble Ford Focus.

Pkiernan

Cadillac Escslade, by a country mile.

Pinch Flat

BrianD3 wrote: »

Very nice example but are they not 74 bhp? That's what a magazine I have from 1990 says. They are super easy to drive and I have always liked the lowline styling and stance of the car. Some downsides though, the very design philosophy that made them appealing probably contributed to Hondas of the time performing very poorly in crash testing.

Thought that was my honda civic. Had an identical car. Great fun. Loved driving it.

MetzgerMeister

Definitely Mazda RX8.

Lumen

Caterham Fireblade with the last of the carbed 'blade engines. 393kg + fuel, no screen, no ABS, unservoed brakes, full cage, 5 (or 6?) point harnesses.

On track, round and round and round for a whole session without ever taxing the pads or overheating the tyres, each corner approached dancing on the limit, revving to 12,000ish, clutchless upshifts through the sequential bike box.

Wheelspinning through standing water all the way along the main straight at Goodwood.

Required no great talent or bravery to drive hard but rewarded every input.

I miss that car.

Seanmk1

biko wrote: »

I used to have a Saab 93 turbo, loved driving it.
Plenty poke and comfortable.

+1
Fabulous car, amazing pull through 50 to 70 mph. I really miss that car.

DonJose

2002 BMW 530i E39, god I miss that car.

dzsfah2xoynme9

biko wrote: »

I used to have a Saab 93 turbo, loved driving it.
Plenty poke and comfortable.

Miss mine so much. Twas a 06 93 Aero 210hp. A weapon of a car. Also had a 03 95 Aero 260hp. Now that was a car..

legrand

okay maybe not the nicest but was the most fun...Alpha Romeo Alphasud. Went round corners as if on rails and was happiest at 5k+ revs. Great craic.

Mech1

Another Fiat! I owned a rusty one of these little turbo yokes back in the day,, Great fun blowing away new looking xr2's:D

Austmcc

Between context and whether you like luxobarge waftyness or clio cup stiff chassis it's a bit of an open ended question. Notable mentions:

R53 (pre 2008) mini cooper was a fun little thing for steering feel and country roads.

996 Porsche 911 did sweet **** all for me. Never was a Porsche fan before driving one and still not (excluding the Carrera gt which I would have to give a test run given the opportunity)

Early 2000 ford focus, possibly the most disappointing car I've driven. Even disliked more so than the 2019 ibiza 1.0mpi I ranted about on boards a month ago.

Current driver, the 1.8tsi ibiza cupra, is a delight.

Drove a 1ltr 2000 polo which I enjoyed surprisingly, but it was in a field, so more the environment than the car.

bladespin

Have to agree on the 156, have very fond memories of mine, could forgive a car like that many things.

I once drove from Navan to London (ferry included) in a S350, took the scenic route through the UK, no better car for munching the miles in absolute comfort, never driven the S500 but would love to have a craic at it.

The M5 was a hoot, literally felt like it was chewing at the road, fun but not sure I'd enjoy it for long trips.

Henry Ford III

It's very subjective. I enjoyed driving an old R4 van even though it rolled like crazy, and was slow and noisy. I've had a lot of fun miles in the MkII Escort RS2000. Modern Fiesta ST's were fun. 911 was interesting but rode harshly. Audi R8 V10 was really good.

Cee-Jay-Cee

The one car that really stands out for me was a 1992 Mazda 323F GT which I owned back in 1998/99. It was the nicest car to drive, had a lovely low driving position, nicely weighted steering and handled really well (probably helped by a set of eibach springs I fitted) It also had a very nice and punchy 140bhp engine which pulled really well in all gears.

pdpmur

Lumen wrote: »

Caterham Fireblade with the last of the carbed 'blade engines. 393kg + fuel, no screen, no ABS, unservoed brakes, full cage, 5 (or 6?) point harnesses.

On track, round and round and round for a whole session without ever taxing the pads or overheating the tyres, each corner approached dancing on the limit, revving to 12,000ish, clutchless upshifts through the sequential bike box.

Wheelspinning through standing water all the way along the main straight at Goodwood.

Required no great talent or bravery to drive hard but rewarded every input.

I miss that car.

Lumen gets my winners vote so far. I'd say that'd be very hard to beat as stripped-back, out-and-out drivers car (daily driving might be a bit challenging, though)

CoBo55

91 Toyota hiace minibus... Great driving position, unbelievably reliable started first tip every time hail rain or snow, still miss it.

Mad_Mike

My Alfa GTV
Didn't use it enough as it wasn't practical at the time, with kids etc and ended up selling it
Nothing special about it. It was just the same 2 litre engine as the 156's I owned and the 166, but it held the road well and was a hoot to drive

10fathoms

1997 Polo 1 litre on the cheapest Chinese rubber they had in the tyre shop. Could smoke up all 4 tyres through any corner.

RandomViewer

Put an engine from a Datsun Bluebird into an old rear drive Ascona, Could spin in third gear

Third_Echelon

Loved my 2006 Ford Focus 3 door hatch. My first car, which probably everyone loves or has fond memories of. Great car!

Best for me though is the VW eGolf. It's such a joy to drive. Puts a smile on my face every time I press that start button! Pretty quick too!

Andrewf20

The humble ford fiesta 1.25 below is an absolute hoot to drive. Struggles at motorway speeds but otherwise ive never had as much fun in a corner as this even in my NC MX5. The 175 tires mean sideways action is easy and with a well balanced chassis, a lovely gearchange and easy heel and toe, its a car easy to have lots of fun in.

maxwell smart

2 cars I was lucky to have

Lancia Thema Turbo - rocket ship disguised as a big lump of metal
Alfa 155 2.5l - Amazing straight line acceleration, but the handling, all over the place!

XLR 8

Renault 30 Tx it was like driving around on a cloud. I really don't remember it giving any trouble contrary to popular opinions on French cars. I had an Opel Rekord Berlinetta after that another grear big yoke. Every now and then when you used the indicator the sun roof would open and refuse to close. Not bad on a sunny day but in the dead of winter in a storm it was a pain in the hole.

Sleepy

Probably the first car I ever owned: a '97 Honda Civic 5 door. Only issue I had in 5 years and 200,000 miles or so was a cv boot until some prick in a Hyundai SUV wrote it off. Only a 1.4 but I loved the handling of that car on back roads.

Honourable mention to the 99 Corolla which was utterly bomb-proof but got sold because I just couldn't take the boredom of it any longer!

duffman13

My first car was a Toyota starlet, wasnt a boy racer at all but mechanic friend took one in as a trade in and I bought for about 1000 euro.

Had it for two years and did about 80k kms on it, it was absolutely bullet proof. I did nothing with it bar oil and got it serviced once. Not a problem with it and sold it two years later for what I bought it for. It lulled me into a false sense of security as I obviously didn't look after it well but caused no trouble. My next two cars, Astra and Focus were duds (partially my fault) before I went back to Toyota.

ohnonotgmail

a 2004 bmw 320i. I bought it from a boardsie. It broke my heart in petrol though as I just had to put the boot down. how i didnt get any speeding tickets i will never know.

ec18

my current car 2018 Honda Civic, been hassle free so far and great to drive. ( I also like the look of the new civic so that helps )

advertsfox

Mazda 6 1.8 in red, with the best reg plate ever - 04-TN-1111 - sold it as we were eating the miles and I needed a diesel, I hope it's still being driven.

bbbbb

honda accord (2l vtec) 2004.
got it in 08, was still going strong when I sold it in 2017, except for the aircon.
only needed routine maintenance and a new battery after 8/9 years.
no rattles or loose bits either.
great car

colm_mcm

Best bang for buck was my S-Type 3.0 manual.
Best all rounder, most reliable and lowest cost of ownership was my FK Civic 1.8
Most fun was my FTO GPX manual

Little Miss Fairy

Still have a little grá for my first car, my little Peugeot 206 hatch. Remember buying “her” and thinking what a fancy car she was lol

artanevilla

Current Alfa GT, breaking my heart at the moment, but only car I've ever looked back at after parking.