Am I getting old?
Discussion
I am starting to wonder whether I am getting old and sensible. The reason for this is that this weekend I spent driving the family estate most of the time, this is a saab 9-3 areo xwd with a remap, so around 255hp. Nothing outrageously fast but not slow compared to the majority of cars on the road.
I found myself quite enjoying the experience (normally my wife drives this car). I had enough grunt mid range to easily pass the 40mph brigade through the peak district. I could get the power down nice and early on the exit from corners even in the wet with no drama and it was nice and refined on the m/way. I started to think that if I only had one car this would do the job quite nicely, hence the thought that I must be getting old.
Given my other car is a XKR (x100) and I have been fortunate to have owned a few TVR's in the past. I have plenty of experience of fairly quick cars but realise that on the road you rarely get to really use everything they have to offer apart from in small doses unless you really don't like your license. The TVR's were different as they got track use. With this in mind for driver satisfaction something like the GT86 or elise is probably spot on, fast enough without being silly and not over tyred.
I found myself quite enjoying the experience (normally my wife drives this car). I had enough grunt mid range to easily pass the 40mph brigade through the peak district. I could get the power down nice and early on the exit from corners even in the wet with no drama and it was nice and refined on the m/way. I started to think that if I only had one car this would do the job quite nicely, hence the thought that I must be getting old.
Given my other car is a XKR (x100) and I have been fortunate to have owned a few TVR's in the past. I have plenty of experience of fairly quick cars but realise that on the road you rarely get to really use everything they have to offer apart from in small doses unless you really don't like your license. The TVR's were different as they got track use. With this in mind for driver satisfaction something like the GT86 or elise is probably spot on, fast enough without being silly and not over tyred.
I know how you feel as when I drive my Jensen or Porsche,wifes S-max or my kids Toyotas I get plenty of driving satisfaction with them all although to various degrees.With the costs associated with motoring and only ever really being able to use 50-70% of a cars capacity on the road I think that if someone said to me you can only have one car for the rest of your life and it was something sensible like a Volkswagen Golf GTD diesel 5 door I would be quite happy.
Nothing wrong with getting old and sensible.
Nothing wrong with getting old and sensible.
Well, we probably are getting old but I agree.
In my mind the key to enjoyable driving in the UK is having a car that performs between 50-70. That's the zone where you need to be able to overtake easily. If you have that then you have a car that will also be able to perform in the twisties.
You don't need to worry about 0-60s or top speeds. You don't Barry down the highstreet and nothing above 100 is really needed.
And when you are not using that 50-70 capability then why not be in comfort and silence.
In my mind the key to enjoyable driving in the UK is having a car that performs between 50-70. That's the zone where you need to be able to overtake easily. If you have that then you have a car that will also be able to perform in the twisties.
You don't need to worry about 0-60s or top speeds. You don't Barry down the highstreet and nothing above 100 is really needed.
And when you are not using that 50-70 capability then why not be in comfort and silence.
Good, it's not just me then. I have a number of friends who are really into their track days and I recently did a driving experience day at Bedford courtesy of a very generous friend. The cars and experience in general were amazing and unlikely to ever be repeated. But, for pure enjoyment, stringing a set of bends together on a descent empty road is difficult to beat, almost regardless of what you are driving.
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