Most relaxing car you've owned?

[TheBanjo]

1990 BMW 525i - nice highway cruiser (at the time).

[skyrover]

Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Comfy seats, autobox, smooth torquey inline 6 petrol, Cruise control,

Job jobbed

[SWH]

E39 525 TDS on a motorway run, or Vauxhall Senator 3.0.... (the 12v Monza shaped one, rather than the later model)... Both had the same feel.

[anonymous-user]

Bear with me on this, but 15 years ago, an old Y-reg Datsun Stanza. For a jap special, it was comfy, soft, wallowy, ever so quiet, and had a lazy autobox to die for. I still look out for them, have never seen another, but would snap one up in a heartbeat.

[TWPC]

J4CKO said:

Peugeot 309 1.3, it just loped along, no point trying to go fast as it just made more noise, good suspension and very comfortable, part of the relaxation was not giving a toss about it and couple leave it anywhere, it was a motorised Gallic shrug of a car.

For some of the reason above, a Citroen DS is the most relaxing car I've owned:
- good loper
- no point trying to go fast
- good suspension
- very comfortable - wide, squidgey seats that somehow give support and no back-ache. Also the carpets are backed with thick foam that gives the floor an extraordinary 'deep pile carpet' feeling.

It is so slow that driving in town in particular is incredibly relaxing. There is no point in trying to race anybody so no stress. It seems to engender relatively friendly feelings in other drivers: you are generally given a bit more space than in a modern car. On the motorway it will cruise happily at 70-75 but going any faster is incredibly noisy and 'acceleration' really over-states the process. So in most situations you just slot into the slow lane and stay there, only occasionally venturing into the middle lane. It will eventually do 100 or maybe a bit more at full chat.

Also your left arm does almost nothing: its a semi-auto with a wand on top of the steering column so you change gear with your right hand; you apply the parking brake by a pedal and release it with a toggle operated by your right hand. Your left only operates the indicators.

The only unrelaxing thing is that I care about it.

[StarmistBlue400]

Volvo S60 D5.

Lovely place to be, some of the best seats I have sat in and a great engine. Dolby pro logic stereo was good too. Was going 35K a year at the time so suited me fine.

[PowerslideSWE]

DJP said:

Volvo V70.

Biggish engine, auto box, leather and some of the best seats ever fitted to a motor vehicle.

Good for 1,000 mile days.

My old 1998 V70 had velour seats, which are to this day the best seats I have ever sat my butt in, fantastic.

[rb5er]

Volvo S60 2.4T. So comfy, cruise control and a great stereo.

[Ali_T]

My current Giulietta QV. Either I'm getting old or it's just a car that I feel the need t drive quickly far less. Not that it's not fun to do so, but I feel just as happy pooling around at normal speeds as well.

[AC43]

Mr E said:

Current merc. Big silent v8. Slick box. Air ride. Nice leather.

+1. Made for miles.

Or the 124 loaner I had a few years ago. High profile tyres gave it a really pillowy ride round town. It was only a 200 but oddly enough the lack of grunt encouraged a very laid back driving style. Petrol, so almost silent at idle and smooth through the rev range. Not that I ventured past 4k too often. Too busy wafting.

Edited by AC43 on Friday 24th July 09:17

[flyingscot68]

Mikeyjae said:

Not owned but drove and been a passenger in a V70. easily the most comfy car I have been in. So comfy I would have to have an R design not to fall asleep.

I agree, bought mine for the long commute that I do - it's like driving a chesterfield, love it :-)

[Hackney]

Passat W8

[TWPC]

AC43 said:

It was only a 200 but oddly enough the lack of grunt encouraged a very laid back driving style.

Edited by AC43 on Friday 24th July 09:17

+1
I think this is key.

[SuperchargedVR6]

My old E34 525i Tourer. A comfy barge with armchairs sat on soggy suspension is always going to be more relaxing than a hard riding hot hatch, for example.

[Uncle John]

Crumpet said:

wormus said:

Mine's a Discovery 4 but same thing applies. Cannot be bothered to break the speed limit and get so lazy steering it with one finger sometimes yields unpredictable results.

Yep, my D3 is my choice. It's the only car I've had where I just don't get stressed at all. Super comfortable, too slow to bother with overtaking or driving fast and a feeling of isolation from the outside world. More importantly I don't feel any 'rage' towards other drivers, no matter what they've done - not that I get too excited in other cars, it's just in the D3 I'll perhaps tut to myself and carry on in comfort!

Yep have a Discovery 3 and it's superb. So comfortable on a run, all the toys, and enough space for the family and the kitchen sink.

[Potatoes]

StarmistBlue400 said:

Volvo S60 D5.

Lovely place to be, some of the best seats I have sat in and a great engine. Dolby pro logic stereo was good too. Was going 35K a year at the time so suited me fine.

Same for me!

[graham22]

E46 320D in SE spec with cloth seats.

Happily do a 600 mile round trip in a day (on 1 tankful!). Wasn't so much a case of feeling comfy but you got out not noticing any aches or tiredness.

[zebra]

Mr E said:

zebra said:

A8 4.2 - bargelicious wafting.

Current merc. Big silent v8. Slick box. Air ride. Nice leather.

You have to stop to empty bladders and fill fuel tanks. No other reason.

Under gentle acceleration and driver with three passengers, used to average 12mpg in the A8. Would not have got rid of it but for the £130 fuel fill followed by just over 200 miles on the road before the next fill.

[lostkiwi]

zebra said:

A8 4.2 - bargelicious wafting.

Ditto here. Even with sport suspension and low profile 18s it just bumbled along in abject comfort. A little tap of the right foot to release the 300 horsepower when required and a silky smooth adaptive autobox just made it all so effortless. Even snow wasn't an issue with the quattro spreading the power where needed.
A truly excellent motor car and one I wish I'd kept.

Second choice would be S70 T5 Volvo. Seats were a given and the power was superb for cruising. Another gem of a car.

[Ghost91]

Saab 9000!