Anyone else falling out of love with driving a 'fast' car?
Discussion
datum77 said:
Just thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.......
As I often have to endure the relentless queues and jams littering our country, I have adopted the annoying habit of when sitting next to a car with an engine bigger than, say, 1400cc, or power output greater than around 80bhp and looking at it and mouthing to myself "What's The Point".
The road congestion in the UK is NEVER going to get any better. It will DEFINITELY get a lot worse. Therefore, 3.5 litre, 160bhp cars are a waste of money/fossil fuels/the environment/the future of our children's health.
If the misguided idea that you are impressing the neighbours/friends/relatives/work colleagues and this is your motive for driving a "Whats The Point" car, you need to take a long look in a mirror.
Bit of a bitter attitude. With high performance cars comes a more comfortable, less buzzy, less stressed engine at motorway speeds. Also more pulling power for family and luggage, and to get out of the way of danger. Generally a more pleasurable experience on the wholeAs I often have to endure the relentless queues and jams littering our country, I have adopted the annoying habit of when sitting next to a car with an engine bigger than, say, 1400cc, or power output greater than around 80bhp and looking at it and mouthing to myself "What's The Point".
The road congestion in the UK is NEVER going to get any better. It will DEFINITELY get a lot worse. Therefore, 3.5 litre, 160bhp cars are a waste of money/fossil fuels/the environment/the future of our children's health.
If the misguided idea that you are impressing the neighbours/friends/relatives/work colleagues and this is your motive for driving a "Whats The Point" car, you need to take a long look in a mirror.
nickfrog said:
Am I the only one who enjoys their car on track days? Its surprising how few people seem to track their performance car. It's bound to be the only place where even a fraction of a car's potential can be used compared to the open road.
And the a couple of Ring/Spa trip every year with mates for good measure : job done.
Exactly. Once you've been through Copse, Maggots and Becketts on the limit, driving on any road is a bit boring.And the a couple of Ring/Spa trip every year with mates for good measure : job done.
datum77 said:
Just thought I'd throw my hat into the ring.......
As I often have to endure the relentless queues and jams littering our country, I have adopted the annoying habit of when sitting next to a car with an engine bigger than, say, 1400cc, or power output greater than around 80bhp and looking at it and mouthing to myself "What's The Point".
Well for me, one of the points of being massively self-indulgent and having a fastish car is the V6 noise behind me on the odd occasion I do get to stretch its legs. Brings a grin to my face every time without fail. Makes putting up with the contorted access, no rear visibility and low 20's fuel consumption completely worth it! I struggle to get enthused by any of the new breed of turbo 4 cylinder hot hatches precisely because they sound like any other shopping cart (more or less).As I often have to endure the relentless queues and jams littering our country, I have adopted the annoying habit of when sitting next to a car with an engine bigger than, say, 1400cc, or power output greater than around 80bhp and looking at it and mouthing to myself "What's The Point".
But everyone has something different that floats their boat and just because you don't see the point it doesn't mean the owner isn't getting a great deal of enjoyment from it.
The problem with very fast cars of the supercar/ hypercar type, is that like sabre toothed tigers they have outgrown the environment in which they must operate, in combination with that environment changing to a point where the `equipment' no longer suits what actually exists.
Having driven a number of very fast cars, including Ferraris Testa Rossas, and come back with an aching right leg (aching because I was trying to keep my right foot off the loud pedal as much as possible to avoid hitting license losing speeds in seconds) They seemed to be cars the purpose of which has been largely (but thank fully not completely)overtaken by the environment they must live in.
This is why for UK roads, a Caterham seems to make a bit more sense. Small, so even narrow country roads are not generally a problem, with some versions having very high performance, and handling that works on small country roads. Of course they are in no way, cool, or flash and can even be described as a bit nerdy. But for those who love driving, and don't require the services of a tin posing pouch, they are (even now) a viable solution to getting some driving fun out of `today`s' roads.
Having driven a number of very fast cars, including Ferraris Testa Rossas, and come back with an aching right leg (aching because I was trying to keep my right foot off the loud pedal as much as possible to avoid hitting license losing speeds in seconds) They seemed to be cars the purpose of which has been largely (but thank fully not completely)overtaken by the environment they must live in.
This is why for UK roads, a Caterham seems to make a bit more sense. Small, so even narrow country roads are not generally a problem, with some versions having very high performance, and handling that works on small country roads. Of course they are in no way, cool, or flash and can even be described as a bit nerdy. But for those who love driving, and don't require the services of a tin posing pouch, they are (even now) a viable solution to getting some driving fun out of `today`s' roads.
It's hard to enjoy a fun/fast car if you don't have the space to stretch it out. I hate driving around london, it's boring, really low speed limits, f
k tonnes of traffic and cameras everywhere. Whereas in Oxford, there's an NSL road not more than 5 minutes away at anytime if you want to go for a little blast.
k tonnes of traffic and cameras everywhere. Whereas in Oxford, there's an NSL road not more than 5 minutes away at anytime if you want to go for a little blast.Pan Pan Pan said:
This is why for UK roads, a Caterham seems to make a bit more sense. Small, so even narrow country roads are not generally a problem, with some versions having very high performance, and handling that works on small country roads. Of course they are in no way, cool, or flash and can even be described as a bit nerdy. But for those who love driving, and don't require the services of a tin posing pouch, they are (even now) a viable solution to getting some driving fun out of `today`s' roads.
downsman said:
A fairly low powered Seven is ideal for enjoying driving. It feels fast even below the limit, has plenty of acceleration to get past dawdlers, cheep to run and insure, great for trackdays, no driver aids, low enough gearing so you actually need to change gear to reach the legal limit and by the time you've reached 80 mph it's so noisy you really don't want to go a lot quicker
Are they quite reliable?I find all the decent NSL country roads are filled with the "40mph everywhere" crowds. The only way to avoid it is to get up at the crack of a sparrows arse. Or you need a tuned 911 turbo / skyline and a complete disregard for keeping your liscence for more than one summer.
Or move to the highlands.
Or move to the highlands.
Buy an old school hot hatch and have fun driving at lower speeds. Moderns are overpowered, oversized, overweight and anaesthetised.
Older cars are narrower which means its possible to drive faster on narrow roads, which many A and B roads are in the UK.
I use my bicycles for local trips or walk and the car for longer trips. No fun in driving around towns or cities
Older cars are narrower which means its possible to drive faster on narrow roads, which many A and B roads are in the UK.
I use my bicycles for local trips or walk and the car for longer trips. No fun in driving around towns or cities
johnwilliams77 said:
downsman said:
A fairly low powered Seven is ideal for enjoying driving. It feels fast even below the limit, has plenty of acceleration to get past dawdlers, cheep to run and insure, great for trackdays, no driver aids, low enough gearing so you actually need to change gear to reach the legal limit and by the time you've reached 80 mph it's so noisy you really don't want to go a lot quicker
Are they quite reliable?On trackdays clutches, tyres and brakes, are items which last the for the drive home as well as the time on track.
Strange that a car designed and first produced over 50 years ago is just as (if not more) relevant to driving on `todays' roads than it ever was.
Everyone saying to move put of London is not necessarily being practical. I love London for a variety of reasons and given what I do, it necessitates me needing to commute into the city every day.
However I am not sure why anyone would want to actually drive in London but living on the outskirts means I have the best of both worlds-work in town during the week and the ability to get into the country easily at weekends and push my cars as hard as I want.
However I am not sure why anyone would want to actually drive in London but living on the outskirts means I have the best of both worlds-work in town during the week and the ability to get into the country easily at weekends and push my cars as hard as I want.
The problem with many high performance cars, is that they are so competent (and in many cases quiet and composed) that even when travelling at `silly' speeds, the driver often feels like they can get out and walk faster, such is the degree of isolation of the driver from so many of the elements that transfer a sensation of speed to the person behind the wheel.
For driving fun at legal road speeds, and on track at highly illegal speeds, there are not many cars that can give the same experience as a Caterham, even a relatively low powered one.
The main drawback is that for most they are high day, and holiday (and trackday) toy rather than a daily driver (although there are some hardy souls out there that do use them as their main, everyday car) and of course not all are lucky enough to be able to have several cars with each one being used for a specific type of driving.
For driving fun at legal road speeds, and on track at highly illegal speeds, there are not many cars that can give the same experience as a Caterham, even a relatively low powered one.
The main drawback is that for most they are high day, and holiday (and trackday) toy rather than a daily driver (although there are some hardy souls out there that do use them as their main, everyday car) and of course not all are lucky enough to be able to have several cars with each one being used for a specific type of driving.
The thing the OP is talking about me some years ago, sadly. In my youth was massively into rallying, road events including Motoring News rounds, then stages when became uneasy with the stunts you had to pull to remain competitive on public roads. Until stage rallying became stupid money, tyres lasting less than 20 miles and so I went sailing to save money. Yes right, that wasn't a plan either.
But still retained a weekend vehicle for fun. Then it hit me. Don't live anywhere near a big city, really quite rural, but it was now in the speed kills think of the children era.
So one day daughter acquired a free Matiz from a relative giving up driving. Poor thing hadn't been looked after, lots of short distance pootling along, oddball ditch finder tyres, it didn't go, didn't handle, awful little thing. Desperately needed a Italian tune up and a service plus some decent tyres.
Italian tune up first on the agenda to blow the crap out. Got back two hours later, and realised that even in such a hateful slug it would have been possible to go from a clean licence to totting up territory in a morning, and that was just counting the possible camera sites on the few remaining NSL roads. Add in the previously NSLs reduced to 50, 40, rural dual carriageways reduced to 40 and a single lane in each direction FFS!
At that point realised that fun on public roads is no longer realistically possible. Yes you can get satisfaction from driving well, be it something quick or slow, but that's not necessarily the same thing.
But still retained a weekend vehicle for fun. Then it hit me. Don't live anywhere near a big city, really quite rural, but it was now in the speed kills think of the children era.
So one day daughter acquired a free Matiz from a relative giving up driving. Poor thing hadn't been looked after, lots of short distance pootling along, oddball ditch finder tyres, it didn't go, didn't handle, awful little thing. Desperately needed a Italian tune up and a service plus some decent tyres.
Italian tune up first on the agenda to blow the crap out. Got back two hours later, and realised that even in such a hateful slug it would have been possible to go from a clean licence to totting up territory in a morning, and that was just counting the possible camera sites on the few remaining NSL roads. Add in the previously NSLs reduced to 50, 40, rural dual carriageways reduced to 40 and a single lane in each direction FFS!
At that point realised that fun on public roads is no longer realistically possible. Yes you can get satisfaction from driving well, be it something quick or slow, but that's not necessarily the same thing.
Good topic this. I live on the edge of the highlands, my local hooning roads vary from quiet, wide, fast, sweeping a-roads to quiet, windy, bumpy, nadgetty b and un-classifieds. Used to have a 700bhp v10Rs6 and a 450bhp Impreza P1 but I ended up just going too bloody fast everywhere so now have an evoque, an s1 elise and a clio 182.
Probably more fun, definitely lower speeds.
Probably more fun, definitely lower speeds.
Edited by Lefty on Saturday 26th March 15:58
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