Are modern cars too fast for fun?

[v8thunder]

OK, I may have broken the PHers rule of speed at all costs, but does anyone else agree that most modern cars are so inert, over-assisted and, dare I say it, too fast, to 'enjoy' legally, to the point where you have to push them so hard to enjoy them they suddenly seem pointless.

Just looking at some of the old sports cars - MG Midget, Austin-Healey Sprite, Triumph Spitfire and so on - all could be outperformed easily by most new shopping trolleys, but, even below the limit, they're all fun to drive. Even old hot hatches like the Golf GTi MKI were all about zippy acceleration rather than pointless bhp figures and 150mph top speeds, as they are today.

And, more to the point, are there any modern sporty cars that are fully involving below the limit any more, or do we all have to look forward to a future of numb boredom in a world where, even if you have a sporty car, you can never drive it in a sporty way, and it just becomes a magnet for 'poser' accusations.

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Pickled Piper said:

Not everyone wants to be highly involved in driving their vehicle all the time.

I know, but I was talking about sports cars

And yes, the British kit car market serves this purpose, I just wish it was more popular, a la '50s specials movement.

[v8thunder]

I wondered this, mainly because I drive a 1.2-litre Fiat Punto that's typically Italian fun in the twisties, but hopeless on the motorway. IMO 2-3 litres, nominally aspirated, is perfect for some kind of fun in all situations, but these German supersaloons just leave me cold - huge engine, ordinary looks, and ordinary performance and noise, until you find you get to a usual speed and it just keeps accelerating. The Americans can, at least, get lairy handling and low-speed noise right.

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It was James Hunt but he was talking about his Austin A35 van.

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Talking of unlikely cars for racing drivers, you'll notice that just about every F1 driver owns a Fiat 500, for the obvious reason that, when driven in a sporting style, it's always on its limit. Same goes for 2CVs - people knock them for being slow, but of all the cars you can drive, it's probably the one that feels the fastest.

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I guess I was lucky in my learning to drive - started off on an over-assisted, underpowered, cramped little MK2 Punto that I literally couldn't drive properly. My driving instructor at the time said 'you're a good driver, but you're never going to pass your test in this car - it's just not suited to you'.

Ever since, I've known I appreciate, where possible, a lack of assistance and plenty of space. Took my test in a Fiat Bravo after some lessons in a thrashed ex-rally Seat Ibiza and a bit of off-roading in an SIII Landy.

When learning to drive, people should be encouraged to drive as many types of car as possible, to learn what suits them, rather than starting with an over-assisted Eurobox and sticking with them religiously for the rest of their lives.