What's the best car you have ever owned?
Discussion
This weeks shed got me thinking!
I have owned/leased an awful lot of cars: some astonishingly fast, some incredible cruisers and some absolute heaps of s
t!
But what was the best to actually own, use and live with?
For me the top three are:
1) Lexus LS400 - it was my primary mode of transport for years, I used it for everything from commuting and emergency response to hauling gearboxes in the boot. Covered hundreds of thousands of miles and in all that time the only thing that actually failed was an worn out alternator. (Ended up straight piping it!)
2) Landrover Defender 110 - this is a shock entry, I've had a life long distrust of LR (now JLR) products - but the new Defender is pretty much perfect for hauling heavy stuff, transporting the dogs, or taking me to a client site without fuss. (watch it self destruct now I've written that)
3) Lexus RX400h - we've had this in the family for many years now, it looks unremarkable - and as a product was either ignored or derided by the press at launch. Ours in now 17 years old, costs around £700-1000 a year in maintenance now as it's getting tired...but there is literally nothing out there like it except for another '400h. I have had a new one, (Rx450hL) and that was a brilliant car - but not as practical as the old 400, and strangely a bit slower too! The 400 won't win many races, but they are hilariously stupid in the wet if the rear tyres are worn! It's as comfortable and trustworthy as on old armchair.
What's interesting is that none of the quick cars have made the top of the list, probably because they are too compromised in one way or another.
Which of your cars do you think was the best?
I have owned/leased an awful lot of cars: some astonishingly fast, some incredible cruisers and some absolute heaps of s
t!But what was the best to actually own, use and live with?
For me the top three are:
1) Lexus LS400 - it was my primary mode of transport for years, I used it for everything from commuting and emergency response to hauling gearboxes in the boot. Covered hundreds of thousands of miles and in all that time the only thing that actually failed was an worn out alternator. (Ended up straight piping it!)
2) Landrover Defender 110 - this is a shock entry, I've had a life long distrust of LR (now JLR) products - but the new Defender is pretty much perfect for hauling heavy stuff, transporting the dogs, or taking me to a client site without fuss. (watch it self destruct now I've written that)
3) Lexus RX400h - we've had this in the family for many years now, it looks unremarkable - and as a product was either ignored or derided by the press at launch. Ours in now 17 years old, costs around £700-1000 a year in maintenance now as it's getting tired...but there is literally nothing out there like it except for another '400h. I have had a new one, (Rx450hL) and that was a brilliant car - but not as practical as the old 400, and strangely a bit slower too! The 400 won't win many races, but they are hilariously stupid in the wet if the rear tyres are worn! It's as comfortable and trustworthy as on old armchair.
What's interesting is that none of the quick cars have made the top of the list, probably because they are too compromised in one way or another.
Which of your cars do you think was the best?
1. BMW E90 330d. automatic. goodness me what a competent car. does everything, really well. looks good, handles well, does 40mpg on a cruise, is remapped to 300bhp. honestly can't think of another car that is such a good all rounder. wafts the miles away in speed and comfort.
2. BMW E92 335i. auto, but with flappy paddles. similar to above - remapped to 360bhp, proper gentlemans express. very comfortable place to soak up the miles, but really fast if you want it to be. only downside is it only gets 28mpg on a cruise.
3. Nissan 350z. manual. had it for 4 years, great torquey engine, sounds great too, still looks good 20 years after it first came out, great drivers car - meaty steering and gearchange, but good road holding too. happy to soak up the miles with cruise, a/c and leather, but great fun when you do get on a nice b road. only downsides are rusty arches, and it only managed 27mpg on a cruise. which had to be super unleaded.
2. BMW E92 335i. auto, but with flappy paddles. similar to above - remapped to 360bhp, proper gentlemans express. very comfortable place to soak up the miles, but really fast if you want it to be. only downside is it only gets 28mpg on a cruise.
3. Nissan 350z. manual. had it for 4 years, great torquey engine, sounds great too, still looks good 20 years after it first came out, great drivers car - meaty steering and gearchange, but good road holding too. happy to soak up the miles with cruise, a/c and leather, but great fun when you do get on a nice b road. only downsides are rusty arches, and it only managed 27mpg on a cruise. which had to be super unleaded.
Clio 182. Bought at 18m old with 8,500 miles, sold at 8 years and 55k miles. Was only on the road for a year after until it was never taxed nor MOTd again. Did loads of road trips in it and surprised quite a few people.
My wife's Volvo V40. Bought in 2018 at 20k miles, now on 62k miles. Brilliant. Fast enough, economical, quiet, well built, excellent stereo and air con. Bit small though as our lad is growing up.
2 x 2008 civics owned one after another. Slightly dull and other than the air con compressor failing in both of them, they were really good cars. Practical with lovely engines.
My wife's Volvo V40. Bought in 2018 at 20k miles, now on 62k miles. Brilliant. Fast enough, economical, quiet, well built, excellent stereo and air con. Bit small though as our lad is growing up.
2 x 2008 civics owned one after another. Slightly dull and other than the air con compressor failing in both of them, they were really good cars. Practical with lovely engines.
BrettMRC said:
This weeks shed got me thinking!
I have owned/leased an awful lot of cars: some astonishingly fast, some incredible cruisers and some absolute heaps of st!
But what was the best to actually own, use and live with?
For me the top three are:
1) Lexus LS400 - it was my primary mode of transport for years, I used it for everything from commuting and emergency response to hauling gearboxes in the boot. Covered hundreds of thousands of miles and in all that time the only thing that actually failed was an worn out alternator. (Ended up straight piping it!)
2) Landrover Defender 110 - this is a shock entry, I've had a life long distrust of LR (now JLR) products - but the new Defender is pretty much perfect for hauling heavy stuff, transporting the dogs, or taking me to a client site without fuss. (watch it self destruct now I've written that)
3) Lexus RX400h - we've had this in the family for many years now, it looks unremarkable - and as a product was either ignored or derided by the press at launch. Ours in now 17 years old, costs around £700-1000 a year in maintenance now as it's getting tired...but there is literally nothing out there like it except for another '400h. I have had a new one, (Rx450hL) and that was a brilliant car - but not as practical as the old 400, and strangely a bit slower too! The 400 won't win many races, but they are hilariously stupid in the wet if the rear tyres are worn! It's as comfortable and trustworthy as on old armchair.
What's interesting is that none of the quick cars have made the top of the list, probably because they are too compromised in one way or another.
Which of your cars do you think was the best?
Funny you should have an LS400 top of the list. It's in my top 3, albeit I can't rank them.I have owned/leased an awful lot of cars: some astonishingly fast, some incredible cruisers and some absolute heaps of s
t!But what was the best to actually own, use and live with?
For me the top three are:
1) Lexus LS400 - it was my primary mode of transport for years, I used it for everything from commuting and emergency response to hauling gearboxes in the boot. Covered hundreds of thousands of miles and in all that time the only thing that actually failed was an worn out alternator. (Ended up straight piping it!)
2) Landrover Defender 110 - this is a shock entry, I've had a life long distrust of LR (now JLR) products - but the new Defender is pretty much perfect for hauling heavy stuff, transporting the dogs, or taking me to a client site without fuss. (watch it self destruct now I've written that)
3) Lexus RX400h - we've had this in the family for many years now, it looks unremarkable - and as a product was either ignored or derided by the press at launch. Ours in now 17 years old, costs around £700-1000 a year in maintenance now as it's getting tired...but there is literally nothing out there like it except for another '400h. I have had a new one, (Rx450hL) and that was a brilliant car - but not as practical as the old 400, and strangely a bit slower too! The 400 won't win many races, but they are hilariously stupid in the wet if the rear tyres are worn! It's as comfortable and trustworthy as on old armchair.
What's interesting is that none of the quick cars have made the top of the list, probably because they are too compromised in one way or another.
Which of your cars do you think was the best?
Mine was taken from me too soon by a prick of a white van driver on his phone. Loved it.
I replaced it with a Monaro but really missed the auto box and waft factor, despite the Monaro being very childish at high RPMs and just as comfortable and daily usable as the Lexus had been.
Two others?
Impreza WRX blobeye, which wasn't the quickest and wasn't the best handling and didn't have the best driving position, but was a really capable all rounder (once I'd sorted the suspension geometry, front brakes, rollbars, wheels, ditched the massive rear spoiler...)
Mk2 Golf GTi with a 2.0 16v ABF engine, ported and cammed, lightened flywheel. Lovely thing to thrash, perfectly capable of commuting too, easy to work on, and so many upgrade options (although I limited myself to a debadged grille and MiMs).
There's another 10 I could put in my top 3, depending how I felt on the day.
Self-nomination for most tedious suggestion imaginable: my beloved MkII Ford Mondeo 1.8LX estate. It was both purple, and magnificent. Comfortable, quiet, smooth, capacious, economical, and utterly, utterly reliable. I put 100k miles on it without a single thing going wrong or being replaced, but tyres. The most brilliant all-rounder car I've ever owned, bar one thing: no aircon.
Other than that perhaps my current tedious Dad wagon pips the Mondeo, a 2016 Honda Civic Tourer, 1.8 i-VTEC auto. Absolutely nothing it can't do, and a real hoot to drive in Sport mode (and flappy paddles), it's like a proper little warm hatch that you can put a full sized fridge freezer in the back of. And it's got aircon too. It's not as relaxing at high speed as the Mondeo though, as it suffers a bit from road noise on poor surfaces. So, perhaps, it pips the Mondeo, but I've put nothing like the miles on it yet so, although it's been utterly 100% reliable over the 4 years I've had it, I've only covered 20k miles as I use a Nissan Leaf as a daily. I think the Mondeo would still be my winner if I needed to drive the (concrete) Surrey section of the M25 every day, as I used to do in it, because the Civic is really, really noisy on that section.
I've had 37 cars in total - nothing else really touches these 2 as "best" cars. Favourites? Maybe not. But that wasn't the question...
Other than that perhaps my current tedious Dad wagon pips the Mondeo, a 2016 Honda Civic Tourer, 1.8 i-VTEC auto. Absolutely nothing it can't do, and a real hoot to drive in Sport mode (and flappy paddles), it's like a proper little warm hatch that you can put a full sized fridge freezer in the back of. And it's got aircon too. It's not as relaxing at high speed as the Mondeo though, as it suffers a bit from road noise on poor surfaces. So, perhaps, it pips the Mondeo, but I've put nothing like the miles on it yet so, although it's been utterly 100% reliable over the 4 years I've had it, I've only covered 20k miles as I use a Nissan Leaf as a daily. I think the Mondeo would still be my winner if I needed to drive the (concrete) Surrey section of the M25 every day, as I used to do in it, because the Civic is really, really noisy on that section.
I've had 37 cars in total - nothing else really touches these 2 as "best" cars. Favourites? Maybe not. But that wasn't the question...
My 2006 Toyota Crown, it's pure luck after I sold my Skyline that I found out about this model line. I knew I wanted something from Japan but it had to be 4-door & Chaser's were out of my price range. Went searching goo-net for "sedan" and went down the list of Toyota models until I found the Crown.
It does everything amazingly well for the £6k (inc. importing) I paid, comfortable, quiet, practical, good economy (great in terms of the performance), fast too when the mood takes with 0-60 of 4.9!! I couldn't wish for a car covering more bases in one. Only negative responses I've had are on here but honestly it makes me like the Crown line more, one that's been in production since the 1950's.
I love the little things it does well, like the lights that come on when you turn the wheel, the swinging air vents to waft the (ionised) aircon around, the lady in the dash that tells me the date & time when I turn it on - who at Xmas and New Year will give an extra message regarding each respectively.
It's now 17 years old but is still looking great, when I do get round to changing it it'll be for another Crown.
It does everything amazingly well for the £6k (inc. importing) I paid, comfortable, quiet, practical, good economy (great in terms of the performance), fast too when the mood takes with 0-60 of 4.9!! I couldn't wish for a car covering more bases in one. Only negative responses I've had are on here but honestly it makes me like the Crown line more, one that's been in production since the 1950's.
I love the little things it does well, like the lights that come on when you turn the wheel, the swinging air vents to waft the (ionised) aircon around, the lady in the dash that tells me the date & time when I turn it on - who at Xmas and New Year will give an extra message regarding each respectively.
It's now 17 years old but is still looking great, when I do get round to changing it it'll be for another Crown.
The one I miss the most, my 2005 Z4 which I had for a couple of years... nearly 20 years ago. Doesn't seem that long ago. I was only young and I was buzzing every single time I drove it.
Best car? 911 Turbo S. But weirdly I don't get the same excitement as I did as a young lad in my Z4.
Best car? 911 Turbo S. But weirdly I don't get the same excitement as I did as a young lad in my Z4.
Bannock said:
Self-nomination for most tedious suggestion imaginable: my beloved MkII Ford Mondeo 1.8LX estate. It was both purple, and magnificent. Comfortable, quiet, smooth, capacious, economical, and utterly, utterly reliable. I put 100k miles on it without a single thing going wrong or being replaced, but tyres. The most brilliant all-rounder car I've ever owned, bar one thing: no aircon.
I used to have a Mk2 Ford Mondeo Ghia X 2.0i Estate. It had A/C that was so cold on full you would be shivering inside while it was 30+ outside. Gloriously comfortable with amazingly soft leather seats that were more like armchairs, not entirely as reliable as yours as it needed a few things doing over the 80k I had it but nothing major. It was a fantastic car just not one that would ever set pulses racing, you'd never "look back" on walking away.
Definition of 'best' would help.
Best for fun - probably my modified Datsun 240Z, 265bhp in 990kg, no driving aids.
Best for everyday - probably Dacia Duster diesel 4x4 Prestige. Competent everywhere with good carrying capacity
Best prestige - Aston Virage or BWW i8
Best for comfort - Range Rover or Jeep Grand Cherokee, perhaps Mercedes C classes
Best off-road - Jeep CJ7 or Lada Niva
Best for fun - probably my modified Datsun 240Z, 265bhp in 990kg, no driving aids.
Best for everyday - probably Dacia Duster diesel 4x4 Prestige. Competent everywhere with good carrying capacity
Best prestige - Aston Virage or BWW i8
Best for comfort - Range Rover or Jeep Grand Cherokee, perhaps Mercedes C classes
Best off-road - Jeep CJ7 or Lada Niva
Nothing has been bad in the last 35 years. All bought new. All did the job asked of them.
Volvo 740 GL Estate 1988 to 1998: took us and our two boys everywhere across Europe. Chucked everything in the back, when we went on holiday.
BMW E36 1978 to 2017: best driving car, lovely smooth nat asp 2.5 I6. It would smoothly pull from tick-over in 5th (top).
BMW F30 335d 2017: current car, first diesel, first auto, it hasn’t disappointed.
Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSi 2013: the other current car and arguably the most sensible car we have had. 10 years old now, town and country lane car, small on the outside, roomy on the inside. Faultless.
Volvo 740 GL Estate 1988 to 1998: took us and our two boys everywhere across Europe. Chucked everything in the back, when we went on holiday.
BMW E36 1978 to 2017: best driving car, lovely smooth nat asp 2.5 I6. It would smoothly pull from tick-over in 5th (top).
BMW F30 335d 2017: current car, first diesel, first auto, it hasn’t disappointed.
Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSi 2013: the other current car and arguably the most sensible car we have had. 10 years old now, town and country lane car, small on the outside, roomy on the inside. Faultless.
Edited by Pica-Pica on Friday 11th August 23:48
Good thread!
I've had 60 odd cars now and I think two of my three current would be right up there in terms of best car I've owned but I think for me no1 was a car I owned aged 24 (which probably helps with the ranking!)
1. 1996 Cavalier 2.0 GLSi. Lowered and on 15" alloys courtesy of the previous owner. Paid £250 for it, drove it for three years and 30,000 miles, was a hoot to drive, always did high 30's mpg at least no matter how I drove, never let me down once and cost me nothing in that time. Sold for £210!
2. 2017 BMW i3 (I actually had my current mustang in this spot but as an allround car this is better!) - Tardis like car inside, surprisingly comfy considering skinny seats. Love the futuristic interior, driving in silence is a nice contrast to burbling in a v8, easy 130mile elec range in summer +100 miles rex.
3. 2017 Jaguar XJ portfolio (facelift). The most comfortable car I've ever had, 50mpg regularly, fits family and luggage in with ease. Proper relaxing drive but still steers remarkably well for a 5.1m long car! Only car that both wife and daughter fall asleep in whilst I'm driving it's that comfy. Cost buttons to buy as no one buys big jags anymore!
Honourable mentions:
Alfa 147 1.9 jtd lusso - such a fun little car to drive, pretty to look at and could do mis 60'smpg on a run.
2019 Mustang GT. Looks great, second most comfortable car I've owned, amazing sound, fast(ish), universal love for it. Spacious enough to get 3x paddleboards in the boot
Range Rover sport - sadly only owned for 5 months before someone stole our licence plates (after which my wife refused to drive it assuming it'd get nicked!) but was lovely to drive whilst we had it.
I've had 60 odd cars now and I think two of my three current would be right up there in terms of best car I've owned but I think for me no1 was a car I owned aged 24 (which probably helps with the ranking!)
1. 1996 Cavalier 2.0 GLSi. Lowered and on 15" alloys courtesy of the previous owner. Paid £250 for it, drove it for three years and 30,000 miles, was a hoot to drive, always did high 30's mpg at least no matter how I drove, never let me down once and cost me nothing in that time. Sold for £210!
2. 2017 BMW i3 (I actually had my current mustang in this spot but as an allround car this is better!) - Tardis like car inside, surprisingly comfy considering skinny seats. Love the futuristic interior, driving in silence is a nice contrast to burbling in a v8, easy 130mile elec range in summer +100 miles rex.
3. 2017 Jaguar XJ portfolio (facelift). The most comfortable car I've ever had, 50mpg regularly, fits family and luggage in with ease. Proper relaxing drive but still steers remarkably well for a 5.1m long car! Only car that both wife and daughter fall asleep in whilst I'm driving it's that comfy. Cost buttons to buy as no one buys big jags anymore!
Honourable mentions:
Alfa 147 1.9 jtd lusso - such a fun little car to drive, pretty to look at and could do mis 60'smpg on a run.
2019 Mustang GT. Looks great, second most comfortable car I've owned, amazing sound, fast(ish), universal love for it. Spacious enough to get 3x paddleboards in the boot
Range Rover sport - sadly only owned for 5 months before someone stole our licence plates (after which my wife refused to drive it assuming it'd get nicked!) but was lovely to drive whilst we had it.
Mine are polar opposites - my first car and my current car.
1981 X reg Fiesta Pop+ 957cc. I was a student at the time. It was bright red, XR2 pepper-pots, RS body kit complete with the twin rear spoiler. Covid Oscars. It really was a nice looking car for a student. Took me all over Europe including a couple of years in France. It was there through probably the most fun and formative years of my life, it was freedom and the ability to go places and see things (and not get the bus). My favourite car really, for emotional reasons as much as anything. I have a photo of it right in front of me on my desk.
Then there’s my current car - 2010 SL350, facelift model. It’s absolutely unmarked, everything works. More economical than the above Fiesta!!! Cheap as hell insurance. Monstrous VED. Bloody fantastic thing, sounds nice, looks classy and really expensive, and yet, accounting for inflation, is the cheapest car I’ve ever had since my first couple of Fiestas over 30 years ago. Why these things are so cheap is a mystery to me. I even took it to Germany to get a detachable “cycle rack adapter” (basically a tow bar with a nibble so you can’t tow a trailer) fitted. So now it’s a great summer holiday car too. May keep forever.
1981 X reg Fiesta Pop+ 957cc. I was a student at the time. It was bright red, XR2 pepper-pots, RS body kit complete with the twin rear spoiler. Covid Oscars. It really was a nice looking car for a student. Took me all over Europe including a couple of years in France. It was there through probably the most fun and formative years of my life, it was freedom and the ability to go places and see things (and not get the bus). My favourite car really, for emotional reasons as much as anything. I have a photo of it right in front of me on my desk.
Then there’s my current car - 2010 SL350, facelift model. It’s absolutely unmarked, everything works. More economical than the above Fiesta!!! Cheap as hell insurance. Monstrous VED. Bloody fantastic thing, sounds nice, looks classy and really expensive, and yet, accounting for inflation, is the cheapest car I’ve ever had since my first couple of Fiestas over 30 years ago. Why these things are so cheap is a mystery to me. I even took it to Germany to get a detachable “cycle rack adapter” (basically a tow bar with a nibble so you can’t tow a trailer) fitted. So now it’s a great summer holiday car too. May keep forever.
Like many on here I have owned 30+ cars ranging from JDM, Saabs, BMW, Audi, Ford, Vauxhall etc.
My favourite car of them all. The FN2 Civic Type R.
Power wise it's around the 155 - 160 bhp per tonne mark which makes it great fund down A/B roads. I can use full throttle out of corners and on the straights without risking my licence.
The handling is fantastic. It really doesn't lose composure through bends and the car goes exactly where you point the wheels - no surprises at all. The FN2 was given a lot of grief on release for the hard ride - which is more common now on many brands - however, it's this stiffness which does give absolute confidence when driving it.
Interior wise the build quality really isn't any worse than some BMWs I've owned. There are no rattles or squeaks etc. Yes, the interior is more plastic than more premium brands but it is well screwed together and it's a nice place to be with the interesting design.
I think it looks great too even as a standard car and still looks good on the road today. I'm quite happy these cars have the bad rep. they do - keeps the prices of them and parts low to enjoy!
Mine has a few tweaks to it - brakes are the only one really necessary - but that really is all it needs to complete a great car.
My favourite car of them all. The FN2 Civic Type R.
Power wise it's around the 155 - 160 bhp per tonne mark which makes it great fund down A/B roads. I can use full throttle out of corners and on the straights without risking my licence.
The handling is fantastic. It really doesn't lose composure through bends and the car goes exactly where you point the wheels - no surprises at all. The FN2 was given a lot of grief on release for the hard ride - which is more common now on many brands - however, it's this stiffness which does give absolute confidence when driving it.
Interior wise the build quality really isn't any worse than some BMWs I've owned. There are no rattles or squeaks etc. Yes, the interior is more plastic than more premium brands but it is well screwed together and it's a nice place to be with the interesting design.
I think it looks great too even as a standard car and still looks good on the road today. I'm quite happy these cars have the bad rep. they do - keeps the prices of them and parts low to enjoy!
Mine has a few tweaks to it - brakes are the only one really necessary - but that really is all it needs to complete a great car.
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