Driving your hero cars.Which exceeded/failed expectations?
Driving your hero cars.Which exceeded/failed expectations?
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Starsky80

Original Poster:

75 posts

7 months

Yesterday (15:02)
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Have you owned/driven your "hero" cars and did they exceed or fail to live up to your expectations?  Being a child of the 1980s most of my "hero" cars are from the 1980s and 1990s and even ignoring the exotica are now almost unattainable and may well struggle to live up to their £50k+ asking prices in today's market.  I'm thinking stuff like the Audi quattro, E30 M3, Sierra/Escort RS Cosworth, DC2 Integra Type R, Delta Integrale Evo, Impreza P1 etc.  I guess some of the newer ones, mk1 Focus RS, E46 M3, Golf R32, 8V Audi RS3, F87 M2, C63 AMG, Guilia QV are still somewhat attainable but I have yet to drive any of them.

Of the ones that I have owned/driven, the ones that didn't fail to disappoint were:

205 GTi 1.6 - my first performance car and every bit as quick and exciting as I hoped that it would be

BMW 325i (E30) - it felt quick to me at the time, lovely control weight, classic BMW soundtrack and more power than grip which led to suitably entertaining handling in contrast to the car that preceded it (more on that later), even though mine was the slightly "floppy" convertible version

Corrado VR6 - was faster and sounded even better than the BMW if that's possible, very neutral confidence-inspiring handling and put its power down really well even in the wet despite the lack of traction control

Impreza WRX Wagon ("Blobeye") - all the more surprising haven driven another Impreza and been disappointed but this is by far the quickest car that I have owned and very exciting to drive whilst being fantastically compliant on our bumpy British B roads.  Other than the pretty poor fuel economy, a fantastic all-rounder

MINI Cooper (R56) - alright, the R53 (supercharged) Cooper S was probably the "hero" car of the new generation MINI for me but despite a slightly lacklustre engine this was a really fine handling and fun little car, which totally delivered on its looks (unlike the Fiat 500, which was a massive disappointment in terms of driving)

The ones that failed to live up to their "hero" status:

Clio 182/Ford Puma (the 90s coupe one) - coming from a 205 GTi and looking for a worthy more modern replacement, I strongly considered both of these but they left me wanting.  The Ford was very competent but I just didn't gel with it, which was a shame, as Ford seemed to be on a roll at the time and "cooking" versions that I drove of both the mk1 Ford Ka and mk1 Focus at that time were both excellent.  The Clio, I just didn't get on with at the time due to the rather odd driving position and the rather "industrial" sounding motor.  I'm sure that on an extended test drive that the handling would have been great but it failed to excite after the 205 when the automotive press (Evo etc) had proclaimed it as the second coming.

NB Mazda MX5 1.8 - this is what I actually replaced the 205 with and although it was nice to have a convertible sports car and RWD for the first time, the 1.8 motor was not a revvy sports car engine like a K-Series and felt considerably slower than its 150 or so bhp and on 16 inch rims had too much grip relative to its power (it felt like it wanted to understeer like a FWD hatchback all the time rather than exit every corner/junction on a dab of oppo), which is exactly what its replacement (E30 325i) did!

Impreza WRX STI ("Blobeye") - I actually drove this before the Impreza WRX wagon that I owned for 3 years and on my admittedly short test drive it just felt very laggy and not particularly quick and very "crashy" ie overly firm damping, I really didn't like it, even though it looked like a "hooligan's dream".

Mustang GT - you had to work it surprisingly hard for the performance and it did admittedly sound fabulous but just too soft/vague overall and difficult to drive smoothly in traffic (manual transmission).

That's about it for me really, I drove a fairly recent Wrangler V6 in the USA a couple of years ago, a car that I think is very cool but expected to be pretty dire to drive but actually it was surprisingly decent ie on a par with an early Discovery rather than a "classic" Defender like I expected it to be I guess.  I would still take the opportunity to drive my "hero" cars if given though, as I would rather have that experience than not have that experience, even if it turned out to be a disappointment.

So what "hero" cars that you were really looking forward to driving hit the spot and what were the "misses" for you?

Edited by Starsky80 on Monday 11th May 15:06


Edited by Starsky80 on Monday 11th May 15:06

Frimley111R

18,624 posts

259 months

Yesterday (15:09)
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Clio Williams - no doubt great in its day but these days its tiny and nippy at best. I'm not sure my mum's Fiesta couldn't have been quicker down a twisty road.

Calibra Turbo - smooth and did 150mph but chassis must have been made of wood.

205 GTI 1.9 of my youth was epic but would never ruin the memories by driving one today.

Lotus Elise - best car I ever owned. Forget it when people talk about good handing cars. Once you've driven one of those everything else feels like a London bus. Fast, light, cheap to run with A/C, 6 speed box, Toyota engine. What a car. If divorce wasn't so expensive I'd have another.

Davie

6,028 posts

240 months

Yesterday (15:58)
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I've only really have one hero car and that the Lotus Carlton and was lucky enough to have one for a few days back in whenever it was and yes, there's was much concern on my part that it'd be a bit of a let down, classic case of "don't meet your hero" and all that and it wasn't. Yes it's old, mechanical, heavy and you're still sat in an 80's Carlton interior but it was awesome. Just one of those "What a thing!!!" situations and has done nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for them. Without a shadow of doubt, it'd be the first car based purchase if the means suddenly fell into my lap.

bangerhoarder

756 posts

93 months

Yesterday (16:05)
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Not had many disappointments, but not really driven that many truly exciting cars.

Drove a rally school Impreza (Bugeye) that had obviously lived a life. Expected it to be tired, ropey and underwhelming. On gravel, it was absolute magic. Power, brakes, control, noise. What a thing.

Dave Hedgehog

15,954 posts

229 months

Yesterday (16:09)
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the only thing close to interesting or a hero car I have driven was an R8 spyder that Audi lent me for a week

It was excellent, drifted lovely at 130


toon10

7,063 posts

182 months

Yesterday (16:24)
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I have to disagree about the Puma. Saying that, I had lower expectations thinking the "drivers car" advertising using Bullitt was just a gimmick. That car drove way above what I was expecting. An average engine and not that quick in a straight line but the handling, feel, steering, gear change and the way it carried speed was a revelation to me. It remains the best handling FWD car I've ever driven.

I'd also say the 996 Carrera. The 911 is the definition of my hero car. I know the 996 was heavily criticised for the styling and the lack of air cooling but it's been my hero car since I was a kid. Being the base C2S model, I was expecting it to be good but not great. I was wrong. What a fantastic machine to drive. I think the manual gearbox helped as I drove a 996 C4S Tiptronic and was very disappointed.

Struggling to think of a hero car I was disappointed with to be honest.

AndrewT1275

877 posts

265 months

Yesterday (16:40)
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Being born in the 70's the original 80's Esprit turbo was my hero car. Fully lived up to expectations in terms of ride, handling, acceleration and the sound of the wastgate opening just behind your head. A flawed car in some regards but that's part of the charm of it and in no way detract from the actual driving experience.

Hero GT is an Aston Martin Vanquish S and that didn't disappoint either. Utterly, utterly brilliant. Remarkable balance between ride and handling with an effortless ability to cover long distances in comfort.

v8notbrave

303 posts

38 months

Yesterday (16:54)
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Did the 6th gear driving experience many years ago murci and gallardo both a tad underwhelming as you had to change at 5500 rpm ish, drove there in my lightly mapped torque monster 530d msport manual which was far quicker. At 6' 4" I squeezed in but wouldn't want to drive for long distances, but at least I ticked the box

Glitzy Mitzy

1,389 posts

53 months

Yesterday (17:01)
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toon10 said:
I have to disagree about the Puma. Saying that, I had lower expectations thinking the "drivers car" advertising using Bullitt was just a gimmick. That car drove way above what I was expecting. An average engine and not that quick in a straight line but the handling, feel, steering, gear change and the way it carried speed was a revelation to me. It remains the best handling FWD car I've ever driven.

I'd also say the 996 Carrera. The 911 is the definition of my hero car. I know the 996 was heavily criticised for the styling and the lack of air cooling but it's been my hero car since I was a kid. Being the base C2S model, I was expecting it to be good but not great. I was wrong. What a fantastic machine to drive. I think the manual gearbox helped as I drove a 996 C4S Tiptronic and was very disappointed.

Struggling to think of a hero car I was disappointed with to be honest.
I had a 1700 engine Puma about ten years ago, back when one could pick them up for almost nothing. It was a decent car and enjoyable to drive, although had shortcomings: the back seat was no good, the boot was small and the interior was poorly ventilated. Other than that (and having to wear at least one driving glove in winter), I liked it.

The odd thing, however, is that I never found the Puma to be any sort of revelation in the driving department. It felt like what it was, which was a fast Fiesta with moderately improved handling. Perhaps those who really liked the Puma were the sort who had, prior to driving it, been spoilt by larger, more luxurious and less communicative cars. I hadn't, in that prior to the little Ford, I'd had a Fiesta of similar vintage, a Mark One Focus (more sophisticated chassis, if less driver focussed), a Xsara coupe and so on. The Puma was good, in class terms, but there was a lot of good stuff about at that point if one was willing to slum it with a hatchback.

Jazoli

9,550 posts

275 months

Yesterday (17:15)
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Glitzy Mitzy said:
toon10 said:
I have to disagree about the Puma. Saying that, I had lower expectations thinking the "drivers car" advertising using Bullitt was just a gimmick. That car drove way above what I was expecting. An average engine and not that quick in a straight line but the handling, feel, steering, gear change and the way it carried speed was a revelation to me. It remains the best handling FWD car I've ever driven.

I'd also say the 996 Carrera. The 911 is the definition of my hero car. I know the 996 was heavily criticised for the styling and the lack of air cooling but it's been my hero car since I was a kid. Being the base C2S model, I was expecting it to be good but not great. I was wrong. What a fantastic machine to drive. I think the manual gearbox helped as I drove a 996 C4S Tiptronic and was very disappointed.

Struggling to think of a hero car I was disappointed with to be honest.
I had a 1700 engine Puma about ten years ago, back when one could pick them up for almost nothing. It was a decent car and enjoyable to drive, although had shortcomings: the back seat was no good, the boot was small and the interior was poorly ventilated. Other than that (and having to wear at least one driving glove in winter), I liked it.

The odd thing, however, is that I never found the Puma to be any sort of revelation in the driving department. It felt like what it was, which was a fast Fiesta with moderately improved handling. Perhaps those who really liked the Puma were the sort who had, prior to driving it, been spoilt by larger, more luxurious and less communicative cars. I hadn't, in that prior to the little Ford, I'd had a Fiesta of similar vintage, a Mark One Focus (more sophisticated chassis, if less driver focussed), a Xsara coupe and so on. The Puma was good, in class terms, but there was a lot of good stuff about at that point if one was willing to slum it with a hatchback.
Worst thing about my Puma was the bloody gearknob, it was freezing in winter, I stil think my old 306 XSI was a better handling car though but both were very good.

My mk1.5 Focus exceeded my expectations for feel having come out of a mk6 Escort into one, it felt amazing and so light on its feet.

Biggest disappointment was a mk4 Supra (UK TT Manual) I'd owned a mk3 Turbo previously (and s13/s14 200sx's) and it just felt a bit like a barge tbh, I bought an e36 328i Coupe instead.

Starsky80

Original Poster:

75 posts

7 months

Yesterday (20:17)
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Glitzy Mitzy said:
I had a 1700 engine Puma about ten years ago, back when one could pick them up for almost nothing. It was a decent car and enjoyable to drive, although had shortcomings: the back seat was no good, the boot was small and the interior was poorly ventilated. Other than that (and having to wear at least one driving glove in winter), I liked it.

The odd thing, however, is that I never found the Puma to be any sort of revelation in the driving department. It felt like what it was, which was a fast Fiesta with moderately improved handling. Perhaps those who really liked the Puma were the sort who had, prior to driving it, been spoilt by larger, more luxurious and less communicative cars. I hadn't, in that prior to the little Ford, I'd had a Fiesta of similar vintage, a Mark One Focus (more sophisticated chassis, if less driver focussed), a Xsara coupe and so on. The Puma was good, in class terms, but there was a lot of good stuff about at that point if one was willing to slum it with a hatchback.
Exactly this. Not a bad car at all, I would even go as far to say a good one but not a great one. It came at that awkward time for fast Fords between the Escort Cosworth and the mk1 Focus RS. I fancied a fast Ford and that was the only modern one in my budget at tge time really (Focus RS too expensive). I guess it was a more modern, refined version of my 205 GTi really but not really any faster and a bit more neutral handling so not quite as engaging and it looked a little feminine but preferable to its snouty crossover namesake! However, it received rave reviews and one of my best friends who had previously owned a 309 GTi owned one for several years and really rated it (he drives Suzuki Swift Sports now). I just expected a bit more, which my Corrado VR6 truly delivered.

I wouldn't give it the same level of "hero" status as the other cars that I mentioned but in the late 90s/early 2000s, the temperature in the hot hatch class was distinctly cooler so that's what was available. I guess the Racing Puma was how you would have wanted the standard car to be but it was rare and expensive for the power output compared to the Integra/RS Clios. They seem pretty cheap these days c. £20k for a rare and quite special fast Ford though when you would pay about that for a decent Escort RS Turbo?

stuthemongoose

2,520 posts

242 months

Yesterday (20:25)
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I bought my Diablo without ever driving it.

I was expecting it to be a bit of a dog to drive, but I love it!!! Super responsive, lovely to drive. Brakes a bit meh, however, or more precisely, the abs!

Glenn63

3,786 posts

109 months

Yesterday (20:34)
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I always wanted an Impreza too got a Hawkeye STI and loved it, quite fancy another.
Maybe not a ‘hero’ car but always wanted an F150 Lightning from 12 years old after watching fast and the furious, picked one up this year and yes it’s no master piece in driving dynamics but boy do I enjoy just dossing about in it, loud American V8 noises, me, Mrs, dog in the middle, an enjoyable way to pass the time.


theposhboy

53 posts

153 months

Yesterday (20:35)
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Passenger as was too young but Sierra Cosworth in standard tune was dreary, I asked driver to floor it, he replied I am, that was that really

aterribleusername

470 posts

88 months

Yesterday (20:52)
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Ferrari F40 - Exceeded as it was sooo smooth ridewise and the power delivery was exactly as it was in my dreams. One of the only Ferraris I lust after.
Ferrari 355 - a bit of a disappointment as it sounded great but just felt like hard work to get it to work properly. The owner thought the same and sold it a few months later.
Clio V6 - just didn't get on with it at all. Lots of power but compromised in so many ways just to get that engine in the back.
Lotus Elise - absolutely loved it. So much feel and communication through the contact points it is still a bucket list car to own.
Sierra Sapphire Cosworth - was a standard car, just felt laggy and a one trick pony. This was in 2018 though so more modern stuff had definitely caught up and passed it.
Ariel Atom - no idea whether it exceeded or failed my expectations as it scared the crap out of me! It was the supercharged version with 330 bhp, just too much power for me to compute. Would love a go in the original K Series one with 190 bhp, that would be more than enough for me in something so light.

GIYess

1,440 posts

126 months

Yesterday (20:56)
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Landrover Defender.
Drove one 230 miles for work and felt like I'd done a gym session! Not enough room for legs if your over 5ft 4.

Lamborghini Gallardo
Didn't drive it but a friend had a subscription to one of these supercar clubs and given me a run in one. It was very underwhelming after having a ride in a Lotus esprit which felt a lot more exciting. Probably because my bum was about 3 inches from the road.

200Plus Club

13,123 posts

303 months

Yesterday (21:09)
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Back in the early 2000s I had the chance to road drive a 900bhp R34GTR with a sequential box, was expecting great things but it was too much for the road and quite hard work until it came on boost and took off. A giggle, but ultimately a one trick drag pony. A modern GTR would run rings round it for country lanes etc and then in traffic.
Similar disappointment in a 2wd cossy with 330bhp back in the day, was a tired example and like a rattly taxi until it lit up the tyres at 4,500rpm before running out of chuff at about 6k revs.

Exceeded expectations- Lotus Evora 410 - absolutely brilliant road car, just about perfect driving position and right amount of power/braking for that power.

mike9009

9,989 posts

268 months

Yesterday (21:16)
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Two examples from me. Not exotica as I have never really driven anything exceptional.

1. Toyota MR2 MK1 As a kid of the 80's, I loved these. Read the magazine reviews and lusted after one. Owned one for 7 years doing 60k + miles in it. Absolutely loved it. Handling was fantastic, loved the looks and Toyota reliability. Travelled all over Europe in ours (camping with a three man tent). Just superb.

2. MK1 Mx5. Again read all the reviews when it first came out. Loved the looks. But, my god, I must have ended up with a ropey old dog. Handling felt flat, engine was flat, reliability was average. It was a 80k mile example of a 1991 1.6 Eunos, Eventually sat on the driveway doing 120 miles between MOTs and so was sold. Maybe my expectations were too high after owning the MR2 and a VX220 in between?


Nowadays I cannot afford 'aspirational' cars and need something for family duties..... frown

Dusty964

7,228 posts

215 months

Yesterday (21:34)
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toon10 said:
I'd also say the 996 Carrera. The 911 is the definition of my hero car. I know the 996 was heavily criticised for the styling and the lack of air cooling but it's been my hero car since I was a kid. Being the base C2S model, I was expecting it to be good but not great. I was wrong.
Sorry to be that person. But there isn't a 996 C2S.
Only a C4S.
While my anorak is in. Its only the 964 that was badged Carrera 2, all the others have been Carrera or Carrera 4.

Pickle_Rick

751 posts

85 months

Yesterday (21:45)
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Most cars I've driven or owned have been pretty ordinary, exceptions are

Mazda rx8, absolutely brilliant, looks fantastic too. That buzzy engine was addictive yet torque was weird at first. Far better than I expected

Xr3i - didn't like, garish, plasticky and not that quick after being spoilt by modern cars. Put me off driving other retro cars.

Tesla MY awd - was one of the first in UK to get one, absolutely brilliant, possibly best car I've owned, made me an instant EV convert.

Mini cooper S - really liked it, loved the switch gear and the retro dash. I remember turbo lag being huge before you were finally thrown forward. Tempted to get a mini EV.

Bentayga - red and white interior which I really didn't like, was almost distracting!, although by far the plushest and comfiest car I've driven. Really did feel like a peek in to how the other half live and quite a contrast to a dacia jogger. Was too scared to floor it as it was my bosses, but the last time I had a car that went through petrol like this was a Fiat Tipo with a hole in the petrol tank.



Cars I really want to drive before I'm too fat and old: elise / exige, atom, tuscan, pretty much any post 2000 lambo except the urus.