Cars that delighted you
Discussion
Bunch of whinging ‘stards on here at times. 
Rather than accentuating the negative, let’s go positive.
What cars have you bought and loved even more than you expected?
- Nissan Sylvia Turbo - first “performance” car and the acceleration (compared with a 1.3 Astra) was epic
- Porsche 944S - quality and pace were a lovely combination - handling was involving but secure
- Golf VR6 - engine noise - first car I had that revving was a joy in itself
- Caterham R300 Superlight - connected and handling was gorgeous
- Jaguar XFR - noise and pace at revs.
- Boxster S - adjustable, quick enough - everything in a sensible sized package
I have owned many others that I could rate, but these were the ones that were milestone cars or were even better than expected… what are yours?
Rather than accentuating the negative, let’s go positive.
What cars have you bought and loved even more than you expected?
- Nissan Sylvia Turbo - first “performance” car and the acceleration (compared with a 1.3 Astra) was epic
- Porsche 944S - quality and pace were a lovely combination - handling was involving but secure
- Golf VR6 - engine noise - first car I had that revving was a joy in itself
- Caterham R300 Superlight - connected and handling was gorgeous
- Jaguar XFR - noise and pace at revs.
- Boxster S - adjustable, quick enough - everything in a sensible sized package
I have owned many others that I could rate, but these were the ones that were milestone cars or were even better than expected… what are yours?
Stuart70 said:
Bunch of whinging ‘stards on here at times.
Rather than accentuating the negative, let’s go positive.
What cars have you bought and loved even more than you expected?
- Nissan Sylvia Turbo - first “performance” car and the acceleration (compared with a 1.3 Astra) was epic
- Porsche 944S - quality and pace were a lovely combination - handling was involving but secure
- Golf VR6 - engine noise - first car I had that revving was a joy in itself
- Caterham R300 Superlight - connected and handling was gorgeous
- Jaguar XFR - noise and pace at revs.
- Boxster S - adjustable, quick enough - everything in a sensible sized package
I have owned many others that I could rate, but these were the ones that were milestone cars or were even better than expected… what are yours?
3 standouts for me (for different reasons, and from a long list of cars owned):Rather than accentuating the negative, let’s go positive.
What cars have you bought and loved even more than you expected?
- Nissan Sylvia Turbo - first “performance” car and the acceleration (compared with a 1.3 Astra) was epic
- Porsche 944S - quality and pace were a lovely combination - handling was involving but secure
- Golf VR6 - engine noise - first car I had that revving was a joy in itself
- Caterham R300 Superlight - connected and handling was gorgeous
- Jaguar XFR - noise and pace at revs.
- Boxster S - adjustable, quick enough - everything in a sensible sized package
I have owned many others that I could rate, but these were the ones that were milestone cars or were even better than expected… what are yours?
Porsche 924S - build quality
Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE - luxury and comfort
Up GTi - feeling fast without actually being properly fast, fun factor
Stupid choice of cars?
Work used to have an old 1.9 turbo diesel astra van, old school turbo. Foot down, nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO! out the power band, change gear nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO!. etc
Terrible trying to pull out of junctions quickly, but when the turbo kicked in it was such a difference
Work used to have an old 1.9 turbo diesel astra van, old school turbo. Foot down, nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO! out the power band, change gear nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO!. etc
Terrible trying to pull out of junctions quickly, but when the turbo kicked in it was such a difference
Mk2 Focus ST
- Noise - The T5 noise is intoxicating. I miss it dearly. Mine had a 3" turbo back with 200 cell sports catalyst. Sounded sumbline, but not too loud and chavvy
- Handling - It's not sports car, but perfectly good for fast road driving.
- Comfort - It was so comfortable to drive. Mine had cloth recaros, and they were simply brilliant
- Community - Was brilliant at the time. Went to plenty of meets, drives out to places, and holidays spent with some fellow owners. Sadly the community seems to have nose dived recently.
- Parts - Plenty of after market parts available for pretty much anything on the car
Audi TT mk2 3.2 Quattro DSG. Bought by partner almost entirely because of how it looked. I had low expectations given all the nonsense spouted on the internet about haldex, DSG etc. Turned out to be a fabulous car, glorious noise, fantastic gearbox, properly fast, lovely place to sit.
2015 Skoda Octavia 4x4 estate 2.0tdi. Bought as a budget car after I sold all my cars when COVID happened with furlough and redundancies happening etc. Again I had low expectations, 4 pot diesels are not my favourite thing but it wholly exceeded my expectations. It was amazingly smooth and comfortable, had more performance than I needed, extremely practical and did double the mpg I'd been used to.
2015 Skoda Octavia 4x4 estate 2.0tdi. Bought as a budget car after I sold all my cars when COVID happened with furlough and redundancies happening etc. Again I had low expectations, 4 pot diesels are not my favourite thing but it wholly exceeded my expectations. It was amazingly smooth and comfortable, had more performance than I needed, extremely practical and did double the mpg I'd been used to.
Byker28i said:
Stupid choice of cars?
Work used to have an old 1.9 turbo diesel astra van, old school turbo. Foot down, nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO! out the power band, change gear nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO!. etc
Terrible trying to pull out of junctions quickly, but when the turbo kicked in it was such a difference
Where as yours is the pinnacle of logic and good taste... Jesus Christ Work used to have an old 1.9 turbo diesel astra van, old school turbo. Foot down, nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO! out the power band, change gear nothing, nothing, nothing TURBO!. etc
Terrible trying to pull out of junctions quickly, but when the turbo kicked in it was such a difference
MGB GT - as a lad in the 70s I held them in contempt, old fashioned, slow. Unreliable.
Then I became the accidental owner of one in the late 90s. And I discovered just how much fun could be had without breaking speed limits. And that they were surprisingly practical- I could fit a bike in mine.
Fiat x1/9 - exact opposite- lusted after them when first appeared late 70s, but way outside my means. Then bought one of the very last on a whim circa 1988 expecting to be disappointed, but it also was great fun. 85 HP has rarely felt so fast, and being a late one it had no Fiat badging- just Bertone, so most people had no idea what it was, assumed it was much more powerful than it was, and let me overtake them.
Both were liked by other drivers, which I think is a useful plus for any car. Even saved me a speeding ticket in the MGB from copper who was far more interested in the car than in my speed.
Then I became the accidental owner of one in the late 90s. And I discovered just how much fun could be had without breaking speed limits. And that they were surprisingly practical- I could fit a bike in mine.
Fiat x1/9 - exact opposite- lusted after them when first appeared late 70s, but way outside my means. Then bought one of the very last on a whim circa 1988 expecting to be disappointed, but it also was great fun. 85 HP has rarely felt so fast, and being a late one it had no Fiat badging- just Bertone, so most people had no idea what it was, assumed it was much more powerful than it was, and let me overtake them.
Both were liked by other drivers, which I think is a useful plus for any car. Even saved me a speeding ticket in the MGB from copper who was far more interested in the car than in my speed.
1.7 Puma. I had a Calibra at the time and had to borrow the FIL's Puma for a Lake District trip. I had the usual arguments lined up as to why I would hate it, Fiesta in a frock, not a proper coupe, underpowered, cheap marketing exercise living off the Bullitt drivers car advert, etc.
It was bloody brilliant. Gear change, peppy and fun to keep on the boil without going to silly speeds and handled brilliantly. It made my Calibra look feel like a repmobile Cavalier in a frock (which it was really!)
It was bloody brilliant. Gear change, peppy and fun to keep on the boil without going to silly speeds and handled brilliantly. It made my Calibra look feel like a repmobile Cavalier in a frock (which it was really!)
Hyundai i30N
Just great fun to grab by the scruff of the neck and thrash, and felt so well sorted and confidence inspiring. And it wasn't so stupidly fast you couldn't do drive it hard without losing your license as well.
And like all good hot hatches, it excelled at the practical stuff as well. Big boot, room for four adults, comfy, painlessly reliable etc.
I genuinely miss that car.
Just great fun to grab by the scruff of the neck and thrash, and felt so well sorted and confidence inspiring. And it wasn't so stupidly fast you couldn't do drive it hard without losing your license as well.
And like all good hot hatches, it excelled at the practical stuff as well. Big boot, room for four adults, comfy, painlessly reliable etc.
I genuinely miss that car.
Toyota MR2 Mk1.
After driving an MGB GT for 4 years as her daily my wife decided she wanted an MR2 (this is in the early 90s). We found a beautiful F-plate blue T-bar, just 3 years old, in perfect condition. That car was stunning, it was like climbing off a tractor (the MGB) and getting straight into a spaceship. At the time I was a serial TVR owner but this little Toyota genuinely delighted me. The look of the thing, the lovely interior, the steering, the handling, the perfect gearchange and an absolute peach of an engine - it was the most fun we'd ever had on four wheels.
However, the best bit, I can still remember the sound of the motors as they lifted the pop-up headlights, pure joy! I miss that car in our lives
After driving an MGB GT for 4 years as her daily my wife decided she wanted an MR2 (this is in the early 90s). We found a beautiful F-plate blue T-bar, just 3 years old, in perfect condition. That car was stunning, it was like climbing off a tractor (the MGB) and getting straight into a spaceship. At the time I was a serial TVR owner but this little Toyota genuinely delighted me. The look of the thing, the lovely interior, the steering, the handling, the perfect gearchange and an absolute peach of an engine - it was the most fun we'd ever had on four wheels.
However, the best bit, I can still remember the sound of the motors as they lifted the pop-up headlights, pure joy! I miss that car in our lives
1991 Honda CRX v-tec, beautiful small bit of engineering excellence
1991 Porsche 944 turbo, solid, brutal lag
2015 Alfa Romeo Brera V6 Prodrive S.......beautiful driveway ornament.
2006 Honda S2000 all round excellence, audio, visual, engineering, reliability, the lot.
2015....as per the S2000 but more....
1991 Porsche 944 turbo, solid, brutal lag
2015 Alfa Romeo Brera V6 Prodrive S.......beautiful driveway ornament.
2006 Honda S2000 all round excellence, audio, visual, engineering, reliability, the lot.
2015....as per the S2000 but more....
toon10 said:
1.7 Puma. I had a Calibra at the time and had to borrow the FIL's Puma for a Lake District trip. I had the usual arguments lined up as to why I would hate it, Fiesta in a frock, not a proper coupe, underpowered, cheap marketing exercise living off the Bullitt drivers car advert, etc.
It was bloody brilliant. Gear change, peppy and fun to keep on the boil without going to silly speeds and handled brilliantly. It made my Calibra look feel like a repmobile Cavalier in a frock (which it was really!)
My first thought too when I saw the thread title - Ford Puma 1.7. I'd have another today, it was superb.It was bloody brilliant. Gear change, peppy and fun to keep on the boil without going to silly speeds and handled brilliantly. It made my Calibra look feel like a repmobile Cavalier in a frock (which it was really!)
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