What car should a true pistonhead own?
Discussion
GG33 said:
phazed said:
On that note, I’ll come out officially and say I bought a Boxster. 
Maybe you should be asking 'What car should a true Hairdresser own' :-)As you were.......
phazed said:
That really isn’t funny. If you’ve ever driven one of these you would know that they would leave a TVR down country lanes where it counts most.
As you were.......
Take a chill pill...it was a joke. It's a fairly common one among TVR owners. (I have owned 3 TVR's and 5 Porka's over the years so I do know what a Boxster can do). The standard Boxster is a little under powered, only the Spyder variants have great performance. As you were.......
There are so many cars that fulfill the criteria of a pistonhead from an MG midget to a Toyota GT86 to a TVR and beyond to a McLaren. I guess the only criteria that matters is that the car is fun to drive and fun is such a subjective thing. Personally I think performance, looks, handling, responsiveness are all important but an MG midget has little performance and yet the one my mate had was an absolute hoot!
The one thing that kills a car's driving pleasure is if it is too insulated from the physical sensations of the road. Arguably as cars have become far more refined over the years some of that driving pleasure and sensation has been lost. A modern Golf GTI for example is probably faster than its 1985 equivalent but also far more refined, quieter, smoother and therefore I think duller to a degree. Fortunately there are still manufacturers who embrace the sensation of driving and my GT86, an MX5 etc is great fun for sure on a nice country lane.
One other thing that matters is whether the car is a commuter or a pleasure car. The GT86 is my daily driver and is about as raw and noisy as I would want such a car to be, the TVR (griffith pre-cat) comes out when I am touring or want an even more visceral experience. I used to have a Jag XJ8 as a daily driver and that was sublime on motorways so I think if I ever win the lottery I'm going to end up with several cars in order to cover all bases!
Saxon
The one thing that kills a car's driving pleasure is if it is too insulated from the physical sensations of the road. Arguably as cars have become far more refined over the years some of that driving pleasure and sensation has been lost. A modern Golf GTI for example is probably faster than its 1985 equivalent but also far more refined, quieter, smoother and therefore I think duller to a degree. Fortunately there are still manufacturers who embrace the sensation of driving and my GT86, an MX5 etc is great fun for sure on a nice country lane.
One other thing that matters is whether the car is a commuter or a pleasure car. The GT86 is my daily driver and is about as raw and noisy as I would want such a car to be, the TVR (griffith pre-cat) comes out when I am touring or want an even more visceral experience. I used to have a Jag XJ8 as a daily driver and that was sublime on motorways so I think if I ever win the lottery I'm going to end up with several cars in order to cover all bases!
Saxon
phazed said:
GG33 said:
phazed said:
On that note, I’ll come out officially and say I bought a Boxster.
Maybe you should be asking 'What car should a true Hairdresser own' :-)As you were.......
GG33 said:
Take a chill pill...it was a joke. It's a fairly common one among TVR owners. (I have owned 3 TVR's and 5 Porka's over the years so I do know what a Boxster can do). The standard Boxster is a little under powered, only the Spyder variants have great performance.
Joke acknowledged! I agree the Spyder is a great car but only has a few more horses than an S, (10 I believe)
I loved my 400 horse chim but am equally charmed by the capabilities of the little Boxster, very underrated.
Getting back to the subject in hand I believe a true PHer just has a love of cars.
We can't all afford what we would really like or it probably isn't practical to own the type of car that we would prefer so we make do with what is practical and desirable within those constraints.
When our four children were young and I had to conform to people carriers I bought what I thought was the best available under the circumstances. A T4 Volkswagen Transporter MultiVan. 150 bhp of five cylinder diesel power, beautifully kitted out and superbly comfortable for certain people. It would cruise all day and close to the town can all six of us, luggage and six bikes strapped on the back. In my view it was also super cool. Most people didn't get it but I loved it.
Now my beautiful 5.5 Chimaera has gone and been replaced with a Teutonic Porsche so at the moment, nothing mechanical to fiddle with. Given the above, the fact that I love cars and tinkering with them I have made the bold decision as I'm doing much less mileage having given up work to sell my super reliable, extremely comfortable Mercedes ML 320 as I have recently bought the equivalent of a TVR to replace it!
Welcome to a 2001 P38 Range Rover Vogue, 4.6 L. I love the look of these, the V8 sound and ultimately it is an open canvas for tinkering with. I've already got a list as long as my arm to fiddle about on and I love it. My wife certainly doesn't understand the decision but then she doesn't go on PH! I rest my case.
We can't all afford what we would really like or it probably isn't practical to own the type of car that we would prefer so we make do with what is practical and desirable within those constraints.
When our four children were young and I had to conform to people carriers I bought what I thought was the best available under the circumstances. A T4 Volkswagen Transporter MultiVan. 150 bhp of five cylinder diesel power, beautifully kitted out and superbly comfortable for certain people. It would cruise all day and close to the town can all six of us, luggage and six bikes strapped on the back. In my view it was also super cool. Most people didn't get it but I loved it.
Now my beautiful 5.5 Chimaera has gone and been replaced with a Teutonic Porsche so at the moment, nothing mechanical to fiddle with. Given the above, the fact that I love cars and tinkering with them I have made the bold decision as I'm doing much less mileage having given up work to sell my super reliable, extremely comfortable Mercedes ML 320 as I have recently bought the equivalent of a TVR to replace it!
Welcome to a 2001 P38 Range Rover Vogue, 4.6 L. I love the look of these, the V8 sound and ultimately it is an open canvas for tinkering with. I've already got a list as long as my arm to fiddle about on and I love it. My wife certainly doesn't understand the decision but then she doesn't go on PH! I rest my case.
Mutley00 said:
Sorry 'phazed' but while there is a hole in my arse, I'm never going to be persuaded that a true pistonhead should own a Range Rover.
......or a Boxster
That did make me laugh, thank you for that ......or a Boxster
Edited by Mutley00 on Friday 10th July 19:54
For me, owning and using a performance car is part of it. Being able to tinker with it, improve it, repair it and upgrade it is all part of loving your cars.
I have had probably the worlds, (said in a Clarkson type voice) fastest NA chim which I did exactly what I wanted to in my nearly 8 years of ownership. It was a well-known car on this forum and in wider circles. Yes, I do miss it but have moved on for a few reasons I need not discuss on here.
That said, the Boxster fills the void, better than you think, where TVR has left. You need to drive one, I mean really drive one to appreciate their capability. If you have and didn't like it well that's fine. For me it fits the bill and gets used more than any TVR I have had before which must be a good thing.
Regarding the Range Rover, this fulfils my tinkering passion, is a little bit of Land Rover history, is getting rare on the roads and is actually a nice drive as well. I could easily buy a new or late-model generic car of sorts but I actually like the P38 and bought it for that reason.
What car does a true PistonHeader drive? Anything they damn well like. Whatever they can afford, whatever gives them a buzz, whatever give them that warm feeling as they look back upon their pride and joy parked up and they say to rhemselves, that is mine. It is not just my transport, it is my hobby, my love and in some cases my life.
Glad you took my remark in the jocular meaning it was intended matey. A Rangey does seem a strange/large choice of car to tinker with though?
I test drove a Boxster S not long ago, and just found it a bit too refined for me and didn't feel that quick. But then again I was comparing it to my Elise, and everything is refined compared to that! Its amazing how fast it feels when you are virtually sat on the road and your only 'driver aids' are the wipers.
So can I propose an Elise for all pistonheads to sample?
I test drove a Boxster S not long ago, and just found it a bit too refined for me and didn't feel that quick. But then again I was comparing it to my Elise, and everything is refined compared to that! Its amazing how fast it feels when you are virtually sat on the road and your only 'driver aids' are the wipers.
So can I propose an Elise for all pistonheads to sample?
I have had a few passenger laps around Snetterton in a Caterham, one of the higher powered versions, driven by a guy who races.
Utterly raw experience, we seemed to spend most of the time somewhat sideways, but huge fun.
There is no doubt in my mind that I would visit the scenery 4 times a lap, or be appallingly slow, so all credit to those who can drive them at speed.
Utterly raw experience, we seemed to spend most of the time somewhat sideways, but huge fun.
There is no doubt in my mind that I would visit the scenery 4 times a lap, or be appallingly slow, so all credit to those who can drive them at speed.
Mutley00 said:
Glad you took my remark in the jocular meaning it was intended matey. A Rangey does seem a strange/large choice of car to tinker with though?
I test drove a Boxster S not long ago, and just found it a bit too refined for me and didn't feel that quick. But then again I was comparing it to my Elise, and everything is refined compared to that! Its amazing how fast it feels when you are virtually sat on the road and your only 'driver aids' are the wipers.
So can I propose an Elise for all pistonheads to sample?
I have never driven an Elise but I have done many laps at brands Hatch in a high spec Exige. Absolutely lovely car. Unbeatable handling on track for a road based car.I test drove a Boxster S not long ago, and just found it a bit too refined for me and didn't feel that quick. But then again I was comparing it to my Elise, and everything is refined compared to that! Its amazing how fast it feels when you are virtually sat on the road and your only 'driver aids' are the wipers.
So can I propose an Elise for all pistonheads to sample?
Regarding the S that you drove, I agree that they are refined and I absolutely love that part of it but you can’t say they are slow. Mine is just over 300 BHP and obviously it is no match for my old 5.5 but it is still pretty rocket ship fast, certainly more than fast enough as a road car.
For instance, late one evening a couple of weeks ago coming off a duel carriageway roundabout next to an M2 with flappy paddles, acceleration from about 30 to very fast was identical. I’m not sure what that exactly means but it certainly seemed very quick!
I won’t go on anymore otherwise everyone will go and buy a Boxster and they’ll be even more common than they are at the moment! Even my daughter has a standard Boxster! FFS!
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