The Most Fun Cars To Drive ?

[DennisTheMenace]

work hack is a golf and its not bad , seems to have caught up with the focus a little , although the steering is still done via text mesaging ang the arse end is fidgity as hell . enjoying throwing it about though .

my old saab ng900 turbo though makes me smile , it cannot cope with teh engines power , it torque steers for sweden but i love it to bits , it has loads of character , and it is vastly better built than the golf .

[busta]

jackal said:

BLUETHUNDER said:

jackal said:

BLUETHUNDER said:

This was great fun to drive........

hi, can I ask what is that ? is it a defender ?

in what way was it fun ?

does it need to be a certain spec to be fun ?

Edited by jackal on Sunday 26th September 22:21

50th anniversary V8. Auto box. Stffened anti roll bar bushes. Great fun pushing it in to the twisties. Nimble in traffic. Just was a great vehicle to own.

MPG ?

What a stupid question!

[davidspooner]

Family mk1 focus diesel... I was shocked how pleasant it was to poodle along county roads due to the well balanced steering, brakes and gear change. A real surprise!

Slow as anything though.... Holding speed through corners is where it's at!

Eta: 'most fun' is probably pushing it, more 'most surprisingly fun compared to expectations'!

Edited by davidspooner on Sunday 26th September 23:01

[busta]

Another vote here for a 90s French hatch!



An extra 40hp and 100kgs lighter than standard only add to the fizzy, point and squirt fun. Really progressive grip levels and totally exploitable at any speed. Lit off slightly though any 30mph+ corner and it tightens into the apex wonderfully, breaking into smooth oversteer with a bit more provocation. You can throw it sideways through 100mph corners that would have M3 drivers chewing at their seat cushions and worrying about their tyre bill.

[otolith]

Couple of comments about the Elise's limits being too high to enjoy on the road - it's a fair point, you can't slide it around at low speed like an MX-5, but on the other hand you can enjoy the precision and feel of it without needing to. It also, crucially, does not conceal your speed. You don't need to be into custodial sentence territory to feel a sensation of speed.

[jackal]

busta said:

Another vote here for a 90s French hatch!



An extra 40hp and 100kgs lighter than standard only add to the fizzy, point and squirt fun. Really progressive grip levels and totally exploitable at any speed. Lit off slightly though any 30mph+ corner and it tightens into the apex wonderfully, breaking into smooth oversteer with a bit more provocation. You can throw it sideways through 100mph corners that would have M3 drivers chewing at their seat cushions and worrying about their tyre bill.

FWD and ultimately very one dimensional.

[Silver Smudger]

redgriff500 said:

Some interesting replies...

I had a Mk1 MR2 (a supercharged one) and didn't like it either.

What about it didn't you like? (to aid in further selection!)

[carmadgaz]

rossyIIa said:

smn159 said:

Depends what sort of driving you do most of. I use this to potter around town and for trips to the dump and it's brilliant:-



Costs peanuts to run and the grin factor is huge!

seconded

Thirded, I have as many smiles per mile as I do in the '5.

[redgriff500]

Silver Smudger said:

redgriff500 said:

Some interesting replies...

I had a Mk1 MR2 (a supercharged one) and didn't like it either.

What about it didn't you like? (to aid in further selection!)

Very cramped inside.

Didn't seem very communicative.

And generally just wasn't fun to drive.

Its not easy to describe what makes a car fun - if it was I suppose there would be more fun cars about.

[RobM77]

surrey7er said:

Caterfields/furys/atoms etc must be in with a shout?

I bet v8 cobra reps are fun too!

I found my Caterham (a roadsport VVC on terrible Avon ZR1 tyres that gave no grip at all) simply too fast for the roads in the dry. If I drove it properly (i.e. smoothly, without deliberately provoking it), the speeds just got silly and obviously very illegal. I prefer the Elise, because although its limits are probably a little higher, it's a more sophisticated and satisfying driving experience, with better steering feel and chassis feel.

[saladin]

dufusmuppet said:

saladin said:

It does have to be modern to have fun... many a good tune played on an old fiddle I'm coming up to the first years ownership of this.... And I am still smiling like a loon



If you want something newer the Reliant SS1 and later derivatives are always being talked about as fantastic drivers cars.....

Nice scimmy...used to have gte a few years back,lots of fun......

Thank you I had a GTE SE5A as well for ten years prior to owning this fabulous GT

GTE's are again are much underrated and a real ballsy car to drive

[Silver Smudger]

redgriff500 said:

Silver Smudger said:

redgriff500 said:

Some interesting replies...

I had a Mk1 MR2 (a supercharged one) and didn't like it either.

What about it didn't you like? (to aid in further selection!)

Very cramped inside.

Didn't seem very communicative.

And generally just wasn't fun to drive.

Its not easy to describe what makes a car fun - if it was I suppose there would be more fun cars about.

I only wondered as I have a Mk3, rated well in Evo's top 100, probably the most fun car I have driven (although I haven't driven any of the others suggested so far apart from an MX5). The Mk1 made Evo's list too, if only just!

Have you driven a Mk3?

[redgriff500]

Silver Smudger said:

redgriff500 said:

Silver Smudger said:

redgriff500 said:

Some interesting replies...

I had a Mk1 MR2 (a supercharged one) and didn't like it either.

What about it didn't you like? (to aid in further selection!)

Very cramped inside.

Didn't seem very communicative.

And generally just wasn't fun to drive.

Its not easy to describe what makes a car fun - if it was I suppose there would be more fun cars about.

I only wondered as I have a Mk3, rated well in Evo's top 100, probably the most fun car I have driven (although I haven't driven any of the others suggested so far apart from an MX5). The Mk1 made Evo's list too, if only just!

Have you driven a Mk3?

No.

I recently drove a Mk2 and it was awful.

The Mk3 is supposed to be much better.

[busta]

jackal said:

busta said:

Another vote here for a 90s French hatch!



An extra 40hp and 100kgs lighter than standard only add to the fizzy, point and squirt fun. Really progressive grip levels and totally exploitable at any speed. Lit off slightly though any 30mph+ corner and it tightens into the apex wonderfully, breaking into smooth oversteer with a bit more provocation. You can throw it sideways through 100mph corners that would have M3 drivers chewing at their seat cushions and worrying about their tyre bill.

FWD and ultimately very one dimensional.

I'm pretty sure it's 3 dimensional, although I will check with some of those cinema specs when I get a chance.

Seriously though, that's a pretty bold statement to make about a car you've obviously never driven. Funnily enough it's not the first FWD car to be mentioned in this thread...

[busta]

Just remembered this:

Part one

Part two

Clarkson and a couple of BTCC drivers trying to find out the best handling car ever. Essentially they all put the 106GTI first, but Clarkson decides that it can't beat a Ferrrari on principal so it comes second.

Edited by busta on Monday 27th September 23:31

[Motorrad]

968 CS is the most fun sub 15K car I've driven. Assuming you can still find one for that price.

Great steering and brake feel, just enough power and a well balanced all round package.

edit to add: I'm assuming here you actually have to use it as a car otherwise a super seven clone is best, obviously.

Edited by Motorrad on Tuesday 28th September 01:26

[300bhp/ton]

busta said:

jackal said:

BLUETHUNDER said:

jackal said:

BLUETHUNDER said:

This was great fun to drive........

hi, can I ask what is that ? is it a defender ?

in what way was it fun ?

does it need to be a certain spec to be fun ?

Edited by jackal on Sunday 26th September 22:21

50th anniversary V8. Auto box. Stffened anti roll bar bushes. Great fun pushing it in to the twisties. Nimble in traffic. Just was a great vehicle to own.

MPG ?

What a stupid question!

Although I suspect 12-22mpg depending on driving style and tyres. Auto box saps a bit too.

A 3.5 carb V8 5 speed manual I use from time to time will do 17-19mpg on a run and 12-15mpg pottering about/short distance.

[300bhp/ton]

jackal said:

BLUETHUNDER said:

This was great fun to drive........

hi, can I ask what is that ? is it a defender ?

in what way was it fun ?

does it need to be a certain spec to be fun ?

Edited by jackal on Sunday 26th September 22:21

They might not appeal to everyone, but they can be huge fun to hustle. Spec wise, no not really, although a V8 or tweaked diesel make it more appealing.

But as others have said in this tread, even a leaf sprung Series Landy can be huge fun to drive. MASSIVE sense of occasion and they handle well, although very differently to a car.

Think of it this way, you can enjoy tea and beer, but for very different reasons.

[pbirkett]

busta said:

jackal said:

busta said:

Another vote here for a 90s French hatch!



An extra 40hp and 100kgs lighter than standard only add to the fizzy, point and squirt fun. Really progressive grip levels and totally exploitable at any speed. Lit off slightly though any 30mph+ corner and it tightens into the apex wonderfully, breaking into smooth oversteer with a bit more provocation. You can throw it sideways through 100mph corners that would have M3 drivers chewing at their seat cushions and worrying about their tyre bill.

FWD and ultimately very one dimensional.

I'm pretty sure it's 3 dimensional, although I will check with some of those cinema specs when I get a chance.

Seriously though, that's a pretty bold statement to make about a car you've obviously never driven. Funnily enough it's not the first FWD car to be mentioned in this thread...

Well I've driven a saxo vts, petty much the same as a 106 gti, and its not even as good a handler as something like a dc2 let alone a ferrari. I'm afraid I just can't take that "handling test" versus the ferrari seriously, as nice as it must be for the driver of a hotted up shopping kart to think they have a car that handles better than supercars.

As for the one dimensional comment, I know where he is coming from. You simply get more options in a rwd due to the driving wheels being separate from the steering wheels. Sure you can do lift off oversteer in a fwd car, but you can do this AND power oversteer in a rwd, and in general, they are far more balanced, far more adjustable and more fun than fwd imo.

I will admit though that the 106 is one of the most fun fwd cars, but for me fwd simply can't compete with rwd for fun, all things being equal, imo.

[busta]

pbirkett said:

busta said:

jackal said:

busta said:

Another vote here for a 90s French hatch!



An extra 40hp and 100kgs lighter than standard only add to the fizzy, point and squirt fun. Really progressive grip levels and totally exploitable at any speed. Lit off slightly though any 30mph+ corner and it tightens into the apex wonderfully, breaking into smooth oversteer with a bit more provocation. You can throw it sideways through 100mph corners that would have M3 drivers chewing at their seat cushions and worrying about their tyre bill.

FWD and ultimately very one dimensional.

I'm pretty sure it's 3 dimensional, although I will check with some of those cinema specs when I get a chance.

Seriously though, that's a pretty bold statement to make about a car you've obviously never driven. Funnily enough it's not the first FWD car to be mentioned in this thread...

Well I've driven a saxo vts, petty much the same as a 106 gti, and its not even as good a handler as something like a dc2 let alone a ferrari. I'm afraid I just can't take that "handling test" versus the ferrari seriously, as nice as it must be for the driver of a hotted up shopping kart to think they have a car that handles better than supercars.

As for the one dimensional comment, I know where he is coming from. You simply get more options in a rwd due to the driving wheels being separate from the steering wheels. Sure you can do lift off oversteer in a fwd car, but you can do this AND power oversteer in a rwd, and in general, they are far more balanced, far more adjustable and more fun than fwd imo.

I will admit though that the 106 is one of the most fun fwd cars, but for me fwd simply can't compete with rwd for fun, all things being equal, imo.

Let's not turn this into a FWD vs. RWD debate! I've said what my favourite car to drive on the road is, and shown a clip of 3 professional drivers who nearly agree. Admittedly I don't have the broadest range of car experience but hey, at least I've contributed something positive and several others have made similar suggestions so it's not just me. So what's your favourite? There's no right or wrong answer!