Has anyone changed their preference from sporty to wafty?

[TameRacingDriver]

After another drive in the MCS yesterday, it occurred to me that as with most hot hatches, and even most other vehicles with a sporting stance, they are in a way quite one dimensional, in so much as I only really seem to enjoy them when pressing on a bit.

I've owned a string of cars like this now, but I'm not getting any younger and to be honest the opportunities to press on are getting less, like it or not, and it can be frustrating, and frankly I don't always want to drive like this all the time anymore and in this case I could just be in any other hatchback really, so I'm now beginning to wonder whether I wouldn't enjoy a more relaxing, more luxurious car.

I'm thinking nice big engine (6 cylinder or more) with a nice noise and effortless torque, comfortable seats etc with the aim of a more relaxing drive, to enjoy other elements of driving, enjoying more of the scenery and just generally relaxing rather than hooning around. I remember when I had my 350z roadster it was such a relaxing car to tootle about in and made a lovely noise.

I realise this makes me sound a million years old but just wondering if anyone else has made the change and what they went for and why. Any thoughts?

[TameRacingDriver]

Toltec said:

I like my 530i touring, it is comfortable, practical and has enough go to drive a bit quicker if needed. I have a kit car, it is fun, noisy and very engaging to drive, I have done European road trips in it, but not with my wife.

I do have a hankering for an LC 500, not sure if I really want to spend that much money on a single car though. Was that what you meant by wafty?

I think when I say wafty I mean a car with GT qualities over outright sporting edge. Though I will think about anything at this point within reason. It'd be nice to have something that can be relaxing but also a bit of fun in the bends when the mood takes.

[TameRacingDriver]

Toltec said:

The Lexus is supposed to be more towards sporty for a GT, but still more a GT than sports car, if that makes sense. Sounds awsome too.

They look lovely, and would definitely be on my shortlist if I had £60k, alas, I do not More like £10k or £15k tops.

Drive it fix it repeat said:

Yep, just lately I’ve decided that I think barges are maybe my thing. I’ve had numerous dedicated sporting cars and while they are a lot of fun as has been said they are one dimensional quite often. For my next car I’m looking for something fairly big with a proper engine and a bit of shove. I’m more interested in having something that sounds good and I can roll about in comfort with.

I think in part my mindset was changed after I crashed and wrecked a very dedicated mx5, for quite a few months

I must admit the bit in bold is something I've been thinking about more recently. In my driving career I've seen quite a few accidents, funnily enough including a BBR MX5 that spun off into a field. Driver unharmed, but he was quite lucky.

Edited by TameRacingDriver on Sunday 6th June 14:03

[TameRacingDriver]

Ron240 said:

irst of all congratulations for still enjoying driving in your advanced years, so I dont want you to take my post in the wrong way.
It is a fact that the mind and body is affected by age and whether we like it or not our reactions slow down. You are wanting to switch to a more sporty car, and as a Fabia VRS is not known for its looks you must want it for the way it drives.
At 71 do you consider yourself capable of driving a "hot hatch" in the manner it was designed to do, and more importantly safely controlling it?
I am not suggesting you are ready for your pipe and slippers, but neither would I expect you to be desiring a hot hatch.
I am only 54 and still lust after fast cars, but I am pretty sure I will not do in the next 15 or 20 years.

A chap used to come out on PH runs up here, must have been at least late 70s, possibly in his 80s, with a tuned Audi TT running 300 bhp. He was plenty capable of piloting it at some obscene speeds! Turns out he used to be a racing driver.

[TameRacingDriver]

Shnozz said:

I think its a mixture of age and also UK roads these days.

So rare that you get a road not congested, with a decent surface, in ok weather and without cameras everywhere. On those very rare occasions a sporty car is a joy. However, more and more I don't enjoy UK roads so a wafter is a far more comfortable way to travel when you are just cruising along maintaining a steady speed in any conditions.

Yes, I think that's my thinking.

The fact I've been trying to make the ride on my Mini more bearable is probably quite telling!

Even up here in the North East, I've noticed roads are very much busier than a few years ago. I know some will tell me to get up earlier, but that's not the whole picture. I feel like I just want to have a more relaxing experience these days. There's something quite pleasant about not being in a hurry, in a car with some comfort and a nice noise filling your ears.

Ron240 said:

TameRacingDriver said:

Turns out he used to be a racing driver.

Just a tame one now though.

indeed

[TameRacingDriver]

Toltec said:

TameRacingDriver said:

Even up here in the North East, I've noticed roads are very much busier than a few years ago.

Bugger, quiet roads is one of the reasons I've been wanting to move there for several years now.

Its still possible to find quiet roads, but you do have to travel further away to get to them. Still way, way, way better than down south I would imagine. But I've definitely noticed the roads are busier than they were a decade or so ago. Yesterday I was virtually in the middle of nowhere and still more traffic than I would have liked. Good weather does tend to bring people out more, and we get less of that up here so

[TameRacingDriver]

DazzaSport said:

mintmansam said:

Honestly everyone is gonna hate this but try a GR Yaris I’ve posted about this before.

The suspension is fantastic for fast B road driving, it’s not too stiff so you can enjoy the slower pace. Previous hot hatches I’d think about going down a road or I’d get down it and I’d be sick of driving down due to the condition of the road.

I can’t get on with stiff hot hatches, I chose the softest tyre sidewall I could on my Mk7 Fiesta ST and put lighter wheels on to make the ride more comfortable

The Yaris is also quiet and comfortable. Issue is it’s small.

Yes, the Swift Sport is similar. It's not too stiff either. Some reviewers moan that the suspension is 'a bit soft', but they are missing the point entirely. When your car is lightweight - it doesn't need rock hard suspension in order to achieve great handling. Case in point - the Alpine A110.

This is why the overly heavy German performance cars tend to be made much stiffer and therefore a jiggly mess down very poor condition 'B' roads.

The Swift Sport is plenty taut enough, but can demolish a 'B' road without being bounced all over the place. When the suspension is just right, it should allow the tyre to stay in contact with the surface at all times. If your suspension is too stiff - it just hops and skips over the poor surface which means you can end up with literally no grip on occasion when you need it.

I'm amazed at how many YouTube wannabe car reviewers don't understand this concept. Many suggest that softer suspension, or more roll is a negative aspect, without really understanding the reason why.

Love the GR Yaris BTW!

Funnily enough I've been trying to make my Mini ride better... added coilovers and the ride is much better and the handling was fantastic. Then went and got a tyre with a slighter higher sidewall - nothing too drastic, going from 205/45/16 to 205/50/16 and the ride is even better but it now handles like st. Very disappointing. I've got it booked in for an alignment and corner weighting so hoping that fixes it otherwise I've just wasted a lot of money.

[TameRacingDriver]

mintmansam said:

TameRacingDriver said:

Funnily enough I've been trying to make my Mini ride better... added coilovers and the ride is much better and the handling was fantastic. Then went and got a tyre with a slighter higher sidewall - nothing too drastic, going from 205/45/16 to 205/50/16 and the ride is even better but it now handles like st. Very disappointing. I've got it booked in for an alignment and corner weighting so hoping that fixes it otherwise I've just wasted a lot of money.

Ah the trouble there is you’ve added mass the wheel, looks better less arch gap, but you’ve given the suspension a harder time controlling the wheel and more flex. You’ve also changed the geometry a fair bit as well. I was going to go down a similar option but didn’t as I sold before I did, interesting to hear about someone else doing it

Suzuki Swift Sport is such a fun car. I suppose that’s the issue cars are focused about being fast and not fun. Nothing beats weight transfer and a bit of roll, in terms of communication. And you can drive a car in so many ways when it softer sprung. Dive on the bends, let the back rotate round.

It's frustrating as I now realise I had things spot on before and now I've spoiled it. Looks like I'll be going back to the lower profile, sportier tyre and hope it gives me my handling back. I probably need to do this before I get my geo done next week otherwise I've got an obvious weak link.

And yeah I'm sure people are wondering why I'm spending the money on the car when I'm asking about something else and all I can say to that is I'm extremely fickle and don't know what I want yet!

Northernboy said:

I'm planning on moving my sports car up to Newcastle when I can sort out the logistics, so that I get to drive it for fun more. Hopefully there are still plenty of times when the roads are not too bad.

If you're prepared to either go out early or drive a few miles out you'll have no bother there tbh. It was merely an observation that things have become trickier lately. One thing I've noticed is people drive slower than ever before. I can't remember the last time anyone caught me up and I don't even drive all that quick most of the time, but I'm forever catching up dawdlers doing 30 in a 60.

Edited by TameRacingDriver on Tuesday 8th June 13:50