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If you are after a challenge at road legal speeds then a Mk1 Triumph Vitesse convertible on crossplys was the most 'interesting' and hillarious handling car I drove. Especially in the wet. Sweet straight 6 1600 motor sounded great especially with the top down, couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding but it was fun.
Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio (on a dry, hot day)
I’ll join in.
From personal experience a 1990 Skoda Rapid coupe 1.3. Spent more time sideways in that thing than forward. 67bhp optimistically. A bit like a go kart, especially the brakes that locked up if you so much as thought about braking into a corner.
Nissan primera 1.6 Sri 1995. Incredible chassis (same as the eGT) and could be (needed to be) thrashed everywhere. Easy to control on the limit. Remember hitting ice at a crossroads with lights turning right, and controlling a perfect drift through the traffic islands. Must have been going 20mph.
“Did you deliver Tofu in it?”
You’ve lost me there P-Jay?
To those who say Elise or 911 - different cars for different situations. Track day Elise - want to drive to the Alps and enjoy it 911. Fortunately I make that decision every time I go to the garage.
That Alpine is one of the most desirable cars on sale today in my mind...would buy one in a heartbeat, just need to go do a bank first. Focused on lightweight, just the right amount of power, suspension that works and flows with the road rather than achieving 'handling' by being sprung like a roller-skate - hopefully more manufacturers wake up to this being a way forward instead of too much power/grip/weight being the norm in anything deemed 'sporty'.
GT86, Elise/ Exige, Cayman GTS/GT4 (or whichever is the best spec a layman can actually buy!) would also do just fine.
Problem is the market for these sort of things is tiny with the default option being the antithetical 2tonne bloated SUV - as far as saving the polar bears is concerned, a small petrol engined proper light car can have lower impact than the dirty diesel - my 1200kg 220bhp can get me mid-40's mpg on a cruise, lighter on its components too, happy enough with that.
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That Alpine is one of the most desirable cars on sale today in my mind…would buy one in a heartbeat, just need to go do a bank first. Focused on lightweight, just the right amount of power, suspension that works and flows with the road rather than achieving ‘handling’ by being sprung like a roller-skate – hopefully more manufacturers wake up to this being a way forward instead of too much power/grip/weight being the norm in anything deemed ‘sporty’.
100% what I was thinking when I suggested it's on the last page.
This gets a lot of great reviews..
£13750 (thereabouts)
If I was into “driving” then I reckon this would probably be the car...
Small, but fun, can go shopping in it, get a roof rack on it etc.. etc.. and wazzle around the Downs innit.
I’ll join in.
From personal experience a 1990 Skoda Rapid coupe 1.3. Spent more time sideways in that thing than forward.
Yes!!!
If you want to have fun on the road, without being a massive bellend, something communicative with a nice throttle response is perfect.
Soooooo,
Old Minis.
2CV's and their derivatives.
RWD Escorts.
AX GT.
Power is irrelevant. Communication is the key.
Breadvan Civics were nice, Mk1 and 2 Golfs, Renault 5's etc. Even the Citroen C15 van was fun, until my sister in law's waters broke on the passenger seat.
Most modern cars are so detached from reality you might as well play a video game.
Piss takers assemble, but the Mighty Doblo was hellish fun. Turbo lag gave the impression of a decent powerband, sharp steering, agricultural suspension and a lack of rear grip made for an involving ride.
I remember when, I think it was Car magazine, turbo’d a 2cv. That sounds like a lot of fun. Until you hit something.
Similar to tonyg, different cars for different drives.
Pre kids I had a TVR and missus had a 911 (993). Strangely neither of us are or were ever car people. We also had a very old fiesta which was used more.
TVR was a Chimera with the 500 engine (I don’t know what that means apart from it was bigger than standard).
The Porsche was nice, but that strangely had a leak, it was the convertible, was a company car so was dealt with quickly. My TVR was pretty much faultless, but it was also pretty much rarely driven.
For us non petrol heads the 911 was more fun as it was so easy to drive. The TVR was sometimes too scary to be fun. The TVR only had the one major problem, well one other apart from not staying on the road in the wet, alternator wouldn’t charge the battery, I’d have to leave the engine running when filling up with fuel. I lived abroad so servicing the TVR was difficult. But for what the OP said, 911 is the car.
Or my Berlingo. Love my Berlingo!
To me it has to be soft top for the smells and getting close to the road/environment.
For the cheap win a Suzuki Cappuccino. Stunning engine, great brakes, not much grip.
I’m surprised at some of the comments on Caterhams above. I find them sublime to drive, you can feel exactly what’s happening and where the limit is (I’m not talking stupidly fast ones). What puts me off one though these days is the lack of all weather capability.
Elise very very nice. However not nearly as easy to drive on the edge of grip as a Caterham/Cappuccino.
MX5 Mk3 biggest disappointment in acar ever. Absolutely no soul and just lacking. A nice car but not a sports car. I should have got an older Mk1 or 2 which are brilliant in comparison
At the moment I’d love a Boxter just because of the beautiful noise they make and the comfort etc, however in reality im sure I’d actually be disappointed.
Which leads me back to keeping the current BMW 330e which is a very good overall car, and getting a moderately fast Caterham for weekends
At the moment I’d love a Boxter just because of the beautiful noise they make and the comfort etc, however in reality im sure I’d actually be disappointed.
Which leads me back to keeping the current BMW 330e which is a very good overall car, and getting a moderately fast Caterham for weekends
Had a Boxster for many years and 60,000 miles and while it was nice to drive it was not really involving in a Caterham sort of way. Your plan sounds like a good one to me and you may find yourself using your Caterham more than just at weekends. The single bad point of Caterhams for me is winter driving (no air con to clear windows) combined with them being a pain to get in and out of when the roof is on.
Personally I drive a 130i, 265hp of naturally aspirated, rear wheel drive fun in a package that I can fit my bike in and is reasonably discreet.
I totally agree - I looked at those a few years ago and drove a couple. Great fun and totally under the radar. Ended up with the (newer model) m135i which is pretty much my perfect car. Discreet enough for looking sensible at work, not too showy that your neighbours will hate you (just don't start it up in sports mode), and fast enough for anyone. Oh, and bikes can fit in/on it without too much drama. That was on a lease, I was sad when that went back.
I'm definitely in the market for another m1/2 35/40i at some point. It's a total sweet spot for me. It's probably not a 'driver's car' in the true sense of the OP though.
Very happy with my Twingo RS 133. Last of the non turbo RS. Fun to drive, takes a bike vertically with front wheel off. Slightly practical with four seats (or luggage). My two sons enjoy it. The youngest passed his test in it!
Cheapest car in the back of EVO magazine. Natural follow on to the original mini. The car you’ll learn to drive fast at silverstone.
Very happy with my Twingo RS 133. Last of the non turbo RS. Fun to drive, takes a bike vertically with front wheel off.
I’ve been looking at the RS Twingo recently, along with the Swift Sport and others, as a cheap run around. Do you have a pic at all of how the bike fits?
I've changed my mind about the Jaaaaaaaazzz.
Just got back from the Cumbria guitar show in Penrith.
If you get the tyre pressures right (my mistake,too high initially) the steering is odd but predictable.
Thrashing the living arse off it, it's quite a nice place to be.
Worst clutch ever and there's something a bit weird about the steering geometry, but a tour of the quieter bits of the Lakes was quite fun.
Very lightly built, so skips away from the chosen line on bumpy corners, manages that old Jap bike thing of having too much high speed damping and not enough low speed, whilst having cock all suspension travel.
Jouncy.
Definitely not a driver's car in any sense, but it has proved that you can have fun in anything.
The engine is odd. All the power (🙂) is at the top end, but Honda didn't bother with the refinement side of things, so it sounds like two skeletons ****ing in a dustbin at the happy end of the dial.
Still not a patch on my old Jetta, less fun than the succession of warmed up Giugiaro Puntos (still the best looking small car ever) my wife insists on torturing, but I'm happy with my appliance.
And I managed not to buy anything but a purple cable at the guitar show and had a nice roast at Tebay (free air, nice pies).
Should have taken Joyce, she'd have loved it.