Do fast cars provide long term satisfaction?

[NooBish AbbZ]

I had the 340i (320bhp) for 2 years and like you i was frustrated and how often you (couldn't) utilise it's power. It was a dream over in Germany and it was always nice to have on a motorway slip road, or from a set of traffic lights, but, our country sucks for quick cars. I'm between cars at the minute (though have always had motorbike(s)) but my next car is much more likely to be a small hatchback that will be nice and light(1000kg or so), agile, with less power(160-200ish) but hopefully more fun. The BM was ridiculous in a straight line, but in the twisties, it was pretty horrendous; i'm guessing due to the damn run-flats.

In the summary, the power was amazing and i loved having it.....for the 2% of the time i could use some of it, and even then, not for long. It'd pull effortlessly to 90 in a few seconds

A few years ago when I had a bike and a 100ps Ford Focus and i was looking at A45 AMG's, S3's, 1/340is, i always said you could have a Mclaren 670S, or a Nissan GTR, or a Huracan, yet you could easily still get stuck behind a Skoda or a Nissan Leaf. Whereas on a bike, much easier to overtake ue to the size and weight

 

[NVP]

if you want to learn it's limits give it some beans while cornering. not that hard to figure out what it can handle. best to do this on a large roundabout, inside lane when it's quiet. that way if it slips you can let go of accelerator and recover. if it doesn't let you then hit the brakes

This is pure genius!

 

[NVP]

but my next car is much more likely to be a small hatchback

Come join me in the Mini revolution!

The BM was ridiculous in a straight line, but in the twisties, it was pretty horrendous; i'm guessing due to the damn run-flats

I've never known any BMW to handle horrendously through corners. What spec was this? I'm guessing an msport right?

 

[ShivP]

Come join me in the Mini revolution!



I've never known any BMW to handle horrendously through corners. What spec was this? I'm guessing an msport right?

218d active tourer?

 

[NVP]

Have you driven an active tourer?

 

[ShivP]

Have you driven an active tourer?

Yes
17 plate, drove last year. Pretty uninteresting but what is to be expected of this type of car. Numb steering & understeer
I also drove a 130i M sport on stock suspension. Was pretty horrendous on an albeit v poor quality back road, felt like no thought had gone into the damping whatsoever. I hear they are much better with aftermarket suspension however.

 

[Zeed]

Yes you get used to it... even a McLaren 720S... but that doesn’t mean it loses its appeal.

Well that depends on person and the car. I'm on the high fear factor side Never gotten 100% used to my toy 8 years of trashing it track b road. Would still scare the crap out of Me


And in general Horsepower is just a number..... One could have 500hp in 3000kg suv and would feel slow.
power/weight is where fun is at

 

[Zeed]

Yeah I must say my ratty old MX5 was much more fun than the Volvo is despite the Volvo having three times the power and being hugely faster as a result. Probably half the 0 - 60 time etc.

But as Gibbo says it makes 100MPH feel like 50MPH whereas the MX5 was the other way round, so it was possible to have fun with less risk!

Still, I do enjoy the shove of the torque in the Volvo, and the 5 cylinder noises and turbo fluttering...

O ye I call it the FEAR FACTOR :]

 

[NVP]

Yes
17 plate, drove last year. Pretty uninteresting but what is to be expected of this type of car. Numb steering & understeer

Unlucky. Maybe I should have specified RWD BMW haha

Ah yes bmws do hop and skip and struggle to put traction down on dodgy surfaces but the handling is always spot on.

 

[Akagi]

O ye I call it the FEAR FACTOR :]

Sideways on semi slicks in the rain or snow watching a curb coming towards you rather too rapidly does get the heart pumping rather

I can't believe I had to replace the same lower arm twice on that car haha.

 

[Stephanie Peterson]

Modern heavy boosted stuff is just a quick hit of good gear then plenty of time afterwards on the comedown.
Hence why i moved from the silly bhp to the smaller bhp, but with much smaller weight (the 5)

It gets boring putting your foot down and going fast for 3 seconds until you run out of road/talent or of course find a friendly plod or other car in the way. With the 5, drop the top, listen to the (very) loud exhaust and it feels like your doing twice or more the speed something 4wd or 2tons would need to do to feel entertaining.
Still quick though to be honest just not stupid like modern, german especially, stuff.

 

[kindai]

Just made a 30 minute drive home into a 2 hour one, 2 hours of rampaging high pitch demon fire breathing fun.

Do you get bored of it? Only if you drive it on boring roads.

 

[Akagi]

Modern heavy boosted stuff is just a quick hit of good gear then plenty of time afterwards on the comedown.
Hence why i moved from the silly bhp to the smaller bhp, but with much smaller weight (the 5)

It gets boring putting your foot down and going fast for 3 seconds until you run out of road/talent or of course find a friendly plod or other car in the way. With the 5, drop the top, listen to the (very) loud exhaust and it feels like your doing twice or more the speed something 4wd or 2tons would need to do to feel entertaining.
Still quick though to be honest just not stupid like modern, german especially, stuff.

Agreed. I could very easily get in trouble with my Volvo... It can do 0 - 150MPH on a 1 mile stretch of straight dual carriageway near my house in Mexico, from traffic light to traffic light...

Acceleration is the main source of fun in it. Whereas in the MX5's, roof down, twisty B roads at mostly legal speeds, was just as fun and much safer. Maybe.

 

[Nasher]

Yes
17 plate, drove last year. Pretty uninteresting but what is to be expected of this type of car. Numb steering & understeer
I also drove a 130i M sport on stock suspension. Was pretty horrendous on an albeit v poor quality back road, felt like no thought had gone into the damping whatsoever. I hear they are much better with aftermarket suspension however.

A lot of German cars seem to have horrible damping for some reason :/

Agreed. I could very easily get in trouble with my Volvo... It can do 0 - 150MPH on a 1 mile stretch of straight dual carriageway near my house in Mexico, from traffic light to traffic light...

Acceleration is the main source of fun in it. Whereas in the MX5's, roof down, twisty B roads at mostly legal speeds, was just as fun and much safer. Maybe.

And it's a lot easier to tune or install a turbo/SC than to make a car handle better

 

[[TW]Fox]

As long as I have enough performance I don't get bored or crave any more and am happy to remain at that level. My current car at 0-60 in 5.8 is sufficient and I have no real interest in any additional performance beyond that. I'll likely get the same model again when change time appears.

 

[Stephanie Peterson]

A lot of German cars seem to have horrible damping for some reason :/

Your not kidding the e46 msport i had was absolutely terrible. Very very stiff suspension and it didnt handle well regardless, prob due to the 1600 kilo kerbweight again.

 

[Nasher]

Your not kidding the e46 msport i had was absolutely terrible. Very very stiff suspension and it didnt handle well regardless, prob due to the 1600 kilo kerbweight again.

I found the same in a Q5 "s-line". Supposed to be a comfortable SUV but it didn't ride all that much better than my gt86 lol. The A5 was so bad it actually made me car sick as a passenger for the first time since I was a kid.

 

[wesimmo]

I've found the faster cars I have owned the more sensibly I have driven.

Probably have more fun in my Abarth at road legal speeds than when I owned my SLK55. I think it is more how a car makes you feel when you are behind the wheel rather than straight out speed or power.

If you were to jump into a Ford Puma 1.7 and drive it like you stole it, you would have your licence still and probably a massive grin. Rather than hopping into anything with 400bhp plus and be able to use it for about 5 seconds before being in licence loosing territory.

This is why MX5s are so great, they're so common and so slow no one notices them as you go everywhere at 100%.

 

[Stephanie Peterson]

Except they aint slow (5s) well the ND isnt.
Stock 0-60 is quoted as being what.. 7.2 - in reality its a bit quicker but not much into the 6s.

Exhaust and remap (with 700rpm extra and near 20hp like the 2019 model) and its a solid 6 dead easy, if not in the late 5s with a good launch - yes the new one can shift.

 

[[TW]Fox]

The A5 was so bad it actually made me car sick as a passenger for the first time since I was a kid.

I had an A5 SLine as a rental for a week a few months back and the ride was absolutely fine.