If you've driven your dream car(s), did it live up to expectations?

[Rroff]

My ultimate dream car is an Oscar India Aston V8 Vantage.

Reminds me - a (well done) street modified Aston Martin Vulcan is one of my dream cars - something very unlikely I'm ever going to own hah. I dunno how AM can make a car which looks that good, then come out with some of the other stuff which looks so naff though.

 

[mrk]

The motoring press and owners of cars often overstate how good a car is. Different people also have different expectations and desires as to what they want out of a car. It also depends what you're comparing to/have driven previously.

I wasn't blown away by an E46 M3 when I drove one, for example.

Problem is with an E46 so many variables can affect how it feels and a lot of the time most have not been given the attention they need in terms of mechanical sympathy, which cost comes into it too. If the bushes are worn then the handling won't feel as planted as they should, even the convertible is well planted and agile on fresh unworn bushes. Then the engine if left completely stock only has a whiff of induction noise.

Also was the VANOS in good order? If not then the timing and power delivery won't be smooth at low RPM or urgent at high RPM.

You really want at least an Eventuri (was £550 when I got it, now much more expensive sadly) brings the induction noise close to CSL standard if it's on a 2005 or 2006 model as theys hare the same thinner CSL manifold so have more meat to the sound. The CF induction noise also resonates the cabin in different ways at varying RPMs from 3000 to red line so that in itself is an extra experience. Then when you blip the throttle on downshifts you get the intake and ITBs doing that bark/crack thing which just sounds excellent, it's loud enough that pedestrians walking on the pavement will get startled. You don't get that the same way with the stock airbox installed.

Also manual gearbox over SMG for obvious reasons.

There's loads more of course and they all add up to making or breaking the driving experience of the E46 specifically.

 

[robj20]

I've only ever really wanted two cars growing up.
TVR Tuscan, never drove one of those.
Mazda RX7, drove that one. Still the best car, I had to dial it back though and actually got an RX8 instead and that's the best overall car I've owned fast enough but most importantly amazing to drive.

I was never into typical dream cars, zero interest.

 

[tom_nieto]

I always hanker after lots of different machines. I think the one that really got away is a TVR Tuscan (not that it’s totally unobtainable, I just haven’t driven one), but I didn’t jump at one when they were much newer and much better priced. Would have been terrible to live with at the time! My dad’s got a DB9 cabriolet which is one of my all time favourite cars to look at, but the drive leaves me a bit cold. The V12 is ok sounding, but lazy, the car is very much a GT and I much much prefer his Mk8 Fiesta ST as a driving experience. It invites you to drive it much more vigorously.

Did a track experience day with a Gallardo (fast and dramatic, but pedal box too narrow for my flipper feet), 997.1 Turbo (fast, but numb and the tiptronic auto box ruined it for me) and an Ariel Atom (terrifying and would take some getting used to). Jumped back into my S2000 at the end and realised that it was an amazing machine and much more accessible. A proper track day at Rockingham proved that 100% and we had a brilliant day as the second slowest car of the day!!

Which brings me on to my current car - 997.1 C2S manual cabrio. Always wanted a 911 and it didn’t disappoint. I have no idea what I would go to next as it offers ridiculous performance for the public road, the steering really talks to you and it’s amazing how it flows down the road even with no roof. Also, flat six with exhaust valves open and the roof off hasn’t ceased to entertain. I would need to spend a lot more money, or get something totally different to do better I think. So yeah, realistic dream car driven.

Would still love to experience a 12 cylinder Ferrari at some point and haven’t driven any big displacement V8’s. There’s always something new to experience!

And @HangTime - who are you calling aging?

 

[sigma]

Problem is with an E46 so many variables can affect how it feels and a lot of the time most have not been given the attention they need in terms of mechanical sympathy, which cost comes into it too. If the bushes are worn then the handling won't feel as planted as they should, even the convertible is well planted and agile on fresh unworn bushes. Then the engine if left completely stock only has a whiff of induction noise.

Also was the VANOS in good order? If not then the timing and power delivery won't be smooth at low RPM or urgent at high RPM.

You really want at least an Eventuri (was £550 when I got it, now much more expensive sadly) brings the induction noise close to CSL standard if it's on a 2005 or 2006 model as theys hare the same thinner CSL manifold so have more meat to the sound. The CF induction noise also resonates the cabin in different ways at varying RPMs from 3000 to red line so that in itself is an extra experience. Then when you blip the throttle on downshifts you get the intake and ITBs doing that bark/crack thing which just sounds excellent, it's loud enough that pedestrians walking on the pavement will get startled. You don't get that the same way with the stock airbox installed.

Also manual gearbox over SMG for obvious reasons.

There's loads more of course and they all add up to making or breaking the driving experience of the E46 specifically.

All very valid points, what I can see is that it would be a weapon with the right mods. Especially if you could improve the feedback through the steering wheel. As you say, noise also. At high revs is sounded very nice, below that (where most people drive) it didn't sound all that great.

I'm not knocking it, it's just a car related to the topic at hand, it was described as one of the best cars ever, perhaps it is and I'm comparing it unfairly against faster/different (and some modified) cars that are unfair comparisons.

Still, I wasn't blown away.

 

[mrk]

Which is fair, you like what you like!

 

[MrKnifey]

Always wanted a MK2 Escort, no it's not a super car or anything I know, but I have one now and it absolutely lives up to what I expected. Not fast, but goes sideways when I want and is just mega mega fun to drive. I love it and will never be without one now

 

[tonys]

Always wanted a MK2 Escort, no it's not a super car or anything I know, but I have one now and it absolutely lives up to what I expected. Not fast, but goes sideways when I want and is just mega mega fun to drive. I love it and will never be without one now

Now we're talking, mk1 Capri both me and the wife would have liked. Had a couple of mk1 Escorts, borrowed a mk2 for awhile aswell as a mk3.

 

[Shoza]

Drove a DB7 and it was extremely uncomfortable and claustrophobic inside and really put me off those cars again. Very disappointed with that!

 

[tom_nieto]

Now we're talking, mk1 Capri both me and the wife would have liked. Had a couple of mk1 Escorts, borrowed a mk2 for awhile aswell as a mk3.

Mk4 was clearly the high point… especially in 1300 Finesse trim

 

[413x]

This is what has always put me off these track experiences. Your never just get given the keys & & told to enjoy yourself!

Same. Takes me a while to learn a car too and track days you get a few laps guided. Not really for me with the cost

 

[DRZ]

I don't think I've ever hyped up a car in my head to that sort of level but even going in with reasonable expectations I've been surprised either way.

I remember the first time I drove a Gallardo... The V10 is a masterpiece but absolutely everything else about that car is utterly crap - most especially the total lack of comfort due to the seating position. The Spyder is significantly worse, the Superleggera is quite a lot better thanks to the low-mounted buckets. The Huracan Spyder is a similar story, if you're 6ft+ and/or have a tall upper body for your height you're going to struggle.

In general I was pretty disappointed with Ferrari's interior quality. From a few feet away, they look magnificent but up close and personal there is a lot of relatively poor quality materials, workmanship or both. That said, it is mostly just silly stuff like titanium vent controls - they should feel amazing but they make them so thin they feel tinny and cheap.

On the other side, I was really taken aback at just how good the then-new Vantage was to drive. I went in with similar expectations to the old one and... nope. A *huge* leap forward. Shame they hamstrung it with a tragic infotainment setup, something fixed for the new new one so that's of interest...

 

[dave28]

Not a dream car as in Lambo or whatever but in my late teens / early 20`s I always wanted a Golf GTI.

I bought a MK 3 GTI in black and I thought the suspension was a bit soft for a hot hatch and it could have had a bit more power.

I later drove a Clio MK 3 197 and that was a way nicer hot hatch than the MK 3 Golf GTI, faster, better handling, better sound, much more fun.

 

[Nasher]

Yea the Golf GTI for a long time just wasn't that great. After the MK2 they got a bit fat and sluggish.

 

[ianh]

Maybe not exactly my "dream cars" at the time but definitely in the top 5 back then was back to back test drives of two freshly imported cars from Japan - a 400hp+ Subaru STi (GC8F/G IIRC) and a 500hp+ Evo 6 in about 2004 when I still had my 450hp Nissan R34 to compare against.

The Scooby had absolutely "soft" as poop springs but with very stiff dampers and terrible ling-long tyres which squealed at normal road speeds never mind pushing them, a genuinely horrible experience that put me off Scoobies for life. The Evo was the completely reverse, such a tight, focused track beast, but it was far too "hard" for what I would consider to be a mostly "fast road" car. So as I drove home in the R34 I was just a little glad I'd picked the "happy medium" car, not too hot and not too cold but just right as bears in Goldilocks might say.

Since then I've not been in anything within my "top 5 bucket list" cars and my own car does me enough for acceleration/speed so it'd probably have to be some kind of Hypercar, maybe a Koenigsegg or that 2000hp Rimac Nevera which is very unlikely to happen. Outside of "speed" I don't really have anything else thats bucket-list, maybe something stunt based like a passenger ride in one of the Hoonigan cars maybe.

My most unimpressed I've been in a "super car" was the Ferrari F360 - what an utter bucket of badly fitted bolts that thing was, but I really liked the F430 however neither are close to being my dream cars.

 

[VTR]

R32 GTR, exceeds all expectations

 

[jigger]

R32 GTR, exceeds all expectations

Not at current prices, with that interior. I’ll leave them for the Americans.