Is there a need for performance cars on the road?
- Thread starter LiE
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[TW]Fox;23671638 said:I guarantee you'll think differently once you have your new car
Seconded.
Overtaking with 320bhp is safer than ever IMO. The rate you can get past people is staggering. I remember having a Ford KA many moons ago and that resulted in the greatest amount of dodgy overtakes (still not many though as i only overtake where i know it to be sensible).
The extra power just means that places where it would have been bonkers to overtake in a 100bhp<, now become safe overtaking points because you're on the wrong side of the road for 3 seconds rather than the 6 or 7 seconds in a lower powered car.
[TW]Fox;23669843 said:You can have too much power. I thought 300bhp in the 335i was about right - enough power to never leave you wanting but not so much to render it largely pointless.
By contrast the F10 M5 was ridiculous. Ridiculously fun on the Autobahn where I could touch the throttle without being a Daily Mail Front Page worthy criminal, but in the UK I can imagine it being much like having a pet tiger and having to keep it in a cage constantly. You can pretty much never use full throttle legally
This is rubbish - you would quickly get used to the power and be able to use it on public roads.
Soldato
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I 'survived' in a 70ps 1.25 fiesta for 4 years since passing, so yes, I have to agree
I have a Ka. I'm hardly rolling in power. And am yet to have any hard issues.
Perhaps I should clarify, that there's more situations you could happily get yourself into without havig to worry about it due to the increased power.
kd
But it's too easy and you have to go ridiculously fast for 'that feeling'
Man of Honour
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To be honest, if people in here do not enjoy getting that thrill from accelerating fast from time to time, they don't deserve to be in here! 
However, throttle works both ways - no need to slam it to the floor every time / everwhere.
However, throttle works both ways - no need to slam it to the floor every time / everwhere.
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It's not the level of power, it's where it's used & how it's delivered.
I've driven a few powerful cars, and very quickly found myself adapting to its delivery, to my mind, the more power, the safer the experience given brakes & suspension are updated accordingly.
Equally, I've driven a few >700 hp trucks, same thing, you have a lot of grunt and can reach relatively silly & unsuitable speeds quickly if its used in the wrong situation.
Biggest problem I found with Scania's R730 was nearly ramming other slower trucks on hills as it would go up steep ones @44tons as if it was pulling nothing!
I did get used to it mind you.
I've driven a few powerful cars, and very quickly found myself adapting to its delivery, to my mind, the more power, the safer the experience given brakes & suspension are updated accordingly.
Equally, I've driven a few >700 hp trucks, same thing, you have a lot of grunt and can reach relatively silly & unsuitable speeds quickly if its used in the wrong situation.
Biggest problem I found with Scania's R730 was nearly ramming other slower trucks on hills as it would go up steep ones @44tons as if it was pulling nothing!
I did get used to it mind you. 
It's about the car doing what you want when you want it to. For example, with an low powered cars overtaking on the motorway up an incline takes forever. Thus your requirements for performance from a car dictates your needs, a low powered car is going to get you from A to B but you might not like how it does it.
Man of Honour
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But isn't that also a case whereby you should have been prepared for them not to allow you to overtake? Your van isn't particularly powerful so you would need to accept that you don't have the leeway (for want of a better word) that a faster vehicle would allow you.
There may be no need for a performance car but it can certainly be fun. If I'm allowed to perhaps stretch the definition of performance slightly then my Fiat Coupe is easily quick enough for day to day driving and the acceleration still puts a grin on my face when I get a chance to use it. I don't need the 200bhp+ that it has/had most of the time but that doesn't mean I feel it is a waste to have it. It's fairly quick, it's good looking for a coupe as far as I'm concerned, it's comfortable and it was also pretty reasonably priced for what it is so I don't much begrudge spending money on its upkeep. I suspect my next car will quicker still but I doubt I'll be able to or intend to use the performance on a more regular basis, a car is a luxury for me at the moment so I might as well make sure it's something that I want to own.
Caporegime
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Clarkson's review makes me want to buy a MX5 !
/heart my Yaris, sure it is not the quickest thing in history but I love it for the enjoyment I get
/heart my Yaris, sure it is not the quickest thing in history but I love it for the enjoyment I get
[TW]Fox;23672172 said:
Agreed. The main downside of lots of power is tendency to pull overtakes that you would never even think about in another car. Most of the time you are fine. But...
Fast cars do something to logic.
I think we should take the high speed rail money (£32 billion) and have a new road system (UK autobahn) constructed linking up major cities with no speed limits just for performance cars.
Construction jobs and car sales would be boosted as you would have to have a good enough car to use it.
The government would get money from fuel tax as more would be bought and road tax for the new superhighways, I see no negatives!
Construction jobs and car sales would be boosted as you would have to have a good enough car to use it.
The government would get money from fuel tax as more would be bought and road tax for the new superhighways, I see no negatives!