Looking for a car I can feel when driving.

[BPR]

what’s up everyone.

I’m looking for a car that I can feel when I’m driving, what I mean by that is, when I put my foot down I want to feel the power and be pushed into my seat.

Originally I was looking at Honda Civics, but I heard the torque only kicks in in the very high revs and they overall are a stiff ride. Just want the car to pull not long after putting foot down if you know what i mean.

I only want to spend a little maybe £2.5k max, fuel economy must also be somewhat decent.

Any ideas?

 

[BPR]

What do you currently drive? That would give us some idea of how much extra power you are looking for.

Only a small 1.4 pushing just over 100 break so most things will probably feel torquey to me

I've got bad news for you - until you get to properly silly power or ultra light weight (Atom or caterham for example) you will never feel like the car is pushing you back into your seat for more than the first few times you drive it

It doesn’t have to be ridiculously powerful, my brothers BMW you can feel the torque of at only a low rev range, is there any way to find out the Rev range of the cars?

Thanks for the replies all

 

[BPR]

Pretty much any turbo charged car or most large capacity 6 cylinder + na engines will feel torquey low down

Thank you any cars you’d recommend to look at?

 

[BPR]

Look for the torque at rpm figure. My old Alfa 156 v6 was 164 lb ft @ 5000 rpm vs the Mondeo 2.2 I had which was 265 lb ft at 1800 rpm.

Oh okay, I’ll have a look at a few now, thanks for the advice

 

[BPR]

If you want to feel low end torque just buy a turbo diesel especially if fuel consumption is a consideration.

What are 2.2 Honda Civic TD like?

 

[BPR]

Only driven a 2.2 Civic briefly but it was reasonably nice tbh!

What are they like in terms of torque and power? Thinking of an 07/08 plate, that’s on my list anyway

St220?. Lovely cruiser and the v6 pulls quite hard.

Don’t think I can get the insurance down on those, for some reason they are double the price of everything else I’ve looked at

 

[BPR]

I found the honda 2.2 really laggy and not so nice to drive. Not in the same league as the VAG engine, neither is the bmw 2l either.

Really? I have seen this about on forums but then it’s like 50/50 some love the Honda power and then some hate the overall ride of the car.

One thing most agree on is the flawed suspension of the hondas haha

 

[BPR]

It was very briefly in a car park but I didn't notice any lag. Best thing to do is to go and drive one.

I’ve booked a couple of viewings so hopefully I have a good experience, will keep you updated tomorrow after my first drive

 

[BPR]

You'll be really disappointed if you change and get off boost in a diesel

What do you mean?

 

[BPR]

Nothing really going to push you back so to speak for £2.5k

I can vouch for the Civic 2.2 though, ideally EX spec if you can find one.

Turbo kicks in around 2200RPM

Is it a fun drive? Read around some people say it’s a bit dull

Appreciate the replies all

 

[BPR]

definitely this:

Spoiler

at least I’m guaranteed good mpg

 

[BPR]

Change gear too early in a diesel and it'll be off boost and won't move lol

Oh right, I’ve only ever driven petrol engines so itll be fun getting to grips with diesels so I’m guessing it’s wiser to push it to higher revs before changing unlike in petrols, I usually switch around 2500revs atm

 

[BPR]

Just been having another look and I also like the look of the Volvo C30 R Sport 2 litre diesel.

Comparing to the Honda they are very similar, the Honda just does a few extra miles per gallon.

Anyone had any experience with Volvo, what are they like to drive? Good torque?

 

[BPR]

No quite the opposite in fact.

It’ll have something of a flat spot at low revs but once it’s above say 1500ish rpm the turbo will be providing boost, you will have peak torque around 2k -2.5krpm and then it’ll start to drop off fairly quickly so you change up at this point.

Basically you research your engines peak torque rpm and change up around that point.

To illustrate this this is the dashboard of my Scania.

It ticks over @500 rpm is a little flat upto 1100rpm then really really pulls well from 1100-1500rpm as this is the rev range the engine will deliver its peak torque - and efficiency - hence the green band on the Rev counter, to attain good mpg and optimal pulling performance you “keep it in the green” as much as you can.



Yes it’ll rev round to 2500 rpm but by this point your way past peak torque and just wasting fuel.

If your holding a gear you’d rev it to 2-2200rpm (the blue band) but past this point the power and torque drops away markedly.

Yes it’s a 13.6 litre engine (hence the engine speed being low compared to a smaller engine) but the principle is exactly the same for a car or van.

Awesome, thanks for the advice, I’ll definately be researching the ranges of whatever car I choose, I like how it’s got the green band to show you where the ideal position is

 

[BPR]

I think for me being used to a small engine petrol car the Honda will at least feel like it’s got more go, I’m not after like a extreme pinning you back so you can’t move feeling, just that when you put the accelerator to the floor you can feel it jolt you backwards

 

[BPR]

If you want the feeling of acceleration, don't buy a diesel. Unless you like to have a tiny power band. They run out of puff very quickly and not very performance focused :/

A high revving petrol car with a tune that gives you a nice power curve all through the rev range is much better if you want to feel it.

I have to travel a good few miles to work though for most the week so although I’d like a good performance car I have to consider the costs also. I have test drove the Honda just and I am quite impressed, yes it isn’t as quick off the mark as a petrol and you can definately tell it’s a different beast to drive but I did enjoy the car, it is a bit bumpy over potholes and that but my old car was anyway so I can only see improvements with the Honda and. I must say props to Honda for the practicality, I was surprised at just how much room is in the back.

I think I’m going to go with the Honda 2.2, but I’m going to test drive a Volvo C30 on Saturday!

 

[BPR]

If you're changing up at 2500 rpm in a petrol car, I think we know why you're not getting anywhere very quickly.

May have been an underestimate

 

[BPR]

Thinking of it, if I did get a petrol, couldn’t I just convert it into LPG? That would save me on the MPG side of things

 

[BPR]

Not many cars can be converted to LPG that well. Most of them are older V8s.

Ohh, In that case then it’d probably be a diesel unless I can find a petrol that can come near the MPG of a diesel

 

[BPR]

A quick auto trader search


Saab 9-3 1.9 TTiD Aero 4dr
SEAT Ibiza 1.9 TDI Cupra 3dr
BMW 1 Series 2.0 123d SE 3dr
BMW 1 Series 2.0 120d Sport 5dr
BMW 3 Series 2.0 320d SE Edition 4dr
BMW 3 Series 2.0 320d M Sport Edition 4dr

I like the look of the 320d M