What defines a fast car in 2020?

following weight discussion in ev thread,
Is lateral grip the real criteria to judge performance/fun - a few fiigures
The Si pips the GTI’s 0.95 g of lateral grip on the skidpad, where its lower stance and wider tires help it achieve 0.97 g. More significantly, the Si is 1 mph faster through our slalom, proving its quicker reflexes.
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The Tesla trailed its sports-sedan rivals by only a small increment on the skidpad, delivering a strong 0.95 g of lateral grip against the Alfa at 0.99, the M3 at 0.98, and the Mercedes-AMG C63 S at 0.97. The Audi RS5 two-door coupe matched the Tesla's 0.95 g. Our test car exhibited moderate understeer during the exercise, and the Model 3 isn't as eager to dive into a corner as most sports sedans, although there's a Sport steering mode that ups effort levels. The low-mounted mass of the battery helps the Tesla maintain a flat cornering attitude that's effective on a track and even more impressive on our favorite stretches of country road, but overall suspension refinement on rippled pavement lags a little, perhaps because there's so much mass to cope with and the wheels are big.

The Model 3 stopped from 70 mph in 147 feet where all the gas-burning competitors needed at least 150. The Tesla produces strong deceleration from the regenerative system as soon as the driver lifts off the accelerator, even before applying the left pedal to bring the friction brakes into play. Also credit the grippy performance tires and upgraded brakes—the regular rear-drive Model 3 with the standard brakes and shod with all-season tires on 18-inch wheels produced only 0.84 g of lateral grip and needed 176 feet to stop from 70 mph.
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In C/D's instrumented testing, we find the lateral grip of a vehicle by running it around a 300-foot circle on the very edge of traction—just as the tires begin to squeal in protest as their adhesion is put to the test. Typically, lateral grip conjures to mind images of sticky tires, track days, and sports cars. However, our long-term all-wheel-drive Altima just circled the skidpad at 0.93 g. What does all of this mean? For starters, it means that the Altima is now the top performer on the skidpad among its mid-size-sedan brethren, but perhaps more surprising is that it also bested a 0.89-g effort from the all-new BMW 330i xDrive. (It also outcornered the last 370Z we tested.)
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[TW]Fox said:
Why is this a problem?



Why do you need to do this? You'll just end up in someones dashcam footage anyway.
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Not something to explain on a forum if you don’t understand it.

Gen 10 CTR would serve my purpose...
How long I would keep my licence is anyone’s guess. Cars today are too fast for the road.

just the getting the door kicked in at 2am I wouldn’t be keen on.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Is that not the purpose of forums?
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Think about what is being suggested?
Why do you need a 3.0 litre turbo diesel when the speed limit is 70mph?
My 45bhp Fiesta 950 would do 70 quite happily.
Honestly? Cracking a wallnut with a sledge hammer isn’t it?

unless of course people break the laws?
 
SkodaMart said:
Think about what is being suggested?
Why do you need a 3.0 litre turbo diesel when the speed limit is 70mph?
My 45bhp Fiesta 950 would do 70 quite happily.
Honestly? Cracking a wallnut with a sledge hammer isn’t it?

unless of course people break the laws?
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My 3.0 diesel gives me a huge amount more confidence to get out of a busy junction safely. Plus the huge amounts of torque means it effortlessly accelerates and cruises at very low rpms, not having a little petrol engine screaming away.

When I was 17 I had a 75bhp Astra that I would need to drive flat out in 4th to maintain 60-70 on some Cornish hills, and that was only just.

I don't drive any quicker now than I did when I was 17, but the ability to get up to speed quickly and effortlessly is a joy for driving.
 
Isn't there already a thread somewhere for whining about people not wanting to drive a bottom of the barrel fiesta that does everything you want thus should do everything anyone wants?
 
TheOracle said:
of course they do. Everyone who owns a performance car has broken the speed limit. They find a nice country road and have some fun.
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Of course this is what I was suggesting.
Cars like the 535d where designed for the unrestricted autobahn.
Ask yourself this? Would you like to be driving your family away on holiday to be wiped out by someone legally doing 200mph to ‘test’ its top speed?
 
no idea what said:
My 3.0 diesel gives me a huge amount more confidence to get out of a busy junction safely. Plus the huge amounts of torque means it effortlessly accelerates and cruises at very low rpms, not having a little petrol engine screaming away.

When I was 17 I had a 75bhp Astra that I would need to drive flat out in 4th to maintain 60-70 on some Cornish hills, and that was only just.

I don't drive any quicker now than I did when I was 17, but the ability to get up to speed quickly and effortlessly is a joy for driving.
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You need a 3 litre engine to keep up with the flow of traffic?
 
SkodaMart said:
Think about what is being suggested?
Why do you need a 3.0 litre turbo diesel when the speed limit is 70mph?
My 45bhp Fiesta 950 would do 70 quite happily.
Honestly? Cracking a wallnut with a sledge hammer isn’t it?

unless of course people break the laws?
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My 3.5L V6 petrol hybrid boring saloon sits at 1,500 RPM on the motorway at 70mph and is lovely and peaceful. When I travel through Germany, I can sit happily all day (or until the fuel runs out) at 120Mph (I’m don’t have the level of concentration required to sit at 150mph for long periods). I have the acceleration required to get me out of trouble when drivers (usually French or Spanish) are trying to kill me. Do I often need to go to 60mph in 5.6 seconds ... rarely. For me having a reasonably large engine is about refinement over speed. If I wanted to go fast with a sense of occasion I would buy a sports car.
 
Need about 8s 0-60 around here to not be dangerous or annoying coz everyone else is driving german saloons. My last car was about 12s and I always felt under attack by angry executives.

As for what's quick in my opinion, I'd say anything that beats a 320d off the line, which is 6.8s.
 
Pyscho_Si said:
My 3.5L V6 petrol hybrid boring saloon sits at 1,500 RPM on the motorway at 70mph and is lovely and peaceful. When I travel through Germany, I can sit happily all day (or until the fuel runs out) at 120Mph (I’m don’t have the level of concentration required to sit at 150mph for long periods). I have the acceleration required to get me out of trouble when drivers (usually French or Spanish) are trying to kill me. Do I often need to go to 60mph in 5.6 seconds ... rarely. For me having a reasonably large engine is about refinement over speed. If I wanted to go fast with a sense of occasion I would buy a sports car.
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Justified if it’s been bought for use on the autobahn. (I’m going to resist getting into the ‘is it environmentally ethical to be driving at 120mph argument). Seeing that we are all being forced into electric vehicles anyway.
For the moment though the speed limit in the UK is 70mph
I could have more fun in a 100hp MK1 or MK2 escort on a twisty lane than I could in a super car - at legal speeds that is.
 
SkodaMart said:
Justified if it’s been bought for use on the autobahn. (I’m going to resist getting into the ‘is it environmentally ethical to be driving at 120mph argument). Seeing that we are all being forced into electric vehicles anyway.
For the moment though the speed limit in the UK is 70mph
I could have more fun in a 100hp MK1 or MK2 escort on a twisty lane than I could in a super car - at legal speeds that is.
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On the environmental side... driving the 250 miles down to Portsmouth to get the ferry to Spain, sticking at the speed limit on a spring day... I will get well over 50MPG. How much more do those 1.2L and 1.6L modern turbos manage?
 
Pyscho_Si said:
On the environmental side... driving the 250 miles down to Portsmouth to get the ferry to Spain, sticking at the speed limit on a spring day... I will get well over 50MPG. How much more do those 1.2L and 1.6L modern turbos manage?
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That’s good. What car is it?
I was referring more to the autobahn in general than your specific car.
 
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