Fast road cars

I’ve been chugging away in my (speedy to me) Defender for years, and haven’t really paid any attention to the car market. I suspect I’m unlikely to change to a car, but I’ve looked around at some compact cars, and last night I came across some Evo (car magazine) online videos which showed plenty of fast and furious cars being driven sideways around racetracks.

I was considering something economical such as a VW Up!, but my beady eye also caught sight of an Audi S1 which apparently does 155mph and 0-60mph in just over 5 seconds. I was in a Vauxhall garage which had an Astra VXR on display, and that seems to have similar performance. These are two sporty models, but there seems to be a lot of mainstream family cars which are fairly nippy (120mph and around 9 secs 0-60mph).

I would think it must be quite frustrating driving a fast car on the road. My Defender gives ‘excitement’ at lower speeds, but modern cars seem so smooth, quiet and stable that driving at normal traffic speeds must be really boring. I get the impression that speed enforcement has become more stringent in recent years, and it must be difficult to disregard the law without facing consequences.

So, for those with nippy/rapid cars, how do tend to drive in order to get some sort of thrill from the available power? Do you just floor the accelerator in a low gear coming out of a roundabout, and back off when approaching the national speed limit? Or do you enjoy overtaking where drivers of slower vehicles wouldn’t attempt it? Or do you like to seek out quieter roads and drive at a speed where the car starts to open up? Or do you take the car to track days and do EVO-style slides?

I’m not looking for confessions or recriminations – I’m really just wondering if there’s any fun to be had in a sporty car, or if it’s more likely to be a frustrating experience.

I’ve never had a FAST car I’ve driven a few and I’ve always found that to enjoy them your well on the wrong side of the law.

I’d rather have a light revy low grip car. I track day a mk2 scirocco. I love minis and have had a riot in some mx5s.

I would think it must be quite frustrating driving a fast car on the road

Yes my Hillman Imp was the most exciting car I’ve ever had. Especially in snow.

I once had an absolute blast in a Lotus Elise on a twisty country road without going much above 40mph.

Sometimes it’s quality, not quantity.

I get frustrated driving my Passat on motorways! 70 is too slow even for that so I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be in a fast car.

I know lots of roads where the NSL is much too fast. Unfortunately, these tend to be the most fun to drive on.

Of course, if you want fun on the public road, a small motorbike is by far the best bet. You get oodles of acceleration, you can overtake other vehicles in a flash and you don’t have to go ridiculously fast to get that satisfaction of using the engine/gears/tyres properly.

Best fast car I ever had was limited to 85mph, and that really was plenty fast enough

I’ve currently got a BMW capable of 140 mph on nice skinny tyres. I don’t drive it much above 70, but you can still have lots of fun below 70 which is quite remarkable in a fairly big very comfortable estate car.

I used to have a ludicrous car as a daily driver. Mazda RX7 with as near as makes no difference 400bhp, 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, probably close to 180mph top speed. It was ace. Every single journey was an experience, be it down to the supermarket and back, over to my mates 30 mile away, long distance motorway slogs, or just plain old driving for driving’s sake. It could embarrass 99% of cars on the road, plus a few bikes, but really came into its own on the track. And being such a rarity I was stopped and asked about it almost every time I used it.

The secret is that you don’t have to use 100% of the available power all the time. A quick squirt here and there to despatch the odd tractor or Sunday driver, the occasional hoon on a motorway slip road to put some distance between me and the tit riding my bumper in his Golf TDI. Marvellous.

I’d have another in a heartbeat.

It’s true that you have to be very disciplined in a powerful modern car to remain within national speed limits as many even with a squeeze of your accelerator foot toes will see them scorch away from otger traffic at lights and up to national single carriageway limits in…under 6 seconds. (I would love to change mine to sub 4 seconds bit the costs associated would be astronomical and would only really be fully useable on track or Germany Autobahn ( in selected areas).
For me the fun is in the fact that you can make overtakes, safely, in good time and distance, without risk. There are sections of toad that there’s no way in the distance I could se to be clear that I could do an overtake in my van but my ‘fast’ car it’s perfectly safe. The brakes and other driver aids also make for sure footed handling on mountain passes ie the road past Knockin. Finally there is of course the adrenaline rush from a howling normally aspirated V6 or if you like the punch in the back a well tuned turbo driven 2litre petrol, or the rapid gear sections of a torquey big diesel engine.
I truly believe that if you don’t like driving or are not bothered about it, you would never understand the fast car buzz. Bit the same as an MTBer not understanding a roadie or other way round or a non cyclist not understanding how bikes make us feel too.

And I should add that having watched the Top Gear with the Peugeot cars segment every petrol head will have understood the amusing and accurate portrayal….every Peugeot owner will not 😆

For me the fun is in the fact that you can make overtakes, safely, in good time and distance, without risk

..aaaand we’re off!

Drove my boxter down from Glencoe to stirling at 6am on Monday morning. I passed one car on the entire journey. Best 90 minute journey I’ve ever taken…

Its totally pointless as a motorway car or commuter, but on a nice quiet A road it was simply amazing…

I’ve got a 435d which I only use a tiny bit of it’s capablities
I also have a 140bhp celica that I enjoy as I can eek everything out of it, keeping the revs above 4k is a joy when you hit a gear right. It’s currently for sale and I will be gutted when it goes.
My wife has a 325i which seems about right, overpowered still but not daft.

I once raced a TVR from Spean Bridge to Newtonmore in my Lotus Elise. That was a lot of fun.

I drive a Lotus Elise 111R every day, I car share so some weeks I do 150 miles, others 400. It’s a properly quick car but It’s find it easier to poodle around at the speed limit in it than I do in my wife’s Laguna estate.

I have a Lotus 7 style sportscar. The best bit is the acceleration NOT the speed. It’s only a 1.6 litre engine but the car only weighs 565kg!

0-60 in 5 seconds and overtaking whenever/wherever I want 🙂

Anything over 70mph is hard work; windy, noisy and the car wanders around 😆

Whatever you buy for your next car make sure it comes with automatic gear cos manual gear is sooo yesterday.

I was caught in a major road work yesterday and with automatic gear it was so relaxing.

I was considering something economical such as a VW Up

I know of an EVO staffer who spent his own money on an Up after driving it and hasn’t looked back. Something to do with being able to drive everywhere on the door handles.

Never feeling like you need to mash the throttle all the way to the stop in order to accelerate briskly.

A nice 6 cylinder engine sounds better than a 4 absolutely all the time.

And just about anything RWD, even modern overtyred stuff is amusing out of junctions and on roundabouts with the electronics turned off.

Instruments of frustration. Unless you are Mother Theresa, you’d be better of with a Ka or Up! for cheap, legal fun.

The last car i worked on had just 903bhp…..

It went alright, and surprisingly, as long as you were mature / careful, you could deploy a surprisingly large amount of those horses for quite a lot of the time…….. 😉

The last car i worked on had just 903bhp…..

P1?

What did you do on the p1 project max torque? Who were you working for?

Plenty of acceleration when needed, a very nice place to be at any speed, nice sound and will cruise at way above a ton when it’s legal… And will still do 30mpg at 130kph. Best car I’ve ever owned.

Your answer is a 2CV with a Garret T1 turbo..

85hp 1.4tdi Fabia rarely use more than 50% of its capability, occasionally 80% and never 100%, it’s way quicker than many cars once considered sporting.

If you live in the right place, then there are plenty of places to enjoy some of the power and most of the handling of such cars within the confines of the NSL. North Yorks is full of Open stretches of twisty road with good views ahead and no junctions. Having said that I hired a fiat 500 a few weeks ago and that could be driven at the limit more and was very good fun.

Where is it used? In perpetual traffic jams?

Are you equating ‘capabilites’ with speed or acceleration?

Get anything with good steering and suspension. Everything else is a very distant bonus. That includes bhp IMO.

quick squirt here and there to despatch the odd tractor or Sunday driver, the occasional hoon on a motorway slip road to put some distance between me and the tit riding my bumper in his Golf TDI. Marvellous.

I think the op’s point is that he would find it difficult to limit himself to a quick squirt now and then. The act of acceleration is enjoyable, so it’s difficult to stop just as you’re getting started.

Interesting to note though that a lot of people seem to quote showing off to other drivers as a benefit…

M45 between the M1 and Coventry seems, ahem, to be a spot where people put cars through their paces.

I own a TT and drive it to work pretty much every day. It can go fast. However… it also has a Haldex rear diff and just sticks to corners like glue, so you don’t need to go fast to get the impression of speed.

Even though it’s not a proper sports car, it makes me smile every time I get in it. I love the sound of the engine (narrow angle V6) and I love the handling.

As a counterpoint, I also have a van and that’s a lovely thing to drive as well, just different. It’s more relaxing, more social, more laid back. And I can make tea in the back of it when I stop (and carry a load of bikes)

Back in the seventies you could have fun in a fast car but nowadays the roads are too congested, unless you get up at dawn in summer and head out over the Pennines or mid Wales. Having owned a Land Rover 90 I can tell you that almost any car will feel relaxing to drive in comparison; long road trips were exhausting in that car.

I’m just about to take delivery of a new company car and this time I’ve broken the mould by insisting on an auto box as the traffic is so bad that the clutch on my diesel Passat makes my knee ache. For me the emphasis now has to be on making driving as easy and relaxing as possible. On the rare occasions when you get a chance to enjoy the drive, a performance car would be nice but hard springs and bucket seats are just not practical day to day.

PS: If you buy an Up! don’t get the auto, the car is too light for an auto box and jerks horribly. Go manual.

Surfmatt would have loved this thread and no doubt flounced at the flaming he would of copped 😆

Tbh if my commute was big I’d go auto.

For me the emphasis now has to be on making driving as easy and relaxing as possible.

The other (and deeply un-manly and unfashionable) way to enjoy driving. I love a relaxing cruise 🙂

do you enjoy overtaking where drivers of slower vehicles

yes very much so

I’ve just bought an MX5 (2.0 SportTech) and it’s so much fun on smaller roads.
Not the fastest 0-60 but the gear change, gearing, handling and having the top down make it the most fun I’ve ever had in a car (apart from the Caterham drifting experience a few weeks ago)

I don’t want very fast but it overtakes with ease, revs to 7.5k and is more than enough on fun roads.

On the motorway I’ve had 41mpg, backroads is just over half that. Less MPG = more fun.

In answer to the OP-a frustrating experience for the most part. I just sold my focus RS which was an awesome machine. I still drive an old Nissan primera but now drive a t5 as a replacement, and I don’t miss the RS at all. There’s the constant car parking worries, no traction in the wet, boy racers all wanting to have a dual and then the daft mpg. If I was to get another ‘fast’ car it would be 4wd.

My truck isn’t ‘fast’ in the sense of the rest of th.se posts, but with 422 torques, I love seeing the nose lift up when you put your foot down @2000rpm.

I only need to accelerate from 40 to 60 for that feeling. It’s great. No need to break the speed limit. I also enjoy wheel spinning in 3rd in the wet…