Good "Driving" Car

[JustinR32]

I was just wondering what you guys think a good driving car is. You know, something you can beat the heck out of on mountain roads and it'll plant you in the seat and stick to the corners like super glue. Something that's fun to drive, but at the same time, is a good daily driver and easily maintained. Something that never gets old and leaves you in awe still after 5 years of taking care of it and detailing it.

That is an EXACT description of a Miata. And I would also say the MR2.



The Miata has the advantage of having been around since 1990, so you can get an older car for under $4k. In other words, you can pound the heck out of it without spending $10k, let alone whatever a similar BMW would cost in initial price and maintenance. They are bulletproof; there are many examples with over 200k that are still doing road racing duty, autocrossing, and supporting superchargers and turbos.



Jimmy Buffitt liked his so much he bought a second one.



Power shy? a little bit, yes. But as Bob Hall, the founder of the Miata says, "If you can't go fast with 90hp, 900 won't help you." For anything other than a straight line, a well sorted Miata will do what you ask of it. I have videos of a bone stock 1.6L Miata following a Formula Ford around Pocono's North Course; the Ford pulls away on the straight, and the Miata is right on it's tail at the end of the turns.



All the other cars will do exactly as you wrote, yes; but a used Miata will do the same thing for the amount of the tax on the other cars.





Tom

 

[dirtydangt]

How can nobody have mentioned the Mini Cooper S?!?!?



Granted, it's smaller that anything else other than a motorcycle, but normal sized people can easily get into it- and BMW builds them (technically)



I would say, there are easily countless choices- follow your heart dude.



If I had the money to afford such a machine, my choices:



-Subaru WRX (coming next fall)

-BMW 3 Series

-Cadillac CTS

-Dodge Magnum (so versatile)

-Mazda RX-8



Happy Motoring.

 

[Ben Z.]

For the more budget minded: Porsche 944



-Handles amazingly

-Cheap to buy

-Very reliable if you keep up with the basic maintenance

-Generally have held up better than cars half their age

-Go with the turbo and you can get modern super car performance (power and handling) for 15 grand including purchase price!

 

[kbulava85]

Following AndyC's post; I have a lesser Peugeot 205, the XS (mine is 15 years old). This is the two door version of the original four door GT and the small brother (1360cc) of the 1.6l (then later the 1.9l) GTi.



Torque is similar to the GTi's but less bhp (top speed). I simply LOVE driving my baby. It's lots smoother than the GTi; being less blatantly sporty it's much smoother in heavy traffic (mind you, it still purrs like a VERY big cat). But boy, foot down and mere Mercs and BMWs disappear behind this little non-assuming baby.



I've always fancied a Ferrari (since I had my red pedal car as a toddler), but if I could only have ONE car I'd stick to my baby Peugeot. It's just so much FUN to drive.



It's currently a lot more shiny than below, but here it is... this is the view seen by most UK motorists (we overtake on the right guys ).

Hey guys, c'mon. Just humor me. You know what it's like when you're in love.



Happy driving!

Cal



BTW, FYI; current trade value of this car is less than $100.

 

[Porkanbeans]

Wow. Some great posts guys! I'd have to agree with all of you and your choices for good driving cars.



I was in a CTS-V this weekend, and let me tell you, that thing is an absolute rocket! The door panels are a little chintzy but other than that, the build quality is great and it's a very solid car. I asked over at the Caddilac forums about depreciation and how much one would cost with 50k miles a few years from now. They said with the way things are going, one could be obtained for about $25,000. I've also been looking at the Lightning, Magnum, and other practical vehicles (I need some versatility, but that's not really what this thread's about). The Magnum is going to be available as a sedan next year I think, so we'll see how that turns out.



Once again, great posts, and thanks for your help!

 

[dirtydangt]

The Magnum is going to be available as a sedan next year I think, so we'll see how that turns out.

As a former Daimler Chrysler employee, I did find out a few things about the rumored Magnum Sedan...





All I will say is...that it will have a familar name.

 

[SpoiledMan]

Hmmm, Imperial??

 

[Malibu]

Charger. See the new October issue of Car and Driver for all the details.





Mike

 

[samhian]

You can't go wrong with a Miata, MR-2, S2000 Mini S or RX-8. The nice thing about a Miata is that you can work on it yourself and parts won't cost you an arm and a leg. Try doing that with a BMW M3. Not to mention the top goes down. Superchargers are fun too!

 

[Magellan498]

I have a Miata as well and boy is that thing a blast. If I were going to keep it I'd do the V8 conversion... Man I get goosebumps just thinking about that!



Now I have a Dodge Stealth, and it's quite cool too. The V6 is quite a change from the Miata and overall, its just a great car.

 

[samhian]

Miata.net is reason enough to get a Miata. It is as informative as this website. BRP Performance and Flyin' Miata are companies that make owning a Miata a blast.

 

[DazDillinger]

G35 coupe

 

[boywonder]

Muscle



'87 Regal Grand National - Darn thing has enough grunt to do the old Carroll Shelby $100 bill test.

'89 Turbo Trans Am

F-150 Lightning - Combines performance and utility

'96 Impala SS - 'nuff said

'92 Mark VII LSC - I have driven this car on an everyday basis and despite the heft and body roll, it's actually quite tossable.

Corvette ZR-1

'90 Iroc-Z - Actually had the same levels of performance as the L98 Corvette





SUV



BMW X5 4.4i Sport - 'nuff said

BMW X3 3.0

GMC Yukon Denali





Everyday



I am going against the norms and say the '02 - '03 Maxima SE. Considering that I am a big person, interior space is a priority for me. With that said, these cars actually had the perfect combination of room, mileage, and driveability.



Besides the Max, I'd also say the 5 Series (Previous iteration), IS 300, 3 Series





Fun



BMW Z3 - Pretty well balanced

Nissan Skyline GT-R R34

Toyota Supra TT

Corvette Z06, C5





Luxury



BMW 740iL Sport

E55 AMG

Lexus LS 400/430

Audi A8L and the soon to be arriving S8

Audi RS6

Volvo S60R

 

[imported_liam]

here in australia we can get the nissan 350Z, i'm surprized no one has mentioned it. in comparision to the RX-8 its miles ahead. plus you can get a twin turbo kit for it that gives it 280KW at the rear treads, enough to smoke most bmw's and porsches...

plus with the kit and on roads, its only Au$80k, which would be around 40K-45K US? bargin

 

[lbls1]

I'd have to say an ls1 car (fbody's are my bias, but since we're talking new...haha) I'd have to put a vote in for the new GTO.



I'd kill again for an opportunity for another new v8 car, and since the gto has a proven v8, coupled with irs and a decent interior, that car would, should be a natural for a performance and luxury enthusiast.

 

[m4xmw]

Its another vote for a Subaru Impreza.

Absolutely superb as a drivers car... go take a test drive... they feel like a smaller car on the move.

4 wheel drive platform flatters th driver, and they totally fire out of bends.

I drive one of th UK`S most challenging roads(the cat and fiddle) and can not think of another car that could keep up.. except maybe an evo.

Between 20-120 mph it is ballistic.

Even better with a few tweeks too.

Oh and they sparkle nice too.



From a totally unbiased Subaru owner

 

[hirosh]

from experience, i was really impressed with the mazda 3s. it handled some mountains roads quite nicely. just get some nice grippy tires and it be great.

 

[topnotchtouch]

Probably not a popular choice but, the two years I had it I had a blast with my '98 Ford Contour SE. With the V6 and a 5 speed stick it was pretty fun to drive. The Contour wasn't your typical Ford since it was originally developed in Europe as the Mondeo.

Now the Mustang, I drive about 100 miles a day and the power is a blast, wish I had gone with the 5 speed rather than the automatic as it would be even more fun but, had to make the concession to the wife who wanted to be able to drive it. I actually look forward to the daily commute to work and find I typically roll the windows down to listen to the rumble from the Magnaflow catback rather than the radio

 

[emanLS]

i cant believe that no one has mentioned the Type R... Insaaaane handling that keeps up with alot of FI cars that boast much much more power. Great chassis and perfectly designed 1.8l putting out over 100hp per liter.... damn. Not to mention sexy styling and the feel of a stripped down track car. Dont forget the sound of vtec kicking in and lasting deep into 8k rpm! daaamn

 

[beastie]

I've admired and driven quite a few cars mentioned already but none of them gives me more smiles per mile than my Miata. It is a blast even when doing the speed limit. When the road curves, you can play around with BMW M3s, Corvettes, 911s and the like. It's a go kart with license plates. Plus they can be detailed in no time!!!