Best car you've ever driven.

[Pete-M]

Continuing the theme of trying to keep the mood upbeat in 'ere I thought it would be an idea to have a thread about the best cars we've ever tried, and in a slightly off topic way they don't have to be shite.

 

Unless that's the only kind of car you like.

 

Having driven all kinds of stuff over the years means that driving cars that are new to me doesn't tend to be a big thing anymore, 10-20 cars a week isn't unusual, but occasionally there will be something that gives me that little "oooh!" moment when I know I'm going to be driving something a bit special.

 

Few years ago I was asked to find the best Bentley Turbo R available for someone so that meant travelling the country trying a few. First one was a 60k mile one owned by a nice old titled chap from Chester. His car was very nice indeed, but He was a bit of a petrolhead so he'd had Bentley stiffen up the active suspension on his car and it ruined the ride quality. Went like stink (the engine had been tweaked to 420 bhp) but with the tweaks the car had been turned into a giant, leather and walnut trimmed hot rod. Nice thing, and glorious fun, but the trim quivered every time the thing hit a bump. Perfect car for the chap who had it as he's one of the few people I've met who nonchalantly threw 2.5 tons of car sideways at every opportunity. Didn't buy it from him as a Turbo R hotrod wasn't what I'd gone to buy, but having had a go in it the thing did make my day. Eventually found an immaculate 12k mile standard one for my buyer which was a lovely thing but not as much fun.

 

Another fun day was when I got a phone call from Jaguar when the alloy body XJ was launched. They invited me to Preston to try a few. First up was a 4.2 Sport in black. Incredible thing, lovely inside and it went rather well too. I'd gone there in an E39 540i 4.4 and the Jag just blew the BMW away, very impressive. Then they sent me out in the XJR which weirdly didn't feel as quick as the Sport despite being a fair bit faster. That black XJR is the reason I had to buy my X300. Comfort and mental speed in a gorgeous package.

 

One car I must own is the MG ZT-T 260. Used one for a few days and what a piece of kit. Subtle, fantastic sounding and set up pretty much exactly how I like my cars. Handled superbly, great steering, loads of fun and other than having no left foot-rest pretty much perfect.

 

After driving Bentleys, Porsches and Ferraris it's a weird feeling when the car I'd actually want to buy is a cobbled together Rover / Mustang mix.

[autofive]

 

GhiaX 2.8 Granada, handling was perfect, comfy interior, electric everything and plenty of kick as a 5-speed manual box fitted

 

unfortunately it turned into a money pit, a replacement engine and bodged LPG kit, rot on the inner wings. It was sold for roughly what i paid for it 18 months later.

[ProgRocker]

The only cars I have driven that left an impression on me is my parent's old D reg Vauxhall Carlton 2.2 CDi auto and my sister's ex partner's C reg VW Jetta 1.8 GT (or GTi? it was an 8v). I put my foot down in it and managed to scare the ex partner. Although the Jetta was an 8v it had been modified sometime in its life so it probably went almost as quick as a 16v.

 

iirc, I have never driven anything prestigious like a Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes or even an Alfa Romeo. I really must get out more.

 

One car I must own is the MG ZT-T 260

 

Is that the Mustang engined V8 one with RWD? I would LOVE to have a go in one of these - maybe even own one too.

[Pete-M]

One car I must own is the MG ZT-T 260

 

Is that the Mustang engined V8 one with RWD? I would LOVE to have a go in one of these - maybe even own one too.

 

Yup. Rovers last stand. Spiritual successor to the SD1 Vitesse and a proper giggle.

 

A5 - I ran 2.8i Ghia X Mk2 Granadas for years. Ace cars in manual form. Lovely looking, too.

[face]

Cav MK2 SRI-130

MG Montego

Bedford Astramax 160 SWB

 

Not the best, but these favourites were based around my formative driving years when I borrowed numerous company cars from the salesmen for work trips.

[andrew e]

Pete funny you say the E39 X300 thing, I'd give the opposite response. I always feel squished in the jags. However both seem to be cars far better in lowly soft sprung spec, than rock hard POWARRRR spec. A little obscure but I had a great week long holiday romance in an XM across French route nationals, (but then it got the warning matrix of doom light up). However in Britain it felt out of place.

[michiel]

Simca 1100 with buggered clutch hydraulics... hmm.

 

It just had a certain je-ne-sais-quoi and radiated joie de vivre!

[cort16]

Probably an e46 M3 with a Manual box. The m3 isn't just a badge queen or a 318is with a massive engine. It's properly great to drive as BMW hadn't at that point gone overboard with every single thing having an electronic control or other plus the 6 speed box is much nicer than the flappy paddle SMG setup. The straight six (like all m3's should have) has tons of power and a fantastic metallic edge to the sound that normal straight six bmw's don't have.

Unfortunatly the E46 M3 is set for a future of being barried up with spoilers and poor servicing as the prices come down

 

The other one I liked was the Audi S4. Normally big fast Audi's are crap do drive and I'd driven the RS6+, which had 500+bhp and an autobox but all it did was terrify the life out of me as the power just ruled over handling, grip, underpant colour etc. The S4 I drove had the 4.2v8 without a turbo but also had a 6 speed manual box so it drove really nice even though I expected that massive engine up front to ruin the handling. You could just rumble along in it then floor it in 6th and it was off. Much more civilised.

[scooters]

Westfield Sei Widebody with a 1.6 Crossflow and twin dellortos - est car I have ever driven - perfect handling - brakes like a motorbike and very quick off the mark.

 

For all round cross country A road munching the 850 AWD was excellent - went round corners at stupid speeds...the other excellent car for cross country A roads was the CX Gti

[Pete-M]

Pete funny you say the E39 X300 thing, I'd give the opposite response. I always feel squished in the jags. However both seem to be cars far better in lowly soft sprung spec, than rock hard POWARRRR spec.

 

I like powarrrrrr! The XJR ride is a little bit stiffer than on a Sovereign but only at low speed. Anything above 40 mph and the R stays flat and level when the others get a bit too floaty for my liking. The extra power and torque means the R is more likely to be going that bit more quickly anyway. It's worth it for the handling a d improved steering.

 

The E39 540 was a great thing, but didn't ride or steer as well as the lower spec ones. Went well though.

 

Suppose it's because they're both "sport saloons", which I like.

 

Neither ride badly, both are a lot better than most luxury cars but being the fast ones they're no XM or 604.

 

The only cars I've tried that can do that trick are the new S class and Alloy XJs, both of which are air sprung.

[DSdriver]

Mine is probably... an Alfa!

Rented from Glasgow airport to go and see some friends at Kilchoan. It was a four door, the type with the rear door handles hidden in the corner of the glass. Is that a 154, 155 or 156? As soon as we had cleared the hold up at the Erskine Bridge (which was being repaired after being hit by something too big to fit underneath) I realised it was a peach to drive, during our stay we put it on the ferry over to Mull and drove to Iona. It was revelling in a clocked 100mph on the long straight down to the narrow bridge where I used prudence and backed off. Mind you the roads on Mull did cause it to bottom out even at low speeds in places but fortunately when we took it back to the airport they only looked at the bodywork for damage, not underneath.

[baldrickthecunning]

IT really shouldn't rank so highly, but one of the smoothest, positive and refined cars i've driven is my friends 1994 Saab 9000 2.0 turbo auto!

[Mash]

Renault 16. It was everything I expected it to be

 

Triumph 1300 FWD. Rides and handles beautifully and feels taught and solid on the road if lacking an overdrive.

[barefoot]

I went on one of those off road driving courses, there was a Sierra 4X4, a Talbot/Lotus Sunbeam, a Toyota Paseo, a 400bhp Sierra Cosworth

& a Mk2 Escort 2 litre with a couple of big fat webers, a serious roll cage, some mud and gravel to drive it on & the biggest grin I have ever had.

Scandinavian Flick? Of course I'd never done one in real life before, but I watched someone do it, heard him hesitate on the throttle & when it was my go

I did much the same, but planted the pedal & grinned wider still - definitely a car that was much more than the sum of its parts.

[dollywobbler]

Mash - I'm with you on the Renault 16 as a contender. Everything feels just right in one of those, even the column gearchange. Much easier to jump in and drive than a DS.

 

Blown Bentleys are indeed awesome. It's the effortless way that they pick speed up, while being all silent (bar the creak of leather) and cosseting. Last one I drove 'only had 300bhp. Enough to entertain.

 

I've had the pleasure of driving a Jaguar XK120 and by the feel of it, it had been tweaked a bit. Absolutely awesome and far nicer to drive than a Big Healey, which is heavy and brutal where the Jaguar is just finely poised.

 

Yet, aside from my obvious love for 2CVs, a car that put an enormous grin on my face, entirely unexpectedly (which makes it better) was a rally-tweaked Hillman Imp. This one in fact.

 

It wasn't that powerful, but it barked like an angry Theresa May and just begged you to drive it like a hooligan. I only got about ten minutes at the wheel, so was hardly going to chuck it about, but it turned in beautifully and also offered a ride that would easily beat a Mini.

 

Mustard Mitt that another motor that made me smile for days was a TVR Chimaera. I loved the handcrafted-but-slightly-shite interior, the flowing lines and the screaming V8 power. Not sure I'd ever tire of that should I ever be fortunate enough to afford one (I doubt it!).

 

Overall then, I'll give my vote to the Imp. It had no right to be so much fun and that makes it the best car I've ever driven (um, possibly excluding 2CVs...)

[Lord Sterling]

In no particular order..........

 

Tweaked 2004 Audi S6 - Insane fun!

 

200? VW Golf VR6 - Brilliant little bomb on wheels. Sounded great to boot.

 

200? VW Golf GTTDi - Fun little car. Very quick.

 

VW Sharan VR6 - Whilst it was a bit sluggish on pick up, this more than made up with its amazing sounding engine.

 

200? W220 Mercedes S600 V12 LWB - Felt like a space-ship on wheels. Well appointed car with all the toys, held the road very well.

 

E34 1994 BMW 520 Manual - Brilliant car that felt so supple and well appointed. It had some after market exhaust fitted that made it sound like a V8. Great car.

 

1987 D-reg Rover 825 Sterling - Owned by a mate of mine, this car had been very well looked after and just felt new to drive, very tight and well sorted. Very different to my old one.

 

1990 Rover 827 Sterling - A mate bought this from Wirral, I drove it from Wirral to Worcester. This car had a huge amount of money spending on it and as a result, felt like a new car, it felt new, tight and very well put together, that and the above 825 Sterling being 2 of the best mk1 Rover 800s I've ever driven.

 

1998 Rover 825 Sterling Coupe - KV6 engined Black Coupe I was once thinking of buying. Test drove it around Longbridge/Rubery. It was a car that certainly put a smile on my face, it was silent, powerful, comfortable and well-refined. I didnt buy it due some damage on the rear-quarter, the car was on a Cat-D and the seller was looking to sell as is, which meant if I wanted to put an MOT on it I would have to make a trip to a VOSA testing area or something.

[Shep Shepherd]

A Volvo 940 "Wentworth" 2.0 LPT estate similar to this one:

 

 

Boy, could that thing shift! I wonder what the 2.3 FPT version of the 940 is like in comparison?

[RobT]

 

One car I must own is the MG ZT-T 260. Used one for a few days and what a piece of kit. Subtle, fantastic sounding and set up pretty much exactly how I like my cars. Handled superbly, great steering, loads of fun and other than having no left foot-rest pretty much perfect.

 

 

I'm currently saving up some money for a Jag but I'm wondering whether to get an MG ZT instead. I don't often stop and watch as cars go by, but everytime I see one of these I have a little 'moment' I fancy the Tourer version for added practicality.

 

A 2004 Volvo S60 I found hard to beat in terms of driveability, comfort, and mile munching ability. Golf GTi MkII was great fun but the notchy gearbox did my head in sometimes.

[Barry Cade]

Few of mine, but a surprising favourite...

 

Ferrari 360 spider. Ragged it along a familiar road, and the engine noise was AMAzInG.. waited all my life to drive a Fezza properly, then found it really was like driving a big X1/9, which says a lot about the X1/9 and probably even more about the 360. Deflated

 

Porsche 944 Turbo. Very dissapointing- thought it'd be much faster, and had no character- expensive German sports cars do nothing for me- also driven an early 80's 911, a few Boxsters and a late 90's 911 and not one has changed my opinion.

 

Carlton GSi 3000 24v. Nearly put this thing through the workshop wall, awesome engine, but didn't like the steering, or the gearbox. Had a short drive in the Lotus version, and came to the same conclusion.

 

72 Dodge Challenger. Always wanted to be Kowalski, so I bought one.. Loved the V8, the torque, the looks and the noise..didn't find the build quality remotely funny, and came to the conclusion Kowalski WAS the last American hero, for doing what he did in the film. Handled quite well for the size of the thing though- surprisingly well.

 

Audi S2. Fast grippy and...well.. again, Germanic and lacking the thing that makes me love cars, personality.dull.

 

BMW M535i. This one had personality, but it was a Schitzo.. fine one minute, then dizzyness and tyre smoke. Clunky controls too, which I find on pretty much all BMW's- like everything has lots of rubber in it.

 

Bentley turbo R. Was a chuffer for a day for a wedding, and was running late, so had to give it a bit of shoe. Found my old W124 to be more refined, the dash ergonomics are crazy and the fuel consumption was unbelieveable. Did drift well though on the big whitewall Avon's

 

Still to this day I will say the best car I've ever driven was an Abbott tuned Saab 9000, an early one and automatic. Stupidly fast, handled brilliantly, trip computer showed 26MPG average and was comfortable,quiet and refined. Looked 100% standard but gobbled up anything on the road without even trying. Wish I could find out where it is now.

[RoadworkUK]

Depends how you look at it.

 

Best car I've ever driven in terms of it being the Actual Best Car, in terms of being amazing and good, is the Nissan GT-R. Pulverisingly quick and capable, and flattered my driving skills in a way that beggared belief. Wasn't my favourite though.

 

Favourite I've driven was the Quattroporte, a slightly shambolic example we took in as p/x with the Skyhook system going all wobbly. The difference between driving it with everything working and then suddenly with all the driver-aids SNAFU was like comparing a Seal lolloping gracelessly on the beach with one darting balletically in the water.

 

This is all until I finally get to drive a Lagonda. Maybe we'll take one in as p/x for a B Class next week...

[Albert Ross]

Easy this one. Mercedes W126 1991.

Hemi equipped Winnebago. 4 tons of housebrick with attitude.

Canadian spec Ford Probe (1993ish)

1954 Caddy with broken window and holed exhaust.

1967 Humber Imperial

PA Cresta.

 

It seems I like waft wagons.......!

[oldford]

After more or less a lifetime in the motor trade I've driven thousands of cars. I was lucky enough to work in car hire in the 80s and 90s and drove alot of Autoshite favourites when they were modern and new. We had some nice cars BMW 528i in 1984, Rover 3500 VP EFi, Granada 2.8s, all new, with fuel, at the end of the day I always used to like getting into my mark 3 Cortina.

 

At work we do alot of MOTs for the local Jaguar dealer, I remember having a visit from Trigger one Saturday morning. I had a 3 year old XF on the ramp, that didn't get a second look, he was too busy checking out a Morris Minor that was on the premises.

 

The best car that I have driven is always my car, it's roadworthy, maintained by me, enhanced by me and fully paid for, though it is nice to have a short drive of a Jaguar XKR occasionally.

[MK5 Escort]

A tough one to answer, this. I certainly couldn't pick out one in particular. Probably one of the following to hazard a guess:

 

Audi A4 3.0TDi Quattro S-Line (58 plate) – I'm quite a fan of the latest model A4 despite some annoying little quirks such as the electric parking brake. In my last job I did have access to this a few times. A masterpiece of a diesel if you ask me. Very refined, startlingly quick and turns on a sixpence. Decent seats and with the standard alloys, the ride wasn't too firm as far as S-Line Audi’s go either (still too firm though). A cracking long distance wafter.

 

Jaguar X-Type 2.5 SE manual – The X Type gets a lot of stick nut it's always been a car I’ve really liked. Again in my last job I did have access to one of these for a few years not long after they were launched. Silky smooth Ford V6, a supple ride, decent seats 9up front at least) and a proper Jaguar interior (lots of leather and a nice slab of wood on the dash – how they should be). Gripes? The steering was a little too light for my liking, but I grown used to it.

 

Vauxhall Monaro VXR – Lucky enough to take this brute around Oulton Park on a VXR Race Day about five years ago. To this date it remains the only V8 car I’ve ever driven. Tall lazy gearing, lovely leather seats, sensible styling and of course – the sheet brute power of the thing. The clutch was a tad heavy but pah… If it wasn't for today's fuel costs I could have happily seen me having one, one day…

 

Vauxhall Vectra VXR – From the same race day unsurprisingly. I’ve always been a fan of the Vectra C and driving this gentle giant was a real pleasure for me. As for the noise – one of the greatest exhaust notes I’ve heard on such a car (i.e – not a Porsche, Bentley types e.t.c.) . After taking it around the track (must have done around nine laps) I come to the conclusion that Clarkson can't drive – as did most others I spoke to there on the day. In my opinion, up there with one of the most underrated cars of the last decade. I'm determined to own one of these and bollocks to the fuel costs, preferably in Arden Blue, within the next few years before they all end up barried up.

 

200? VW Golf GTTDi - Fun little car. Very quick.

 

Seconded. I’ve driven the Audi A3 with the same 2.0TDi PD 170 unit. Bloody hell, that thing was quick once it was wound up… That would give some known performance cars of similar ilk a real run for it’s money, particularly with the DSG box.

[eddyramrod]

Well, where do you start?

 

I've had two Cadillacs, 1962 and 79, and both gave me a constant feeling of inbuilt glamour. More so with the 62, obviously, having more chrome and better fins. I really did feel like I belonged in Hollywood driving those. And those big old V8s have buckets of torque...

 

My 1978 Daimler Sovereign was everything I expected of an XJ6, so that has to be on the list. Powerful, comfortable, except for the narrow footwell (I have big feet) and amazingly easy to hustle round country lanes at dawn. But with that, serenely wafty in town too. Excellent combination.

 

My 1988 MG Maestro 2.0i will always make this list. It was just insanely fast for the same commute, and always got me to work with a grin on my chops, even the day I killed the rabbit... Well I was doing a bit north of 75 on a country lane...

 

The car that followed it, my 1987 Volvo 740 GLE estate. Not only was it a handy van and GR99 for towing, but it had enough power to make short work of motorways and enough weight to be stable at any speed. Not the fastest thing I've ever had, but extremely reassuring to drive. And those heated seats at 4am in winter....

 

Wife's X1/9. Probably the first proper sports car either of us has owned. It's a right laugh. Sticks to the road like it's painted down. It isn't perfect, none of my cars have been, but what a load of fun. Again, my big feet might be an issue with this one.

 

I suppose the real question is, how do you define "best?"

[Negative Creep]

MX5 mk1. It just felt so "right" and far more enjoyable than cars with far more power

[Felly Magic]

It has to be a Sierra Sapphire Cosworth. Sublime performance, and reasonable handling, clothed in a repmobile shell

[Guest]

2/3 -

 

1) Volvo V90 - fantastic car - straight 6 engine, silky smooth, big, extremely comfy seats, and an auto-box with a sport-mode and very handy down-shifts - surprisingly agile car for a big 'un.

 

2/3) Alfa 145 1.6 T-spark - I owned one for 7 years and simply adored it - it looked great, was very practical (very easy to get your leg-over in the front passenger seat due to the hollowed out dashboard) sounded fab, went like stink, had the sharpest steering I have ever driven, Mini included, and never let me down in 120,000 miles. Drove another one yesterday - and it was just the same (although sadly leg-over was out of the question) - one of the most fun cars I've ever driven! (although I wouldn't swap my 156 for one......)

[qwerty]

Erm

I

Mk1 MX5My brother needed a bigger car for a week so he took my Golf Estate and I took his MX5. I hated it for the 1st couple of days. It felt cramped and oppressive, but then I got to give it a proposed blast out over some decent roads and it all made sense!

 

Mk1 Clio 16v. The 1.8 wide arched one. Real giggle to drive. Gripped and gripped and you could really play with the back end in the corners with lift off oversteer. Wish I had just had it fixed properly when the timing belt snapped.

 

1963 Morris Minor. My first and only proper classic. Was an absolute dog. But it just felt brilliant driving it. The sounds and smells were brilliant and it always made me smile. It made my mates smile more. In fact one of them fell over laughing when me and my brother pulled up in it! And because of the colour I kept getting called nurse!

[Cavcraft]

Probably my old XJ6 S3 4.2 auto, C797 RKA.

All that talk of 'favourite armchair' was spot on, they're an absolutely immense place to be in. Those lovely seats combined with the dashboard really do make you feel like you're driving something special and Merc's and BMWs etc never seemed in the same league. The power was pretty impressive too, as was smoking all the boy racers off at the lights because not many expected to see you try and race them.

 

Runners up?

That Omega 3.0 Elite I had recently. Really, really well spec'd and the interior was class. Despite being an auto it was SRSLY quick, especially in Sport mode and with a heavy right foot. Fuel consumption was obv. a bit of a downer and the rear arches had 'done a Vauxhall' but I'll defo get another one one day.

 

Proton Satria(?) 1.5 Sport: been lowered a bit and had a mild boy-racerish exhaust but what a pearler of a car to hoon round in. Really quick, handled like a gokart, made a lovely noise and it was one of those cars that seemed to beg you to welly it everytime you started it up. Truly great fun for bargain bucket money as they seem a bit unloved by the masses.

 

Cavalier auto: Maybe it's the autobox but it's such a nice thing to drive and has the right balance of not being such an old nail you're afraid to drive it more than 30 miles in case it brakes down and not being so modern as to be full of about to fail sensors and shit. It's so ridiculously easy to drive and so comfortable it's a briliiant long haul jobbie.

Ok so it doesn't really handle like a sports car but then the it's not supposed to be one and the suspension doesn't try and snap your spine if you run over a sheet of newspaper either.