The first time I drove an .... (New to you car experiences)

[bramz7]

First time I drove a van was an eye opener. Brand new with about 50 miles on the clock, VW Transporter from Hertz.

 

It made me fully understand the van owning hype. One day....

[garbaldy]

They only did well at rallying once you'd changed almost everything about them though. Put a completely different engine, drivetrain, fuel system, suspension, wheels, tyres, and brakes in them and people say WOW ARNT ESCORTS GREAT RALLY CARS!

That's not entirely true back in the day on the clubman circuit,

many scrotes where everyday cars built on an absolute shoe string budget and some where totaly bog standard with the exception of a cage, only the big boys spending wallet busting amounts and changing everything like the above but then again they didn't compete in the same class anyway,

I know where there's a mk2 rally car that's still on it original 13 x flow motor with the only additions being a cage seats and fireater it doesn't even sport an lsd either,

You will be hard pushed to even find a standard road car these days.

[JeeExEll]

^ Standard-ish looking Mk2 Sport.

Skip to 3.05.

 

[TataBobu]

The first time I've driven an U650 M and realised it has 2 brake pedals joint by a removable pin, so you could apply the brakes individually on the rear wheels it was a joy! Tractor handbrake-turn FTW!

[Bazfr69]

My first time van driving was a surprisingly enjoyable experience.

Our old warehouse collapsed when the building next to it was blown up and we were relocated to a new site in Lisburn. Our company laid on transport but needed someone to drive the Transit minibus to ferry the locals up there and somehow I ended up doing it for a few months.

Other than the griping from the back I found myself loving the Transit quite a bit even though I had just come out of my hot hatch phase.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Can remember the first and only time I've driven a Lotus. Bright yellow Elise. Only a K series engine but the noise it makes behind your head.

Thing that got me the most though was the rock hard gear change. Must have looked full on mid life crisis too with the roof off.

 

Also the first time I drove an ambulance. I've drive big vans before but it was the way people stopped and let you out or pulled over to let you go through first.

[Jim Bell]

That's not entirely true back in the day on the clubman circuit,

many scrotes where everyday cars built on an absolute shoe string budget and some where totaly bog standard with the exception of a cage, only the big boys spending wallet busting amounts and changing everything like the above but then again they didn't compete in the same class anyway,

I know where there's a mk2 rally car that's still on it original 13 x flow motor with the only additions being a cage seats and fireater it doesn't even sport an lsd either,

You will be hard pushed to even find a standard road car these days.

 

I'm not saying they're bad man, but their reputation and value for stock cars seems lightyears ahead of their actual functionality for Motorsport. Stock cars are rare but they're still the pub bores favorite RALLY LEGEND when really Citroen Xsaras, DS3s and Volkswagen Polos won far more WRCs. Nobody thinks of any of those as a Rally car, but Escorts for some reason have that reputation.

 

Thinking about it, it may just have been because so many were used in rallying.

 

Or I might just be bitter because I'll never be able to afford one.

[MiniMort]

Well it turns out that the first time I did my driving test was the first time that I passed.

 

Good.

[John F]

I'm not saying they're bad man, but their reputation and value for stock cars seems lightyears ahead of their actual functionality for Motorsport. Stock cars are rare but they're still the pub bores favorite RALLY LEGEND when really Citroen Xsaras, DS3s and Volkswagen Polos won far more WRCs. Nobody thinks of any of those as a Rally car, but Escorts for some reason have that reputation.

 

Thinking about it, it may just have been because so many were used in rallying.

 

Or I might just be bitter because I'll never be able to afford one.

 

I think it's that rose-tinted thing, Escorts were all over rallying back in the 1980s and have become established in public perception as THE rally car of the era.

 

By the same token, the Spitfire probably wasn't the best* fighter of WW2... but to many people it has become THE aircraft of that era.

 

Fair play, tbh. They're both attractive machines and I love seeing either of them being put through their paces.

[Bazfr69]

I took one of these for a test drive and it felt so fast at the time it scared me a bit.

Having a Subaru Justy as my daily the Silvia seemed like it was powered by some form of alchemy.

[Louise2cv]

The first time I drove an Allegro, it was the fastest car I have ever driven.

 

 

Still is.

[sutty2006]

I first drove this Healey 100m race car on the road taking it from the workshop to storage (bout 2 miles ish) when I worked for a particular classic race company. It was a grin bearing drive, something I’ll probably never do again. Not while that nobs in charge anyway. Was a good job but one hell of a nasty boss.

[garbaldy]

I'm not saying they're bad man, but their reputation and value for stock cars seems lightyears ahead of their actual functionality for Motorsport. Stock cars are rare but they're still the pub bores favorite RALLY LEGEND when really Citroen Xsaras, DS3s and Volkswagen Polos won far more WRCs. Nobody thinks of any of those as a Rally car, but Escorts for some reason have that reputation.

 

Thinking about it, it may just have been because so many were used in rallying.

 

Or I might just be bitter because I'll never be able to afford one.

I didnt think you thought they where bad my reply was just to show they didnt have to have everything changed to make them competative.

 

Ds3 and polos can still be had at very cheep prices as was the old scrotes just a few years ago, it's only recently prices have went absolutely mental, this could happen with younger cars that are also good rally cars but only time will tell,

I think it's down to our age s that affects the prices of cars too and I do think in 20 odd years time scrotes could well slump in prices as the younger generation pine for cars they saw as they grew up.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

These things.

I really couldn't believe how smooth and refined the first one I drove was, not to mention fast. My everyday car for work at the time was a Merc 420 SEL and I was regularly driving a Turbo R, XJ40s and e32 7 Series'. So I was used to what were at the time, state of the art luxury cars. But the LS400 demo we had for week was a revelation, I only got it for 24 hours, I dropped my boss off at home near Beaconsfield at 7pm, called Mrs N to say I'd be late , then drove to mid-Wales. I had fish and chips in Aberaeron then turned round and drove back via the Tregaron to Abergwesyn mountain road back to Milton Keynes.

I couldn't believe how good it was, just so much more refined than even the Daimler 3.6 that preceded my* W126. The stereo was amazing too.

In fact the only thing I could fault were the brakes, which got a bit warm and faded, admittedly on roads more suited to an RS1800 and driving like only a 25 year old idiot using someone else's petrol, brakes and tyres, with a massively over inflated opinion of his driving skil, could. It was the first time I'd ever seen over 150 on the speedo too.

I dropped it off at the transport managers house at 3am, jumped in the Merc to go home and it felt 30 years old.

Needless to say 3 were ordered by directors, although my boss kept his Merc because of the legroom , if Lexus did a LWB , I'm sure they'd have been even more successful

[catsinthewelder]

I'm sure I've told this tale before but first drive of a VW T2. This was also my first drive of a classic and first LHD with bonus points for being the biggest vehicle I'd driven.

 

We were offered it in running condition for £500 so long as it was put back on the road. This was 12 years ago so it was a bargain despite the lack of MOT. It hadn't seen the road for about 5 years as the friend who was selling it didn't have a license and had inherited it and parked in on a traveller site where it had been painted lilac with Dulux.

 

We insured it for Ms C as I'd just passed my test so couldn't get a classic policy, a test was pre-booked so all we needed to do was get it started. This was achieved in only a few hours and a quick hoon around the site confirmed that we had brakes, steering and some semblance of gears if you knew where to look.

 

A quick clean up removed some of the green slime covering the body and we were ready for the off but for one slight hitch. There isn't much space behind the wheel of a T2 and Ms C was 8 months pregnant. While she did just about fit it was decided that she couldn't drive it so I had to.

 

We were about 15 miles from home along a country A road and if I'd had any sense I would have checked the map to find a route on back lanes but didn't.

 

We set off with our other friend John leading in a 405 estate, me in the centre trying desperately to find gears and not stall with Ms C bringing up the rear in our Megane. After a couple of miles I was getting into the swing of it and starting to enjoy myself before there was a noise and a distinct slowing of progress. The 405 indicated into an entrance and we stopped to investigate which didn't take long to diagnose the unintended erection of the poptop.

 

We moved some of the many box's in the back around in our haste to find a length of cord to tie it back down. This done we set off and I found a new problem. The wing mirrors were both useless as they needed adjusting with a spanner and I hadn't but now I couldn't see behind at all due to box's and curtains. Oh well only 10 miles to go. We spotted several police cars heading the other way but my lack of rear view left me blissfully unaware of the one behind. The others could see it so the 405 sped up while the Renault sped on the straights to avoid being overtaken while creeping around the twisty bits to keep the rozzers at bay.

 

Meanwhile up ahead I was struggling to keep up with the XUD powered Pug and wondering if 120kmph was wise in this wobbly old van. We made it home in one piece though ready for a three page MOT fail the next time we managed to start it.

[Scruffy Bodger]

A 2.0 Toyota Hi-ace when I was 19. Fully loaded with about 50kg of tools most days as it was used for timber treatment. Sitting over the front wheels was an interesting experience for starters but so was the column gear change. Especially in an emergency brake type situation when the gears were in fact reversed to the ones in my brain, instead of shifting down you shifted up!

[mercrocker]

Well it turns out that the first time I did my driving test was the first time that I passed.

 

Good.

 

Well done....I still haven't forgotten that first drive with nobody in the passenger seat.   Maybe I should add that to my "first time" list! 

 

Summer of '77, Hillman Imp.   465JWD - Sorry I killed you but you died hard......

[barefoot]

My first drive in my X-308...

 

It was totally silent, and although I could still see the bumps and potholes that I normally crashed through, they were just blemishes in the road.

I have not felt the urge to travel rapidly since buying this motor car, because it just will. Without effort, sound, harshness, anything.

 

And on a slightly different tack, I had a lift in a Maxi recently and although I remembered that the ratios of the 4th & 5th gears were close together, they sounded and felt like they were one and the same. Totally bizarre.

[MiniMort]

 

Well done....I still haven't forgotten that first drive with nobody in the passenger seat. Maybe I should add that to my "first time" list!

 

Summer of '77, Hillman Imp. 465JWD - Sorry I killed you but you died hard......[/quote

 

Nice. I need to get some insurance for myself before I have that experience in my C1.

[ChinaTom]

 

First and last time I will ever drive one of these. I am actually in the passenger seat here as I bottled it in Nanning rush hour and gave the captaincy back to its owner.