Marky-San

Anyone agree with this?

My last 3 cars have been a Mazda 626 GT Coupe, Mondeo 2.0Si and Lotus Carlton. All were modified considerably (well the mondeo was but its a Ford?!) - good cars, well set up.

Recently I got rid of them to get the Impreza (love it to bits - hopefully not literally). I also got my mums old 1.0 Fiesta Pop Plus / 4 speed(!!) - and to drive its a hoot!! I find it more challenging to keep the little blighter moving through corners, etc as you know you've nowt acceleration to make it up. I've even bought a Punto 1.1, instead of a larger engine car - just for work, cause I think it'll be a laugh.

Anyone else experienced this strange phenomena, or have I lost it??

CrisPDuk

The wifes Ka always puts a bigger smile on my face than the Scoob manages

jjones

small cars are fun until you come upon a lorry going 49mph and the only straight long enough to overtake in the underpowered car is 5 miles down the road

NotoriousREV

My Mrs drives a Clio Si with a torquey 1.6 8 valve lump, kind of a halfway house between a hot hatch and a 1.1 Polo Much fun to be had lifting the inside rear wheel on roundabouts

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

You wanna try a small car with a bit of power then!

LG John

Agreed Rich. BTW there is a '106 GTI/VTS autocar test' thread (quite away down the list) that needs your attention over gear ratios on SSC

MooseRacer

Totally agree, I pootled around in the mother in laws 2cv for a while a few years ago, and yes it could be great fun. You learn how to read the road better, performing a 50mph pass on a 49mph truck in safety. IMHO it makes you a better driver, anyone can overtake and drive quickly from A-B in a Japanese Turbo Banzai whatever.

Marky-San

Just so you know - I've had two Uno Turbo's and an XR2. But the wee car is much more challenging.

brickboy

I love caning my wife's Punto 55 round the lanes -- it's very throttle-adjustable, boot it hard into the bend then lift off a fraction, the tail comes out slightly and the nose tucks in, then boot it again.

Also helps with the skinny tyres, they give a wider margin for error as you always know exactly how much grip you have.

tinvek

have to agree with moosethingy (sorry cant remember your name)

i spent a week driving a 2cv and was driving absolutly foot to the boards, braking as late as possible, etc etc every where and didn't once get a look of disapproval. one day i was right on the limit and got passed by a copper who just carried on.

theres three types of enjoyment with cars, that of racing, that of going fast and that of going as fast as the car can go. given the current political climate the first two are no no's unless you know a good spot and the third is not an option in a lot of modern cars but you can still spend a couple of hours in something small and come out sweating after working your bollox off and with a huge smile on your face.

tinvek

er just read the last line of my last post and it may be open to misinterpretation. i meant driving a small engined car flat out. mind you the other possible interpretation has its appeal

Marky-San

LOL! We didnt think of anything else for a moment (heh-heh).

I also tend to find I drive more for the shorter route round corners...anything to make up those vital few metres. Would love to try a little Cinque Sporting, as that must be a laugh too.

My punto goes on the road next week - it supposedly has a stiffer suspension, so thats a new one for me.

Checked the spec of the Fiesta - 0-60 in 16.8 secs, vmax 83mph.

Cant verify the first one (get bored waiting), the second I've had the wee car flat out, downhill on the motorway with a passenger and saw a mighty 92mph!! Mind you bits were beginning to fly off.....


edited for my maggie thatcher spelling

[Edited by Marky-San - 9/27/2002 6:33:02 PM]

MooseRacer

Should have kept your foot hard down Mark, all that weight saving going on you may have seen 93!

EvoBarry

I've just bought a Corolla GT Coupe (AE86) for the lightweight and fun nature of it. Big powerful cars take the fun out of maintaining cross country pace IMO. :-)