Your best car ever?

[Romulus]

My best ever car was purchasing a second hand Toyota Camry V6 GXi which was all in white, looked like BMW but for me it had better classic lines and shape. It was an automatic with option of turbo transmission. It had a fantastic facility in that between the front two seats was a smart compartment where the lid either was lifted or slid open. A perfect place where I stored all my cds which I played in the car. When I first bought the car I remember coming to the red lights, when they turned green I softly pressed on the pedal and to my amazement I was so far ahead from the other cars. I soon learned that this was a very powerful beast and so deceptively smooth. At the time I was working as a locum all over the place and I loved music by Rainbow (Ritchie Blackmore), I would play the tracks loud and the car just flew away on those motorways; it was nearly like in that film 'Back to the future' I don't think I will ever own a car like that again (car shapes nowadays have become ugly) it was so powerful, smooth and so easy to drive. Now its just the Nissan Note (how the mighty have fallen...!)

 

[Maxflinn+]

I recently sold a 2012 Mercedes CLS 250CDi which was a stunning car that was also a very good drive. It was getting high in the miles.

Replaced it with 2014 BMW 320D which I had remapped to 215BHP.

Probably the two best cars I've had.

 

[Samd]

Two standout for me. Porsche 944 about 10 years ago ran on rails and far too much juice but I loved my TVR S3 which I restored and drove to work every day but if it rained I had to open my window to clear the condensation and regularly arrived at work with a sodden right sleeve to my suit! Currently have Range Rover Sport which pulls away with my caravan on tickover!

 

[bigboss]

I recently sold a 2012 Mercedes CLS 250CDi which was a stunning car that was also a very good drive. It was getting high in the miles.

Replaced it with 2014 BMW 320D which I had remapped to 215BHP.

Probably the two best cars I've had.

Welcome back Max!

 

[plastic penguin]

I got a Tesla Model 3 Long Range last month on company lease (NHS salary sacrifice)....it's easily the best car I've ever owned! Every time I drive it, it puts a huge grin on my face.

I'm due to leave my job early next year and will have to return it.....but will be buying a Tesla again.

Which is the best car you've ever driven?

For Comfort: Renault 30TS. Seats like armchairs and just floats along the road. Ideal for electric conversion, like the big, old Citreon DS, you wouldn't buy one for engine performance or sound.

For fun: 1960s Lotus Elan. I owned a 2+2 and it was like driving a go-kart.

For practicality: My Alfa 156. Almost as much fun as the Lotus to drive but suited to families. Always puts a grin on my face.

Good luck for the future @bigboss

 

[bigboss]

I'm going to have access to charger issues, so it's going to be a toss up between BMW 530d xDrive and Tesla Model 3 Long Range. Decisions decisions......

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Personally, I think the future fuel for cars is hydrogen, not battery-stored electric. It's a shame that manufacturers aren't doing more regarding hydrogen fuel cells... but I guess with electric they can design in obsolescence due to the lithium batteries only lasting about 10 years.

 

[abacus]

I'm going to have access to charger issues, so it's going to be a toss up between BMW 530d xDrive and Tesla Model 3 Long Range. Decisions decisions......

There are a lot of new electric cars coming out next year (Not quite as many as the current fossil varieties but they are getting there) and the charging infrastructure is improving as well, so if you can wait a bit you might find something you like better than the Tesla or BMW. (To be honest the BMWs built over the last 5 -7 years have been pretty c*** compared to what they used to produce (You are basically just buying a badge these days)

Bill

 

[abacus]

Personally, I think the future fuel for cars is hydrogen, not battery-stored electric. It's a shame that manufacturers aren't doing more regarding hydrogen fuel cells... but I guess with electric they can design in obsolescence due to the lithium batteries only lasting about 10 years.

With a lot of folks being able to charge at home and the local charging infrastructure improving, I think the battery electric vehicle is here to stay.

For commercial use I think Hydrogen will be the mainstay, as the large batteries required for trucks will take too long to charge.

Bill

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I'm not a fan of BMW, but on average its cars are every bit as well thought-of as they used to be by Autocar, evo etc. They are properly fugly, but that's a different matter.

The Lotus/kart analogy is an interesting one - I've driven an Elise on track twice and it's a wonderful thing, but having driven a kart last year for the first time, nothing road-legal actually drives like a kart. The directness, communication and physicality are a world apart from anything else. It's certainly true that a Lotus is like a kart in comparison with almost every other car though, which is probably what most people mean when using the analogy.

 

[bigboss]

I test drove the BMW 5 series yesterday (530d xDrive) and also Mercedes E450. BMW was very good, and better than Mercedes. I know what you mean about electric cars being here to stay. My current situation means it will be difficult to live with an electric car. It's only a stop gap arrangement until I decide where I want to work in the long term (around 1 year) after which I can change to electric car again on NHS lease.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

With a lot of folks being able to charge at home and the local charging infrastructure improving, I think the battery electric vehicle is here to stay.

For commercial use I think Hydrogen will be the mainstay, as the large batteries required for trucks will take too long to charge.

Bill

Think I'll be keeping my trusty old diesel

 

[majex45]

There are many.
My first car, actually an Austin 7 van (it was a mini made before they called them minis and long before number plates had suffixes or prefixes) only for the nostalgia (bits of wire for door handles, starter button on the floor along with the headlight dip, sliding windows in groove that filled with moss. It stopped if you drove into rain as the spark plugs were just behind the grill).
Toyota MR2 (early edition) this was a great ball of fun and cheap to own and use and totally reliable.
MGBGT, I've had two, one I kept for about 20 years and only got rid when it failed its MOT. I sold it to a bloke at work and he repaired it and then drove it to work every day & parked it outside my office.
Fiesta ST170 that I got to drive at a Ford owners day. They had to prise me out of the car and I had to have the grin removed surgically.
Overall though I'd say the Mondeo 2.5 V6 GhiaX was a lovely car. Quick and econmical to run. I drove that for 170,000 miles and the clutch went, does nothing last?

 

[Paul.]

The st170 was a focus wasn’t it? I had a mk6 fiesta st, that was 150bhp but still awesome fun.

 

[Al ears]

The st170 was a focus wasn’t it? I had a mk6 fiesta st, that was 150bhp but still awesome fun.

It was indeed a Focus.

 

[majex45]

I thought it was a Fiesta but time dims the memory. Was there an equally quick Fiesta? It was definitely an ST but which ST I cannot remember. On reflection it could very well have been a Focus, they were much smaller in those days.
They had several "house of" cars available, Jaguar, Volvo etc and I was left with the one no one else wanted. The lady who was handing out the keys just said the model type without saying the spec level so everyone else passed on the opportunity. He he he...
It was like a jet propelled roller skate.

 

[majex45]

I've driven an Elise on track twice and it's a wonderful thing, but having driven a kart last year for the first time, nothing road-legal actually drives like a kart. The directness, communication and physicality are a world apart from anything else.
I have only driven a kart on one of the corporate tracks, indoor, so a bit tame. The first time we took some overseas clients (about 15) to keep them occupied one evening. It was all a bit of fun, not competitive at all, we were meant to let the customers win. However, when the flag was lifted, the red mist came down and I went for it bigtime. Unfortunately I am crap at kart driving and didn't win but I had a great time.

 

[Paul.]

This is what the fiesta looked like at the time, look familiar? I thought they were pretty nice looking cars if you didn’t get the stripes. It was similar performance to the focus st170 in a straight like but more fun to drive, the fiesta lacked multi link rear suspension but that’s a good thing in a hot hatch, you won’t get a focus on three wheels 😂

 

[majex45]

Hi Doug,
Yep, that looks about right. Fun times although there was a camera on the road circuit they gave us, however this was marked on the map.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

It was similar performance to the focus st170 in a straight like but more fun to drive, the fiesta lacked multi link rear suspension but that’s a good thing in a hot hatch

I doubt that's a consensus view! Fords have been good to drive for a long time, but the Mondeo and Focus were the first cars of the Parry-Jones era where Ford became an engineering-led benchmark for ride/handling balance.

 

[Paul.]

@12th Monkey I should probably qualify that as small hot hatch, all the benchmark cars in the segment have not had multi link rear suspension (mk7 and 8 fiesta st, Clio RS200 etc). Trailing arm suits small hatches where you want it to be nimble and playful. Grown up cars tend to have multilink 😂

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I think even they'd have more sophisticated suspension designs if space allowed.

 

[scouzzer1964]

I drive a Jaguar XF 3L, love it, drive,shape,feel its my 3rd jag and must say the best one upto now.

 

[ThisIsJimmy]

hahahahaha I only own a Fiesta ST!!!! not jealous at all! Peoples car history on here is pretty awesome. Some right classics. Still the Fiesta is nippy and put's a smile on my face! Then again the only other ones i can compare it with are a Vauxhal Corsa and a Ford KA so i don't have much of a car history to compare that with.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

I'm 54 and I've only ever owned six cars.