Fun slow cars

[fdcg27]

I agree with you on the fun potetial of a stick vs an automatic.
I look at it from the opposite view, though.
Part of the joy of shifting is having to use the gears to keep the engine in a useful rev range for acceleration and two-lane passing.
Downshifting and feeling the engine reach its powerband are fun for me.
Plus, I have never owned anything with real grunt down low.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: hardcore302
a 97 E series MB diesel..


Was that the first year the w210 was turbocharged? If so definitely was a neat car. We have the 96, which is NA, and still a nice drive.

 

[rationull]

All of the three cars I've had have been slow and some degree of fun. My first was a 1988 Toyota Tercel 3 door hatch with a 78 hp 1.5 and a 4 speed stick. (78 hp when new, I doubt it was making that much when I got it). I think it only weighed about 2000 pounds. Fairly tossable and the suspension was still nice and stiff.

Then I had a 1983 280zx. Slow by today's standards like all the early 80s sports cars were -- 145 hp, 5 speed MT and weighed 2800-2900 lbs. Not fast but RWD with a near 50/50 weight distribution, and had an inline 6. Had enough power/torque that it was fun to push it around turns but not enough to be dangerous.

My current car is a 2007 Civic coupe with 140 hp 1.8l engine, 5 speed MT, 2700 lbs. About as fast to 60 as the 280zx was but less grunt down low so requires more downshifts on the highway (which is part of the fun). Compared with the rest of its class this car is fun to drive, but when compared with older economy car examples it's more comfortable and less like a go-kart. The potential is there, though, and if I have it long enough to wear out the suspension it may get some upgrades.

The wife has a 2008 Mazda3 with the 2.3l 151 hp engine and 5 speed MT. It's actually fairly comparable to the Civic but you can feel the extra grunt in some situations. Its tested 0-60 time is in the low 7s though so it's getting to a point where I'm not sure I consider it slow.

 

[J_Myler]

I drive an 99 acura cl 2.3 5 speed. It isn't the fastest car on the road but it is a blast to drive

 

[Dave Hess]

Honda CRX and Corolla GTS from the late 1980's

 

[DreamerGT]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
A first gen Neon is pretty fun, probably one of the most neutral fwd cars of its time.


yeah I had a 96' 5 speed, that was a fun little car.

 

[robertcope]

I had a 1988 VW Jetta GLI with the 1.8L 8V motor. Not much power, but excellent gearing, suspension, etc made it a very fun ride. Wish I had never given it away.

robert

 

[ediamiam]

my '67 Porsche 912. Body of a 911 and a 4 cyl engine similar to that from a 356. 1720cc w/ big bores

 

[mechtech2]

Triumph Spitfire
Fiat 850 Spyder
Slightly Modified old VW bugs

 

[L_Sludger]

MazdaSpeed 3, probably also the WRX STi

 

[fdcg27]

mectech,

You had an 850 Spyder?
I have always considered the 850 Spyder to be a really pretty car, with a top that was nicely concealed when down, and a lot of room for such a small car.
IIRC, it was one of Giugiaro's (sp?) early designs when he was at Bertone.

 

[flacoman]

Volvo 240GT. All the turbo running gear with the N/A engine. Way more handling than power =)

 

[Trav]

An original Austin Mini Cooper S was a blast to drive fast on a curvy road.

 

[expat]

Austin A35

[edit] Performance
A two door de luxe saloon with the 948 cc engine was tested by the British Motor magazine in 1956 and was found to have a top speed of 71.9 mph (115.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 30.1 seconds. A fuel consumption of 41.5 miles per imperial gallon (6.81 L/100 km; 34.6 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £554 including taxes of £185. [3]


[edit] Notable A35 Owners
1976 F1 World Champion, James Hunt, drove an A35 van as his daily transport.
Double F1 World Champion, Graham Hill, raced an A35 saloon in the early 1960s. The car was later sold to Frank Williams, a current F1 team owner, who also raced it in the UK.

 

[38sho]

I like my SHO, its powerband and shifting are great with the manual.
its faster then a lot of stuff on this list so far but its not what I would consider fast in today's world of sports cars and special model sedans.

if you want something really slow, I drove a geo metro once, it had a 5 speed, was pretty fun to drive actually, some of the stuff made me laugh my head off. Then again I only drove it for a day and who knows how funny it would be after a few months. The thing was so light it was almost like a go kart, but the suspension moved so much!

 

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
MazdaSpeed 3, probably also the WRX STi
the OP said fun to drive SLOW cars. I think most anyone would call your 2 choices quite fast cars.

 

[rjundi]

My first car, 1984 Rabbit GTI

My second car, a 1988 VW Jetta GLI 16V.

Both were a sheer pleasure to drive.

 

[swalve]

1978 Dodge Omni. It was a golf cart with doors.

 

[IndyIan]

Behold the Fastiva! 73hp but its getting faster as it loses parts, maybe its 1200-1300lbs now?

 

[kkreit01]

My first: '83 Plymouth Turismo 2.2 (Charger clone)

a few other's I've owned:

'92 Plymouth Sundance Duster coupe 3.0
'92 Dodge Daytona IROC 3.0 (5 spd)
'05 Dodge Neon (5 spd.)