The reality of having a daily driven "fast" car

[CivicFan]

After I got hit by a semi in my Z4, I am reluctant to drive it. At some point I need to overcome this reluctance: it's been about a month but I am still weary of driving on streets where there are semis. I never thought that I would have a PTSD from a car accident.

But as far as I can tell, prior to the accident I enjoyed every day I drove it. My neighbors commented that there was always a grin on my face - the BMW ads you see with people grinning while driving Bimmers is not an exaggeration.

 

[IndyIan]

I guess I'm in the, "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow" camp.
Go try a late 90's Miata, it doesn't suck gas, cops won't notice if you go WO in the wrong place, and the handling feel and balance are probably the best of any mass produced car.
If you want some real excitement in a car, go do a lapping day, if you ever get good enough to drive it to its limits, you'll pass all sorts of "fast cars" anyways...

 

[Hokiefyd]

+1 to the Miata. A former co-worker had one, and said it's the most fun you can have driving the speed limit.

My brother has a '99 rip-roaring 500+ hp 1999 Corvette. And while every spec on paper says the Corvette is "more car" than the Miata, somehow less is more in this case.

 

[tdpark]

+1 for the miata as well. My brother has a 2001 and even though i can smoke it in my minivan- it is loads of fun on the twistys and in a snowy parking lot.

 

[ryansride2017]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The Altima V6 in our family is our first and only "fast" car. Yes, it's fast by family sedan standards-- lots of low-end torque, 0-60 in 6.6 sec, under 15 sec quarter mile, etc.



I wish you would be accumulating more mileage on the Altima than you are. What does this mean, we might get the 10K mile review by Christmas? I'm interested in how the CVT holds up...in addition to the rest of the car.

 

[Vikas]

I suspect Altima V6 3.5L is an insanely fast car, it probably does way better than the claimed 6.6 if you are willing to abuse the drive train. It does not "need" that big of an engine.

- Vikas

 

[SLCraig]

Had both a manual transmission Maxima and Altima SE, and they were both 14 second cars stock. I loved them both but it got beaten out by MPG. The reason I liked those cars so much is that they ARE practical. (both 4 doors and big) but premium gas and a 70L gas tank are killers when gas in Canada is a buck fifty per litre for premium.

I miss both those cars dearly, but I love filling up the Civic a lot more, and that matters in 2011.

 

[Hokiefyd]

All of the current 6-cylinder mid-size sedans are much faster than they "need" to be. I remember back in the day, when the 4-cylinder option would barely make 0-60 in 10-11 seconds, and you bought the V-6, the "fast" version, which usually got you to the same speed in 8 seconds. Now the 4-cylinder versions of the same cars are in the 8 second range and the V-6s are often in the 6 second range.

I agree with an earlier post: 0-60 in the 8 to 8.5 second range is the "sweet" spot for me. Much faster, and it's wasted speed and capability; much slower, and it's "too slow".

 

[quint]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: quint
I feel like a dork leaving the Vette in the driveway on the weekend while I'm out puttering around some old Nissan convertible, but truth is as slow as it is, its a much more fun, sporty car to drive, lack of power and all.

Is it one of those "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow" kind of things?

Absolutely. Compared to the 240, the Vette feels heavy and cumbersome, even though it only weight about 150 lbs more, goes like mad, and could rip the 240 to shreads in every category. Its got all the right parts, they just dont seem to add up for some reason....? Its hard to explain.

And a big +1 to all the Miata comments. Been in a couple in the last month or so. Not much power, but fun little cars. I drove one with a Jackson supercharger on it last year, that thing was nothing short of amazing. The acceleration was unbelievable.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: Cristobal

If you are at a stage in life where you want to impress young women sporty cars are OK. For me though, I have different priorities these days.


Definitely not a goal of mine as I am already married

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Aren't there some modifications you could perform on your current car that would make it handle the twisties better? Or is it all like slapping lipstick on a pig?


Sure, there are plenty of aftermarket suspension components for my car. I've upgraded a very little bit of it but I'm hesitant to spend the time and money doing any more. It's not a Lotus -- there will be corners it's gotta slow down for, and when that happens it just doesn't have enough grunt to power out of them anyway. If I keep it long enough to wear out the shocks then I will replace them with more performance oriented parts, but I'm not going to throw away good ones considering the power situation.

Originally Posted By: quint
Bought the Vette last year, and I think the novelty wore off in about 3 months.

...

My 240 convertible is one of the slowest cars I have ever owned, and by far the most enjoyable.

...

In short, your wife (and mine!) was/were right in my case, and may be in yours too. (Wow, did I say that out loud?... Maybe I just need to turn in my man card.) Buy a car because you lOOOOOOike to drive it *all the time*, not just when you're hammering it. Take a LOONG test drive before you buy. You will quickly get used to the power, but premium gas, hideously expensive fast-wearing tires, bad handling in the rain, and bad gas mileage are things that smack you in the face every day.


First of all, I want to say I love the 240sx. If I could've found an unmolested one close by back before I bought this car I'd probably be driving it today.

I'm hoping to avoid some of the problems you mention with your Vette by making my next car an upgrade in more than one area. My current car is a coupe, and while I love 2 door body styles, 4 doors is nice often enough that I'd like it. I also really miss having a hatch back (my old 280zx, despite being a smallish car, was able to carry things with the hatch bungee'd down that wouldn't fit in my wife's midsize sedan). Even if I got tired of the power I'd love to have a 5 door hatch longer term.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I guess I'm in the, "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow" camp.
Go try a late 90's Miata, it doesn't suck gas, cops won't notice if you go WO in the wrong place, and the handling feel and balance are probably the best of any mass produced car.


I've thought about it, but there's no way I'd downgrade in utility from what I have now, practically. With a 2 seat convertible I can almost guarantee I'd regret the decision within 6 months due to the lack of passenger and cargo space. About the least practical I'd be willing to go would be a Mustang/Genesis Coupe type of car, but even then I've essentially ruled that out as not being worth the risk for the price.

I don't really want to have 2 cars (we already have 3 vehicles and I don't want to overflow our parking) which rules out something like a Miata as a weekend toy.




Reading these responses is informative though, and they generally jibe with what I've heard from friends who have gotten fast cars -- but only cars that they really like all around. That's one of the reasons I'd be more likely to spring for a hot hatch than a more purpose built machine -- it's got to have staying power so the speed isn't the only thing holding it up.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: ryansride2017
I wish you would be accumulating more mileage on the Altima than you are. What does this mean, we might get the 10K mile review by Christmas? I'm interested in how the CVT holds up...in addition to the rest of the car.


My mom doesn't drive much anymore. It has been nearly six months since my last oil service and she has only accrued 2500 miles.

I will probably be getting a new car in the next two months and I plan to split my driving between the new car and the Altima so that I can accumulate more mileage on both.

However, my mom's driving consists of extremely short trips so her duty cycle is much more severe than most drivers. In the past we have experienced far more issues than most drivers, and I think this can be attributed to her duty cycle.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: quint
[The Corvette has] got all the right parts, they just dont seem to add up for some reason....? Its hard to explain.


Absolutely, I know exactly what you mean. Just like your 'Vette, my old '01 STS had all the right specs on paper. But in the end, and as funny as it sounds, the plebian Corolla was just a much more cohesive and balanced package. The STS drove artificial, and like it was trying hard to be something it really wasn't. It wasn't an "honest" car like the Corolla was.

 

[Win]

I never got tired of driving my Pontiac GTO (Holden Monaro) and mine was just the 350 HP LS1 car, and would still have it but for it having been hit by lightning. The only thing I ever tired of were idiots in Civics and Accords wanting to street race.

I drove our '04 Jaguar over the weekend and was reminded once again how pleasant it is to drive a powerful, performance oriented, car.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I had a couple "toys" in the 1970's but quickly realized that I like cheap insurance rates, low fuel bills and low maintenance more than the "thrill" of driving something "fast".

That's why my insurance is about $1000/year for all three vehicles, my weekly fuel fillup for my car is only around $30, and I don't spend a lot on maintenance. It's also why I haven't had a car payment in more than 35 years and one of the reasons my home has been paid off for many years.

 

[jmsjags]

i started driving in a 1998 Dodge Neon with i think 98 hp or some [censored] like that. worked my way up over the years to a v6 camaro (which i thought was fast at the time) and an 02 mustang gt. after having the mustang for a couple months that too became "slow" to me and i was craving even more power, so i switched from the stock 3.27s to 4.10 gears. the car was fast as balls but after a while i began to regret not being able to use 1st gear for anything other than launching the car in a drag race. and it's not very fun when your car can get from 0-60 in the same gear.

i ended up selling the mustang and now i'm back to driving an economy car. honestly it's more enjoyable to me taking a slow car and trying to drive it fast. i can row through all the gears taking off from a stop and still be going the speed limit. the mustang was great and everything, but no matter how fast your car is, it won't stay fast to you for long. you'll always be craving more and more power. and with gas prices shooting up, it's just not worth it anymore.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: quint
Bought the Vette last year, and I think the novelty wore off in about 3 months. I love walking out every morning seeing it there waiting for me, but after being in it for an hour or so, I look foward to getting out of it almost as much as I had looked forward to getting in it. The torque never quits, it sinks you back in the seat, the exhaust has a nice rumble, and it actually gets decent mileage, etc. But if you arent on a twisty backroad with the roof off on a sunny warm day, then you are in a harsh riding, clunky, expensive-tire-and-wheel-bearing-eating monster thats hard to park, impossible to get in and out of, any moderate bump on the road smacks your head into the roof, and any rut in the road pulls you in whatever direction the rut wants to take you. I have had Mustang 5.0's, turbo Rx7's, and various other 'fast' cars that seduced me with power during the test drive, and after living with them a few months I started asking myself what the big deal was. Other than the payment.



You should have gone with a C5 over a C4 then, as there is a HUGE difference in the "daily drivability" factor between the two generations of Corvette. I owned an 84 Corvette and even though they did improve the C4 vastly between that first year of production and your 96 (the last year of production of the C4, for those that aren't familiar) they are still very similar. I hated getting in and out of that 84, in fact one of the 84s I went to look at was being sold by a man in his late 60s who said he just couldn't get in and out of it that easily anymore so that's why he was selling it!

My C5 is extremely comfortable on long trips, the seats are comfy and the ride really isn't harsh at all. And gas mileage on long trips is amazing (32 MPG if you set the cruise control to 60 mph)

As a daily driver, I still love this car! Sure, the novelty of going full throttle has worn off and I just don't feel like flogging the car hard like this all the time, but that's not to say I don't still enjoy driving it. Even driving it slowly, this car is still fun! I still plan on getting a second car this fall, but it will be mainly for the winter months and for short trips around town (like running errands, grocery shopping, etc.). The Corvette will still be my daily driver from May to November.

 

[Vikas]

On the way back home from work, I saw new Nissan sports car (GT-R??) accelerate like a motorcycle! Now that type of acceleration would be fun for a while but only if I don't have to pay for my own gas

- Vikas

 

[quint]

Originally Posted By: Patman
You should have gone with a C5 over a C4 then, as there is a HUGE difference in the "daily drivability" factor between the two generations of Corvette.

You sure arent the first person to tell me this, probably wont be the last either! The only C5's in my price range at the time had high mileage or damage history, so I ended up looking for a low mileage C4. Found my '96 with only 48k miles and not a speck on it, inside or out. The guy was unemployed and about to lose his house. He sure was in a bad spot when it came to talking price.

I do love the Vette, it just had some big shoes to fill after living with the 240sx convertible for the last 5 years. That car has been so reliable, cheap, fun and easy to drive, its going to tough to beat.

Maybe I'll go drive a C5 convertible and see how it goes..... (cant believe I just said that..I blame you.)

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
On the way back home from work, I saw new Nissan sports car (GT-R??) accelerate like a motorcycle! Now that type of acceleration would be fun for a while but only if I don't have to pay for my own gas

- Vikas


You can actually see the needle go down.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: rationull
Question for the many people on the board who have or have had a mix of fast and slow cars in their fleets, especially daily drivers as opposed to weekend cars:

Given that most cars these days -- even economy cars -- are "fast enough" (indeed in many cases new economy cars are just as fast or faster than many sports cars were in the 70s and 80s), I think it's safe to say that many cars, especially sporty ones, have more power than anyone really needs for daily driving. This topic has been discussed at length here in the past and I'm not trying to rehash that here.

Despite these facts I've been on a kick for a while now wanting to replace my car with a faster one. I've asked tons of questions on this topic already but here's another, just looking for anecdotes and experience here. My wife thinks that if I trade in my [perfectly good] economy car for a fast car, I'd get used to it quickly, get bored with the power, and then regret spending the money to buy the car and the increased ongoing costs (fuel, tires, insurance would be more expensive). Specifically what I'm after is quicker acceleration. I'm not a speeder and could care less about top speed, but I love a good shove back in the seat.

I admit that this is a possibility. Now, I do drive spiritedly and notice the power and suspension/handling limitations of my current car sometimes, especially on twisty roads. I'm sure I would get more entertainment out of the sorts of cars I'm considering. The extra expense isn't a problem for me, but I would hate to "get used to it" and then just start feeling like the extra money isn't getting me anything other than a plain old car.

So, BITOGers who have gone from a slower, more appliance-like car to a faster one, how long did it take for the excitement to wear off? Did you ever come to regret the decision?


This post made me take my Z4 for the commute today. In the evening I will drive the top down since messy hair after work is not an issue.

I think one should purchase a fast roadster if the budget allows. Miata has received a lot of praise in this thread and there is a wide selection of roadsters available for everyday use.