Surprisingly Fun/Disappointing Cars to Drive

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Just hatched this idea this last afternoon after driving a 2015 Nissan Frontier S 2WD.

-> We all had this conundrum, there are cars that you expect and delivered its abilities to put a smile on your face. 👍

-> But what if it's the other way around? Share your comments here!

 

[Cowboy]

Surprisingly fun: Dodge Dart Rallye. I've driven this a number of times and it feels like i'm in a racecar. Looks great, sounds great, and drives great 👍

Surprisingly Disappointing: Cheverolet Cruze. Me and my parents rented this car for our trip to the Black Hills last year. Had to endure about 750 miles in that car. Riding in it was a disappointment to me since it seemed like it had no energy when you pushed on the gas pedal. The seating space was not very great either.....

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Surprisingly Fun: 5 cylinder, 5 speed Chevy Colorado. Those little things move. If you close your eyes, they sound like Vipers too.

Bad: Kia SUV. Can't remember what particular model...but it was woeful.

 

[synchromesh]

Surprisingly fun:
Hyundai Sante Fe. It had lots of power and it's nippy. It was our rental car in Florida a few months ago.
My grandma's 2004 Toyota Corrolla. It's not my Mini but for a sedan it's very precise and has a linear powerband with smooth power.
My 1983 Delorean. It's not super fast but it handles very well, like a Lotus Esprit. (Which I've also driven)
2005 Ford Explorer. It has lots of power and really moves for an SUV.

 

[Zenith]

Surprising - Late 90's Toyota Corolla/Geo Prizm

Surprisingly good balance, lift off oversteer is easy to achieve, decently light, shifter is not bad. Crappy enough car that the consequence of failure is low.

Disappointing - Any Subaru Impreza WRX.

Wants to push, generally not very exciting, suspension on the loose side. Every person I know (~5) with an Impreza doesn't seem to like theirs very much. General consensus seems to be that it's too expensive to make fast, frustrating to work on, makes a great daily driver, but is a bit boring as a sports car. I've never driven an STi though.

 

[homeforsummer]

Surprising - Skoda Yeti.

A lot of magazines raved about it when it came out. Thought it might have been hyperbole, but I absolutely loved the one I had for a week. Great steering, fantastic ride/handling balance, and a generally great all-rounder in more mundane measures too, such as space/comfort/stowage/economy etc.

Honourable mention: The latest Smart Fortwo. I was a fan of the old one despite its foibles, but the new one is a genuinely good car, without losing the character of the old cars. I'd genuinely have one as a commuter if I had the dosh.

Disappointing - Current WRX STI

Echoing @Zenith here to a degree. We've got a long-term one at the office. Performance isn't particularly impressive. Needlessly hard ride. Weird steering. Doesn't even feel particularly well-built, which used to be a high point of Imprezas from what I'd heard.

Dishonourable mention: Mitsubishi Mirage. It's light, has a peppy engine and feels well-built. But they gave it a chassis made of blancmange. Could have been a spiritual successor to the old, lightweight 80s and 90s Civics. Isn't.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Doesn't even feel particularly well-built, which used to be a high point of Imprezas from what I'd heard.

I thought the build quality of the GH was excellent compared to older Imprezas.

My mum's '05 was good but the interior in general looked like turd, mine the interior looks like turd and it has a few rattles here and there.

The GH WRX Premium I had a drive of was great, but not really surprising.

My most delightfully surprising car to drive would have to be the Kia Pro_Cee'd GT. Essentially a RenaultSport-lite in driving experience but with a far superior after-sales support and more equipment.

My most disappointingly surprising car to drive would have to be the MY08 WRX. Slow, soggy, sloppy.

 

[homeforsummer]

I thought the build quality of the GH was excellent compared to older Imprezas.

Our long-termer has rattles, the entire rear wing spends its time wobbling in the rear-view mirror, and we need to jam the fuel filler release open with the key otherwise it locks itself...

My most delightfully surprising car to drive would have to be the Kia Pro_Cee'd GT. Essentially a RenaultSport-lite in driving experience but with a far superior after-sales support and more equipment.

The Proceed GT really is very good, we've had one of those in for the last six months too. I'd not go as far as saying it's an RS-lite - the Megane is on another level dynamically and in terms of performance - but it's not too much to say it's a bit like a Golf GTI-lite. Has the same sense of quality, everyday usability and nicely-judged controls. Wouldn't surprise me if Kia benchmarks VW when they're designing new cars.

 

[Greycap]

The most disappointing cars I've driven have both been BMWs, a 318i '00 and a 116i '09. They have a reputation as great handling driver's cars but the 318i was the most disconnected experience I've ever had in a car and the 116i wasn't far behind. While the handling itself may be good it's pretty hard to utilize as the steering wheel doesn't tell a thing about what's happening in the front and the seat-of-the-pants feel says nothing about the rear. Both unbelievably numb feeling cars.

 

[Slash]

Surprising - Late 90's Toyota Corolla/Geo Prizm

Surprisingly good balance, lift off oversteer is easy to achieve, decently light, shifter is not bad. Crappy enough car that the consequence of failure is low.

I second this. I've had two friends; one with a 98 5 speed and another with an 01 automatic, and boy did we have some fun with those cars. Handled somewhat decently at speed and was pretty well balanced overall. Can't really find anything bad to say about them.

 

[MiniM00S3]

A car I've owned that was surprisingly fun to drive would be a 2003 Corolla CE. Wasn't fast by a long shot but at least it liked to rev (unlike my current 1999 Mercury Tracer, laziest 4 cylinder ever), and it handled the twisty back roads fairly well too, even with quite a bit of body roll.

Although...I did own a crown vic before the corolla, so I'm not exactly an expert in knowing what good handling feels like

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Surprisingly fun: Honda Fit 1.5.

Great gearbox, an engine that loves to rev, and a decent chassis conspire to make a very practical and sensible car far more fun than it has any right to be. It's as fun as a current Civic Si.

Surprisingly bad: 1995 Chrysler Concorde 3.3. (my grandmother's car, it's basically new with just 8,000 miles on it)

What. A. Turd. For some reason people seem to think that the LH cars were actually good, a view which could only have come about as a result of drugs or the competition being some of the worst cars the planet has ever seen.

Good things? It's old enough that the thin pillars give good visibility. It also sounds pretty nice at idle when standing outside the car. The engine is powerful enough.

Now, the bad. The car rolls like the Costa Concordia. My mum once said she was borderline seasick. The steering is light with no feel and the rack is prohibitively slow. The steering wheel is covered in a gooey plastic so stretchy that you can feel the metal rod beneath it. The interior is cramped, with bizarre seating positions front and rear and very poor legroom. The brakes require an enormous effort to stop the car with, but the pedal feel suggests that the pads have been replaced with bricks sliding along the calipers.

 

[Sertsa]

Hi. I've been away for some time, but good thread idea. Anyway a couple of years ago I was looking for a new car mainly for commuting and tested about anything I could find with a manual transmission that would be reasonably practical but fun for my 84 miles per day round trip. It was interesting. Anyway.

Most surprisingly fun
Mazda 3 - This was about the least expensive car I drove and one of two favorites. It was really fun while still being practical and economical. Between it and my other favorite, a used BMW 328i, I picked the Mazda. (It's a 2012 and now has a little over 55K miles on it, and I'm still impressed.)

Runners Up
BMW 328i - Okay, it's not really surprising this car was fun, but I wasn't prepared for just how fun it would be. I really thought about getting it or one similar, but given where and when I drive I was a bit too concerned about long term reliability. I probably would have still gotten it if the Mazda didn't turn out to be as good as it was. Oh, I also really liked the sound of the naturally aspirated inline 6.
Mazda 6 - Not as fun as the Mazda 3 but more fun than other midsized sedans I tried. I considered getting it instead of the 3 just because part of my brain thought my compact-car driving days should be behind me and the insurance would be less, but I just decided I liked the 3 better.
Hyundai Sonata GLS - Okay, a big caveat here. Unlike most of the others I did not expect this car to be fun, and honestly it wasn't as fun as some I'm listing as being disappointing--especially the TSX--but I actually found a sedan, in stock, with a manual transmission (this was a new 2012 model), and the salesman said it was the only one he'd ever seen. But with it, the car became kind of fun. Not super fun, but not bad. And it was roomy and quite nice to drive. I decided it wasn't for me, but I was surprised that it didn't suck. If I were looking for a solid, comfortable commuter car with plenty of room for four and wanted a manual for a little bit of fun, it would be a good choice. But I think that market doesn't exist and the car no longer has a manual option.


Most Surprisingly Disappointing
Infiniti G35 - I so wanted to like this car, especially after I found a sedan with a manual, but I just didn't. It had a nice amount of power, was well appointed, but there was no feedback to the steering wheel at all, the transmission felt wrong and the shifter's vibrating was disconcerting. I should say this was a used car, so I'm not sure what it went through, but after the test drive I didn't really care to examine history more thoroughly. I know it was marketed as a "sports sedan," but I thought the G37 felt more akin to a muscle car, especially as I had driven a 328i a few nights before.

Runners Up
Acura TSX - The first generation. As I had been driving Hondas for some time this was my first choice on paper. But I test drove three and couldn't see buying any of them. (One was obviously poorly maintained). It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as involving as I hoped. I suspect electronic steering had something to do with it, as I felt my aging 2000 Accord Coupe was more fun.
Subaru Legacy GT - The one I tried had some modifications and quite a few miles. It was another I really wanted to like, and the power was great. I think I laughed when first giving it hard acceleration while going up a hill in the rain. But beyond the power and the solid feel, I don't believe I felt very engaged. It was better than others, but not great. I thought of overlooking that but there was other concerns. For instance, the surprisingly honest salesman said I can expect to get about 18MPG with premium (he had one). Also, the dealer I tested the car at was the only Subaru dealer around me I would consider giving money to, and it has since been sold to a sketchy company and the honest salespeople have been replaced. All the other Subaru dealers are owned by a pretty sleazy local chain. And I met some Legacy GT and WRX owners and decided they were idiots.

 

[TexRex]

Surprisingly Fun: 5 cylinder, 5 speed Chevy Colorado. Those little things move. If you close your eyes, they sound like Vipers too.

Seeing as you're here to post, I presume you were in neutral when you had your eyes closed.

(I saw this and laughed for a good minute straight...I blame my being up at nearly 3am.)

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

I probably have the least amount of experience trying out cars, but I'll throw my hat in the ring nonetheless. I had a brand new Vauxhall Astra 1.6 SRi as my courtesy car after my Starlet got crumpled.

Felt far, far too heavy, took ages to get up to speed (like you'd put your foot down to overtake and there's just nothing), fuel economy wasn't any better than the Starlet despite being launched 15 years earlier, interior wasn't too bad but a bit too chintzy, felt very wayward and was just a boring drive. Doesn't help that in the specific trim I had mine in, it isn't exactly cheap.

I thought all the bashing or just general ambivalence of Vauxhalls from the motoring press was just sort of a running gag or a bit unjustified, but I can completely see where they're coming from. Granted, I've been used to little crappy, lightweight Japanese boxes, but even the diesel Clio I learnt to drive in had more to offer (both in terms of driving dynamics and actual equipment), despite being a whole segment below.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Surprising: Opel Kadett C and Volvo 740.

Both were manual, light and willing to slide, and plenty of feedback through steering and seat. Especially in the Kadett due the light weight and unassisted steering.

Disappointing: Subaru Forester '12 and Opel Omega MV6. Both had numb steering and autotragic transmissions that sucked the joy out of driving them, not to mention that the Subaru felt anemic despite of claimed 175bhp, and MV6 should've had slightly over 200.. Ugh.

I guess I'll stick to lighter, manual RWD cars.

 

[Connoissuer]

If anyone has driven this, could you give your inputs upon it? 1993 Honda Civic EX (EJ1)
(This is not my car but I drive the same exact model in Camilla Red)

 

[savage388]

Surprisingly good: Suzuki esteem wagon.
For just a little 1.6 with a 5spd it had pep, it rode alright and stuck to the road like glue. I do miss that car.

Disappointing: jeep commander
Whoever thought a 3.7 liter v6 in an enormous vehicle like that would be enough is totally insane, the transmission tries to make up for it by downshifting to first no matter how hard you hit the pedal and the only thing that happens is a lot of noise. It had the blind spots of a large yacht so anytime I reached an intersection it was quite the adventure.

 

[Thomas__633]

Good:
Mazda 2 '03
My mum's car and drives very nice in the Adelaide Hills, quite exciting in the passenger seat when she puts the foot down .
Ford Falcon '04
I drove it and it was quite fun. Nearly hit a pole with it, despite doing it in clear space in my uncle's field, and felt like a land barge but almost got it sliding.

Disappointing:
Subaru Forester '11
I can't seem to get the hang of the manual... FH2 makes it seem so easy.

Dumpster:
Ford Falcon '02
Awful in every way.

 

[TripleA5]

Surprisingly fun: 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser Touring Edition

While our Dodge Ram 3500 was getting serviced, we got this loaner PT Cruiser.(Above) At first we all laughed at it being another PT Cruiser. (Our second loaner and both have been PT cruisers...). But when you actually drove this thing, it sounds amazing as it revs up and handles pretty well. Acceleration was fun and quick. It was definitely one of the most fun cars i've been in.

Surprisingly disappointing:
2012 Dodge Ram 1500 Longhorn
My main problem with this truck is the steering. Its too sensitive and floaty. Everything else with it is great.

2000 Mazda Protege base model
No power at all, you step on it slowly goes up in speed and the ac wasn't very cold either.

 

[Grandea GTR]

Suprisingly Fun: Isuzu Impulse.
-It's a car you can throw about, and still feel stable.

Surprisingly Disappointing: GMC Envoy
-It... Makes more noise than it does power.

 

[homeforsummer]

Surprising: Opel Kadett C

Had to double-check which generation this was. Turns out it's largely the same under the skin as this generation of Vauxhall Chevette:

​

To which end, I agree. Not fast, not sophisticated, but has narrow tyres and rear wheel drive, which makes it playful enough even with the ~50hp this one had. Good fun.

Surprisingly fun: 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser Touring Edition

People give PTs a hard time but when I rented one several years back I genuinely thought it was okay. I found the engine and transmission pretty lousy - neither fast nor economical - but it actually handled pretty well. It had decent steering and reasonable grip, and didn't feel all at sea when I started to push it. I'd not go hunting for one if I wanted something fun, but I do suspect a lot of the people who criticise them have never actually driven one.

 

[High-Test]

Disappointed:

S13 Nissan 240SX - What's all this hype about? It can't outrun a tugboat, it can't outhandle a shopping cart, and a fully replaced stock suspension is simply barbaric. Likely designed by George Armstrong Custer with 1870s technology, the suspension of the S13 Nissan 240SX uses state of the art wood as the primary material. The 240SX packs a fearsome truck motor that is at least quiet. Once fitted with an SR20, the 240SX sounds like the bastard child of an Sti and a fart-can equipped 1995 Honda Civic with none of the charms of either parent, and every last defect. The single worst place to be is inside the vehicle, as the unpleasant noise will follow the driver and passengers everywhere. I expected to get a glimpse of the hype when it was stock, but that didn't happen. I understood less after it was modified. I do not understand why people are so obsessed with them. Why not get something infinitely better, such as a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am?




Fun:

2004 Honda CR-V (auto, AWD) - The most delightfully schizophrenic thing I've ever driven. It's an off-roader! It's a shipping container! It's a truck! It's a... go-kart? It makes an excellent argument for each one of its personalities, and even one with 250k on the clock acts like it was bought new last week. It's fun with an auto. I bet the manual is an absolute riot. Don't turn off overdrive. The 4 speed struggles, but the K24 was the right choice.

2012 Dodge Dart. - I'll echo previous posts. That car is way too much fun. I drove it and a Mazda 3 in the same day, and I had just as much fun in the dart.

1999 Ford Crown Victoria - In a small college town near one of the meth capitals of the United States, a grandpa beige police car is quite the blessing. She's not mine. I don't have to feed her. The steering is likely attached by wet hair clippings and the good intentions of Detroit's finest, but don't get too hung up on that minor detail. I do not believe that the brakes were designed by mortal men. 4400 pounds 60-0 should not happen that quickly. But it does, even with brakes that could be replaced. Thinking about the brake pedal will stop the car, let alone depressing it. They're on a hairier than hairy hair trigger that might actually drop a backhoe bucket to slow the car as well. The accelerator is just on a hair trigger. All that gusto comes quickly to usher the one wheel drive wonder to highway speeds, lickety-split. At any speed, the ride shames most things with a three pointed star and humiliates Cadillacs. There are many ashtrays, and the car can be parked and used as a private cigar lounge. She rolls, she's unrefined, she's definitely not something I expected to enjoy. That Crown Vic is the most entertaining thing I have driven this year.

 

[mustafur]

Surprisingly fun: Smart Forfour(1.3L Semi auto)
-Its agility is other worldly for a FWD car this has amazing amount of front bite and the rear feels like it will step out before the front does, and for a short wheel base car is surprisingly stable when taking corners at high speed inspiring confidence but you pay for it with rock hard suspention, it also has a good exhaust note.

Also the gearbox which everyone complains about is honestly terrible if left in auto mode, but if you change gears yourself it becomes another animal entirely and is very responsive also has an Auto rev match which just adds to the experience.

Surprisingly Disappointing: Mercedes CLK(280 AMG Package Auto)
- Under steer central, gearbox feels like it's from a 90s GM it's soo slow to change gear, and it chews brakes like no tomorrow at normal driving.

 

[homeforsummer]

Surprisingly fun: Smart Forfour(1.3L Semi auto)
-Its agility is other worldly for a FWD car this has amazing amount of front bite and the rear feels like it will step out before the front does, and for a short wheel base car is surprisingly stable when taking corners at high speed inspiring confidence but you pay for it with rock hard suspention, it also has a good exhaust note.

Also the gearbox which everyone complains about is honestly terrible if left in auto mode, but if you change gears yourself it becomes another animal entirely and is very responsive also has an Auto rev match which just adds to the experience.

I presume you're talking about the previous-generation ForFour, rather than the latest one?

 

[Slash]

Surprisingly fun: Honda Fit 1.5.

Great gearbox, an engine that loves to rev, and a decent chassis conspire to make a very practical and sensible car far more fun than it has any right to be. It's as fun as a current Civic Si.

Surprisingly bad: 1995 Chrysler Concorde 3.3. (my grandmother's car, it's basically new with just 8,000 miles on it)

What. A. Turd. For some reason people seem to think that the LH cars were actually good, a view which could only have come about as a result of drugs or the competition being some of the worst cars the planet has ever seen.

Good things? It's old enough that the thin pillars give good visibility. It also sounds pretty nice at idle when standing outside the car. The engine is powerful enough.

Now, the bad. The car rolls like the Costa Concordia. My mum once said she was borderline seasick. The steering is light with no feel and the rack is prohibitively slow. The steering wheel is covered in a gooey plastic so stretchy that you can feel the metal rod beneath it. The interior is cramped, with bizarre seating positions front and rear and very poor legroom. The brakes require an enormous effort to stop the car with, but the pedal feel suggests that the pads have been replaced with bricks sliding along the calipers.

That Fit. Hehehehe.

 

[mustafur]

I presume you're talking about the previous-generation ForFour, rather than the latest one?

Yes

 

[homeforsummer]

Yes

Ah, thought so, since the new one is RWD! Never driven the old model, but it's always intrigued me. I like the Smart brand anyway, and it always seemed like a funky car.

 

[mustafur]

Ah, thought so, since the new one is RWD! Never driven the old model, but it's always intrigued me. I like the Smart brand anyway, and it always seemed like a funky car.

It's not for everyones taste but it's a good car for driving hard the High compression engine is really smooth right through the top end of the rev range, the brabus version im sure would be a real hoot.

 

[AudiMan2011]

A surprisingly fun car to drive for me is my Vauxhall Corsa with the 1 litre turbo. The engine feels zippy that the extra power over the old 1.3 diesel I had before is beneficial.

Surprisingly disappointing was the Vauxhall Mokka, both the 1.4 Turbo I had a test drive in and the 1.7 diesel my mother eventually ended up getting. The performance is pretty dire and it's not really that involving to drive. The diesel automatic is really sluggish to get going and feels and sounds quite agricultural.