What is Your Definition For “Fun To Drive”?

[cooldhaya]

I see various posts by members saying various cars are fun to drive. Each people have their own definition for Fun to drive. So what is yours?


Basically i see two categories:

1. The first category is where the people like the responsive and peppy engine with slick gearshifts and decent handling. Just floor the accelerator and engine responds and redlines in a flash and you can leave all other cars behind. On the flipside the chassis is light , the suspension is soft , so high speed stability is not great. The advantage with this setup though is comfort at low speeds will be good and ride quality inside the city will be great. Also steering feedback will be minimum and will almost feel dead at high speeds. These cars will not be corner cravers because of their soft suspension setup. Cars like Swift , City and i10 fall in this segment.


2. This category is where the engine won't be quick or responsive in some cases even lethargic till they build up speeds but they wont be a slouch or under-powered either. The advantage of these cars is they will be amazing handlers. The chassis and suspension will be stiff , high speed stability will be amazing. Steering gives sufficient feedback at all times and you will feel the road. However the disadvantage is ride quality will be stiff at low speeds and potholes will filter inside the cabin sometimes with a loud thud. But again you can just throw these cars around corners and they will bring a smile to your face. Cars like Punto , Linea , Vento etc fall in this segment.


My vote goes for the second category. I prefer cars that handle well and offer better ride quality and are good to drive and enjoy at highways.


PS: Let us not discuss about the maintenance costs , reliability , cost of the vehicle , VFM aspect and features the car has. Let's just stick to the thread title and start discussing.

 

[singh890]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

I would go with the second category because i love cars which are good at handling, make you feel comfortable by providing a better ride quality and which are good on highways. Since i like SUV's and they have stiff suspensions and have all the above mentioned things. When you drive a good SUV you feel like the King of the road

What's your opinion on this bro.

 

[nickandre]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

i pick second category, my first requirement in choosing a car is ride quality both on city roads as well as highway. Since i am not much of a guy who takes corners at high speeds or zip zaps through traffic at a higher speed, handling is not much of a concern to me.

id not keep the first point more important. what good is a car with an amazing engine and poor handling?

 

[P3T3R]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Voted for the 2nd category. My first car was exactly this. The Uno came with a 45 BHP engine but amazing handling.
Then there are cars with a bit of both. From what I have driven the Siena/Petra/Palio 1.6, Skoda Laura TDI, BMW 320d, Ford Fiesta S and the old Swift petrol.
The i10 IMO does not belong to either category. It's a comfortable city car but not fun to drive.

 

[codename47]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

I'd say both.

It should have RESPONSIVE Engine and Amazing Handling at the same time plus amazing looks

If you driving a sports car you chose to have that because of responsive engine and the handling should be the best in its class.

I drive a Nissan skyline R33 Series II , its fast ,it handles great plus its a geat head turner


you just cant have a responsive engine and no handling at all its just not ideal.

Most of the cars these days are good handling cars for sure. Most of them are equipped with Power steering ABS control , traction control etc etc features to make it nice and smooth.

But responsive/powerful engine is still lacking in Indian market unless you make it faster doing some mods.

 

[amiti]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Having best of both world would be ideal. However I will go with second one in my case. In India, roads are not that good to unleash the power as you never know, what will come across you.

 

[Crazy cat]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Swift belongs to the first category? No way. It has one of the stiffest set up in a hatch back. Even with those pencil tyres, it is a great handler and at 160 kph, it was pretty stable too. While at low speeds, the suspension seems to be not working to improve ride quality. It is a bit of both.

For me, a fun to drive car should be free revving, chassis and suspension should be stiff enough to support handling and stability and the steering should be light (shorter radius is better) as well.

I think from what you have mentioned, the first category belongs to Indian and Korean cars, american cars(Chevy) to some extent. European cars fit the second category quite well, but in both Linea and Vento I never felt potholes filtering into the cabin and there was only a muffled thud(in extreme cases). Japanese cars will have characteristics of both the categories.

 

[Rightnow]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Probably my car VW POLO belongs to the second category. While coming to office today, what a fun I had. Smoked off many cars and performed good zig-zag kinda stunt (if I may call it so) on road mostly on the highways.

Eventually, at least as far as Delhi traffic is concerned during office times, both category of cars end up almost at same point. First category cars show good city movement and lag behind on highways, while second category cars speed up at highways and fall behind a slow auto rickshaw.

 

[Thetraveller]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Although I have a Punto now, but I would trade it for a meatier and more power infused engine with similar handling characterstics. It is NO WAY near the performance of my earlier ride - Swift P. I think initially when I started out I wanted Power, and everything related to it. Now with age (I know that's not true) I am looking towards handling and road manners more than brute power.

Whatever I have said above does not mean I would not go for a box to increase the o/p of my current car's heart

 

[raj_5004]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

I had a Scorpio earlier. It had a very responsive engine but with pathetic handling. So even with all that power, I could not really floor it as the SUV felt nervous & not at all confidence inspiring.

Now, I have a Punto. the engine is not half as responsive as the Scorpio but yes, the car is very stable at speeds & handles as if on rails. What's the use of power if you cant control it?

Like someone said, with great power comes great responsibility. So, I choose 'Amazing Handling'.

 

[cooldhaya]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Since i like SUV's and they have stiff suspensions and have all the above mentioned things. When you drive a good SUV you feel like the King of the road

What's your opinion on this bro.

SUV'S have comparatively stiffer suspension than the Koreans and Japs but still they can't match the ride quality of a luxury saloon. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

what good is a car with an amazing engine and poor handling?

Our Verna is a great example for that!

The i10 IMO does not belong to either category. It's a comfortable city car but not fun to drive.

Yes i knew i10 does not exactly fall in that category. I ran out of cars which belong to that category!

@ codename 47 Sadly we don't have much cars which perform as well as handle here in India atleast under the 11Lakhs bracket!

@ Amiti As i said before having best of both is a bit tough. Swift comes close to both but still needs to improve.


@ Crazy Cat Well actually yes Swift is a much better handler than some other Jap and Korean hatches but still can it match the Punto? No way. Let's not get into European Vs Japanese cars i promise i will create a thread on that soon , that will be more interesting!

@ Right Now Yes Polo is a good handler but still i would have liked it if it performed better.


@ The traveller You are the best man to answer here since you have driven both the cars. Agree with your views.


@ Raj I knew you prefer handling. Once you start driving the Europeans then there is no looking back.

 

[TSIVipul]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

Well,I haven't voted because I will either vote for both or none.
What is the use of good handling without a good engine and same way a good engine is nowhere fun if handling is not good.
I'll mention it with examples(no offence to anyone):-
For me fun to drive means the car must have a performer engine,sharp dynamics,responsive steering and good body control and SAFETY because confidence comes from safety.
For example:-
A Fiesta 1.6 is a fun to drive car because it has all of them,while a Verna is more powerful,faster and maybe safer too but its steering response simply eclipses it and hence its not fun to drive.
Laura TSI,Fiat Linea T-Jet etc etc are fun to drive cars while the ones like Chevrolet Optra Magnum,Hyundai Sonata,VW vento can not be called fun to drive because their high speed behavior for Vento and dynamics(suspension) or handling for Optra Magnum and Sonata puts them away from fun to drive factor.

 

[cooldhaya]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

@ TSIVipul Exactly buddy , it's a trade off in our market atleast for cars under 10Lakhs. Fiesta 1.6S is only car i think it satisfies all the requirements. Other than that we have few other options. if you plan to increase the budget to 20Lakhs then you have many good options like the cars which you have mentioned.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

I would say since the topic is 'definition of fun to DRIVE', I would rather not get biased with the feeling that I get when I sit in a, say, SUV (that 'king of the road' feeling) and purely base my decision on the mechanical aspects of the car i.e. everything that happens once the car starts to move i.e engine response, gearbox, steering & turn-in, suspension settings, etc. There are some people who like driving muscle cars (think of the old Pontiac GTOs, Road Runners, Mustangs, Camaros, etc.) - absolutely atrocious around a corner but an absolute hoot to drive on a straight road while there are some people who are more delighted by cars like the Lotus Elise - not much fun on a straight road but would beat many other cars with twice the horsepower hollow round a curvy track. In the Indian context and not talking too exotic, I have loved driving a humble non-ac Maruti 800 (pure, unadulterated steering feel and an absolute point and shoot car in the city) to the Chevrolet Cruze (lifeless steering, dull gearbox but yes, its a diesel rocket) to the Maruti Gypsy (take it to Ladakh and see what it does to your driving). As I see it, the definition of good to drive is largely circumstantial. A 599 GTO (responsive engine+amazing handling) would not be much fun in peak time Bangalore traffic (a Maruti Zen would be much better). And hence I would say that a little bit of both factors (engine+handling) is required as far as daily driving is concerned (of course unless we are given a racetrack or an autobahn to make our decision). Think of the budget fun to drive cars in Indian context and what comes to mind? The Maruti Zen, the Ikon 1.6, the Fiesta 1.6, the Octavia RS, the Maruti Swift, etc. All these cars were/are reasonably powerful and had/have good handling and that's why I did not have to think while typing their names and the names just vomited themselves out out of the keyboard. So give me a little bit of both rather than a surplus of one and a total lack of other.

 

[cooldhaya]

Re: What is your definition for Fun to drive?

I have no experience with the Mustang's , Camaro's and Lotus. But sadly the budget fun to drive cars you mentioned are either in Petrol or does not exist now. 60% of car buyers are diesel now and sadly under 8Lakhs there are not much options which the balance between the two. Either the car has amazing performance like i20 , Verna etc or good handling cars ruined by slightly less powerful engines like Linea , Fiesta , Punto etc. Swift is one car i see which creates a fine balance but still it's not just there.