One of my mates was car hunting a few months back, he is a little random, and since I got him to buy a Fabia vRS a few years back he's had a bit of a taste for the 'sporty' model of a car. He sent me a picture of the original Mercedes A Class and asked if they done a quick one. I knew straightaway that they done a 'warm' version, the A210 Evolution so we went shopping, went miles to look at a dog but in the end found one on our door step, he done the deal and bought it. 

 

Fast forward to today, 4 of us went to a theme park and all piled in, he drove there and got me to drive back. For all the bad rep they have, it's was a genuinely nice car to drive. OK, some of the dash plastics are a little cheap and the car has some creaks and squeaks but it really is a lovely little car to drive! 

 

On paper the 2.1 n/a 140bhp motor doesn't sound that exciting, but it has plenty of power when you want it, nice chunk of torque low down and once a bit higher in the revs it takes off really well. It's a 5 speed manual, I've read so many times, Merc autos are the ones to get, their manuals are not much cop but this was spot on, nice short throw, slick changes, perfect. Is goes round bends well enough, the ride is quite stiff, crashes over the bumps but it's not terrible, trade off for the nice flat cornering, it holds the road better than it's mini MPV looks suggest. 

 

Inside is nice, creaks aside, seats are half leather, nice leather wheel with thumb grips, climate etc etc. The outside is tidy too, 17 inch wheels, subtle bodykit, little twin exit exhaust on the back too, finished with a funky grill on the front. It's not a hot hatch, it was supposedly designed as a AMG model but deemed too slow once put into production but they still made a tidy car imo and can be picked up for a decent price now.

 

What have you driven thats surprised you? 

On a similar vein. I drove a meriva turbo once. It was a laugh.

Mazda 3 mps, because I didn't know what one was until I put my toe down.

1980 1.2 Toyota Starlet. Wifey didn't even want to look at it but humoured me. Cracking car and a hoot to drive, bought it on the spot and loved owning it. Bulletproof mechanically and everything above 45mph seemed fast. Sadly got eaten by metal moths.

Gaz

My first cae - 1.1 hyundai getz in cdx trim 2003.

Had a bit poke when you put yer foot down hard once you were at the right spot in the rev range, not much at the top end power obviously but it was 72bhp, and even with 5 adults wedged in felt fine at motorway speeds and in the bends.

the cdx trim was elec windows cd player and sunroof. I loved that car

Edited 8 October, 20169 yr by mac11irl

Citigo. 1.0l 3 cylinder engine - my heart sank when I got one as a courtesy car from the dealership, but they're fantastic and in same ways far more fun that the vRS.

The other one is the new Astra diesel. Got one for 2 days as a hire car for work. Was supposed to get a golf but the clutch was slipping, used to hate astras but the new one is just a small insignia - brilliant on the motorway etc.

All of them drive better when they ain't got foreigners at the wheel, Lol.

All of them drive better when they ain't got foreigners at the wheel, Lol.

And yet most of the people I get cut up by seem to be British...

Opel Manta GTE (2 litre, only 110 hp, but did not weigh much and could get up to over 130 on the clock).

 

Very well balanced car unlike most cars, would drift evenly front and back, good looking and so much better than all but the 2.8i Ford Crapy in the opposite stable. 

 

Edited 8 October, 20169 yr by lol-lol

Two cars come to mind, 3 different V6 Mk 3 Mondeo Estates, very good at what they are supposed to do + good refinement & fun to drive as well.

 

T'other would be our Superb 2, again spacious, quiet & refined, especially for a 4 cylinder, but with reasonable economy & good performance.

It hurts to say it, but it out-punches any of the Mondys, & the last one was a 3-litre. 

 

Probably why I still own it after 3 1/2 years!

 

DC 

Don't laugh but.......

 

Austin Allegro 

 

Ok the one I had (er some time ago) was the 1750 ss 5 speed. Pulled like a steam train especially at low revs    - went up even steep hills in 5th gear, was reasonably quiet/smooth and was reasonably economical on a run. The seats in this top of the range model were very good as well. I also liked the hydroelastic suspension, very compliant and didn't lean around corners (did have a bit of front to rear wallow   - only noticeable in stop/start traffic)  

 

 

Tin worm was quickly eating mine away though

 

 

 

However a friend had a basic 1300 version - that was horrible in comparison and had the weird square steering wheel

Citigo. 1.0l 3 cylinder engine - my heart sank when I got one as a courtesy car from the dealership, but they're fantastic and in same ways far more fun that the vRS.

The other one is the new Astra diesel. Got one for 2 days as a hire car for work. Was supposed to get a golf but the clutch was slipping, used to hate astras but the new one is just a small insignia - brilliant on the motorway etc.

Swmbo has a citigo and i love taking it out for a run around, like a go kart

And, we recently had a new astra diesel as a hire car for a week in scotland. Very very nice to be fair. After that trip was the first time i got into my mk1 octy and had it feel old and spartan :(

Swmbo has a citigo and i love taking it out for a run around, like a go kart

And, we recently had a new astra diesel as a hire car for a week in scotland. Very very nice to be fair. After that trip was the first time i got into my mk1 octy and had it feel old and spartan :(

 

And the Astra is one of those cars made in the UK I believe so it will start to become more reasonably priced as all the cars made on the European mainland ie Skodas, SEATs, VWs, BMWs, Mercs etc and Qashqais, Jags (£27k-discount for a nice 2 litre auto XE) etc will start to look much better value as the Euro-boxes rise in price by 10% or more over the next few quarters.

Saxo vtr used to get me, such a small car with a 1.6 rather responsive engine, I'm not sure if it was over fuelling or not but the motorway pull was incredible and launch wasn't bad either

Other than that I've had a Vectra 2.0 turbo which performance wise was way much more than the 800 quid it cost me lmao

Then I had a Vauxhall signum v6, biggest engine I have yet to drive and for an automatic it shifted! Also loads of luxury inside it including a fridge and it was only 1500 quid lol

But out of all I'd say the saxo is the most surprising, I'd love to try a vts out, I can see why they are almost all bought out to go tracking

But none compare to my current octavia vrs

Edited 9 October, 20169 yr by lDanl

And yet most of the people I get cut up by seem to be British...

Watch 'Car Crash TV' on Spike, and you'll see what I mean.

 

You'll be glad you drive in the Uk, where most of the drivers are British, which is probably why most of the people you get cut up by seem to be British.

Swmbo has a citigo and i love taking it out for a run around, like a go kart

And, we recently had a new astra diesel as a hire car for a week in scotland. Very very nice to be fair. After that trip was the first time i got into my mk1 octy and had it feel old and spartan :(

Funny thing is, there's two cars that I've never disliked a single mark of, and ones the astra. I'd never buy one, but as a thing to drive, they've always been alright.

Oddly the new Peugeot 308 Diesel drives very well...

Strangely enough - most enjoyable/challenging car I ever drove was a Reliant Rialto- challenge was to keep it upright, and it could go ,up to a decent speed.

2004 Nissan Micra 1.5 DCi -absolute hoot to drive, surprisingly rapid up to 45/50 Mph (embarrassed a lot of far more powerful cars) -lots of body roll and a rather floppy chassis - I may have popped the dash out on one side with exuberant driving    ran it for 2.5 years from new and did 56,000 miles in it!

 

1.1 Mitsubishi Colt CZ1 - tiny 3 door car, tiny engine, big fun to drive round country lanes right on the limit 

Wife's Citroen AX 11. Better round town than my Peugeot 309 GTI, it had a great supple ride. Easy and fun to drive near the limit.

Small underpowered cars,

 

Citigo 1.0l 3cyl engine - No power whatsoever compared to the chipped MK2 VRS I had at the time, but it was a hoot to throw around the twisties trying to carry as much speed as possible.

 

Fiat 500 1.2 - again, slow as anything, but the rolly polly handling was charismatic!

Vauxhall Mokka 1.4 Turbo auto. I was surprised by just how quick it was. Sounded great too. And didn't roll around the bends at much as I thought it would.

 

My first cae - 1.1 hyundai getz in cdx trim 2003.
Had a bit poke when you put yer foot down hard once you were at the right spot in the rev range, not much at the top end power obviously but it was 72bhp, and even with 5 adults wedged in felt fine at motorway speeds and in the bends.
the cdx trim was elec windows cd player and sunroof. I loved that car

 

We hired a car in Australia back in 2008. We got a Getz but wait for it... it was the mighty 1.6!

 

I was honestly surprised how well it drove. The engine was very strong and pulled nicely without having to thrash it. Guess it's a decent sized engine for a little Getz (103bhp).

Remember a whole heap of fun cars, great Q cars ie looked like nothing but went like stink for the day...

 

Had loads of fun in a Dolly Sprint blowing off 3 litre Capris and then there was this.........

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuel system: Garret T3 turbo through single SU
Max Power: 150 bhp @ 5,100 rpm
Max Torque: 169 Ib/ft @ 3,500 rpm
Performance: 0-60 mph; 6.7 secs

 

Edited 14 October, 20169 yr by lol-lol

 and then there was this.........

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuel system: Garret T3 turbo through single SU

Max Power: 150 bhp @ 5,100 rpm

Max Torque: 169 Ib/ft @ 3,500 rpm

Performance: 0-60 mph; 6.7 secs

 

 

 

I remember out dragging one of those up a long hill somewhere between Stratford on Avon and Oxford in my 5 GT turbo    I think a Citroen ZX 1.9d has given me the biggest surprise, a friend had one new and we used it to go down to the south coast for a weekend. Nice ride and no rattles good visibility and decent seats. By 70 mph it felt done but if you could gain some speed down hill it would get a second wind and happily maintain that speed up the next gradient.  

2001 Ford Focus td 90hp. Doesn't sound promising but it was, as per the title, a surprising good car to drive.

I didn't like the focus then until I drove it, was impressed and bought it.

 

Conversely I've driven numerous cars that were disappointing. Usually those that made great claims, i.e. BMW. 

My old man had an 318 E36 as a company car for a little while and i thought that was sublime to drive (I was 18),it was quickly replaced by an E46 which I thought was a lardy soggy mess in comparison.