Thought it might be alittle bit of fun and good reading for people to do a short review some of the cars they've driven or owned?

Having driven over 18 cars since I passed my test (which may I add was only March this year) I'll start.

1999 Skoda Octavia LXi 1.6 - On first glance it looks huge, but when you jump into the driving seat the size just falls away. The cabin feels large and airy but feels very well built and driver centric. On starting the engine, there is little noise from the engine, and the clutch, gearbox and brakes are all positive. When driving the road noise is fairly subdued and the car handles surprisingly well with little body roll.

2007 Volvo V50 D5 Geartronic SE - Having always been a volvo admirer, I've always like Volvo's styling and the V50 doesn't look too bad. Its looks smart, stylish and practical. Getting into the car the interior if fairly modern and quirky with its floating centre console, and all the buttons fall to hand very nicely, and the driving position and visability are perfect. Feels fairly well built too. One starting the engine, there is the odd vibration from the 2.4ltr Diesel engine upfront, but not alot. After slotting the car into drive and driving off, you immediately notice that some of the gearchanges from the auto gearbox are alittle jerky but its easy to live with. Kick down is good and the sound from the engine sort of a loud growl is pleasing. There is more than enough power from the D5 unit. Steering is light and positive and weights up at speed.

2007 Volvo C30 SE 2.0D - Like the V50, the C30 follows its styling cues inside and out, but the coupe looks of the C30 give it a younger image. Inside its huge for a 3 door, but the boot space is a little dissapointing. Driving dynamics are the same as the V50 but the steering feels a little detracted from the front wheels and makes it feel as if you don't know which way the wheels are pointing! Handling is fantastic with no body roll. And the 6 Speed manual box is a joy to use.

1997 Skoda Felicia LXi 1.3MPi - The little Felicia is now over 10 years old in design and it shows in certain aspects. The styling is a little boxy and shows is age. The interior however still looks alright and after 64k still feels well put together. In the driving seat it takes a little getting used to with no steering wheel adjustment, but it is fairly comfortable. Though one of my major dislikes is the clutch footrest, its in one of the weirdest places imagineable. On starting the engine there is considerable noise from Skoda's own engine, and at tickover sounds fairly rough but this is an old design and is fairly bullet proof! The clutch, brakes and acelerator are light and easy to use, as is the unassisted steering. The handling is surefooted and safe but this car is more practicality than thrills.

2005 Daihatsu Sirion 1.3SE - This bizaar looking car is quite a surprise, it looks small on the outside buts it big on the inside. The looks are quirky and are not to some tastes including mine. Interior is ok, again quirky but built for durability rather than quality. The driving position is ok, although there is no reach adjustment on the steering and the seat is too high on its lowest setting making the gear leaver abit of stretch. The engine is fairly quiet at idle and around town, but very course and noisy on faster roads. The clutch is very heavy, and the gear change a little notchy. Handling is poor, suffering from body roll and the suspension is very firm.

2007 Volvo C70 D5 Geartronic - If there was ever a posers car its this Volvo. It looks great with the roof up and roof down, but still looks like part of the Volvo family. The interior follows the same styling as the rest of the range, so not much to say about that. The D5 is carried over along with the gearbox from the rest of the range also so its well proven and not much to quote about. Handling is very good, but when at speed you can certainly feel that the roof is not there with it down, the car suffers from a little scuttle shake, which is disconcerting if you're not used to it. But with the tin top up it goes away almost totally. Driving position is standard Volvo, so no complaints there either.

And thats me done, I'd review more but I don't want to bore too many to sleep.

Cars I've driven in order:

1999 Ford Fiesta 1.25

2005 Toyota Yaris 1.4 Diesel

2006 Toyota Aygo 1.0

2004 Renault Clio 1.2

2006 Vauxhall Corsa 1.5 Diesel

1995 Peugeot 306 1.9 Diesel

2001 VW Golf 1.4

2007 Volvo V70 2.4 D5 Diesel

2007 Volvo V50 D5 Diesel Auto

2007 Volvo C30 2.0D

1997 Skoda Felicia 1.3

1999 Nissan Micra 1.0

1999 Skoda Octavia 1.6

2001 Skoda Octavia 1.9TDI PD90

2007 Toyota Auris 1.6

2007 Volvo S40 D5 Auto

2006 Volvo XC70 D5 Auto

2007 Volvo C70 D5 Auto

2006 Volvo XC90 D5 Auto

2005 Daihatsu Sirion 1.3

I don't have the time!! My current car is my favourite by a massive margin

Go on then... I'll have a go

1987 VW Golf C Mark II 1.3 - This tank of a car is still sitting in our garage and was the car I drove after imeadiatly passing my test - finally starting to show her age as her cylinder head gasket has gone.

Not the fastest car in the world, but after some GTi wheel purchases she handled like a dream when moving... standing still, without power stearing... not so much.

Have to mention the charactistic golf rear wheel lift when attacking corners too... apparently it looked great from the outside

1993 Fiat Tipo Formula 1.4 - Bought for a song at £300 quid had a couple of electrical problems and one morning she dropped her oil through the oil filter :eek:

Despite the 1.4 engine, seemed to be quite nippy off the line, but handled like a bus round corners... had something like 7" wheels or something they looked ridiculous.

1999 Ford Focus 1.4 C - Bought from the auctions for £3,000 she had 75 thousand miles on the clock... the result = shed loads of problems

Of what I can remember, master cylinder replaced, gear linkage replaced, starter motor replaced etc etc.

If you could see past the faults and despite only having the standard steel wheels another car that handled corners very well.

Morale of the story... avoid a high mileage focus like the plague unless it's been properly serviced.

2002 VW Golf S Mk IV - More of a luxury car than a fast one... on the road it felt very sturdy but didn't have the sure footedness of the Mk2 when tackling corners.

Quite a number of times only the traction control saved me from ending up in a hedge after taking a corner too fast... more of a family car than anything else.

2004 Honda Civic Sport 1.6 - Has to be one of the best handling FWD cars that I've ever driven... ate corners for breakfast and sounded pleasing to the ear with a nice throaty note from the exhaust

Wasn't the fastest car I've driven... and was beaten away from the line by many a boy racer in a mod'd focus... but I spent the next couple of years trying to find a car that handled as well as her - was gutted when I sold her!

2005 Skoda Fabia vRS 1.9tdi - If you'd have told me ten years before buying this cars that I'd be driving a diesel... AND a Skoda I would have laughed you out the room; I was wrong

I've never had such a big grin on my face as I did when I first put my foot down in this and left the line like a scolded cat... what a car.

Speed was never a problem, I think mainly that after driving the covic... the furby didn't inspire me with confidence, and I had to really concentrate when throwing her round the twisties.

This is a drivers car... has it's own quirks (indeed I lost the backend on more than one occasion - but a bit of right foot persuasion brought her back) and was a superb replacement for my honda... another sad day when I handed over the keys.

IMHO - I hope that one day the Fubry vRS Mk1 will be cast in the same light as the Golf GTi Mk1... they were both cars who broke the mould and dared to be different - practical and exciting is an understatement

2007 Skoda Octavia vRS 2.0 tfsi - I bought this car hoping that it'd be as fast as my Fabia and handle just as good as my civic - I wasn't disappointed after she'd been broken in.

Making the transition from diesel to petrol again has been weird to say the least... but I'm starting to get used to driving a petrol car again... not to mention hear that amazing exhaust note everytime I put my foot down

Never thought I'd say this... but she takes the corners too well... leaving you feeling a little cocky that you can take them a lot faster... and most of the time you can

The ESP system on the car does all the hard work for you... all you have to do is steer and accelerate were appropriate... switch it off and it's a whole different ball game

As FWD cars go... i don't think I can surpass this... she's got the looks, the speed, and the handling... just have to wait and see what the new Octavia/Fabia vRS are like if/when they arrive

Right ok - Here goes..

Peugeot 106 1.1:

First car I ever had - Kept her in good nick was a good little car for R reg and 80,000 miles. Then due to one slight problem (Road kill) and half the front missing off my car it was time for a change. Other then that - They are perfect 1st cars for all new drivers or just a works vehicle. If I didn't have the problem im sure I wouldn't off changed her.

Skoda Fabia 06 1.9 vRS

I must say - I loved this car when it came to a hill always put a smile on my face. The MPG factor from a diesel still counts on the plus side I got 65mpg following a tractor one day.. even when you boot it you still get around 30MPG so rather a nice little hatchback. The things I didn't like about the car was the way it held the road - In wet weather as standard my car did wheel spin alot....

Honda Civic Type R Premium

Current Car - Totally amazing apart from fuel consumption (silly VTEC!!) the only other bad point I can say on this car is its missing its sun roof :( but I actually love this car and the main thing is it always puts a smile on my face - Beaware tho off the high insurance group.... costly..

Hope this helps - will spend more time on the next one

Rob

Oh go on then........... I have put the cars I've owned in Red and those I've just driven in black

Vauxhall Nova 1.2

Purchased this as my first car an dit was very reliable, top speed was 85mph and it got me from A to B

Vauxhall Nova 1.4 SR

My second car - Nice seats and a reasonable interior couldnt distract me from the off-centre steering wheel.

Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 LS

Purchased after I wrote off the above Nova, it was slower than my first Nova despite having the same engine. The offset driving position was slightly better but still there.

Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 Sport

Head gasket blew under the Network Q warranty.

Honda Integra Type R DC2

Manic engine was great, people who slate VTEC have clearly never lived with it. The seats were a great shape but the cloth made me feel very warm very quickly, the rear spoiler was perfect for obscuring following police cars. Sold to fund my first house deposit after just 7 months.

Vauxhall Astra 1.8 SXI

Good fun car to drive but very underpowered, mine was an early SXI with disc brakes all round, switchable TC and leather steering wheel. A good fun car that was cheap to won but creaked and rattled a lot.

Ferrari 355

Amazing levels of grip, ridiculous offset pedals, fantastic noise

MG ZS

Suprisingly fun to drive, interior poor and dated.

Formula Renault

Great fun, hard to tell which gear you're in!

Skoda Octavia 1.8T Elegance Estate

Fast in a straight line thanks to Jabba, handled worse than the Astra SXi, bouncing around a bit and never really feeling composed on a bumpy road. VRS suspension went some way to sorting this but then gave me big ground clearance problems with speed bumps etc. Parts were expensive but insurance was cheap. The boot space was great. Averaged 27MPG.

Subaru Impreza WRX "Blobeye"

Diddnt feel very fast once moving and the suspension and ride felt a bit odd - I once described it to ScoobyChris as the feeling you get when on a rope bridge and you're bouncing in the middle, you can feel that you're supported at the ends with nothing in the middle

VW Golf MK5 GTi

Nice recaro seats, small interior made me feel like I was sat in a pillar box looking out. Great stereo.

Ford Focus ST

Nice to drive, shame about the ch av factor

Astra VXR

See above.

Nissan 350Z GT Roadster

Amazing noise, great handling, phemominal grip, ESP2, great seats, rubbish dealers, rubbish warranty claims dept. and customer services, the gearbox was rebuilt twice before being replaced entirely, two ball joints failed, the interior creaked and rattled and the door handles were styled and made by Fischer Price - all in under 7000 miles.

Mazda RX8 PZ

Great handling, cheaper insurance than the 350Z, appauling fuel economy for a 1.3 . The boot is too small and the opening is way to tight to be used for big stuff though. Picked up at a bargain price and sold before it lost more than a grand

Vauxhall Astra Van

Its a van - goes well though and holds loads of stuff.

Honda Bizz Go Kart

Excellent fun in the rain

Holden Monaro 5.7 CV8

Massive boot, great interior, looks subtle, very fast, I dread the day I need o buy tyres. Still evaluating it but it seems a great bargain!

Ok here goes, in no particular order

Nova 1.2

Great first car, virtually indestructable but the brakes provided were the single scariest moment of my life.

Westfield 2.0 XE

Beautiful car which l wish l'd never sold. Massively fast and just sublime handling. Side impact protection was my only real concern.

Lupo Gti

Wonderful little hot hatch. Handling was slightly alarming as standard as VW managed to make it ride amazingly harshly yet roll a huge amount. Once l sorted that with some coilovers it became the favourite car l've owned.

Megane 225 Cup

Still a work in progress really but after a year l'm pleasantly suprised. None of the reliability concerns have rung true and driving wise it's fabulous. Upgrade of a Milltek has made it sound like it should from the factory, apart from that it's perfect. I'd have put Brembo's, drilled discs and eibach suspension on it anyway, so to have it standard is a bonus!

Audi TT 3.2 Cab

Pleasant drive but l touch wooly feeling, l've since driven the hard-top which drives superbly and makes a wonderful sound for a standard car.

Honda Civic 1.8 (new shape)

The single most disappointing car l've ever driven. I assumed being a 1.8 it might be half interesting but l'm afraid it just didn't deliver. Save your money for the Type R or CDTi imo.

Audi All-Road 3.0 TDi

Great tonker toy for hammering the miles out in, would definately recommend. The new 3.0TDi is definately a huge step up from the previous 2.5 unit. Superb car but l wouldn't want the post warranty repair costs on that suspension.

Mini One

Great drive which is spoilt by the hideous rear passenger comfort and the fact the dealers are robbing *****.

Honda Jazz 1.4

Rubbish.

Nissan Note 1.4

Rubbish.

A3 Tdi 2.0 S-Line

Lovely to drive and a great day-to-day companion but the handline proved a touch secretive, and l'd find it difficult to justify the extra cost over the golf gt or stock TDi.

Mk1 MR2

Superb handling but took some getting used to regarding weight transfer onto the front for effective braking performance. If driven right, its one of the best balanced cars l've driven. If driven poorly its an understeering, unbraked mess

I'm sure l'll think of some more.......

You know we actually have an entire forum dedicated to this... the "auto test" section!