Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I have performed extensive testing up to 160km/h and they have been fine (noisy at the upper end of that).

Fork mounted ones are fine up to 130mph. Above that I couldn't say. On my private test track, of course. I don't like the downtube strap ones, particularly with lightweight carbon frames or anything with a non-factory paint job.

Just drove from Cornwall to Northants in my merc C180 auto and the whole thing was fucking miserable. The piss poor 1.6l supercharged engine mated to a long and gappy 5spd auto means it will not accelerate at all without changing down, usually 2 cogs as I have to keep it in sport to avoid it being downright dangerous. Trying to maintain your gap in traffic means coming off throttle as you catch the car in front, the gap opens again, foot down to the floor, count to 2, gears shift down, tremendous racket at 4-5000rpm, car begins to gain speed, you’ve counted to 5 or 6 by then and most likely someone has pulled in and you start all over again. 6 hours of that shit. I like everything about that car except for the dogshit motor. I’m going to change it for one of the v6 versions I think.

Oh I had 4 bikes on the roof too, regular Thule wheel strap jobs. Can’t report on high speed safety obvs but it was about the only thing that didn’t annoy me.

I bloody love the lane-keeping thing on our Leon - that plus radar cruise makes long boring distances very easy. Accelerate to 80, turn cruise on and you basically don’t have to touch the pedals or steer again until you turn off. Minor adjustments to distance keep your place in traffic.
If you indicate to change lane the lane keeper doesn’t interfere and it also deactivates under 40mph so low-speed manoeuvres are fine. The radar cruise will slow you right down to a stop and then start you off again, so traffic jams become less fatiguing. I have turned all the various ‘bongs’ off though as they’re distracting.

I think if what you are after is A-B then the more modern the vehicle is the better, the toys get exponentially better with each generation. I do however think that cars have been getting worse to actually enjoy driving since the late nineties.

I guess it depends on what 90s cars you have had access to.

I think the 220PS VAG 2 litre petrol mated to 6spd DSG box is a pretty great drive train. Obvs in the Superb one is limited to how much you can hustle as you do start to get a bit of roll through turns.

I'm not sure which gen of Golf GTi has that drive train but I would assume it would be a fun car, if the VW arm of VAG haven't screwed up the damping and steering feel...

Clearly you wouldn't want that in a "proper" sports car but for a warmish every day car, it's great. One thing that's nice is how quickly the turbo spools up and how progressive it is. Cf. the 2002 bug eye impreza STi which I once had - you had to rev the nuts off it to get anywhere.

I'd go roof too but be aware of the additional height.
In the last two weeks we've had three cars in the body shop for damage caused by their drivers forgetting the bikes were on the roof on height restricted car parks and the like. The Renault was written off, 5 series new rails and tailgate and the Octavia new rails and new roof. No third party to blame.

I was driving one of the work Kia Ceratos last week and it was doing some very odd things along the lines of what you describe... Now I know!

I did that trip last week in my W123 230ce (Kent to Fowey)…I now have a mindset of knowing I am slow, so I just take it easy and waft.

TBH over the years I have done the same trip in a M5, Cerbera, 172cup and various other cars. While I may have been quicker in the other cars, traffic is always the deciding factor, not my car. Quickest I did it was leaving Carbis Bay @ 9pm, in the W123 with a boot full and wife, kids and dog(puppy), just over 5 hours and would have been quicker If the M25 was not shut for roadworks

Does that kind of ‘driving’ really exist 99% of the time though? Without closing roads, helicopter shots and graduated filters, UK driving is mostly traffic and speed restrictions.
A motorbike opens the roads up a lot more as traffic is so easily passable but isn’t so casual before or after.

If you don’t know it’s there, the steering wheel turning without input is disconcerting to say the least! I vaguely remember the Kia and Hyundai I tested having lane-keep working at low speeds around town, which is actively unhelpful given how many obstacles are directly in your path.

It shocked me at first then I saw the little steering wheel icon on the dash and relaxed a bit... I was on the highway anyway, as long as I indicated it was fine...

Yeah I don’t mind being slow, I’ve made the trip in an air-cooled bay window a few times, it’s the absence of response from that combo of under-powered engine and over-geared auto box that kills. Even in the camper when you put your foot down it immediately got noisier and shakier showing some willing.

Ha, bay window….drove down in the sun a couple of weeks ago with the windows down and sun roof open. Burnt my neck, left and right arms and left thigh…I looked like a right twat.

Kids and wife found it hilarious.

Happy days 😎

Does the E46 have power steering?

Ever been in an LPG powered camper bay...

My XC90 shits the bed every time you.......

Sounds terrible!

Yeah, it’s just heavier steering, but in a good way.

Does that kind of ‘driving’ really exist 99% of the time though? Without closing roads, helicopter shots and graduated filters, UK driving is mostly traffic and speed restrictions.

A motorbike opens the roads up a lot more as traffic is so easily passable but isn’t so casual before or after.

Oh I agree, and it's very hard to talk about this sort of thing without almost immediately sounding like Troy Queef/spouting motoring journo* cliches.

And, ultimately, it's a luxury or requires sacrifices to be able to have a car that is, objectively, not very good for those early mornings/moments when England are playing that you can actually really enjoy it.

*Anyone noticed that Hilton Holloway is a true, cut him in half and he reads "Piers Corbyn", nutter?

I think the 220PS VAG 2 litre petrol mated to 6spd DSG box is a pretty great drive train. Obvs in the Superb one is limited to how much you can hustle as you do start to get a bit of roll through turns.

Following on from my last post, and at risk of falling into all the "of for fucks sake just shut up" cliches I mentioned, any car with an automatic gearbox (like the 7 speed multi-plate-clutch unit in my E63 for e.g.) is out of my concept of a great drivers car.

I would like to buy an E39 touring, ideally a 540i but I’m also looking at 6-cylinder options as they’re not exactly thick on the ground. A nice one, not a project.

There are a couple of nice 530i sports on the market but I feel like there must be a BMW forum rich seam somewhere that I’ve not uncovered. If anyone can point me in the direction of anything good or knows someone selling one it would be great if you could give me a shout. Condition and history more important than mileage. Cheers.

For BMW forums there are
https://www.bmwland.org.uk/index.php
https://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/
https://forum.bmw5.co.uk/

BMW section of Pistonheads
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forumgroup.asp?h=0&c=77

Brilliant thank you.

Spotted a 560sec yesterday in dark blue sans any lorinser tat.. still a great looking car.