What do you like in a car?

[Shintsu]

What is the big thing you look for in cars? Are you all about power? Luxury? Economy? Cool looks? Safety? What things when you hear a car has (or doesn't have) when you're looking at one make you go YUCK!

For me, I like a good combination. I was watching MotorWeek and they were reviewing all these UVs and stuff with 166 hp and 173 hp and it just made me ill. So little horsepower and all that weight has got to be so terribly slow and their gas mileage still isn't that good. I really don't see who buys cars with so low of horsepower where you have to give them a lot of gas to take off. Cars that if you stomp them from a dead stop they just slowly take off and don't squeal at all. I don't need pure power but at least squealing power and snappiness.

I also enjoy luxury. I really dislike cheap and crappy cars (Focuses, Older Civics, Lots of the Jap cars are REALLY plain inside, Most Fords, etc.). I don't need lots of gadgets or anything, something like a Crown Vic I consider a bit luxurious. Nice ride, fair power, and a quiet and well running, spacious vehicle.

I consider my Riviera one of the best combinations of these I've seen. Good ride, nice power (I can light the tires up if I wanted without that lame brake torquing crap), luxurious and comfy, and it gets around 22-24 mpg. Most of the things I've seen would cause me to lose one of these characteristics but gain in the others which I don't care for (IE I like Camaros so I'd get a huge boost in the power area but I'd drop right out of luxury and economy).

[Bs|Archaon]

The Focus hass one of the best built interiors in it's class/price range, at least the UK spec one does. It's a little...dull though. Lots of dark grey and very little of anything else. However, I think it's important to point out that luxury doesn't mean tonnes of fake leather and shiny plastic wood.

[*The.Doctor]

I like lots of room inside. I'm a tall person and i can't stand to be cramped up in these tiny little cars there making. I don't like cheap cars either, i like a car that can actually be driven hard without feeling like there ready to fall apart. I'm not into top speed though, to me i don't care if your car can go 200mph, i like acceleration. It doesn't have to go extremely fast, but i want something that will throw you back in your seat when you stomp on it.

I don't like the styling of alot of newer cars. They are all way to rounded and they all look the same.

My car is considered a full size luxury car, what some people would say its a "old person car" but it still has speed and awesome acceleration, and is extremely nice to drive. Alot of people are surprised at what those big cars can do, starting out from a dead stop it can beat alot of the newer performance cars.

I was watching MotorWeek and they were reviewing all these UVs and stuff with 166 hp and 173 hp and it just made me ill. So little horsepower and all that weight has got to be so terribly slow and their gas mileage still isn't that good.

Well, for a SUV its more about torque. But the SUVs they make anymore do suck i agree. Even the Jeeps are not real off road vehicles anymore.

Cars that if you stomp them from a dead stop they just slowly take off and don't squeal at all.

We have two old AMC's that are like that. They have the 258ci IL6 in them, those motors will last forever and have great torque, but with only 120hp in a 4000+ pound car your not going anywhere too fast....

[Huffardo]

I didn't vote as the poll didn't include my current favourites, character and comfort. Character adds some fun to driving, and driving something horribly uncomfortable like a Corolla around simply hurts. Power is good, but I'm perfectly fine currently driving around a vanified and engine-tuned 1,9 diesel BX Break with some 60+ hp, as long as it can beat a reasonable big amount of the cars around from the lights it is powerful enough, although I prefer some more for safer overtaking and added fun, which is why my own car is a 1,9 GTi and currently in the process of getting a 2,0L turbo engine...

A decent economy is a must since I'm a student, and reliability isn't bad as I obviously don't want my car to break down on me (still, it being an old French car I have a fairly comprehensive set of tools in the trunk), but I don't worship the Toyota God as so many of my compatriots seem do.

I don't care that much about luxury as in e.g. the quality of the interior, but a decent setup of basic electric gadgets is desirable, and having a lot of grey plastics certainly isn't a plus... Cool looks are actually quite important to me, I wouldn't want to drive e.g. a Toyota Yaris Verso (but unfortunately I have to at work, can you imagine the pain (mostly physical, the seats are apparently made of concrete)?)...

As for safety, well, I don't feel comfortable in the worst old city cars and super-minis out there (e.g. Nissan Micra), but other than checking that my vehicle is quite safe for its time I don't feel an urge for airbags etc or driving a bus.

As you might already have noticed, good examples of cars that don't appeal to me are much of the Toyota range, but not excluding some other terrible creations as Nissan Sunny and Micra... Also extremely environmentally unfriendly cars as Hummers have good positions on my hate-list.

[Strelok16]

GJ reinforcing the stereotype of American cars, you forgot handling

[HairySheep]

if i had the money to care about my interior it would be a little important, gas mileage isnt to important as long as its above 20mpg, styling is sorta important cause id just rather not drive than get stuck with something like a Tempo or a 80's Camry
power is whats most important to me, as long as i can have a good bit of fun in my car than the rest is fine with me, my car right now isnt terribly fast at all but it handles good and has decent power compared to other cars ive driven, like how it outruns my moms Focus

but i also like trucks and Jeeps (mainly CJs), i just like mudding and stuff, and ive been driving my dads Ranger around for almost a month now since my sister is borowing my car, its really nice for when you go to the drive in, gets some blanket and stuff and lay in the back of the truck, and when im with my girl we can go out in a field out away form town with blankets and stuff and sit in the bakc and look at the stars, sometimes just go to sleep (or not)

[Shintsu]

How is handling important when driving on roads? You're not going to have to slalom through traffic or take a hairpin turn at 80 mph to get somewhere. Handling is important if you're going to a race track, but on public roads it doesn't matter too much unless it is just unresponsive.

[Strelok16]

well a good handling car makes it more fun to drive

example: which one would you rather drive, a toyota Corolla or a Lotus Exige, they both use the same engine, but somehow i think the Exige would be more fun to drive

anyway reasonable acceleration and power is important to me, the more the better of course, but it at least has to start moving sometime soon after i hit the gas. I still remember the corolla i drove during driver training, it felt like the accelerator had to be at least halfway down to get it to move at all. its low end power was absolutely worthless. i cant even imagine trying to get on the freeway in a car like that.

styling is good too, as long as looking at it doesnt make me want to fall asleep or puke then im alright with it

[HairySheep]

Originally Posted by Shintsu

How is handling important when driving on roads? You're not going to have to slalom through traffic or take a hairpin turn at 80 mph to get somewhere. Handling is important if you're going to a race track, but on public roads it doesn't matter too much unless it is just unresponsive.

lol you dont drive like that were there is traffic, thats how you kill people
thats why you go out into the county and drive on service roads were theres no people or police and very few blinds corners
like the farm roads that loop around hwy231, the speed limit is 55, but i can do about 80 before i get any tire squeel around corners, thats mostly cause the corners are conviniently banked, and dont worry, i stay on my side of the road, its alot harder to do when you keep it to one lane, i suspect i could do 90 if i took up the other lane and set up a proper turn, but every once in a while i do see another car, so i dont take the chance, it likes to understeer alot though, but it does good most of the time

i would race in auto-x but to compete in SCCA i have to have parent permision (im under 18) and my dad laughed at me when i asked him if i could compete and goes, "thats how you tear your car up"

[Rich19]

I am extremely tempted to say that I like seats and a steering wheel in a car.

*Rich19 exits the Garage.