Driving ridiculously underpowered cars is satisfying.
Discussion
I have an admission.
My name's Tony and I'm enjoying driving my girlfriend's Corsa.
Now, I should stress that it has possibly the most uncomfortable driving position I've ever encountered (really, my neck is suffering), and the worst steering feel you're ever likely to experience, but the engine. It's a peach.
It's a rotten, 10yr old, barely recognisable peach. In fact, a peach probably has a bit more power.
But I love it. All 57bhp (@ 5600rpm!) of it.
I should explain. This week my car (Audi S4 4.2 V8) is having it's wheels done and a full on detail. So my girlfriend (who gets the train to work) has allowed me her car for the week. It's a 2000 Corsa C 0.974 litre (yes!!).
But to drive it with any sense of control or usefulness at all requires so much concentration and, dare I say it, an attempt at skill, that I'm enjoying it.
Normally a corner is dispatched with waves of V8 silky torque (which, naturally, introduces laziness into your driving), but now it's long planned ahead and the car's position, it's stance, are as imoprtant as ever.
I used to have a similar enjoyment when I gave my Elise to my Lotus dealer. Their courtesy car was the most poverty of poverty spec Ford KA's, but new. I genuinely enjoyed hustling that thing around the very same roads that I'd just enjoyed hustling my Elise down.
It is, I'm scared to admit, a guilty pleasure.
The only saving grace to it being called a good car is the aforementioned wooly steering. The awful brakes. The spoon-in-honey gear change. Oh and the worst seat known to man. But the engine; deeply, deeply satisfying.
My name's Tony and I'm enjoying driving my girlfriend's Corsa.
Now, I should stress that it has possibly the most uncomfortable driving position I've ever encountered (really, my neck is suffering), and the worst steering feel you're ever likely to experience, but the engine. It's a peach.
It's a rotten, 10yr old, barely recognisable peach. In fact, a peach probably has a bit more power.
But I love it. All 57bhp (@ 5600rpm!) of it.
I should explain. This week my car (Audi S4 4.2 V8) is having it's wheels done and a full on detail. So my girlfriend (who gets the train to work) has allowed me her car for the week. It's a 2000 Corsa C 0.974 litre (yes!!).
But to drive it with any sense of control or usefulness at all requires so much concentration and, dare I say it, an attempt at skill, that I'm enjoying it.
Normally a corner is dispatched with waves of V8 silky torque (which, naturally, introduces laziness into your driving), but now it's long planned ahead and the car's position, it's stance, are as imoprtant as ever.
I used to have a similar enjoyment when I gave my Elise to my Lotus dealer. Their courtesy car was the most poverty of poverty spec Ford KA's, but new. I genuinely enjoyed hustling that thing around the very same roads that I'd just enjoyed hustling my Elise down.
It is, I'm scared to admit, a guilty pleasure.
The only saving grace to it being called a good car is the aforementioned wooly steering. The awful brakes. The spoon-in-honey gear change. Oh and the worst seat known to man. But the engine; deeply, deeply satisfying.
For my sins, I have owned two Corsas -
One was a 1995 Corsa B 1.2 8v, with no power anything, and the other is a 2001 Corsa C 1.2 16v with ludicrously light power steering.
I have to say, that while the newer one is better in every measurable way, the old-shape one was much more endearing, the lazy engine much more comfortable for cruising, and the non-power steering much more communicative. It was also possible to fix the old one with a hammer, and the new one requires tools!
One was a 1995 Corsa B 1.2 8v, with no power anything, and the other is a 2001 Corsa C 1.2 16v with ludicrously light power steering.
I have to say, that while the newer one is better in every measurable way, the old-shape one was much more endearing, the lazy engine much more comfortable for cruising, and the non-power steering much more communicative. It was also possible to fix the old one with a hammer, and the new one requires tools!
Years ago the ex had a 1 litre K10 Micra, and she was away in my car for a week or so.
I used it to go hillwalking, and it was great fun, planning and positioning it to overtake VW camper vans , etc, it was much more interesting driving it.
If I remember correctly, Bill Blydenstein the Vauxhall tuner, who could have had any powerful car he wanted, drove a Fiat 500 when he went fishing up to the Orkneys, because he had to 'drive' the car, making the journey more of an event.
I used it to go hillwalking, and it was great fun, planning and positioning it to overtake VW camper vans , etc, it was much more interesting driving it.
If I remember correctly, Bill Blydenstein the Vauxhall tuner, who could have had any powerful car he wanted, drove a Fiat 500 when he went fishing up to the Orkneys, because he had to 'drive' the car, making the journey more of an event.
JB! said:
my sister's 1.2 corsa C is utter pants inside, but its a nice little revvy engine, begging to be thrashed.
Revs? You lucky so and so. This is the 0.974 litre version. Even on a flat I can barely get the car above about 4.5k RPM - it simply doesn't have enough power to drag it's own weight. And I love it!!!TonyHetherington said:
JB! said:
my sister's 1.2 corsa C is utter pants inside, but its a nice little revvy engine, begging to be thrashed.
Revs? You lucky so and so. This is the 0.974 litre version. Even on a flat I can barely get the car above about 4.5k RPM - it simply doesn't have enough power to drag it's own weight. And I love it!!!
I agree. I enjoy driving my girlfriend's Yaris because performance is off the agenda and it therefore allows you to focus on other areas of driving. Corners last longer (at the same safe percentage of the limit), so you get to enjoy feeling the balance change for longer. The novelty would wear off after a while I'm sure. 
The other thing the Yaris gives is better steering feel than my BMW Z4C and a smoother drivetrain (no clutch delay valve, a slicker gearchange and a smoother drive by wire throttle delay onset). Lessons learnt for BMW I think!
Of course, the Elise gives all of the benefits of a lightweight basic car with the performance of a fast car, so that beats them both
Mr Gear said:
TonyHetherington said:
JB! said:
my sister's 1.2 corsa C is utter pants inside, but its a nice little revvy engine, begging to be thrashed.
Revs? You lucky so and so. This is the 0.974 litre version. Even on a flat I can barely get the car above about 4.5k RPM - it simply doesn't have enough power to drag it's own weight. And I love it!!!shame about the rest of it really! and yes the ABS kicks in as soon as you look at the pedal!
I am currently drive around in a works Renault Clio 1.2 until my new car arrives.
It is shockingly underpowered... infact bordering on dangerous when pulling out on the motorway.
Yet on the back roads its a lot of fun. I have had a few memorable drives through the peaks following much more powerful cars with incompetent drivers.
It is shockingly underpowered... infact bordering on dangerous when pulling out on the motorway.
Yet on the back roads its a lot of fun. I have had a few memorable drives through the peaks following much more powerful cars with incompetent drivers.
My OH also has a corsa (must be a girly thing) and its quite a good little car. As long as you dont get in expecting it to be a sports car, an appreciate it for what it is ( a small town car) its good.
It has been dramatically improved recently when the cheap Chinese tyres were changed for Michelin
It has been dramatically improved recently when the cheap Chinese tyres were changed for Michelin
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