I had a geo storm GSi (Isuzu impulse) that I bought for commuting. I was surprised how much I liked it. It revved to the moon, it would chirp the tires in third and it would do somewhere around 130 plus red lined n fifth gear. I beat it like a rented mule for three years.
My daughter's '17 Focus with a 1.0 / 3 cylinder Ecoboost and a 6 speed stick is way more fun than you would ever think it would be. It even has a satisfying exhaust growl when you step on it. 
Just wanted to corroborate people on both the 4th gen Honda Prelude and 2nd gen Hyundai Accent. These are both cars I've owned and enjoyed.
The Accent definitely had the slow car fast thing going for it. It was also a bit tail-happy and only when you wanted it to be. I used to do 180 degree handbrake turns instead of 4 point turns when needing to do a U turn on a rural road. (I was in my 20s; I would never drive that way nowadays.)
The 4th gen Prelude is, as the people from Driving While Awesome podcast described it, "a great 7/10ths car". I had/have (not running) the Si which is 2.3L DOHC engine. The S as the other poster described would have the 2.2L SOHC which actually has the same long stroke just thicker piston walls. That block, a relative of the one from the Accord, is a tank and quite torquey. In street driving you'd only notice the performance hierarchy between the S, Si, and Si VTEC Prelude trims when accelerating onto a highway on ramp (where each in that list would progressively top out higher than the last).
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:First gen neon. Just a bucket of fun!
Absolutely. We got a 5-speed Neon Coupe for my wife to use as a "fuel sipper" back when she had the Audi. It cost like 800 bucks and had a bunch of miles on it. 180k-ish? I had my doubts.
Driving that thing home, including some miles on the interstate, changed my mind. The car was greater than the sum of its parts.
Edit: Also had a 1999 Prelude that was quite amazing, but I never considered the Prelude a "meh" car.
Duke said:Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:First gen neon. Just a bucket of fun!
Absolutely. I had 2 of the little buggers. Never had a car that enjoyed being driven as much as those Neons did.
Back when I used to travel for work I'd always try to get a Neon as a rental. They were the most fun thing on the lot. I also used to like driving my parents '73 Beetle in high school. I would also throw in the Mazda Protege from around 2000. Even with an automatic, I just liked driving that.
Pentastar powered Dodge Minivans. Seriously wtf.
There was the Aveo that my wife (then girlfriend) and I drove at the GM Auto Show in Motion. Would I want it as a daily driver? No. But it's a lot of fun to run it around cones when I don't have to pay for wear on the tires or engine!
racerdave600 said:And Margie, I think we all know someone here that could build you another BMW.
Not to threadjack, but after trying to dive back into previous favorites and invariably being disappointed, I have learned that a beloved car is as much about a particular place and time--or you specifically in that place and time--as it is about the car itself. I still fondly recall my original 240Z, Alfa Spider, and 3 Series; I barely recall, and barely drove, the second ones of each of these models that I owned.
Margie
I loved my stickshift Saturn S-series sedan... it didn't really 'excel' at anything but was still a lot of fun and I served me extremely well for 15 years.
The 2nd Gen Prius that I bought after selling the S-series was also surprisingly fun to drive- it was probably the best 'commuter appliance' that I've owned, and if I ever find myself with a commute of more than the 10 minutes or so I have now (or will, once we go back to working in the office) where I can't ride my bike half of the time, I'll be seriously looking at getting another car similar to it.
yupididit said:Pentastar powered Dodge Minivans. Seriously wtf.
It depends. I've probably driven close to 20 of them as rentals. Some are meh. Others, you're right...son of a bucket flat out scoots.
Ford Contour - 4cyl/5sp - my college friend's car, drove it from upstate NY to FL and back for Spring Break. Not amazing power, but I thought it handled well.
'98 Toyota Camry - 4cyl/5spd - my DD for years, it had Whiteline F&R sway bars, Eibach springs, and a TRD short shifter. Again, not fast, but handled very well (completely neutral).
Grand Caravan / Chrysler Pacifica - I'm a huge Pentastar fanboy but for some unknown reason have yet to buy one.
'94 Chevy K1500 - Hotchkis F&R sway bars and Bilsteins really transformed the way this handled.
Neon R/T - drove these at Skip Barber (stock except for the SRT-4 rear sway bar) and loved it
Cadillac Deville Concours. Really. I knew Cadillacs as lame, floaty barges for the most part. This one looked no different. Holy crap did they ever do their homework with that active ride control system. The Northstar felt fiesty, and the suspension was still whipped-cream smooth without wallowing or broaching in the corners. I don't think anything short of a Hellcat Durango would be so out-of-step with it's looks.
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:I had a geo storm GSi (Isuzu impulse) that I bought for commuting. I was surprised how much I liked it. It revved to the moon, it would chirp the tires in third and it would do somewhere around 130 plus red lined n fifth gear. I beat it like a rented mule for three years.
Those were great motors.
I wanted to like the Neon. I bought fully into the hype and went to test drive one all ready to buy, but I found it underwhelming. I drove Mrs. P's 99 Z24 to the dealer that night. I bought a 2000 Z24 a few weeks later.
1985 Pontiac Bonneville.
Little cam, swapped 350 short block with 305 heads, duals and an Alpine stereo. That car was heaven.
Chevy Sprint. It was my college girlfriend's, and it led to years of Suzuki love on my part.
Porsche 924. Crappy engine in a very well-mannered, tossable chassis and pleasant, no-nonsense interior.
Dodge Caravan. Is it possible to love utility and competence? Given that another favorite is the Honda Element I think that the answer is yes.
A 401 CJ said:yupididit said:Pentastar powered Dodge Minivans. Seriously wtf.
It depends. I've probably driven close to 20 of them as rentals. Some are meh. Others, you're right...son of a bucket flat out scoots.
Why is that? I've put a few thousand miles on the one we had as our van in a flying unit that I was in. I've hit ridiculous speeds in them through the California desert.
Opel GT. Looks fast AF but...nope.
Love it because you look fastAF but too cool to do it.
My 1998 Toyota Corolla with an auto Trans. For some reason it was like the little engin that could. It was a peppy fun little car that was for some reason not the penalty box that these cars are so often referred to. It was just a happy fun little car that I would always make me smile.
I was unreasonably fond of the clapped out, four cylinder, four speed, four door Fairmont, with the blow away gray paint that I bought for a winter beater one year when I lived in Upstate NY. I liked it so much that I broke with winter beater tradition and kept it for a couple of years.
1979 chevy impala 2 door that I had in high school in the late 90's. It's Grey silver paint had faded and the red interior slowly fall apart from driving 6 plus teenagers around constantly. But it handled great for a full size 20 year old tank and the 305 v8 pulled like a 350.
My 83 rabbit 4dr base(1.7 and 5spd) was fun as it was just full throttle every where and felt go kart-ish.
yupididit said:A 401 CJ said:yupididit said:Pentastar powered Dodge Minivans. Seriously wtf.
It depends. I've probably driven close to 20 of them as rentals. Some are meh. Others, you're right...son of a bucket flat out scoots.
Why is that? I've put a few thousand miles on the one we had as our van in a flying unit that I was in. I've hit ridiculous speeds in them through the California desert.
I dunno. I've wondered the same. Maybe FiChry juggles the gearing and torque converters? It makes no sense. I've had R/T's that were nothing to write home about and then fully decked T&C's with limo lighting that would surprise BMW's at intersections. And other R/T's that were likewise quick. All seemed to be in sound mechanical shape. My last rental was a Pacifica that was strong. 50k miles (come on HERTZ!) and 3 different brand tires combined with well worn shocks and it was best kept on the interstate --but for a minivan it pulled hard.
A 401 CJ said:yupididit said:A 401 CJ said:yupididit said:Pentastar powered Dodge Minivans. Seriously wtf.
It depends. I've probably driven close to 20 of them as rentals. Some are meh. Others, you're right...son of a bucket flat out scoots.
Why is that? I've put a few thousand miles on the one we had as our van in a flying unit that I was in. I've hit ridiculous speeds in them through the California desert.
I dunno. I've wondered the same. Maybe FiChry juggles the gearing and torque converters? It makes no sense. I've had R/T's that were nothing to write home about and then fully decked T&C's with limo lighting that would surprise BMW's at intersections. And other R/T's that were likewise quick. All seemed to be in sound mechanical shape. My last rental was a Pacifica that was strong. 50k miles (come on HERTZ!) and 3 different brand tires combined with well worn shocks and it was best kept on the interstate --but for a minivan it pulled hard.
Yeah, rented one in Kauai for running guests and flowers, etc. around for our wedding. Put the auto into manual and haul some ass. Had a friend try to follow me from the airport in their supposedly quicker rental car, he quickly realized that keeping me in visual was his sweet spot anything else was just not comfortable for he and his bride. I *may* have been having too much fun because my bride to be elbowed me several times to slow down :)
Our Pacifica Hybrid is a bit odd with the CVT and electric motor. It surges a little after you use the brakes because it uses the electric motor to help slow you down and then that energy is released. Nice for stop/go traffic. I still struggle with proper brake technique with it. I'm either putting people through the windshield or slowly rolling through a stop sign, not much feel and the electric braking helps but it is odd. Otherwise it just oozes up to rather silly speeds for something that weighs as much as it does, I haven't tried putting it in "low" to see how it accelerates, etc. I might try that this week if I can grab it for a drive by myself.
That said, Chrysler does have different gearing options for their older 1st/2nd gen vans, so it would make sense that the newer gens probably do as well. Rental agencies typically don't care about the specs, so it could be sort of whatever is available is put into service.
The other one:
2010 impala company car. Fleet spec. No cd player, but it had cruise!
I put 30k on that thing. Handling was competent, but with a low enough threshold to be a riot on on ramps. And the 3500vvt would honk when you got it wound up and manually shifted it. Mid to upper 20s, quiet and comfortable. Just a fantastic appliance.
Was a shame when it died. Damn near bought one to replace it!
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