What car have you driven that exceeded your expectation?

What car have you driven that exceeded your expectations or that you liked regardless of your preferences?

Well for me its 2001 5speed jeep wrangler, I was surprised of how much I liked it. It felt raw and mechanical and now I want one but have no cash for one.

Mini. S or otherwise. SO much fun!

E46, and E90 325's. Maybe not so much fun, in fact they may be a bit boring, but they're just so good I didn't care.

'08 or '09 Mercedes C300.

An actual 44 "Jeep". That thing was just so much freaking fun. Oh, and a real Meyers Manx.

I have yet to drive a mini. I would like to buy a fiat abarth.

I'd probably have to say the NC Miata (I ended up buying one), even though I really loved the S2000, couldn't justify the price of a nice one since I was trying to save money.

Now that I've recalibrated my brain on what "quick" is from getting rid of the Coyote, it's actually a thoroughly enjoyable car since I don't feel like it's trying to kill me in the lower gears.

1st gen mx6 gt turbo. I bought mine purely because I needed a car, and this was a car that ran for $900.

4 years later the thing will not die and it keeps getting better.

93 Lincoln Town Car. My brother got it for free from an uncle that was going to scrap it at 130k miles because it ran rough. He's been driving it everyday since we got it running. Soo much fun. It rides great and is a blast.

First gen, 5 speed Honda Insight. Thought it would be boring to drive, but due to the low weight, electric motor torque assist, and 2000tastic dash it was a ton of fun, particularly in the twisties. 1900 pounds in a modern car (that isn't a Lotus chassis) and 50+ mpg is a SWEET combo, especially for the money. I sold the first one I had because it was in really rough shape, but I'll have another one someday.

Bryce

Current gen focus ST. l liked it much better than I thought l would. It is really high on my list. l didnt care for the Recaros though-- not enough adjustability.

One of the more surprising ones I drove was a beat-up 91 MX-6. The torque is what shocked me. Comfy seats, nice ergo... I was impressed for a beater.

74 Ford Maverick 302. For a low-po wheezer, that thing moved. Of course, it weighs the same as a new WRX so it has a torque and displacement advantage.

01 BMW 740 iL Sport. I don't know how they combined such agility with such a soft ride in such a huge car.

Pretty much any of the new Hyundais. My buddy got a 2011 Sonata. What an impressive car. Build quality, interior noise, audio quality... I had to say I was shocked.

In reply to curtis73:

Try one huffing 15psi with a boost controller and chip. They're downright stupid.

I love driving my wife's FJ cruiser. The 6 speed makes it a ton of fun to drive. I don't think we'll ever sell it.

curtis73 wrote: Pretty much any of the new Hyundais. My buddy got a 2011 Sonata. What an impressive car. Build quality, interior noise, audio quality... I had to say I was shocked.

Check out the Equus, saw one at the auto show, reminded me of a W126 S Class.

The MS3 impressed me enough that I bought one.

Lincoln LS V8 Poor mans BMW e39 540. I had one as a weekend rental back when they were still in production. The only bad things that I could say about it was that it was pretty thirsty (could be the way I was driving it?) And the manual mode shifter was awkwardly placed. Even to this day I would consider buying one.

Well, im surprised that im NOT the first to say it, but: 1g Honda Insight 5spd. It went from a real experiment type of purchase to my favorite car i've ever owned.

I think one thing i didnt expect to love driving near as much as i did was an 85 2dr 4cyl/5spd 4Runner. I could drive it balls to the wall and only go a little faster than traffic, and i loved being inside it, and the general funkyness of it (it's more reminiscent of a japanese k5 blazer than a newer 4Runner).

I always EXPECTED to like them but i have had the same experience with Wranglers. I love YJs and like TJs. It's been on my list for a long time, but i dont have one yet.

Oh here's a weird one: 3.8/5spd 4th gen F-body. I REALLY liked that powertrain. Don't like the car itself very much (had a 95 Firebird at one point, sold it after a couple months) but if i were to get another one it would have that drivetrain.

Seems like everything but the insight is basically a tractor disguised as a car (yes, i think 4th gen f-bodies are that crude), but i'll probably come up with more stuff later.

B13 SE-R (both turbo and n/a). The SR20 is one motor that lived up to the hype, at least for me!

I bought an automatic g20 for like $200 and liked the sr20 so much that i sometimes look for cheap 5spd g20s. But when the water pump locked up and looked like a major PITA i sold it for $200.

The original Insight impressed me, too. JG can confirm, but if I remember correctly we had a Vette at the same time we had the Insight. It was very much one of those "no, you take the Vette and I'll suffer with the Insight" moments.

The 3.8L Camaro was also a sleeper. We tested one when they were new and found ourselves having fun on the autocross course with it.

E39-chassis M5 has to be on that list, too. I borrowed a new one while out in Denver, and that car did it all--amazing performance and tons of room. Go up a dirt road above the tree line? No problem, boss.

Ford Focus, any year.

Miatas. I bought it because it was priced right, and I hoped to flip it. Ended up keeping it, have owned a total of twelve, and still have my first (even though I did sell it for a short while). Thankfully I had read reviews that said to drive them in the upper half of the tach, since it was nothing like the economy cars I had owned before.

My dad had a 2009 Honda Fit Sport with a five speed and I absolutely loved driving that thing.

BMW E30. Yeah, I know everyone worships them, but I just didn't see how they could be that good. Well, they are.

The original, Mk1 Ford Fiesta. So good I wound up owning 4 different ones, and would still buy another. Rabbit GTI? BFD.

Jeep Wranglers, any of them. Having owned CJ's, well...it didn't take much to impress me.

The original German Ford Capri. A better Mustang.

GC8 Subaru Impreza. Surprisingly fun to drive, and has character.

Mitsubishi Evo VIII/IX. I'd had a '97 GSX, and while somewhat fast & fun, in other ways it was a big steaming pile of poo. The Evo is the single most telepathic car I've ever driven, I was able to just hop in and go fast, without really thinking about what I was doing, or having to drive around the car's faults.

Honda Civic hybred. The car is a lot more car, and less eco-weenie than I ever expected. We've several in the fleet now with close to 200k miles on them, and they still run just fine.

Oldsmobile boats. Relatives had several, Delta 98, 88, etc. Big floaty things, equipped with massive swaybars that let them actually get around a corner. These cars went a lot faster than you'd ever expect, or frequently realize. All without loosing their dignity.

Minivans, in general. Darn things are just so good at being the epitome of practical.