I love that JKleiner just came from posting a Ferrari 355 in the 'letdown' thread to post a Kia Soul in the 'pleasantly surprised' thread. This is a great forum! 
But seriously, those Souls can now be had with a 170hp 2.0L and 6spd manual iirc. That's a damn snappy powertrain for an econobox!
I have three:
1981 Porsche 924. As slow as everyone says it is, but a surprisingly fun car nonetheless
1986 Porsche 944 Turbo. It's better than they say it is. I didn't notice a lot of turbo lag, either.
Lexus IS300. I expected it to drive like a Camry & came away impressed. Straight six sounds nice, too.
Vigo wrote: I love that JKleiner just came from posting a Ferrari 355 in the 'letdown' thread to post a Kia Soul in the 'pleasantly surprised' thread. This is a great forum!
I like that you said "snappy."
Granted, my expectations of the car were pretty low to start with--1st gen DOHC Dodge Neon. I truly expected it to drive like a cheesy E36 M3box, but even with nearly 200k on the clock, it drove very nicely and felt very stable at speed on the interstate.
the car I have owned that exceeded my expectations.. my old 318ti. I know it was the slowest of the modern BMWs and it had the "antique" rear suspension, and it was "ugly" in many eyes... but wow did it talk to you in a constant chatter. You knew exactly what the car was doing at all times
I find it funny that most of the cars in this thread are the same ones in the 'most disappointing car' thread.
Carry on.
Vigo wrote: I love that JKleiner just came from posting a Ferrari 355 in the 'letdown' thread to post a Kia Soul in the 'pleasantly surprised' thread. This is a great forum!
I have one of those and its a good little runner. It took 6 months to get one as only 3/10s of one percent are built in that configuration or so I was told by several dealers (which basically means nothing). Like a lot of Japanese manufacturers, the Koreans (Kia) send dealers an allotment of cars and what you get is what you get. You can't order one. Anyhow, I had to drive 4 hours one way to a dealer in Ohio to pick it up as there were none available in Michigan. It has to be a a ! level as a base model you get the 1.6 motor and the + level you get an automatic. Needed an interesting DD with some space and for me this works well. So it turned out to be better than expected.
ultraclyde wrote: I find it funny that most of the cars in this thread are the same ones in the 'most disappointing car' thread. Carry on.
I thought the exact same thing.
ultraclyde wrote: I find it funny that most of the cars in this thread are the same ones in the 'most disappointing car' thread. Carry on.
it depends on what you want. Most people can't stand 4 cylinder BMWs and find them very disappointing compared to the I6s. I personally never needed the extra HP, so the 4 was perfect for the level of handling I want/need
8th gen Civic Si. I never thought I would enjoy a car with less than 200hp and almost no torque but the build quality was great, the car was a blast for PDX and AutoX, and seats that I still desire. And I made all my friends with BMWs feel stupid at autoxes. And it has caused me to buy another one.
My 3.8L 95 Firebird was great. I soon realized it was a much better autoxer after getting an LT1. Just enough power to not be spinning. And it responded to performance modifications fairly well. Downsides were GMs crappy coil packs and crank and cam sensors. At 15 I was super disappointed to only have enough $$ saved up to buy a V6 but got the body style I wanted and was soon very impressed. Engine swap and headaches aside from the blown engine it came with.
The new V6 Mustang. Same amount of HP as the previous 4.6, great gas mileage, and they have started to depreciate in value fairly quickly because ZOMG I need a 5.0 instead.
1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V.
Inherited it from my dad. Could never figure out why he liked it so much..until I drove it around for a while. Now I love the stupid barge!
I'm sure it sounds odd to most of you, but I have to say e30. For years I had friends talk about how great they were, and guys on sites like this. "on paper" I was never really impressed for some reason, even though I always liked how e30s looked. And of course always figured since it was a BMW it's hard to work on and expensive to get parts for.
Then I got one. And even though it was an M10 car with totally shot suspension, I instantly liked it from the start. And of course it's uber-easy to work on, and parts are plentiful and cheap. I just told a buddy the other day that I may not buy another non-BMW project car for a long time thanks to getting this e30. And I just picked up an e21 with high expectations too :)
--
Also I will say the new Hyundai Sonata. Figured it was another appliance car, but having drivine my parents' 4cyl (non-turbo) mid-range model, I think it's a very nice car (if not terribly exciting to drive). Suprised with the stock 16" wheels and stock suspension/brakes how little it leans in corners and how well it stops as well.
ultraclyde wrote: I find it funny that most of the cars in this thread are the same ones in the 'most disappointing car' thread.
In the spirit of this, I'll throw both Miatae I previously owneed onto the list...My stock (+AGX shocks) base 92 Miata and my very lightly modded MSM.
I daily drove the NA for 3-4 years and loved every minute. It was affordable to purchase, affordable and simple to maintain, reliable, comfortable enough, had surprisingly useful (creativity based) cargo capabilities, topless cruising/cornering fun in the summer, handled Green Bay WI winters like a champ, and generally just made every drive, every day, in any weather fun without excessive breaking of the speed limit. It was not just a great classically defined sports car, but simply a great all around car as well...Which was certainly a welcomed surprise.
When I first got the NA, I also already had a MSM as my nice weather driver too...Which despite its faults and shortcomings was far from a 'disappointment', as some felt in the other thread. When given the choice of a LS Miata and a Mazdaspeed Miata as a brand new semi-daily driven car for the same ridiculous (well under base model) price, the MSM (especially in that fantastic Lava Orange color) was simply a no-brainer. Sure the 17's were a bit of overkill, the turbo system/engine management was pretty weak, and the lower redline combined with shorter rear end wasn't ideal. But to that point was the best handling, fastest, most powerful, arguably (to this day) best looking, most interesting driving experience ever offered in a Miata from the factory. Which might not be saying much, but at the same time kind of is. While not a masterpiece of cohesive engineering, it had the right amount of character and charm that to this day I unexpectedly still have more of an emotional attachment to the MSM than any other car I've owned...And in the end, isn't that what most of us afflicted with late stage automotive enthusiasm really desire from a car?
However I did find that within reasonably legal limits I was able to have 90%+ of the fun as the MSM, 90%+ of the time, in the fully depreciated no-frills NA. I miss them both for different reasons, and while getting rid of each when I did was the right choice at the time, I would more than welcome either/both of them back into my garage.
Recently... a 2013 Avalon V6. My mom bought one and I was expecting it to be like the previous generations - cushy ride, kinda numb, big, etc. Not only does it look a lot sharper, but feels much sportier driving it. Throttle response, transmission programming, suspension, etc. moved away from the "old buick" end of the spectrum toward BMW. I was semi-shocked to learn that its 100lbs lighter than the previous gen Avalon also. Good move Toyota :)
Saab C900s. Absolutely love em. 25 year old cars that are SOLID. Great ergonomics and economy. Plus they are funky. Can't get enough.
In reply to ls1fiero:
early 5.2L Magnum powered Dodge Dakota. Friend of mine ordered a '92 and I loved it so much I ordered a '93. Ran high 14's out of the box and was a solid 13 sec street machine with only a few tweeks. Being a std cab, short bed, it was like driving a Tazmanian Devil on the street at times.
mad_machine wrote: the car I have owned that exceeded my expectations.. my old 318ti. I know it was the slowest of the modern BMWs and it had the "antique" rear suspension, and it was "ugly" in many eyes... but wow did it talk to you in a constant chatter. You knew exactly what the car was doing at all times
People think that car is ugly? wtf? I think they look great
Already both mentioned but//: Mk 1 Fiesta, not fast by most standards but torquey and very tough, hard to break, I tried on 4 of them. A tin box by modern standards. I guess thats why I haven't seen one in 20 years. And minivans, great practicality, easy to work out of, low on the police radar, awesome to road trip in.
New F150 truck with the Ecoboost; it's amazing how quick it moves such a heavy vehicle. I'm genuinely surprised that I look forward to driving a... truck.
And I'll second the Lexus IS300. I also expected a "high end Toyota" but it's really a tight-built chassis with a great engine (though mileage sucks... gets about the same as my truck, lol.)
The newer Pontiac GTO with manual transmission...attended the Chevy drive event the had years ago and the line was basically empty for the manual transmission GTO. Figured, eh why not....actually enjoyed it more than the CTS-V and C6 Vette (liked the clutch take up better and it was more fun to take around the corners)....kept on going back in line (well there was no line...LOL) to drive it...had a blast! If it weren't for their not so great fuel economy they'd be a great daily driver... Though I do like the looks of the G8 much better.
I have driven so many cars over the years that I can't really pick. I usually accept what the vehicle is and go with it. CJ's were fun when I was younger. Now I like cruising in my new Fiesta.
My X3. That is why I bought it. Quick enough, handles well and is comfortable. I know many guys on here think they are silly, but the 3.0 with the 6 speed is just something else. GREAT DD.
Subaru Forester.
I was completely ignorant about them. I drove a 2003 and liked it well enough. When I learned that they made a turbo model, I found one with a manual transmission, sold my Mazda3, bought it and never looked back.
2001 Hyundai Accent. With a 5-speed it's a surprisingly nimble car. The chassis's tight, but the steering was a bit vague. Once you know how the car behaves, though, it's very predicable and you can really throw it in and out of the twisties. Contrast this with my cousin's '72 442. I love muscle cars (no, really, I do) but the 442 was heavy and unpredictable. Driving it I felt like I was wrestling a grizzly bear on meth. And it's not even that fast.
penultimeta wrote: Driving it I felt like I was wrestling a grizzly bear on meth. And it's not even that fast.
Is that with you on meth, or the bear on meth?
that makes a big difference in the analogy.
You'll need to log in to post.
