5 Joys Of Driving A Non-Performance Car

Having hundreds of horsepower and sick suspension setups at your disposal is obviously awesome, but sometimes you can get pleasure from blasting about in something far more humble

Darren Cassey

08 Jan 2016

1. There's no pressure or obligations

This will not fly under the radar. Ever.

Unless it’s a sleeper or understated hot hatch, when you have a performance car, everyone knows it. And that means that there’s always someone egging you on to be silly, or a local boy racer challenging you to beat him away from the lights.

Even if you find it easy to ignore these distractions, they still become rather tiresome. In something more understated no one pays you any attention.

2. Hustling becomes all about you

Some cars just don’t enjoy being driven quickly, but it’s exactly at this point you discover how good you are behind the wheel. Loading up suspension and tyres that were designed to be calmly caressed can result in you and your motor getting to know a ditch a little too well. Instead, you’ve got to learn to be smooth and conserve momentum wherever possible; when you nail a quick section it’s all the more rewarding.

3. Sometimes it's nice to just chill

This is almost always fun, but when it's not, it's REALLY not.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a stripped out road racer as much as the next guy, but sometimes there’s nothing more enjoyable than falling into a comfy chair and loafing about in comfort. I’ll probably get lynched for saying it, but there are days when 120bhp and an automatic gearbox are all I need.

4. You can hone your driving skills

When you’re to driving fast there’s a lot to take in, and things can go wrong very quickly. By slowing things down you give yourself more time to think and analyse your technique. For example, I taught myself to heel and toe in my old diesel Passat, which was easy because even when I messed up I had time to correct it.

5. Foot to the floor doesn't result in jail time

Making a splash, and all within the limit!

It’s great to put your foot to the floor. Mashing your right boot into the firewall is a pleasure that’s becoming less and less frequent thanks to our overcrowded roads now. But here’s the thing about slow cars: you can put your foot down everywhere and never get in trouble!

Comments

Everyday driving certainly has it’s perks, a bit of imagination and those country lane corners can feel like a real race track sometimes, just remember to stay in your lane!

Number 3. Sometimes all I need is 75hp and an automatic gearbox. So no, Darren, you’re not getting lynched… At least by me.

project car owners be like sometimes all I need is a drive

75 bhp ?? What E-class is that ? 😨

My car only has 90hp so I go full throttle all of the time.

Mine has a 2.5lt 5cly diesel,smoothest diesel I’ve ever driven but its soooo slow.

This is very relatable. Just calmly driving around is enough for me, i just love being behind the wheel in general.

This ^

One of my favourite things to do to unwind is to just go the speed limit on a very scenic road at night with some nice relaxing music like Buddha Bar.

Life isn’t about making good time, it’s about having a good time. -Sally Carrera

Every car can be fun, it drifts (in the rain) and even with off-road suspension it can provide fun, especially cause it’s a manual

Ahhh i remember when me and my cousin rallied my moms freelander 1 on wet field and open dirt road, the best feeling was when my cousin floored it and car started to move sideways haha

I have fun in a 99 suburban bone stock. Doesn’t kill anyone in a drag race, won’t crawl around as well as some, but it is fun to scare the crap out of people when you pull a drift in the rain. People never expect it and you just know that they said holy s#!t that was crazy.