What car did you NOT want until you drove it?

"LifeIsStout" (sirporter)
11/17/2015 at 15:06 • Filed to: None

Inspired by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

The family car, a wagon, brown, plastic cladding, durable interior. These are all the things I had heard about the Volvo XC70. I have no kids, I don’t really have the need for a wagon, and it only has an automatic. However when test driving cars before a move, I took one for a spin on a whim. Power was just fine and actually entertaining. Ergonomics were pretty fantastic and the interior materials were top notch. But those seats, oh those seats. I want to make them into an office chair they were so great. I did end up picking up an earlier one and really enjoyed my time owning the car.

What car did you not think you wanted until you drove it?

DISCUSSION (40)

Takuro Spirit > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:13

Probably a Camry. Yeah, it was the Camry.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:14

It’s sad, but true. When I loved in Israel a friend of mine had one of these. IT WAS SWEET! I live in the US so that car is probably never gonna happen for me.

Kinja'd!!!

atrombs > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:14

F-150/ any pick-up. I never thought I’d want a truck, but a couple weeks ago I got a big ass F-150 for a loaner when I brought my Focus in for service, and it was awesome. It was fun to be so high up, and to hear the V8 scream under WOT. I would never want one to be my only vehicle, but I am seriously considering one as a second means of transportation.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:16

While some opponauts may disagree , in my opinion a more perfect people mover doesn’t exist.

Kinja'd!!!

djmt1 > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:16

Peugeot 106 GTI

Kinja'd!!!

As far as I was concerned it was nothing more than a boy racer’s car but after a few laps around an Autocross track I gained a new appreciation for light cars. These things are bloody amazing. 10/10ths driving any and everywhere.

Future next gen S2000 owner > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:16

Lincoln MKZ

It’s isn’t the best car and the plastics aren’t great but I dig the interior. It is a DD commuter and wholely unremarkable for the class, but I just really dig the layout. It’s on the short list for my next car. It is so clean and well thought out. Since you spend the majority of the time on the inside, I would be a happy camper.

Kinja'd!!!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:20

1. It would be a stretch to say I WANT it, but I wouldn’t have even thought about it until I drove it. Current generation Ford Fusion.

2. I never really wanted the exact vehicle, but we have a 2007-2013 Silverado where I work, and enjoyed driving it so much that I started looking at them (but crew cab short box instead of reg/long/base models).

Tripper > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:22

2002 WRX. I hated the bug eye look at the time (high school), and one of my classmates who is a fucking clown had an automatic one. So I would never give it the credit that it deserves. I didn’t get a chance to drive one until they changed the front (2004), ended up buying an 05. I then traded it for an 04 STi.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:23

I still do not want a 4000 pound V6 Camaro, but after driving one as a rental I definitely do now want my car to be louder. The Camaro definitely felt no faster than my Miata (was mostly driving canyon roads) but the sound was way more interesting. Any and all tunnels/overpasses were downshift to ping the revlimitter because I enjoyed the noise. Moral of the story, I need straight pipes on my Miata lol.

RallyWrench > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
11/17/2015 at 15:24

Duurtlang can make that happen for you.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:26

Definitely the 5th Gen Camaro. I wanted one because Camaro, but then ended up getting one as a rental car. Granted it was a V6/auto but not holding that against it, I just hated the interior, the poor sightlines, and it just felt so bloated. I’m sure the SS, with more power and better suspension, fixes some of those things, but it definitely left me feeling underwhelmed.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > RallyWrench
11/17/2015 at 15:27

Duurtlang has been recently burned.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:28

One more: Malibu Maxx SS. Though I also wish is was AWD.

wiffleballtony > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:29

Kinja'd!!!

My future Mustang. As it turns out I didn’t end up caring about IRS.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > RallyWrench
11/17/2015 at 15:29

Probably, but I don’t think for a second that it’s any cheaper to keep one of those on the road than it would be a DS. I imagine the parts are also made exclusively of unobtainium.

RallyWrench > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
11/17/2015 at 15:30

Yes, unfortunately he has. But it doesn’t mean he will be again, he’s still the man for finding cars to import. I hope to have him do so someday with a VW Doka.

Pixel > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:30

Scion xB. A friend and I joked that it looked like the box a real car came in. I thought they were dumb and rediculous, til I took a test drive. Tight, enthusiastic, revable, nimble, light... All the things that makes it fun to drive a good slow car fast. I ended up buying one used in ‘07 and have been driving it fro 8 years and 130K and still love it every day.

Kinja'd!!!

asindhidude > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:32

e46 325i. test drove one for giggles. couldn’t get it out of my head. still haven’t, and that was 8 years ago.

Sam > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/17/2015 at 15:34

I liked it, too. It’s like a motorised box. Perfect for hauling anything. Rocks, a cassette collection, small children, tires, etc.

I hoon, therefore I am > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/17/2015 at 15:34

Buick Roadmaster Estate (in addition to millions of people) laughs in your general direction.

ZoopZoopLoops > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:37

Kinja'd!!!

Honda S2000.

It’s the hairdresser Miata for the Honda VTAK fanboi.

At first I was like:

lol convertible, lol 2-seater, lol 4-cylinder, lol VTEC bs.

But then I was like:

Kinja'd!!!

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > I hoon, therefore I am
11/17/2015 at 15:38

I have two words for you. Opti-Spark.

Ash78, voting early and often > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/17/2015 at 15:40

I just got back from a 600-mile round trip weekend trip and I still tend to agree, despite my relatively scathing review. I still hate driving it and think the build quality needs a lot of work, but it’s far from the worst way to move people around.

HammerheadFistpunch > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:40

Kinja'd!!!

I was impressed. I’m not in the market but its a very good driving machine, on and off road.

Sam > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:41

Hyundai Equus. Never in a million years would I have thought the nicest car I would drive at a Jaguar dealership would be a Hyundai.

I hoon, therefore I am > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/17/2015 at 15:53

nopenopenope.gif

But seriously, just gotta make sure the water pump isn’t leaking! Or introduce the opti to other sources of water (car wash, fording rivers, etc.)! ::nervous laughter::

Justin Hughes > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 15:58

I didn’t drive it, nor do I actually want it, but I definitely appreciate it now.

An old friend of mine had this Dodge Shadow. It had some sporting pretensions, like a spoiler and stripes and such, but the typical flaking white Chrysler paint made it look like the POS I thought it was. He took my ribbing in stride, and calmly invited me to take a ride in it with him. So I did. That thing was FAST! Little did I know at the time that Carroll Shelby had breathed some of his magic into the Shadow...

Kinja'd!!!

PhilKesselRun > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 16:04

Honda Pilot. My parents bought one to replace a 2gen CRV. I thought it was too big to be enjoyable but after ferrying my parents home from restaurants as the DD and a couple trips from Dallas to Houston I came around. Last summer my wife and I took it out to the Macdonald Observatory in BFE west Texas and I had no problems driving that beast the 8 hours each way. Comfortable seats with heat, everything is well within reach, more storage than you could need, and the rear seats fold flat so I can pretend it’s a lifted shooting brake on steroids.

Kinja'd!!!

Steve in Manhattan > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 16:04

1991 Honda CRX Si - the plan had been Miata, but a buddy said drive the CRX. Bought it.

TheHondaBro > ZoopZoopLoops
11/17/2015 at 16:20

YOU’RE MAKING IT HARDER FOR ME TO CONTROL MY LUST!!!!

Autohaus Derp > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 16:58

Kinja'd!!!

My own , V6 3rd gen Camaro. (first pic I ever took of it there)

I’d been looking for a cheap mustang for weeks, and had all but given up on finding a manual foxbody in satisfactory condition, and on budget. (Michigan!). I was so ready to dismiss this car for being a v6 base model, but the paint in the ad really stood out. Thanks to a nice aftermarket exhaust, as soon as I drove it it got right under my skin. Gave the guy full asking price in the end, he was so genuinely sad to see it go anything else would have been an insult.

Since the summer I’ve put a few thousand on her, most of which doing Rally North America’s Ohio Valley rally.

Kinja'd!!!

Much of my effort since has been on fixing up the interior, but mechanically she’s completely solid. I plan on doing a V8 (probably big block, because murica) swap next summer.

7:07 > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 17:42

Kinja'd!!!

After two minivans I decided to change things up a bit. GMT800.

So solid. Lots of room, lots of torque (though I lust after a GMT900 w/6.2V8) lots of towing capacity, lots of 4x4. I do miss the low load height and the openness of the minivan. That aside, I don’t know why I waited so long to buy a Suburban.

TheJWT > LifeIsStout
11/17/2015 at 17:53

Kinja'd!!!

I’m not gonna buy one any time soon (or ever, to be honest), but to someone who likes SUVs as little as I do, I was shocked how much I like driving these.