What we drive/have driven....the good, the bad, the ugly!

[frankphuket]

Thought I start up with a bit of fun and info thread...sorry lengthy, but you can see the bold cars and just go to the ones you want to know something about.

The purpose is to give personal subjective information on what we drive or have driven over the past few years in view to give other readers some input on those cars.

There are different kinds of car enthusiasts here on the forum:

1) the ones which are looking for reliable means of transport either for work or for private life. Wanting something that lasts 'forever' is reasonably cheap to run and good to resell.

2) the ones who use their cars as status symbol.

3) the ones who use their car for transport plus enjoyment/fun

and there might be more categories...I say...whatever rocks your boat. I hope this thread will not be the start of arguments but information and with this in mind...

I belong to the 3 category...I like cars to be fun....so my history goes like that...and admittedly didn't start with fun cars. I added my out of 100 score in Red

All in Thailand as this is where we are:

1) 1994 Honda Civic manual - 1 year used, nothing to write about. I worked. 60

2) 1995 Toyota Corona 2.0 manual - 5 years used, utterly reliable, drove decent, comfy, yet never excited me. Boring grey interior. 70

3) 2000- Hyundai Tiburon manual(for the price of a Corolla around 800K) I got a sports car. Interior a little plasticy. It was a great little handling car. After reading about it, i found out that the suspension was co-developed by PORSCHE. Nice. Engine quite ok as well. Liked it. Different and good hanlding. Had to give it to Wife as I got a company car 77

4) 2003 Toyota Camry 2.4 top spec (company car) Auto. My first auto car...and i didn't know how to drive it first! Great comfy car, all the gadgets you want from a top spec. of course utterly reliable. Drove really nice....in a straight line. Give it a curve or two...and autsch....I named it "The Boat". This car did nothing for me. Just not my cup of Tea. 70

after several company cars for short stints...nothing much to write about.

5)2008 Another company car....Toyota Fortuner Petrol Auto....drove it two weeks and begged for mercy....or the owner to give me something else. For me the worse car ever drive. Huge, boring inside...plain creamy interior. No handling with and engine which went thru fuel like there is no tomorrow, but when trying to move going nowhere with any urgency. Plain slow. I named it "The Boat 2 with anchor always out". -10

6) Owner had pity with me and gave me one of his little Honda Jazzes Auto. Ah, nice little fun cars. much more to my liking. Handled reasonably well, nice spirited driving. Practical. thumbs up. 75

7) 2009 Bought myself a Ford Focus 2.0 TDCI manual. Besides the interior being a little un-inspiring the rest of the car was anything but. Excellent handling, quite weighty steering with good feel, albeit a little front heavy. Very solid on the road feel though. Engine a gem....excellent torque from 2,000rpm, so ideal for the little hills in Phuket. The gearbox is a dream. 1 finger operation except reverse. Really a good package with good fuel consumption. Loved it. Except the bad seats. I had back problems at the time and those seats just killed me every day.....so sold the car to a friend who is still in love with it today. Not impressed by Ford dealer in Phuket though. Car however had very little issues, the only one resulting from me putting sport springs on. 85

8) 2012 VW Golf GTI DSG. Bought grey and unfortunately had a DSG issue after only 10,000km which did cost me nearly 60,000 Baht. Not too impressed with German engineering (I am German). 2-3 small little issues needed still sorting, but from then on fine. Now at 25,000 km. With no proper service it was a 'bitch' to get the guys to fix the thing. I had to go and translate the English instructions on the computer to the Thai guy how to set it up, with a help from a knowledgeable friend from BKK. Not what you expect from a big grey car dealer (did buy the car there though) which sells Bentleys and Porsches.

The car by itself is very nice. Nice quality interior, excellent seats. I had it remapped to about 260hp and it does fly, very powerful when the turbo is in 'zing'. Would love the car even more if it would be a manual. The DSG is quite ok, but still not the same for me. in Auto mode it changes to quickly up and in sports mode it changes to slow....should have a middle way... . Handling is very good as well, can be comfy but also possible to firm it up with a push of a button. In my humble opinion however it does not feel as planted or solid as the Ford Focus was. It is more nimble maybe, less heavy feeling, but therefore also just a tad less feel to it.

It is not a looker in 'cool' terms or super designy, it rather is understated but when you put the foot down....yep...it goes! Love it. 85-90 (coz of my DSG issue, which might be isolated).

9) Oops forgot my other toy. 2011 rewarded myself with a Mini Cooper S JCW GP manual. Bought second hand and had to solve quite a few issues...and is probably the car which has seen the garage the most in the short time it has been with me and for the little usage. don't want to calculate the cost per km on it.

But once sorted a little firecracker. Only two seats....so family outing...Nope. The gearbox is a bit notchy and the clutch quite heavy. It is a bit of a racing car. Back to the good old days....when driving a car was just about driving a car. No gimmicks, etc.

Engine is fantastic with the supercharger....very nice linear elastic power. Although my GTI has more oomp and kick once the turbo kicks in. The handling is super direct with great feel for the road. Yep, it is rather hard. Epitome of fun car...just don't get stuck on the hill upwards....your left leg will need some massage after it.

That's about it....puuuh.

Again, not looking for arguments. Some might love the spaciousness of a Fortuner, its comfyness, etc. The reliability of a Toyota Corolla, etc. I am not here to argue those ..... I like it white, you like it black....no need to argue that white is better....it just is....for me!

[bkkjames]

Some cars I have owned or driven for work.

1985 Cougar - my dad bought me this when I was in high school - all I can say is "it was transportation"

90's had a mixed bag of company cars - mid size sedans Chevy and Fords mostly. Boring but price was right.

Late 90's bought a 5 Litre Mustang GT (used 95 model). Great fun from gas station to gas station - still miss the sound of it.

Now drive a 4door truck, AT, 4x4 like the one you see in the avatar. Perfect for negotiating narrow Bangkok sois and our smooth roads

[Ace of Pop]

Early Fortuna Sportivo. Fiat 124 Special T.

[WarpSpeed]

OP you didn't grade the Mini...

Edited June 26, 2014 by WarpSpeed

[giddyup]

Without a doubt the worst car I have ever owned was a Holden Commodore station wagon with the 2 litre Starfire engine. Only another Aussie would know just how bad these things were. As gutless as they come with the added insult of a fuel economy gauge that I could never get out of the red unless I was coasting downhill. The guy who bought it from me was heading from Adelaide to Perth with all his family and luggage, I just hoped he never struck a headwind!

[frankphuket]

Oops, Pardon me....

Also a little difficult .....Fun factor 95, reliability 60....but then again I bought it second hand, so not sure what was done right or wrong before. Once sorted out all is good now for quite a while. So first year of ownership: fun 95/ reliability 40, 3rd year (now): fun 95/reliability 75!

OP you didn't grade the Mini...

[transam]

The worse car l have driven, when expectations were high, unless the thing was wound up, was a 1973 Ferrari Daytona...

[bkkden]

My last ten years.

BMW 330i. Great car. Golf clubs didn't fit in boot.

BMW 530i. Great luxury car. Lots of room and classy.

Alfa Romeo 159 sedan. Very cool and stunning looks. Drove well also.

BMW Z4 3.0. Totally awesome!!!

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[bkkjames]

My last ten years.

BMW 330i. Great car. Golf clubs didn't fit in boot.

BMW 530i. Great luxury car. Lots of room and classy.

Alfa Romeo 159 sedan. Very cool and stunning looks. Drove well also.

BMW Z4 3.0. Totally awesome!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Was that you in the black z4 this morning who decided to play merge madness with me on the expressway near Rama 3

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[Jitar]

Without a doubt the worst car I have ever owned was a Holden Commodore station wagon with the 2 litre Starfire engine. Only another Aussie would know just how bad these things were. As gutless as they come with the added insult of a fuel economy gauge that I could never get out of the red unless I was coasting downhill. The guy who bought it from me was heading from Adelaide to Perth with all his family and luggage, I just hoped he never struck a headwind!

+1

The VK commodore company car I had with the old 6 cyl 3.3L / 186 was pretty boring but way better than the 4 cyl.

After that I got an ex police pursuit VK with the Brock version of the 308. Talk about contrast, that thing looked as dull as the other Commodes but it really shifted along nicely. Amused me how similar the fuel consumption was between the 2L driven flat out, the 6 cyl pushed a bit and the V8 not even trying (In order to save my license). In that era Holden really did range from the sublime (Brock Commodore) to the ridiculous (Starfire 4 Commodore).

Edited June 26, 2014 by Jitar

[Aldebaran1981]

all my cars are automatic cars.

2007 Kia cerato 1.6a

Bought in 2008 as a 2nd hand car. Abused it for 3 years and never gave any problems except the regular oil change and tyre change. Completely changed my perception about Korean cars.

I rate it 70/100 overall.

1992 Honda prelude 2.2a

Bought in 2007

4 speed automatic hinds gearbox reliable and strong as steel!

Best fun car ever driven even though it's an automatic and damn old.

Reliable except for a broken radiator fan.

Rate 80/100

2006 BMW 523i

Bought in 2011

Excellent to drive but the maintenance costs drove me up the wall.

Rate 80/100

2005 Nissan teana 2.3a

Bought in 2012

My first v6 engine car and I loved the low end torque.

Gearbox strong and sturdy and no major issues with engine and air conditioning.

But bland exterior and interior

Rate 65/100

2005 Subaru forester 2.5t

Bought in 2013

My first turbocharged car. Loved it to bits except that it drank petrol like water!

Strong engine and gearbox!

85/100

2005 honda accord 2.4a

Bought in 2013

Nothing to shout about. Gearbox failed me whilst on the highway.

Disappointed with this model.

50/100

2001 BMW 318i

Bought in 2014

Nice drive as synonymous with BMW.

However a trip up to isaan cost me tens of thousands in repairs afterwards! LOL

Overall still a reliable car but I'm getting bored after driving for 3 months.

80/100

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[Woodsie888]

Without a doubt the worst car I have ever owned was a Holden Commodore station wagon with the 2 litre Starfire engine. Only another Aussie would know just how bad these things were. As gutless as they come with the added insult of a fuel economy gauge that I could never get out of the red unless I was coasting downhill. The guy who bought it from me was heading from Adelaide to Perth with all his family and luggage, I just hoped he never struck a headwind!

+1

The VK commodore company car I had with the old 6 cyl 3.3L / 186 was pretty boring but way better than the 4 cyl.

After that I got an ex police pursuit VK with the Brock version of the 308. Talk about contrast, that thing looked as dull as the other Commodes but it really shifted along nicely. Amused me how similar the fuel consumption was between the 2L driven flat out, the 6 cyl pushed a bit and the V8 not even trying (In order to save my license). In that era Holden really did range from the sublime (Brock Commodore) to the ridiculous (Starfire 4 Commodore).

Sorry Jitar, as you're normally so accurate, the 3.3 was actually 202, not 186. I know you will understand the importance of this very small error.

[ignis]

Different stages in life, and cars needed for work or fun, had so many makes and models difficult to say..

Small and mad.. Sunbeam Lotus, 2 x Citroen Saxo VTS, Mk 1 Golf GTi...

as for 'it drank petrol like water' that would be the Jensen Interceptor II..

had a number of Mk 2 Jags, 3x Armstrong Siddeley's, guess love the DS Citroen had 3, and a SM and BX GTi.... Triumph 2.5S a Pi and a Stag..

had many more, some wish I still had or could find here..

Did over 100,000 KM in my tuned Opel Monza, and same in my Volvo 240

here now make do with a older Audi A6 and a new Mazda BT50, before present ones was D-Max and a Jazz

[Jitar]

Without a doubt the worst car I have ever owned was a Holden Commodore station wagon with the 2 litre Starfire engine. Only another Aussie would know just how bad these things were. As gutless as they come with the added insult of a fuel economy gauge that I could never get out of the red unless I was coasting downhill. The guy who bought it from me was heading from Adelaide to Perth with all his family and luggage, I just hoped he never struck a headwind!

+1

The VK commodore company car I had with the old 6 cyl 3.3L / 186 was pretty boring but way better than the 4 cyl.

After that I got an ex police pursuit VK with the Brock version of the 308. Talk about contrast, that thing looked as dull as the other Commodes but it really shifted along nicely. Amused me how similar the fuel consumption was between the 2L driven flat out, the 6 cyl pushed a bit and the V8 not even trying (In order to save my license). In that era Holden really did range from the sublime (Brock Commodore) to the ridiculous (Starfire 4 Commodore).

Sorry Jitar, as you're normally so accurate, the 3.3 was actually 202, not 186. I know you will understand the importance of this very small error.

Sh!t, you're right. Must be getting old.