As dull as dish water

[Brimfull]

Just for fun, tell us all about a sport\performance orientated car you have owned that turned out to be absolutely drab and disappointing to drive and did not live up to the expectation.

I will go first with a 1999 Vectra 2.5v6 Gsi. On paper this car looked pretty impressive with it's 190bhp MSD tuned v6 (compared to 170bhp in the Sri) looked the part with it's recaro sports seats, 17 inch wheels, factory stainless steel magnex back box and a btcc inspired front bumper with large diffuser.

However in reality it was so dull to drive, had very little push back in your seat feel when being pushed hard and didn't handle particular well either, found the factory lowered suspension just hard and generally uncomfortable and hardly any v6 growl from the 2.5.

On a positive note the v6 was very frugal and easily retuned 40mpg on return trips from Wrexham to Llandudno.

Not my exact car but very close match

 

[andycupra]

corrado G60 (supercharged) - very dissapointing.

however, the corrado Vr6 i got later was fantastic.

 

[Brimfull]

corrado G60 (supercharged) - very dissapointing.

however, the corrado Vr6 i got later was fantastic.

I have always liked the corrado

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[andycupra]

talking of vauxhall/cavalier... a friend had a calibra.... so very poor.

 

[rob280]

Ford escort GTI. It was gutless

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[Brimfull]

talking of vauxhall/cavalier... a friend had a calibra.... so very poor.

If its 8v or ecotec 16v engine I agree, 16v red top, turbo or v6 engine and they are decent fun

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[Brimfull]

Ford escort GTI. It was gutless

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115bhp from 1.8 if I remember correctly. They certainly looked the part with the rs2000 kit.

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[rob280]

115bhp from 1.8 if I remember correctly. They certainly looked the part with the rs2000 kit.

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Yep your right. It did look nice. Had a full magnex exhaust and a decent air filter but still gutless.

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[Brimfull]

Yep your right. It did look nice. Had a full magnex exhaust and a decent air filter but still gutless.

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My first car was a 1.3 mk5 escort, I remember seeing these gti escorts and drooling over them

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[ChrisM75]

Cavalier SRI (mk2). Not really very quick and zero grip. Cumbersome and dull.

Another Vauxhall, a friends Astra GSI turbo, 2004 I think it was. It had the power, (about 209bhp), but no finesse at all. Seriously lacked grip since I don't think it had an LSD, the only adrenaline its inspired was the feeling you were going to die if you dared to drive it fast. Funnily enough he did wrap it around a tree. Even my old Rover 420GSI turbo kicked its butt, and that wasn't known for handling finesse either, and was 10 years older.

I get the feeling quite a lot of Vauxhalls will be in here.

 

[Brimfull]

I have had around 15 Vauxhall's and I must agree they are not the best handling and dont have much driver appeal.

One vauxhall I would buy again would be a vectra vxr, had one for over 4 years and loved the straight line speed and the practicality.

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[perelaar]

Not a sports car, but a first generation BMW X1 was the worst car we've ever had. Company car, 118d with x-drive. No performance at all, not handling well, and I particularly remember very heavy steering and uncomfortable seats.

 

[Mr Pig]

I have had around 15 Vauxhall's and I must agree they are not the best handling and dont have much driver appeal.

But you've had fifteen of them??

I think it's deliberate. Vauxhalls are soft and understeer so if you hit a corner at any speed it's a horrible experience that you do not want to repeat. So you drive slower! I used to like getting to twisty roads when Corsa Boy was all over your back bumper, and watching him disappear from the mirror.

Hands up, I actually had a Corsa once. In my defence they were just out, about six months I think. 93 or 94 that would've been. Hated the car so much I used to hit it! No other car has provoked such negative emotion.

 

[Brimfull]

But you've had fifteen of them??

I think it's deliberate. Vauxhalls are soft and understeer so if you hit a corner at any speed it's a horrible experience that you do not want to repeat. So you drive slower! I used to like getting to twisty roads when Corsa Boy was all over your back bumper, and watching him disappear from the mirror.

Hands up, I actually had a Corsa once. In my defence they were just out, about six months I think. 93 or 94 that would've been. Hated the car so much I used to hit it! No other car has provoked such negative emotion.

I have had 15 of them as I
I found them practical, reliable and fairly decently equipped and much better value for money compared to a German equivalent.

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[Mr Pig]

I have had 15 of them as I
I found them practical, reliable and fairly decently equipped and much better value for money compared to a German equivalent.

Nope, that doesn't get you off the hook! ;0)

I bought the Corsa for similar reasons. I looked at all the alternatives, nearly bought a Peugeot 106, but the Corsa looked more solid than any of them. Looking under the car, all the bit of metal were bigger and the whole car felt sturdier. It also looked modern, the shape was very fresh at the time, and it had a lot of space for a small car.

Unfortunately it was absolutely horrid to drive. Very little front end grip, yucky oversteer and a terrible driving position. Think I had it for less than a year.

 

[Brimfull]

Nope, that doesn't get you off the hook! ;0)

I bought the Corsa for similar reasons. I looked at all the alternatives, nearly bought a Peugeot 106, but the Corsa looked more solid than any of them. Looking under the car, all the bit of metal were bigger and the whole car felt sturdier. It also looked modern, the shape was very fresh at the time, and it had a lot of space for a small car.

Unfortunately it was absolutely horrid to drive. Very little front end grip, yucky oversteer and a terrible driving position. Think I had it for less than a year.

Must admit the vectra vxr I had for 4 years was a really good bit of kit.

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[Mr Pig]

Must admit the vectra vxr I had for 4 years was a really good bit of kit.

I've only driven Vextras a couple of times but I felt they were way of the mark at the time. The other cars available had better interiors, drove better etc. I guess anything will be interesting if you put a big engine in it though.