Quote:
Originally Posted by vskid3
This. While you probably can't push the car's abilities to the edge during everyday driving, you can be perfecting your abilities with every shift.
I personally think my Prius is better than a conventional automatic in being able to be bent to my will, but nothing beats a stick. All the cars I've owned have been stick or hybrids (in the Insight's case, both).
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WHAT!!!!
I push my Insights all the time. It is a JOKE of a performance compared to my Mustang in power, but I can lay down the power, shift into second and blast to third- it's exhilarating! AND, I am only doing ~60 by the end of the ramp, merging into traffic lol
Not really on topic, but like James May has said, these little zippy cars (I would mandate with a standard) are the best. It is easy to push them to 80% and above on the streets, and be legal, vs many performance oriented cars. I was chasing my roommate, her in one of my Insights, me in the Mustang and I could not keep up(to a point). Her just driving usual (abusive) and me pursuing, I could barely keep up. This was mostly back roads, 25-35 MPH zones. A one lane 90° turn, she smokes me through. She rolls her eyes at the words "driving line" but me clipping those corners as tight as my sidewalls would let me, she pulled away from me.
Narrower.
Lower center of gravity.
Shorter wheelbase.
Half the weight.
Now, when the 35 turned to 50, I was gone, and of course caught right up after the turns, but a standard in a little car- pure driving pleasure one can have legally and safely on public roads, even when pushing cars to limits (by%) than most Ferraris and Lamborghini's ever see.
Please note, there was no wreckless operation. I do not speed to the point of getting points, speed limit <46, only 4 MPH over, >55, up to 9 over. Nothing to endanger another person or driver, only passing in passing zones and when safe. But that's what's nice- being legal, being engaged, and having fun while completing an ordinarily boring task that I need to do regardless.