The 10 "ingredients" that every car needs to be fun to drive

Funny cars to drive

Make a car fun It does not mean I tell you jokes. Many drivers, the vast majority, use their car to move from point A to point B. Others, a minority, in addition to that, we also drive for fun , for sheer pleasure. If our passion is to drive, that feeling of enjoyment will be greatly enhanced if we do it with the right car.

Cars to have fun on the open road there are many, but very few in the market current, and almost none with a relatively inexpensive price. That is why many passionate people look for and acquire cars in the second-hand market. From our point of view, these are the 10 ingredients that all fun cars need and relatively inexpensive.

Relatively compact size

Ford Fiesta ST

As fun is not on fast roads like freeways or highways, but on winding roads, it is essential that not be too big a car . A few contained dimensions, although penalized on the highway, result in a greater agility at low speed . The changes of direction are faster and the reactions more alive in cars of smaller size than in larger vehicles. Also, contained dimensions will always be related to low weight, right?

Lightness

Related to the above, just as we look for contained dimensions, it is also important that the car be lightweight . The lighter, the better. Less weight means greater agility, lower body inclinations, more stability, better braking capacity, more rapid acceleration and, in addition, a lower cost of fuel. As you can see, the advantages of lightness are multiple.

Rigid chassis, but not extremely hard suspensions

Test Mazda MX-5 1.5 Skyactiv-G 131 PS

Personally, I do not consider it necessary that a car has extremely hard suspensions to enjoy on the road. The twisty roads, such as the mountain passes, do not always have an exquisite asphalt, so taking the car as a board will only make the behavior worse . It has to be hard, but not extreme. That the chassis is rigid yes it is a plus , because it reduces the torsion of the car without compromising the comfort and improves the quality of rolling.

Direct address

If your goal is to have a good time with a car on a road of curves, you better not come up against a steering wheel of too much diameter or with a greatly reduced steering , you have almost all the lost pleasure. The steering wheel and, therefore, the steering is what allows us to guide our car. If we want to enjoy, we want to be quick and direct , to obey very quickly to our orders without having to make large movements with the arms and, if possible , without having to let go the steering wheel hands .

If possible, it should be rear propulsion

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The rear drive is always more fun to drive than the front drive. However, it is true that there are very effective and fun front-wheel drive cars , which allow you to play with small oversteer safely. Among them, for example, I can cite the Abarth 500, MINI Cooper S, Suzuki Swift Sport or Ford Fiesta ST. Small cars and live reactions, but easily controllable. Of course, I think a Mazda MX-5 or a Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 are more passionate.

Good manual transmission

These are the sports cars that we have at Actualidad Motor in 2018

It has always been said that there is nothing like a good manual gearbox to feel driving and really feel the control. It is true that the new automatic boxes are very fast, effective and comfortable, but they will never have the edge of a manual transmission of short and marked routes, as well as the play with the clutch pedal . Do you agree?

Pedals well placed and with good touch

 Sports pedals

Completely related to the above, since we have three pedals, which are well placed . I mean that the difference in height between the brake and the clutch, as well as the distance between them, is not very large.It is an annoyance not to be able to go out to roll with your car, to enjoy it, because it is a very expensive car to maintain. I am no longer referring to fuel, but to elements of wear or maintenance. Of course, try to inform yourself before buying it and look for opinions on whether it is a reliable car or if it is a model that gives a lot of breakdowns (and the cost of them).

We want to know your opinion. If you do not agree with these "ingredients" that we consider ideal, if you think that a car has to have something else to be really a fun vehicle to drive, tell us. You already know you can do it by leaving us a message in the comments. You may be interested