What makes a car feel right?

General discussion about cars. Looking to buy a new car? Have a great driving story? Post it here!
Prodigal Son
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What makes a car feel right?

Post by Prodigal Son »

I'm trying to quantify what it is that makes a car feel right or wrong for me. I know it is different for different people. I know that top flight race car drivers set their cars up very differently from each other and still compete wheel to wheel, so having the car suit the driver is obviously a huge factor even at the highest levels of sport. But what is it exactly that makes a car fell right to someone?

When I went car shopping I did the research and based on all the ratings and reviews I set out choose between Corola, Matrix, Civic, and Mazda3. I only went to the VW dealer because it was next door to the Mazda dealer so I though I would go have a look.

Now the cars on my list all had defects of one kind or another vis a vis my personal checklist: White-face gauges, digital guages, center console too wide, etc. The Jetta scored better than the competition on these counts. But that is not why I decided to shell out the extra money for it. It just felt right. It was a matter of an intuitive this-is-how-a-car-ought-to-feel feeling that set it way above the other choices.

I can kind of express my feeling about the others. The Toyotas felt numb. The Mazda felt flighty. The Civic felt disconnected. But I can't get much nearer to saying how the Jetta felt other than to say it felt "right".

Do other people have that sort of feeling about a particular car? And if so, can you express what it is about that car that just makes it feel right?
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Re: What makes a car feel right?

Post by Tinton »

Prodigal Son wrote:I'm trying to quantify what it is that makes a car feel right or wrong for me. I know it is different for different people. I know that top flight race car drivers set their cars up very differently from each other and still compete wheel to wheel, so having the car suit the driver is obviously a huge factor even at the highest levels of sport. But what is it exactly that makes a car fell right to someone?

When I went car shopping I did the research and based on all the ratings and reviews I set out choose between Corola, Matrix, Civic, and Mazda3. I only went to the VW dealer because it was next door to the Mazda dealer so I though I would go have a look.

Now the cars on my list all had defects of one kind or another vis a vis my personal checklist: White-face gauges, digital guages, center console too wide, etc. The Jetta scored better than the competition on these counts. But that is not why I decided to shell out the extra money for it. It just felt right. It was a matter of an intuitive this-is-how-a-car-ought-to-feel feeling that set it way above the other choices.

I can kind of express my feeling about the others. The Toyotas felt numb. The Mazda felt flighty. The Civic felt disconnected. But I can't get much nearer to saying how the Jetta felt other than to say it felt "right".

Do other people have that sort of feeling about a particular car? And if so, can you express what it is about that car that just makes it feel right?
Mazda Miata....driftomatic muahahahahaha! Seriously that car would drift so easily, it just felt "right".

IMO my cars feel right though. They just feel..."planted" when they're on the road, and they seem to turn so much more easily than other cars I've driven (without the back end sliding around). My '86 Fiero does have a problem with bumpsteer because of the suspension design, but my '88 Fiero has a different suspension and it doesn't have that problem. I don't know what it is but I keep that car even though its automatic because it feels so tight on the road surface.
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Post by PureLife »

It feels right if it makes me feel like a million bucks when I get in and drive. Needles to say, my Impreza does not make me feel that way ... we had a 1500 dollar BMW with 245k miles and that felt "right" in every aspect of the word ... when I drove it, in my head it was a Ferrari (even though it probably had more defects than any Geo Metro).
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Post by NonChalant »

I did a lot of car shopping and test driving before I bought my mustang I know what you mean when you say that a car just feels "right."

The other cars had small things that bugged me, but this one had a sort of polite road manner with an aggressive stance. It can be tame and forgiving or fast and nonchalant.

Everyone has their own tastes I suppose. (Example: I'd never see how anyone would like a scion xB or a honda element.. but there are people who do :))

Off-Topic: Most of the other regulars have shown pictures of their cars here. I think it's time ProdigalSon posted some of his jetta :)
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Post by Prodigal Son »

It looks pretty much exactly like any other blue Jetta. Like this one for iinstance:

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Oh, except for the mods. Mine has splash guards.

Never really understood the thing about taking pictures of cars. Not mass market production cars anyway. Stand on a street corner and one will go by in a few minutes.
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Post by potownrob »

actually, the new jettas don't seem to be too popular around here, even though there are 2 dealers within 20 miles of here. it's to the point that when i see one, it's as though i never saw one before. the last gen jettas are still around in abundance though; of course they were made since the late 90's so that's to be expected.
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Post by Sypher »

I find a car feel right in my mine would have a good steering feel; firm brakes; and responsive throttle. Also, I would like the car to be able to handle the corners I'm throwing at it (not crazy fast but fast enough where the car feels like it want to break traction sometimes.. which is not hard to do on your standard all seasons). Interior got to have good supportive seats. Dash is aesthetically appealing. Stick in tright place.. etc...
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Post by NonChalant »

Prodigal Son wrote: Never really understood the thing about taking pictures of cars. Not mass market production cars anyway. Stand on a street corner and one will go by in a few minutes.
Well at least to me it's all about the personalization and customization. While yes on the outside it might look like any other car of the same make/model/year, it's those tiny little things that people put in/do to their cars that make it entertaining to see pictures of members' cars rather than the ones produced by marketing campaigns
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Post by Tinton »

Prodigal Son wrote:
Never really understood the thing about taking pictures of cars. Not mass market production cars anyway. Stand on a street corner and one will go by in a few minutes.
With my car, it was a mass market production car (about 400,000 made in 5 years), but if you were to stand on a street corner and wait for 1 to go by you'd be waiting for a couple weeks. Last time I saw a Fiero besides one of my own was like 2 weeks ago.
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Post by eaglecatcher »

I've driven about 10 cars or so since I got my permit last january over a year ago, and I will defintiely say that the Z I drove, even though it was in rough shape, it fit perfectly. I loved the look of the car, it just feels right. Theres no way to kno whetehr a car feels right or not, other than to drive it, and hope it feels good. The Z I drove, fit me like a glove. I will own that car before I buy any other car. If I have to drive my mustang to 150k miles, by god I will do it so long as my 2nd car is a Z, thats how great I loved it. I'd live with my mustang for another 90k miles, if that was the first chance I had to buy a Z.

When you feel that after test driving a car, you know thats the car for you.
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Post by jory543 »

Well at least to me it's all about the personalization and customization. While yes on the outside it might look like any other car of the same make/model/year, it's those tiny little things that people put in/do to their cars that make it entertaining to see pictures of members' cars rather than the ones produced by marketing campaigns
I agree 100%. All the little things I did to my car make it perfect for me. I added all the options that my car didn't come with like overhead console, message center, underhood lamp, factory alloy rims, folding rear seats, etc. plus a lot of things that it never came with like the manual transmission and chrome mirrors. Any other car I've driven didn't feel "right" for me like mine does.
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Post by Prodigal Son »

Tinton wrote:
Prodigal Son wrote:
Never really understood the thing about taking pictures of cars. Not mass market production cars anyway. Stand on a street corner and one will go by in a few minutes.
With my car, it was a mass market production car (about 400,000 made in 5 years), but if you were to stand on a street corner and wait for 1 to go by you'd be waiting for a couple weeks. Last time I saw a Fiero besides one of my own was like 2 weeks ago.
Okay, I'll grant you that. Make it late model mass production cars. I see lots of Mark V Jetta's around here, and lots of earlier ones as well. Apart from the splash guards, the crumbs in the cup holder, the map of Ottawa in the drivers door, and the Ontario road atlas in the pocket behind the passenger seat, my car is not personalized in any way.

In short, I am completely inconspicuous, and I like it that way. (I would not drive a BMW or a Ferrari even if I loved it and someone gave it to me for free. Too conspicuous. The nearest I would consider coming to buying a conspicuous car would be an EOS -- cause with the top up people would mistake if for a Jetta and take no notice of it.)

Actually, maybe that's part of the answer. I like that the Jetta drives like a higher priced German sedan but looks like a Corolla.
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Post by comingbackdown »

My car feels right because it fits me. It's nice. I can shift it well with almost no jerk whatsoever. The seat is comfortable. My only thing to whine about is the fact that I still have problems with my right foot...
Which brings me to the next point, two cars that I'd love to have that have fully adjustable seats...

The GTO feels right to me so far... I have yet to drive one. However, I've never seen a car like it... It's the most comfortable car I've ever been in, despite the head snapping acceleration.

I'd love to have a Corvette. Fully adjustable seating... Sweet-ass shifter, too. I only wish I could drive one, even if it were for 20 minutes...
There's no way a dealership would ever let me drive one... Hell... My sister's boyfriend couldn't even test drive his GTO before he bought it...
:roll:

Out of the two of those cars that I've been in (one of which I've actually driven) two of them feel right to me. One of them looks... more than right... :twisted: :D
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Post by Tinton »

Prodigal Son wrote:
Tinton wrote:
Prodigal Son wrote:
Never really understood the thing about taking pictures of cars. Not mass market production cars anyway. Stand on a street corner and one will go by in a few minutes.
With my car, it was a mass market production car (about 400,000 made in 5 years), but if you were to stand on a street corner and wait for 1 to go by you'd be waiting for a couple weeks. Last time I saw a Fiero besides one of my own was like 2 weeks ago.
Okay, I'll grant you that. Make it late model mass production cars. I see lots of Mark V Jetta's around here, and lots of earlier ones as well. Apart from the splash guards, the crumbs in the cup holder, the map of Ottawa in the drivers door, and the Ontario road atlas in the pocket behind the passenger seat, my car is not personalized in any way.

In short, I am completely inconspicuous, and I like it that way. (I would not drive a BMW or a Ferrari even if I loved it and someone gave it to me for free. Too conspicuous. The nearest I would consider coming to buying a conspicuous car would be an EOS -- cause with the top up people would mistake if for a Jetta and take no notice of it.)

Actually, maybe that's part of the answer. I like that the Jetta drives like a higher priced German sedan but looks like a Corolla.
lol, to be inconspicuous around here you would need a BMW. There are MILLIONS around here.
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Post by eaglecatcher »

Prodigal Son wrote:
Tinton wrote:
Prodigal Son wrote:
Never really understood the thing about taking pictures of cars. Not mass market production cars anyway. Stand on a street corner and one will go by in a few minutes.
With my car, it was a mass market production car (about 400,000 made in 5 years), but if you were to stand on a street corner and wait for 1 to go by you'd be waiting for a couple weeks. Last time I saw a Fiero besides one of my own was like 2 weeks ago.
Okay, I'll grant you that. Make it late model mass production cars. I see lots of Mark V Jetta's around here, and lots of earlier ones as well. Apart from the splash guards, the crumbs in the cup holder, the map of Ottawa in the drivers door, and the Ontario road atlas in the pocket behind the passenger seat, my car is not personalized in any way.

In short, I am completely inconspicuous, and I like it that way. (I would not drive a BMW or a Ferrari even if I loved it and someone gave it to me for free. Too conspicuous. The nearest I would consider coming to buying a conspicuous car would be an EOS -- cause with the top up people would mistake if for a Jetta and take no notice of it.)

Actually, maybe that's part of the answer. I like that the Jetta drives like a higher priced German sedan but looks like a Corolla.
There is a way to drive a ferrari or a bentley and not be conspicuous. You know how to do it? Drive it in Monte Carlo. I swear, around my area you see a dude in a ferrari, and you're like "man, hes doing better than most poeple in this area". In Monte Carlo, you drive around, and you're like "psh, that guys only driving an F430 or a 612 Scaglietti, hes nothing special" becaus there are so many of them.

of course, the likelihood of getting a free ferrari is pretty much none, so I don't think you've got to worry about needing to move to Monaco anytime sono Prodigal :wink:
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