Yahoo Autos Question Of The Day: What Are The Most Fun Cars To Drive At The Speed Limit?
Question: What are the best handling and fun cars to drive at low speeds (within the speed limits — 20 mph to 75 mph)?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reviewed a sports car with 500+ horsepower and received the rather predictable comment: “Why do you need so much power; you’re never going to be able to use it all?”
Perhaps these comments are as overplayed as the whole “Why buy a Ferrari when you could have three Corvettes” thing, but then there is a very real element of truth to it all. You can’t, legally, exploit a 650 horsepower Z06 on public roads lest you enjoy orange jumpsuits. And it’s fair to say that driving a slow car fast is perhaps more rewarding than driving a fast car slow. But what are the best handling and fun cars to drive at low speeds? Here are my top picks, diminishing the risk of that burly chap asking you kindly to pick up the bar of soap:
Car guys will typically say the answer to every problem is always Miata, while that same car to non-gearheads is known as the perfect soft top for those that wear nail polish. Regardless, the 2016 Miata has now arrived and it’s supposed to be as good as the original from the mid-1990s. It’s as light as the original, and yet it looks less smiley and more angry. I like that; “passion pink” isn’t really my style anyway — not any more, at least. And at 155 horsepower, it’s as slow a one-legged hound. Which means for an affordable price, you can squeal around bends like an idiot, enjoying the drive of your life, and yet you’ll only be doing 14 mph.
The 2015 Golf GTI was our Yahoo Autos Car of the Year. It’s brilliant, and it remains the best Golf Volkswagen has made in years — especially if you option it with the electronic differential. The new Golf lapped our COTY autocross course faster than a Subaru WRX and Ford Mustang EcoBoost. And on the mountainous country roads, it was a machine you could exploit the limits of at a safe, legal speed. It was engaging to drive in every environment — from tooling around the shops to lighting up a racetrack — which is precisely what we’re looking for here.
I love the Fiat 500. (I love the original Cinquecento.) I love its personality, like a little puppy dog desperate to play ball. But then you add Abarth to the mix — the insane tuning company that oozes Italian passion — and you have yourself a tiny mouse that sounds like a ginormous man-eating bear. It may not handle with the grace of the GTI, and it is most definitely a little top heavy, but it puts an instant smile on your face.
The Toyobaru twins. Built out of a joint collaboration between Subaru and Toyota, the BRZ/FR-S are like the Miata — they’re just good, cheap, fun sports cars. The handling is well balanced, the power is minimal, and they run on low-drag tires from a Toyota Prius. This means you can do giant skids at, like, 12 mph. You can be Ken Block, legally, on public roads. (Well, sort of, if you get my drift.)
The Fiesta ST is the best compact hatchback on the market. It’s better than the Focus ST, and maybe even the GTI (if we’re purely looking at the fun chart). It is, however, limited in use due to its diminutive size, but for the purpose of this question, it’s hard to beat. Whether driving slow or fast, the Fiesta ST is a riot. And fast is never that fast. Smiles for dollar — if your combover dictates soft tops like the Miata are generally not advised — then the Fiesta ST is probably best of the bunch.
Or maybe it isn’t.
OK, so the Morgan 3 Wheeler doesn’t handle that great (a reason the three wheeled race car never caught on in global motorsports) and it definitely isn’t combover-appropriate. Plus, at over $50,000, it’s the most expensive on this list. But consider the “fun” aspect and it’s hard to deny that cruising anywhere in this bizarre three wheeler wouldn’t be awesome: The wind in your hair; the bugs in your teeth. You’d need to wear a silly set of goggles, just because. People would stop and stare, probably assuming you’re John Cleese gone mad.
Sometimes we forget that driving isn’t always about practicality, or getting from A to B. It’s not just about power and 0-60 mph speeds or useless quarter mile times. 700+ horsepower is all well and good, as is a badass name like “Hellcat,” but the real essence of driving is about passion — it’s a connection between you, the vehicle, the tarmac, and your surroundings. It should feel evocative.
All these cars listed above excel at low speeds. They’ll make you feel alive and in many cases perform mundane chores as well. As a race car driver, I love fast cars as much the next guy. But for my money, the cheap, usable models you see here are a more accessible form of daily enjoyment. After all, nothing beats driving a slow car fast. Unless that car is a Ferrari 488 GTB. Or maybe a Z06.
Wait, what?
