And I live in Munich, Germany. Probably the most car friendly city in Europe.
Bhpian carcked recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
If you are reading this, either you know me or you are a car enthusiast yourself. So you know as we grow up most of us don’t really have access to variety of cars like celebrity car enthusiasts. We read and idolise some cars and brands just based on what a celebrity or a journalist thinks or the companies claim. So a lot of it just boils down to numbers because, that is what is best conveyed digitally. The result, I ended up thinking driving a Bugatti Chiron will be best experience in the car world! I will never drive that car in life but now after 25 years of car enthusiast life, I am sure I won’t find it the best experience.
But forget a Bugatti, a vast majority of us will not get to drive even a Porsche in life. So, how do we find out the best driving experience*? Of course, a few exceptional cars like Rimacs or some British exotica from Gordon Murray will be a strong contender. I will leave them aside for the context of this post. All I am focusing on is something a reasonably privileged upper-middle-class Indian living in western world can possibly explore.
The beginnings
I started the journey in the Indian Silicon valley of Bengaluru. Best spot for trying our rental cars I would say. Nice winding roads, highways, app based rentals and some good cash flow to have nice cars available. But since early days were numbers based again, I used to rent Hyundai for a fun drive! What a waste of time and money driving an i20 or Verna up Nandi hills just because it makes the most horsepower in 2019 among common hatchbacks. I immediately recognised the disconnect and lack of confidence going fast.
The experience got a bit better with Suzuki products. I drove an Ignis immediately after and it was probably the first time I realised a car’s dynamics provide a more satisfying experience than straight line performance. Feels so obvious now. I would still buy it if I have to buy a small car in Asia.*
But life moves on and I move to Europe. After a few years of not being able to drive often, I finally get a driving license there and that opens up a whole new world of cars to try out. And I live in Munich, Germany. Probably the most car friendly city in Europe. Relatively cheap, large enough rich communities have cool cars for rent and mountains and autobahn in close reach. And my driving has improved ever so slightly to push cars a bit harder.
Chapter 2: Germany
Starting low, the everyday driving classes in a base model Golf was already a step up. Volkwagen just does the basics in a basic car so right. Even after driving so many more expensive and special cars now, I would say it is the best common man’s access to a fun drive. I drove an Octavia too and experience was largely similar. They are all right. A Golf is all the car you will ever need.*
But alright, I am not looking for a basic car for basic fun. I want to see how special it can get. A Golf is still pretty insulated, wanting to be quiet, tame and a family friendly car. I get into the territory of real performance cars next.
Cut to summer 2025, I get to experience the first real performance car feeling. Tesla Model 3 performance in Californian canyons! While it is still very, very insulated, it is the first car that was rewarding to push! And if a car is that fast, being fast in a straight line can be fun too. I could feel the way a true capable car can be fun and satisfying when you do a corner at highway speed limit. But yea, I still think VW tuned the steering ever so slightly better. If you want a glimpse of how scarily quick the car was, here it is:
Though the four wheel drive, 500 HP, low CG drive was satisfying, I could sense the over confidence it gave me. I could feel an itch that something less capable and bit wilder would be more playful and fun right?
Luckily, I drove two completely different breeds on the same roads in the same trip. A front wheel drive, mad, manual Civic Type R and rear wheel drive, automatic, famous Mustang. VW steering did not feel the best anymore immediately. The Civic Type R i has so much maturity and just the right amount of weight and feel. And add the iVTEC sound and the precise shifter and rev happy engine. I almost forgot it also still a front drive car like an Octavia. It is leagues ahead. But still capable, very, very capable and that is something I did not like about it.
Mustang was a tad bit more playful with its inherently indisciplined rear wheel configuration letting even a noob like me come out of corners drifting several times. Some American drivers coming down the Big Bear that day were sure wanting to keep distance from the Mustang when they pulled over to give way for me. But I was in a vicious cycle now. I like the more playful nature but missed the finesse of Civic. But Germans are best known for finesse right? How about the same formula from a classic German nameplate?
Cut to the German alpine roads, I am in BMW M2 this time. I feel this is the most playful BMW so not even talking about the other “uncool” BMW group cars I have driven. And oh boy BMW disappoints. It was so precise that the real drive fun could not even come out enough on a public road. And wider than 7 seat SUV. And as heavy as an electric Tesla Model 3 performance. I mean, we do not get a BMW M2 for lap times. There is a BMW M3 Comp for it. Anyway, the sales are ever increasing and people in the iconic 4 cylinder headquarters in Munich are happy so I leave it to them. I don’t want to say it is not as fun as the Tesla and create controversies so will leave it here. A glimpse what it did best is this, unfortunately (just a 250 kmph sprint on Autobahn):
The answer
And so it is getting clearer. Needs to be decently capable but not too much like Tesla, also has to be well thought out unlike the Mustang. And small, light and lively, unlike the BMW. The Type R is almost there, I agree. But just wanted a bit less capable one. And it was still too big for my liking.
And then I start hunting for the closest match. After several months of waiting and searching and enquiries, I finally found one and got it on rent for a few weeks (because it was cheaper on long term ). A front engine, rear-wheel drive, manual transmission, open-top, sub-1 ton weighing, Mazda MX-5 2.0 and European summer to drive.
Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.
