Cars that I thought would be shit but weren't.

[CLINT]

As per title.

Nova 1.5 turbo diesel. What a brilliant little car. Never knew these would be this fun to drive. Didn't keep it long as it was back when Novas were proper chav chariots. It was a three door in white and it embarrassed me. Which is unusual.

Yugo 513. Bought for £10 and thoroughly abused. Great revvy engine and good handling. It changed my opinion of them. Dreadful interior though.

Lada Niva 1.6. I always liked the look of these but wasn t prepared for just how good they are both off road and on road. The original Russian tyres are not great on road but on Cossack 15 inch alloys these handle really quite well on road as well as being able to beat far more expensive stuff off road. I've had several of these. Great cars.

Peugeot 305. Took one in part ex in around 2001, when these were really crap looking and unfashionable. It owed me nothing and I was going to take diesel engine out and weigh it in but I was surprised just how nicely it drove. Good handling, comfy and economical. I kept it for a while until the mot ran out.

I'll add to this list if any more spring to mind

[AutoshiteBoy]

1976 TR7 Auto.

I'm one of those people who think that all classic cars drive shit, but this one, unfettled and original, drove astonishingly well.

[Drum]

Maestro 1.3
Reliable and refined. Made the allegro feel ancient. Handled well too.

[skattrd]

I was also surprised by a Maestro, 1.6 auto.
I bought it off the beige for £100 or something daft, and it was surprisingly not crap. This was the one I ended up loaning to Vulg/Angyl and I think he also didn't hate it.

Daihatsu Mira classic.
My first kei and probably the best I've had. I bought it as I was working locally and wanted something small and economical to run around in. It was smol, economical but so much more fun than I was expecting. The 660cc turbo engine was a riot (except on the motorway). I ended up owning 3 other Mira/Curoe kei cars.

[cros]

Volvo 240 with those railway sleeper bumpers. I used to deliver cars for a lease company when they were current and being lambasted by Car magazine. By the standards of the late 1970s they were good, just a bit ungainly looking. Seats were particularly comfortable and at normal speeds they rode and handled fine- they just felt better all round than the Fiat 132s and Wedgies which were the alternatives on offer in this category. The Fiat had the novelty of 5 gears but tacky build, sad to say the O series Princesses were universally loathed.

[CLINT]

Maestro 1.3
Reliable and refined. Made the allegro feel ancient. Handled well too.

Yes I forgot to add Maestros to my list. I've had several. Took them in part exchange so cheaply they owed me nothing. Surprisingly good cars. Always sorry looking heaps with rusty arches and saggy headlining but not bad to drive. Wheelarches were a great shape too, designed to neatly accommodate a sanding block.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

1976 TR7 Auto.

I'm one of those people who think that all classic cars drive shit, but this one, unfettled and original, drove astonishingly well.

A good TR7 drives much better than the old TR6 bores would like to admit.

[quietside]

Golf IV 4Motion.

Proof you can gild a turd and make it half convincing. Did 85% of what my Impreza can do with about 50% more refinement.
Why anyone bought those blaring cunt chariot R32s I've no idea. The 4Motion looks like a specced up diesel.

[Junkman]

Ford Granada MKII 2.8i, 1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic with the 350/350 and 2.41/1, Peugeot 405 2.0 Auto.
Range Rover P38 4.6 HSE. Thought it would be worse than the Classic because newer, but it's better by a country mile. Not so much a device to get from A to B, more like a wellness spa on wheels.

[Sri05]

Panda 100hp. Brilliant wee motor, apart from costing me around 8 million pounds in fixing things. One of those cars were you felt you were ragging the tits off it but a glance at the speedo revealed you were doing 40mph.