I am by no means the world's best driver, but I do have enough ability to make a fairly well informed judgement on the relative handling differences between different cars.
For example, I can immediately notice how much the heavy diesel engine affects the balance of a mk4 Golf compared to its petrol sister when I drive our two, and how although the petrol GTI is more than capable of entertaining me on a good road, it isn't a patch on a Focus, or even a Peugeot 306 from 1995.
I quickly learned to appreciate, and enjoy the quick, well weighted steering and beautiful, slightly tail happy balance of the Pugs when I had them, and marvelled (and still do) at how Peugeot managed to achieve taut, beautifully controlled body movement in conjunction with a supple, compliant ride and low road noise levels. For sheer fun and feel, the old Pug has, in my opinion, everything ever made in that class licked, including its supposed conqueror where affordable drivers cars were concerned, the Focus. The Focus is a great car, but somehow just lacks that last little bit of damping finesse and suppleness of the Pug.
I get intensely frustrated by the numbness of modern PAS, and the ever increasing isolation between driver and mechanical bits. I don't like electronics that can't be switched off (ABS aside).
I appreciate the way a BMW seems to pivot around the driver, and the way you get the sense of sitting well behind the front wheels, which are slung as far forward in the chassis as possible. That is a piece of marketing spiel which isn't nonsense. I love the way BMWs handle.
My one RTA in 18 years of driving was a non-faulter on a dead straight piece of road, and within the speed limit. When I do engage in beyond limit silliness, I pick my times and places carefully. The frequency of this has decreased massively in the last few years. I blame the cars I drive now, neither of which seem to appreciate a grab by the balls driving style. The Pug, and to a slightly lesser extent, the Focus used to absolutely love it.
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