Vehicles Difficult/Challenging to Drive

[Shifting_Gears]

You usually hear this related to supercars. The Porsche Carrera GT sticks out as one that gets that reputation.

What cars (non-supercar) have you owned or driven that you felt were on the edge, require really good driving skills and understanding of performance driving to handle?

I would say any S550 GT is on the lower spectrum of this. The cars are deceptively quick and if you disable traction/stability loss of control can progress very rapidly. These tend to be very snappy cars when the rear does break traction and I think that catches a lot of people off guard because of how smooth and well mannered they are under normal driving.

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[Hack]

I know this isn't what you are asking, but I owned a 1965 Ford 250 pickup. Between the manual transmission and no power steering it wasn't easy to drive. Shifting especially had a learning curve. It had non-power brakes, but the brakes were actually quite good. I did swap out the single pot master cylinder for a dual reservoir and swapped to mid-70s F-250 brakes in it. My 1970 convertible came without power steering or power brakes, and it had drum brakes in the front. On a hot day stopping from 60 mph would leave you with barely any braking capacity left.

I agree with you on the modern Mustangs from a performance aspect, especially if you have summer tires on them and are driving in relatively cold temperatures. When temperatures are under about 40 degrees the car can pretty much overpower the tire traction at any time. It's a little front heavy and it has quite a bit of power. The 2004 Z06 I owned had a better weight balance and it made the vehicle much more predictable and linear as it lost traction. My Fiesta ST also is very predictable and easy to drive when it spins the front tire. Having an open differential means you never completely lose control as only one wheel will spin.

 

[Purerock105]

My 01' SVT-Lightning took some getting used to.

The elevated seat position in a go-fast pick up truck. 4700lbs, but front heavy. Much better suited to go straight. I tracked it once for an SVT event at Sebring. It was a handful.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

I know this isn't what you are asking, but I owned a 1965 Ford 250 pickup. Between the manual transmission and no power steering it wasn't easy to drive. Shifting especially had a learning curve. It had non-power brakes, but the brakes were actually quite good. I did swap out the single pot master cylinder for a dual reservoir and swapped to mid-70s F-250 brakes in it. My 1970 convertible came without power steering or power brakes, and it had drum brakes in the front. On a hot day stopping from 60 mph would leave you with barely any braking capacity left.

I agree with you on the modern Mustangs from a performance aspect, especially if you have summer tires on them and are driving in relatively cold temperatures. When temperatures are under about 40 degrees the car can pretty much overpower the tire traction at any time. It's a little front heavy and it has quite a bit of power. The 2004 Z06 I owned had a better weight balance and it made the vehicle much more predictable and linear as it lost traction. My Fiesta ST also is very predictable and easy to drive when it spins the front tire. Having an open differential means you never completely lose control as only one wheel will spin.

I would say that definitely counts. And drum brakes up front? Yeah, that’s scary. I am not a fan of drum brakes on a car period, much less in all 4 corners haha.

I briefly owned a small pickup with no power steering and my first Jeep I had a massive steering box leak and let the system run dry. THAT was difficult on a vehicle that wasn’t build without power steering. Had Popeye arms after a few weeks of that.

I had a Focus ST prior to the Mustang. I LOVED THAT CAR and it was very predictable. My favorite handling trait was lift throttle oversteer. It blew my mind, but I didn’t ever get into a situation where it didn’t remain controllable. I’m sure your Fiesta ST is even more dialed in. Those are very tight cars.

My 01' SVT-Lightning took some getting used to.

The elevated seat position in a go-fast pick up truck. 4700lbs, but front heavy. Much better suited to go straight. I tracked it once for an SVT event at Sebring. It was a handful.

I can imagine it was a handful. I think the Lightning’s and SRT-10 Ram would be equal handfuls on a track.

 

[nastang87xx]

Honestly, S197's.

 

[Ebm]

Honestly, S197's.

Thanks...

 

[Strokerswild]

I know this isn't what you are asking, but I owned a 1965 Ford 250 pickup. Between the manual transmission and no power steering it wasn't easy to drive. Shifting especially had a learning curve. It had non-power brakes, but the brakes were actually quite good. I did swap out the single pot master cylinder for a dual reservoir and swapped to mid-70s F-250 brakes in it. My 1970 convertible came without power steering or power brakes, and it had drum brakes in the front. On a hot day stopping from 60 mph would leave you with barely any braking capacity left.

This thread, and this post, brought back a memory....

When I first got my learner's permit, my folks had a '72 Dodge 3/4 ton pickup. V8, no power steering, 4-speed manual (super-low first gear, you started in second), non-power 4-wheel drum brakes, vinyl floor. It was the vehicle I drove quite a bit after I got my license and before I got my first vehicle. What a tank. Believe it or not, I actually successfully parallel parked it when practicing the art with my Dad, although I didn't test in it (thank goodness). Talk about a learning experience, made driving anything else seem easy.

 

[Hack]

This thread, and this post, brought back a memory....

When I first got my learner's permit, my folks had a '72 Dodge 3/4 ton pickup. V8, no power steering, 4-speed manual (super-low first gear, you started in second), non-power 4-wheel drum brakes, vinyl floor. It was the vehicle I drove quite a bit after I got my license and before I got my first vehicle. What a tank. Believe it or not, I actually successfully parallel parked it when practicing the art with my Dad, although I didn't test in it (thank goodness). Talk about a learning experience, made driving anything else seem easy.

Ha ha! My '65 Ford was similar. 1st was crazy low. I remember I started out in 3rd by accident once when I was first getting used to it. No problem starting in third gear. I was driving around heard a little whining noise. The transmission had no oil in it! Filled it and it was fine. Everything about that pickup was overbuilt - other than the brake master cylinder.

 

[Interceptor]

Kawasaki 500 triple

 

[Coosawjack]

I never spun it but the guy I sold it to did 3 times........Video attached!!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Kawasaki 500 triple

Oh yeah. When I decided to start riding in '71 I didn't want to start slow and work my way up. So, I bought a new H1. When the dealer heard me say I had never ridden anything but a sears 106cc 4 stroke around the block once, he closed early so the entire staff could follow me and see me die. LoL

I didn't.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Honestly, S197's.

Not all, my 2011 Performance Pack car handled well. I almost passed on a Mustang because the V8s I test drove were so nose heavy and the non-Brembos were so mushy I did not like them at all.

 

[Sivi70980]

My 11 GT500 was fun/terrifying. Also more of a go straight car. Accidentally did an awesome drift on an offramp in Mexico and thought I was gonna die. Car was awesome till driving fast around corners, then it got scary. Another car that required more attention was my 09 Mini Cooper JCW but it was because of the massive precision. That's actually the car that broke me of touching my cell phone when behind the wheel. Off the road, some army vehicles I've been privileged to drive have a learning curve to them. Strykers, several different folklifts, and even drove my first bobcat on a FOB in Afghanistan lol. End result, give me anything with wheels and I'll move it, just give me a few to figure it out lol.

 

[Purerock105]

Oh yeah. When I decided to start riding in '71 I didn't want to start slow and work my way up. So, I bought a new H1. When the dealer heard me say I had never ridden anything but a sears 106cc 4 stroke around the block once, he closed early so the entire staff could follow me and see me die. LoL

I didn't.

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