By Tadhg Leonard
Sometimes it’s the guilty pleasures in life that keep us going. The little things we know we shouldn’t like but do. There are a number of cars that we hate to love, they will do nothing to improve our pulling power and if seen driving them we would most likely be shunned by our mates to a life in social wilderness with no one to talk to but our ever-loyal mothers.
We all have more of these pleasures than we are willing to admit to. Tell someone that your favourite car is a finely tuned Bugatti Veyron or an Aston Martin DB9 and you’ll be greeted by slow appreciative nods. Reveal that you covet 1970s Skodas, however, and you’ll be met by awkward silence then a quick change of subject (to be fair, rightly so).
Toyota Starlet GT Turbo
In my case, the guilty indulgence that makes it to the No.1 spot comes from the realm of the boy racer: the Toyota Starlet GT Turbo. Every ounce of sense in me tells me that I shouldn’t like this car but its charms are irresistible. This mighty sprite packs a 1.3 litre turbocharged engine delivering 136 bhp to the front wheels. With a 0-60 time of sub 7 seconds (thanks to its low weight of 860kgs) the GT Turbo is the definition of a pocket rocket.
It’s hard not to love the GT, it delivers a real bang for your buck and looks good too. Unfortunately this car’s appeal has been diminished by a boy racer image and an oversupply of poorly modified marks to the market. It seems the GT’s legacy will be like the proverbial fat girl, great to drive just don’t get seen in one.
BMW Mini Cooper
Second up to the plate is the BMW Mini Cooper, not exactly the most masculine car that you can drive but a thrill nonetheless. The problem is that each time I see one I expect it to be driven by a gorgeous blonde with big hair, big shades and fake tan. Not exactly the kind of car a man can pull off driving daily.
The Mini Cooper comes standard as a 1.6 litre, the four cylinder engine offers 122 bhp but its pleasure isn’t in its power or delivery, it’s how it corners that makes this car special. Handling has always been the strength of the Mini and the new models are no exception. The sensation of heading into a corner knowing you should have stepped on the brakes 20 yards ago, feeling the front end dig in gripping the road as I turn and then holding on for dear life is guaranteed to put a smile on my face every time.
The ubiquitous white van
There are more than three on my list, as there probably are on yours, but for now the last guilty pleasure that I’m willing to admit to is van driving. No particular make or model, any van will do from a caddy to a transit to a transporter. They all have the same characteristic; size. Though a van will have presence on the road it certainly won’t have performance, handling or be the best in the looks department but for dominance and brutality a van can’t be beaten.
We have all experienced drivers who sit happily in the fast lane doing 60kph without a care in the world as to how late you are now going to be. This is a rare occasion when driving a van is areal plus. The magnetism and size of the machine can’t be ignored and the closer it gets to the offending driver the more of their mirrors it fills. It’s only a matter of time before nerves kick in or they get sense and pull into the left lane leaving a clear road ahead until the next Miss Daisy.
Do you have a guilty motoring pleasure? Let us know what, and why, at [email protected] putting ‘guilty’ in the subject line.
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