11th Nov 2011, 12:25

Explore nice aftermarket touring seats, not necessarily race seats. And keep your stock set. The most comfortable seats I ever sat in were aftermarket Corvette Seats at the "Corvettes For Chip" show in West Chester Pa last weekend. One of the vendors had a upscale pair at 6 grand a pair! Maybe you can find something in between. I found some seats thin padding and short, which cuts the circulation in your legs. The worst seats I ever felt were in my son's 2003 Honda Civic EX. I couldn't wait to get out of it on a 30 mile trip.

11th Nov 2011, 14:08

The dealers you don't go back to can only thank you. If you are abusing their products and breaking laws with them under the dealer's insurance, you should be ashamed. If you need to do a race course to find out if a street car is good enough for you, then consider taking the bus for the sake of everyone's safety. It is very irresponsible and unrealistic for you to do this on public roads with vehicles that don't belong to you.

Most dealers won't even let people take cars alone around here anymore, because of people like you that take advantage and abuse their vehicles. Insurance regulations have become strict, and therefore a company representative has to be in their car at all times while it is being driven. After all, who is responsible when you kill someone? Yes, the dealer, as it is their insurance coverage and vehicle. So don't act like they are losing anything if you walk out on them. To lose the sale of one car and avoid potential lawsuits in the $millions would be favorable to ANY dealer I have worked at. Sorry, but you are wrong in this case, and there is no argument for this behavior.

12th Nov 2011, 01:59

I just want to say that I sold cars for years, and have had several people complain about this for all makes I sold; Honda, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, even Mercedes. The restraints being mentioned here are most likely the head restraints, on ALL of the newer cars, that keep your head forced more in an upright, or forward position; this is a safety device meant to keep one from suffering whiplash in the event of collision. This has become a new mandatory safety standard for ALL makes and models. Every single elderly and older generation person, that had not bought a newer car for quite some time, I had, complained about this on cars. Judging a car after 15 miles for minor discomfort because someone is not used to the newer styles of seats is not a very compelling review.

12th Nov 2011, 04:43

10th Nov 2011, 23:07 What I find interesting is that people think they have the right to treat a car in the way you describe (especially a car they don't own), and to drive at 100mph is just plain irresponsible.

I had a guy start beating the heck out of my meticulously maintained and babied Saab 9-3 Convertible on a "test drive" on a private sale with me in the back seat.

I told him to knock it off - and that he was treating MY car in a manner I had never treated it in all of the years I had owned it.

He gave me the same lame excuse - "Well I've got to see it at its limits.."

I replied "not with my car you don't".

He bought the car - but honestly to this day I'm still angry that he treated my car in that manner.

As far as driving any car like that - the next time you take a dealer's car out and drive it at 100mph, I hope there is a big old mean state trooper waiting just around the corner, one with NO sense of humor and who hasn't had his morning coffee yet. In my opinion, if you really and truly drive as you describe, you have no business being on the roads.

12th Nov 2011, 16:38

Accelerating, braking, cornering and getting up to 100mph are ABUSING a car?? Please. Any car that can't take that is obviously not very well built. My 4-cylinder car can sprint to 100 very quickly, and it's actually good for a car to accelerate aggressively occasionally. No wonder so many people end up disappointed with new cars. A 5-minute test drive at 40mph isn't going to tell you anything.

13th Nov 2011, 18:34

I have never been disappointed with a car I have purchased after taking it on a test drive. There is absolutely no reason to break laws with it though, just to prove something to yourself. I make sure to do a thorough test drive on all road types, and drive the car as I would in every day scenario's. Sprinting to 100 mph is hardly something anyone should be doing on public roads. Using that as a measure of how good a car is really tells you nothing. And yes it is abusive to a brand new engine. They don't need as much of a break in as 20 years ago, but sorry, I wouldn't want to buy anything that was redlined and beat for the first 20 or 30 miles of its life.

As an adult you should know better than this, and if you truly are a professional driver, as you've stated before, then be a professional and leave the stunt driving on the track. A daily use street car does not need to be driven like a stunt car EVER! There is no purpose unless your intent is to break the law and put people's lives in danger every time you are behind the wheel. I know I won't change your opinions, but seriously think about how pointless your test drive methods really are. Hopefully you won't learn this lesson on the wrong end of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Time will tell I guess.

14th Nov 2011, 16:45

I think I'd be a bit more in the middle of this "test drive" argument.

I can see what the original commenter is saying by putting the cars he is interested in buying through a test. Knowing the acceleration, handling, and braking characteristics of a car that you plan on driving everyday is important. BUT, let's keep it realistic. 100 MPH sprints are ridiculous.

Whenever I test drive a car, I always take it through many different areas (city, highway, backroads) so I know how it performs in each of these areas. The difference? I test the car within the legal limits. When getting on the highway, I do in fact floor it up the on ramp, but I let off once I hit cruising speed (65-70 MPH.) 100 MPH is a speed that I never travel at, so whether or not my car is capable of it does not matter. But it is important to know how well a car accelerates to highway speeds so you can time merging correctly (you've gotta know if you have the power to get ahead of the car coming towards you, or if you're better off staying back and just falling into place behind it.)

When I'm driving in the city, obviously I do not make any unnecessary sudden maneuvers. Cities are busy. Cars are driving around you everywhere and pedestrians (for some unknown reason) have very little fear of traffic.

I know the backroads very well in my town, and I know the safest spots to put a car through a good road test. This does not mean 100 MPH speeds. I do however usually give the brakes a good stab when I reach a straightaway and there isn't anyone behind me.

Before criticism is thrown my way, I am a certified advanced/professional driver. When test driving a car, my speed never goes higher than 70-75 MPH on the highway, 25-35 MPH in the city, and 35-50 MPH on backroads (you know, the speeds where you will be doing most of your driving?) I fully understand the consequences of driving like a race car driver on public roads (unlike the original commenter it seems.) There are way too many variables on public roads. If you really feel the need to be driving like this, take it to the track, which is a controlled environment meant for this purpose. Testing a ROAD car under track conditions on a public ROAD is pointless.

As for this style of test driving hurting the car? Well, no that's just plain wrong I'm afraid. Driving a car like this ALL THE TIME will hurt it, but a short sprint every now and then will not hurt an engine. In fact, occasional full throttle sprints can be GOOD for a new engine once it begins to reach the end of its break in period. Occasional full throttle sprints can be good for any engine, it helps get things really moving and can help blow out build-up on the valves. Only occasionally though, obviously a road engine will not stand-up to frequent high RPMs.

The suspension and brakes fare the same way in this situations. Emergency maneuvers are going to have to be made when driving, so knowing your car's limits under normal conditions is also important. The brakes will not be harmed unless you are repeatedly making hard, panic stops from high speed. One hard stop is not going to hurt the brakes in any way. In this way, I have to fully agree with the original commenter, in that if a car cannot take these occasional circumstances, it is not very well built (and very unsafe!)