For clarification, I’m not talking about cars that you knew were great or terrible before you drove them. I’m referring more to cars that you anticipated would be great but turned out to be disappointing, or cars that you initially had low expectations of but genuinely surprised you.
As an example, I was quite let down when I test-drove the Acura TLX Type S. I was cross-shopping it with the Kia Stinger GT2 at the time. On paper, it looked great, but when I got behind the wheel, the motor felt weaker than its claimed 350hp, and the transmission seemed confused.
On the flip side, I had the opportunity to drive a friend’s Challenger RT. Despite everything I had heard about them being underpowered, outdated, slow, and heavy, the experience was different. The low-end torque provided a ton of fun, the sound was amazing, and the interior was spacious and comfy. While it wasn’t going to win any drag races or excel on backroads, it turned out to be a comfortable cruiser with a fun motor that wasn’t dangerous to drive and could easily be a daily driver.
My dad owned a 2017 Tacoma TRD Off-road. That thing rode like a pogo stick and felt anemic despite it being a V6. It felt more like a 4-cylinder. The interior space was cramped and the seats were hard with terrible seating position. It felt solid, but drove like it came straight out of the 80’s. I know it’s an off road oriented truck, but I expected it to be a bit better in the execution of the design
My brother has a 2022 Maverick EcoBoost that my father and I drove cross country to deliver to him. It’s a cheap car so I didn’t have very high expectations. But it rides and drives surprisingly solid. The seats were comfortable. And while the interior doesn’t have any soft touch plastics, it felt very well put together for what it is. No squeaks when I pushed on any of the interior trim. The backseat felt too upright, and I have no faith in the long term reliability of the EcoBoost, but I think a hybrid Maverick would be the ideal starter car for a teen or college student