2009 Nissan GT-R: Driving a Fast Car Slowly

That's why lesser cars are so great - you can get thrills, engine growl, and an involving experience every day for cheap. I'm a huge fan of Nissan, but I will never dream of a car like this. A v8 Mustang, or Impreza WRX probably offer more entertainment at 60 mph than this supercar.

I completely agree Ed. I would find it very frustrating owning a car like the GT-R, as I could only tap a fraction of the car's potential. I find that to be the case even with my WRX, but not to that degree as I would with a GT-R.

There's something to be said for small (and underpowered) sports cars. You can go balls-out, and still not risk a ticket—and have fun doing it. :)

It's why my favourite sports car is the Miata. It's a joy to drive at speeds that can be done on the road.

This is so true. Most fun car I've driven was my '83 GTI, you could drive it extremely hard, no tickets! Even an WRX or a Mustang GT will quickly get your points up when driven that way.

There was a good line written by another publication a few years ago describing what it is like driving the Z06 (and cars like it): "Driving the Z06 on public streets is like taxiing an F-16."

Bottom line: you really need to take these cars to the track or road course to see what they can do - you only get a small picture of what they can do on the street. It's a waste of money and the car to own one of these and not take it to the track. It's the most fun you can have with your pants on.

That is a nice thing about this section, you get thoughts on how a car is in day to day use. I've always wondered about some of the numbers that cars achieve and just how useful they would be in daily life.
Unless you are racing every Civic you see away from all the stop lights they just seem a bit ridiculous.
Am I saying that they shouldn't make cars like that? No I'm not!
Do I think that many of them are useless on the street unless you are planning on risking jail time and or killing someone? Yes.
Are they a great weekend car to take to the track? YES!

I've referenced this one before but here is a great little article:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20080205/FREE/750278998
For me it puts great driving in perspective.
I've seen plenty of people on the road that I'm sure thought they were great drivers but they were just idiots with high horsepower cars and little respect for others safety or lives.

The best cars are those that are fun to drive at the speed limit and under. I have to agree with firstwagon that the Miata is probably at the top of that list.

I'd have a Miata today, if I fit...6'5"...

I'm with you, texases.

I'm 6'4" and love it, except whenever I see my 5'7" friend in his Miata having a blast. He let me drive it once and I peered over the windshield as I drove. It was a blast, though. Like when you're a kid and wanted one of those little electric toy cars in full scale... almost.

I'm not a safety nazi, but seriously, shouldn't you be getting your jollies on a track in the GT-R? It's like complaining that you can't go around shooting whatever you want with your favorite gun.

Felonius, the GT-R is more like a BMW M-car than a road-legal race car. It's a superfast luxury coupe (though by 'luxury' I'm talking about the 3-series' range of luxury, like the Skyline/G35 it used to be based on). So it has to be good on the road too.

I think much of it has to do with the powerband. I'm not entirely certain about the GT-R, but I know I have to get my car above 4K before the fun starts and it isn't outright giddy until I'm pegging 9K.

That attracts a great deal of attention down Main St.