Most of the people taking the course were relative track novices, so I ended up passing all but 2 cars in a 20-minute session (and lapping one), on a 2.2-mile track with only one passing zone. What really surprised me is how approachable the car is. Y'all may remember that my track car is a ~200hp E36, and while I have driven some faster hardware on track (E46 M3, E36 M3 with Euro S50, modded 135i), I have never really pushed a 526-hp, 3800-lb car around. I was prepared to be intimidated, but really the thing goes around a road course like a much lighter vehicle. Yes, it will get unruly quickly if you are rough with the throttle, and power oversteer is always a toe press away, but it is not frightening and feels very well contained within the chassis. Great balance, better than expected feedback through the wheel, and of course phenomenal noises.
Unfortunately, my other rental car is AWFUL. It's a late-model Nissan Altima that manages to combine that rare trifect of having no soul, being ugly, and being uncomfortable/ unpleasant. I'm okay with some cars being boring, but they need to make up for it by being very effortless to live with. The materials are unpleasant to touch, the engine note is a pathetic moan that is oddly intrusive, and the gauge info displays are difficult to read. It wouldn't recognize steering feel even if an E36 M3 was making love to it.
It has one feature that impressed me: I had the (comfort access) key in a bag, which I absent-mindedly tossed in the trunk. When I went to shut the lid, it refused to latch. The thing knew the key was in the trunk and didn't let me shut it in (even though there is an electronic button on the trunklid that could have let me re-open it. Oh, one other good feature that every car should have (and most do, but my GT350 does not): it actually has an interior handle to pull the trunk lid shut without touching the paint. It is nice to see that on a penny-pinching, relatively downmarket car.
Tomorrow, I'll be driving the FPRS Mustang GT; it's a normal 5.0 with track springs and dampers, running the GT competition pack, and lightened with roll cage and seats/ harnesses. A bit slower than the GT350, but should still be plenty of fun (and apparently they are a bit more tail-happy with less sophisticated TC).
tammer
That is great, I'll have to borrow that one. You sir, are a poet.