These Are Your Favorite Types Of Driving

Earlier this week I asked you to share your favorite types of driving, and the results turned out a bit different than I anticipated. I expected to get tons of comments from folks raving about the joys of driving like a hooligan on public roads, or perhaps even attending track days, but I suppose you’re all a lot more grown-up than I would’ve guessed. There were lots of people saying their favorite type of driving is safe driving, or even being paid to drive; I thought this question would bring out the hooligans, but maybe they’re too busy terrorizing cyclists in the canyons to answer. Regardless, there were still plenty of great answers, but if you may have missed the chance to share your favorite type of driving, head down to the comments section and join the fun.

I said my favorite type of driving is Baja-style driving, since I was fresh off a weekend with a Ford Bronco Raptor press car where I spent about eight hours slinging it around dusty trails and taking jumps that actually unlocked a memory of feeling the same feeling when I’d take jump my bike as a kid. It’s just so dang fun! I rarely stopped grinning the entire time, but when I did stop it was to let out a maniacal belly laugh. If you ever get the chance to hoon a Raptor product in the desert, do yourself a favor and just say yes. Anywho, these are a few of your favorite types of driving! 

I don’t know what’s happened to me…but this question is putting me into an existential crisis.

In my teens and early 20s, my friend group and I could be found most weekend nights tearing up, down, and around the mountains. Those spirited mountain drives were my happy place.

I still covet those vehicles…light, nimble, and direct handling with just enough power to keep things interesting. But the last time I went out for a spirited drive I just felt…bad. I was worried about smoking a cyclist, scaring an oncoming car (even though I NEVER cross the yellow line), or how expensive an accident might be.

So if I’m being honest, I think my favorite type of driving now is cruising with my family. I still want to be in a car I enjoy, but I enjoy the idea of it as much if not more than actually using it to drive fast. Cruising to a C&C for my kids to ogle the cool cars (or feel cool when people ogle ours), and making it home safely without a ticket seems like a win.

Submitted by: SantaCruzin

Rally driving, only because it incorporates drifting, too. I vividly remember sitting on the floor watching tv and coming across WRC on Speedvision. All I said was, “I want to do THAT.” Being poor in North Florida, my parents had no idea how to accommodate that. Its still on the bucket list though.

Submitted by: Marcus C

Long distance travel in low traffic conditions with low humidity and temps in the 45-70 degree range in any car with a V8 turning at a low rpm with easy listening music playing. Night driving like this was my favorite but the LED lights pointed 6 feet from the ground have ruined that experience. I try to avoid driving at night completely for this reason.

Submitted by: Tex

Rally driving. I’ve been taking classes periodically at Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire off and on for about 13 years. Pictured below from my 5-day course. I’ve also been working on a Fiat 500 Abarth stage rally project for about 5 years with the goal of competing in the ARA. Have met some great people through attending events as a photographer!

Submitted by: StalePhish

I used to do dealer swaps in college.

Some were banal, Camry swaps between dealers 30 miles apart. But every once in a while you got fun deliveries or swaps and you got to wheel Cadillac Escalade EXT for 3 glorious highway miles playing the music loudly, or a Porsche 911 lease return down the Merrit or Sawmill on your way back to NJ.

So I would say, solo or buddy miles that you’re getting paid for in someone else’s car.

Submitted by: potbellyjoe

Safe. I like to get to where I want to go with my car only experiencing normal wear and tear. I do enjoy tracking some facility’s rental car.

Submitted by: Cluck

It sometimes feels second class, but autox is where it’s at. It’s relatively cheap and not that hard on cars. Sure, you only get up to 60 or so, but it feels like a million miles an hour. When you screw up, it’s 2 seconds or at worst, a DNF. You learn so much and have a lot of fun and meet some really cool people.

Submitted by: Clay Horste

I could spend a vacation on empty roads, in a forest, with rolling hills and tight corners. Years ago, I did the Car and Driver “Hockingham Ring” in the Hocking Hills of SE Ohio and it was an absolute blast to drive. Something like an MX-5 was invented for a course like that. There’s just something so uplifting, so energizing, just so much fun hitting a hilly corner just right, with the scream of the engine echoing off of some rock faces and trees, and a smile plastered of your face. Maybe you can kick the tail out a little bit, get a touch of oversteer to raise the heartrate a little bit, maybe hit the next corner a little quicker. As long as there isn’t slow traffic in front of you, enjoy life with the top down, engine up near redline, and at least a weekend to spend out in the middle of nowhere, reminding yourself why we like driving in the first place and how much fun even a lightweight car with under 200hp can provide.

Submitted by: Xavier96

Driving a slow car fast. That’s probably why we all recognize the dreaded Nissan swerving through traffic.

Submitted by: engineerthefuture

STi in an empty parking lot covered with snow.

Submitted by: Minivanman