What was your first experience test driving?

Originally Posted by OldGuy

Test drives, usually with a salesman at your side, in a car you don't want to abuse because someone else eventually will buy it, don't fully let you get to know any given car. I didn't detect the road noise I heard after purchase and I was too distracted with so many other observations in the car (and being careful to not damage a strange and very expensive car) to fully evaluate the quality of the ride (harshness). But I was smitten with the car and "felt good" behind the wheel and was sold. I'm glad I bought but a half hour sample drive preliminary to years of ownership is like one evening with a potential spouse compared to the decades of marriage that follow---neither reveal most of the bad or most of the good.