Why Is Driving Fun?

I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to say that most of you reading this probably enjoy driving. That’s the obvious bent of this website. I personally think a twisty mountain road with no one in front of you is about as close to heaven as you can get — while being on that same twisty mountain road stuck behind a Prius going five below the speed limit would be the exact opposite. I personally enjoy the feeling that the car is a mechanical extension of myself, allowing me to move in a way that no human has been able to — until very recently. When you take that extension of your body and perform admirably with it on those mountain roads, it’s sublime.

But many people find the act of driving to be a complete chore, a misery to be endured or even a deadly necessity that they have to deal with. I found myself in a conversation with someone who simply did not understand how any aspect of driving could be considered fun, and it kind of blew my mind. He didn’t understand what could make a car fun to drive, because he never had fun in a car before. To him, acceleration was uncomfortable and a necessary evil, the idea of paying attention to the nuances of the road seemed entirely stressful, and a curvy, technical road was like playing Russian roulette. No matter how I explained my love for driving, he just didn’t understand. The act of having fun while driving didn’t exist within his world view, and I don’t think it ever will.

So why do you enjoy the act of driving? Is it the freedom of the open road or the variety of sensations you’re in control of? Or is it just the fact that you’re behind the wheel of a big machine? Seriously, let me know below in the comments. Find a car for sale

9 COMMENTS

Javier Morante August 5, 2017 At 9:17 am

In my case I live in a very road dangerous little country,the driving skill level is very demanding and roads are in terrible condition as part of the treat…but even with all those factors the beauty of driving is that you always find or feel something on the road,the performance of the car,the beauty of the mountains or beaches a freaking cow or just a funny thing that you spot on the trip,driving make us feel stuff and I love it,reminds me that we live in a beautiful little planet,so get out there and keep driving fellas 😉

Vic Ch August 3, 2017 At 4:33 pm

The fact that I can downshift, engine go wroom, feel the acceleration from the seat pushing against my back and pass a slow prius makes me giggle.

I also enjoy long road trips, watch the landscape change from desert to grass to forest, the clouds coming in and going away. An added bonus is looking out for interesting cars on the road

PrestonGollmer August 3, 2017 At 12:52 pm

I have no clue for as long as I can remember I have loved cars and when I was able to start driving them a few years back it was awesome. It just has a relaxing affect.

Matthew Cochrane August 3, 2017 At 12:43 pm

People who see driving as a chore and are as frightened of the experience as the person you were talking to NEED self-driving cars for OUR sake. Honestly if the required skill level was more similar to those in Europe we’d probably eliminate half of these people from the driving pool and make the roads much safer and easier to enjoy for those of us who do enjoy driving.

We used to take road trips as a family, once or twice a year, so that helped even though I used to just sit in the back seat playing gameboy most of the time, looking up to see the sights. I always enjoyed my hotwheels as a tyke, dreamed of driving ASAP, rode my bicycle a lot, and generally had a predisposition to tearing things apart and understanding them. So I guess I had all the right components to love the mechanical boxes we call cars, but others might not care about any of these things.

As stupid as it sounds, your enjoyment of the bad times has a lot to do with your enjoyment of driving overall. My most memorable times on a motorcycle were losing my footing after taking a jump on a dirt bike and holding on for dear life, or getting blown so hard by wind in Montana that my pegs were almost dragging on the highway going straight, or nearly freezing in Kansas during an all day stretch of rain, or having my wrist get zapped every 10-20 seconds riding through a dust storm for a few hours in Utah where my wrist was the closest thing to a ground point and having the internal debate of ‘should I get a light zap every 10 seconds, or try to separate my hand further from the bar-end and get a big zap every 30-60 seconds’.

Enjoying hitting apexes is fun and all, or hitting a new hyper-miling best, or doing 1000 miles in a day on a motorcycle, but your ability to look back fondly on the bad times is more important.