Interesting to note that Jalopnik just did a big thing on the Joys of Driving Slow and the Joys of Driving Quickly...
On Feel
Given the cars I've driven, feel for me is generally more about the connection to the car than the actual performance that it gives back. When you have a physical, or more importantly, emotional connection to a vehicle, feel goes beyond anything that can be easily explained. Although I have not spoken of the car in some time, my old Fox was a prime example of a car that I knew and understood, and continues to be one of the most feel-filled cars I've ever driven. In that case, that may have been more about it being my first car... Or just as much a part of it being a poorly built Brazillian import. No power steering, a gearbox and clutch only I could work, and a chassis that was vague until it screamed the answers at you... It was my car, and only I could understand it.
Having driven far more vehicles sense then, especially after my shopping endeavors two years ago, its more about balance for me. My Jetta was a wonderful car, a gentle urban runabout most of the time, entertaining enough when out on the country roads when it needed to be. Going from that to my Celica was like night and day. You sense almost everything in the car, for better or worse. But the car isn't brutal, and I can still drive it easily at a slow speed, enjoying the drive along the way. Or, I can turn it up to 8/10ths and have a bit of fun while I scare my friends. With the Celica, I can get in a fully understand what its telling me.
Comparing it to my most-recent new drive, my brother's '92 Firebird, the Celica is practically like an F1 car. In the Pontiac, the steering is vague and somewhat terrifying when you put the power down. Throw in the brakes that go less when you want to and more when they maybe care to slow the vehicle, and wow, you start to worry. The Pontiac is fun to drive... But for an entirely different reason than what my Celica is. In that case, its the lack of feel and the overall unpredictability that makes it an interesting car. Now that my brother has had it for a while, I'm sure that if he got into my Toyota, he'd hate it. Everything is too low, too heavy, too direct to be what he would want to play with.
...So, perhaps not the best answer. At least to me, if I can walk up to a car and sense the energy coming off of it, we're at a good starting point.
