First car was a 1998 Honda Civic LX sedan. Dark green with a beige interior and lolomatic. Slow as balls but actually handled really, really well due to its low weight and quality suspension setup. It was a fun car and I miss it.
After that I bought a brand new 2005 Mazda3 sedan which was oft described as the BMW of the compact segment. After that was my first BMW, a 2005 325i (E46). Didn't drive significantly different than the Mazda other than being RWD, so I guess they did a pretty good job afterall.
After that I was hooked, but now with the numb steering and softer handling in modern BMWs I'm less hooked than I used to be. Still sorta hooked though
