What's the top speed of your car? And, what's the fastest you've ever gone in it

[RobbieL2415]

1st car, 1995 Buick Lesabre Limited, top @108mph, fastest I drove, around 95 mph

2nd car, 2005 Chevy Malibu Classic (fleet version of previous gen), top @ 117mph, fastest I drove around 100mph)

3rd car, 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT1, top @127mph, fastest I drove around 105mph


4th car, 2009 Ford Focus SES 5MT, top @112mph, fastest I drove around 95mph

5th and current car: 2003 Saab 9-3 2.0T 6MT, top @ 146mph, fastest I've driven so far is about 100mph.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm told my Scat Pack Challenger will top 170 MPH (apparently it is 176 MPH).  I've had it up to 115 MPH out in the middle of nowhere.  The fastest I ever drove a car was 138 MPH in 2010 Clamato SS.  The SS 5th Generation Camaro was electronically limited to 155 MPH. 

[doorknob60]

My 2012 Forester, I'm not sure exactly the top speed, but one source I found says 114 MPH. I hit 105 MPH once. Didn't feel like it had much more left lol, so I'd believe 114.

[1995hoo]

For my 2004 Acura TL, the top speed is governed at either 147 mph or 152 mph, depending on which car magazine's statistics you accept. I've never taken it above 110 mph, and even that was probably 14 years ago (a sustained run at 100—110 mph such that when I had to slow down to 80, I felt like I was crawling).

My 1988 RX-7 convertible supposedly tops out at 125 mph (I don't know whether that's with the top up or down). I hit 100 mph for a few minutes one time (with the top down) and haven't had much desire to go that fast in that car again.

[ce929wax]

I got my 2005 Kia Rio up to 110 once.  I'm not sure about it's top speed.  My brother's Ford Ranger, which I am about to buy, i'm not sure of its top speed, but the fastest I will probably ever drive it is 80-85 on the highway.

[allniter89]

My 2000 LaSabre speedometer tops out at 140, I've done 100.

[oscar]

My former car, a 1996 BMW 328i, was governed to around 130 mph. I drove that fast (speedo said 136, but corrected for speedometer error down to 130).

My current 2008 Prius won't go nearly that fast, though I pushed it over 90 mph on a western Interstate. Al Gore's son supposedly was busted for doing 99 mph in a rental Prius, so I'll go with that as an estimate of its top speed.

My other current car, a 2018 Subaru Forester, supposedly will go over 120 mph, but I've never tried to push it that hard.

I might've pushed a 1986 Honda Prelude I owned for about a year over 100 mph.

My other cars were slow (especially my first car, a 1972 Datsun 1200, which might've topped out at 90 mph going downhill), or I just never drove them that fast.

[nexus73]

If we had the driver of the fastest ground vehicle on this forum, the top speed and fastest driven would be the same number: 763 MPH.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_speed_record

Beat that...LOL!

Rick

[Duke87]

My 2009 Focus (two cars ago for me now) topped out at 110.

I have not subsequently tested the top speed of any other vehicles and am not really interested in doing so, given the potential consequences of attempting such things.

My current car (2017 Focus) has legally gone 85 on TX 130 though.

[kphoger]

I don't know how fast my 2006 Nissan Pathfinder goes.  I'm pretty sure I've never had it above 90 mph, maybe not even 85 mph.

Growing up, before I had my own car, I used to drive my mom's 1992 Toyota Camry station wagon, and I had that up to 120 mph several times.  I also used to drive my dad's 1997 Toyota Camry sedan (with a stick), and I found out the scary way that it was governed at about 112 mph.  Pretty frightening to be driving that speed and then *clunk* it gets knocked out of gear.

The cars I've owned–a 1995 Toyota Corolla (stick), a 1987 Toyota Corolla DX (stick), a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder (4WD), and now a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder SE (4WD)... I've never taken any of them up to see how fast they would go.

[tolbs17]

In my 2009 Mercedes ml350, 94 mph. I don't like driving too fast, I don't want to get a ticket!

[formulanone]

I hit 140 back when I had a Lexus GS 300, as Alligator Alley has nothing around to hit on an early Sunday morning. I kept it up for about 2-3 miles, and dropped back. I suspect the speedometer is usually off a bit (5-10 mph) in the upper ranges, which isn't unusual for most cars. Nudged 110-120 in a few other cars, but just to try it out that something I'd do continuously nor frequently.

I've topped out at 100 in my Scion xD just twice in ten years, but haven't felt like going any faster in that little car. The second time was just the result of gradually headed downhill with limited traffic around (and not fully aware of my exact speed). It's a surprisingly calm drive at 85-90, compared to 70-85, but the engine gets a little thrashy and the road noise picks up. I suspect 105-110 might be its geared limits.

[Richard3]

I don't really know the top speed of my 2012 Charger (base model, with the 3,6-litre Pentastar engine), but I hit a bit over 100 MPH a couple of times.  The car can handle it without any problem, and seems like there's still much power on hand.

Here in province of Quebec, since April 1st, 2008, there's a modification in province's law about speeding, so they can seize your car if you go over 160 km/h (about 100 MPH) on a 100 km/h (about 60 MPH) zone.  As I still have payments on my car, I want it in my driveway, so I lift up the foot, now.

I don't know the top speed of my 2006 Durango (Limited edition, with 5,7-litre HEMI V8) either, but as the suspension have to be redone, I keep it under 85 MPH.

But before this change in the law, I was a bit faster with my cars. I remember, in my 20s, my friends had Chevelles that hit 120 MPH, and I was jealous because my Olds Cutlass didn't get faster than 110, even with its 350 Rocket V8 engine.

As time goes by, things changes. In my youth, we would take a highway, and put the hammer down easily.  Nowadays, it's more difficult; even in the middle of the night, there's much vehicles on the road, so it's almost impossible to hold fast speeds safely, as there's somebody can hit the left lane at 65 MPH without looking at his mirrors. So what can you do if you arrive at, let's say 100 MPH?  You have no choice than step on the brakes, and pray!  If you believe in something, as well.

[kphoger]

I had a roommate back when I lived in the Chicago area who wanted to see how fast he could take his VW Jetta one afternoon.  He got it up to 100 mph in traffic on the inbound Eisenhower!  Then he decided he should slow it back down, lest he get a ticket.  This is a guy who drives in fifth gear in city traffic, knocking it into neutral and coasting whenever a stoplight a half-mile away turned red.  Couldn't believe it.

[Finrod]

My old 1995 Grand Am had a speedometer that went to 120; I got it up to 112mph on a flat straight country road where you could see any other cars 3 miles away, and it wouldn't go any faster than that, so I'm presuming it was limited to that.  In its top gear, 100mph was about 3000 RPM and the redline was 6000 RPM.

[ftballfan]

In my 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee, I briefly hit 83 mph today along I-96 westbound near Walker.

I never remember going much faster than that in my previous cars (1985 Oldsmobile 98, 1996 Buick Park Avenue, 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee). I may have hit 90 once or twice in either the Park Avenue or the 2014 Jeep. There are some roads near here that I could probably hit 100 on in good conditions, but I generally set cruise at around 60-62 (on 55 mph roads), 68-72 (on 65 mph roads), 74-78 (on 70 mph roads), or 77-81 (on 75 mph roads)

[ozarkman417]

Most people my age claim to only have gone 55-70 mph, while my top speed was 85 mph in my Dad's Toyota Highlander. I suppose the low speeds have to do with the whole required parental supervision part of the Learner's Permit.
The top speed number I found for that car was 112mph. 

[csw]

I've hit 100 in my 2004 Pontiac Vibe twice. I'd guess the top speed is about 90 - everything gets pretty rattle-y after that.

[kphoger]

Most people my age claim to only have gone 55-70 mph, while my top speed was 85 mph in my Dad's Toyota Highlander. I suppose the low speeds have to do with the whole required parental supervision part of the Learner's Permit.
The top speed number I found for that car was 112mph. 

I've gone 85 mph legally.

112 mph is interesting, because that's precisely where I found my dad's Camry was governed.

[SectorZ]

The fastest I've ever driven is 117 MPH (two different cars), and not since 2003. One of those was a V6 Ford Tempo with a 3 speed automatic, one of the rare cars that hits its max speed due to redlining instead of drag or a governor.

My current car I think maxes out around 125 MPH or so. To be honest, the fastest I've driven it is about 82 MPH or so (on I-95 and its 75 MPH speed limit in Maine). I try not to beat on cars like I used to.

[ET21]

140, I've done 95.

Fastest ever was in my friend's older Elantra, 140 there and I got up to 117. Her newer one goes up to 160 but max I've done is 100 so far

[Truvelo]

My Mondeo with its diesel engine has a top speed of 136mph but I've only done 120 in it. Thankfully Germany is only a six hour drive from here

[Thing 342]

My A5 has a top speed of 150, but I've never had the courage to get it above 85 or so thanks to VA's semi-notorious speeding laws.

Fastest that I've ever driven in a car is about 91 heading downhill in my old Honda Accord.

[J N Winkler]

I don't have information on governors or pre-programmed top speeds for any vehicles I have owned.  I suspect that most would struggle to go beyond 120 MPH due to aerodynamic drag.  Probably the fastest I have ever driven is 102 MPH in my 1994 Saturn during an overtaking maneuver on US 400 east of Augusta.  I later verified this using GPS logging since I was too busy white-knuckling to watch the speedometer closely.

I do not think I have brought any vehicle I have owned close to redline.  Although I occasionally accelerate with a lead foot, episodes of sustained high RPM tend to be associated with hill descents in lower gear.

[D-Dey65]

The standard 2002 Toyota Camry speedometer goes to 140 mph (amazing how many Japanese speedometers in the US have been faster than American ones since the 1980's), and I brought it to 100 just to see if I could do it. I've done the same thing with a 1997 Toyota Corolla I had in the past. One other time I brought a 1999 Honda Accord to 90 mph, in order to chase somebody in a pickup truck and utility trailer who dropped some items from his trailer. '99 Accords have 140 on the speedometer too.