What are the best handling front wheel drive cars ever?
Discussion
hammerwerfer said:
Williams Clio has to be up there ( or are we putting that in the same bracket as the 172/182 )
Can't lump that in with the 172. Whole different kettle of fish and made the Rganotti feel like a tank! I owned both, and loved them, and the handling was surprisingly comparable!
I have the Williams and its a fantastic car, i am really having a hard time deciding what car to buy to replace thats just as much fun
CombeMarshal said:No it doesn't.
The Citroen Xantia Activa, 2.0 litre Turbo engine with proper active suspension
Yes it does
It has "active" roll control on the anti-roll bars, although this is technically still only semi-active, since it still uses conventional bars.
It's a good system from what I gather, but it still isn't "active suspension" in the true sense of the phrase.
Best ones that I've driven are (in no particular order):-
Citroen Saxo VTR (and therefore, also the VTS): Loads of feel through the steering, responsive, lack of bodyroll, decent amount of grip, quite exciting. Like driving a go-kart.
Ford Puma: This is one very silly little car. It just seems to grip forever. No understeer, no oversteer, just point it where you want it and squirt the throttle.
Renault Clio 182: My current car. Drives a lot like the Saxo, but feels heavier, not quite as much feel through the steering, but plenty of grip, responsive steering, and just overall great fun on the limit.
VW Golf Mk2 GTI: A great car for enjoying handling thrills at a more sensible limit. Loads of feel, good weight through the steering (unlike any PAS assisted car I've used), and generally safe and composed (unless you lift off mid-bend), a very connected driving experience.
I havent driven many of the cars in this thread, but out of the ones i've driven, these are the best.
Citroen Saxo VTR (and therefore, also the VTS): Loads of feel through the steering, responsive, lack of bodyroll, decent amount of grip, quite exciting. Like driving a go-kart.
Ford Puma: This is one very silly little car. It just seems to grip forever. No understeer, no oversteer, just point it where you want it and squirt the throttle.
Renault Clio 182: My current car. Drives a lot like the Saxo, but feels heavier, not quite as much feel through the steering, but plenty of grip, responsive steering, and just overall great fun on the limit.
VW Golf Mk2 GTI: A great car for enjoying handling thrills at a more sensible limit. Loads of feel, good weight through the steering (unlike any PAS assisted car I've used), and generally safe and composed (unless you lift off mid-bend), a very connected driving experience.
I havent driven many of the cars in this thread, but out of the ones i've driven, these are the best.
Frik said:
The Citroen Xantia Activa, 2.0 litre Turbo engine with proper active suspension
Yes it does
It has "active" roll control on the anti-roll bars, although this is technically still only semi-active, since it still uses conventional bars.
It's a good system from what I gather, but it still isn't "active suspension" in the true sense of the phrase.
Yeah, but it does this buy working out steering speed and angle, throttle position, speed and several other measurments, thus is active rather than pasive, I can see what you mean by being semi active (unlike F1 cars that had every corner programed into the ecu before it even got to the track!) but it still keeps body roll to within .5 of a degree which us meer mortals are unable to detect!
On the down side, when I did a solo the Eagle F1's let it down as the side walls failed, but my new low profiles have sorted that!!!
thegreatsoprendo said:
Lotus Elan (the 'new' version from the early 90's) is also highly regarded, but haven't driven one myself.
I owned the M100 Elan SE (‘90s model, with the 1.6 litre turbo charged Isuzu engine) for a few years. Its handling was absolutely incredible, especially bearing in mind that it didn’t have any of the VSC/TC nannies that we have in modern cars. More than once I thought I was heading for a ditch only to have the amazing front suspension pull me back onto line under power. If I could afford to buy one again, alongside my GT86, I would. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff