Cars with best steering wheel feedback
Discussion
I havnt passed my car test yet, having failed a few times then passing my bike test, gone through a few different instructors as it was a year or so between the next training and test.
I have driven 4-5 different cars and have found something interesting.
cars like the derv focus has absolutally no steering wheel feel to it and is far to light, found it pretty difficult to drive as such as I couldnt tell which way the wheels were pointing.
the 207 I drove on my lessons had brilliant steering wheel feel and could always tell where the wheel were and what way they were pointing just from the feedback from the steering wheel.
so what other cars have good steering wheel feedback, can be anything but smaller engines would be a bonus as i would be considering them as a first car when I pass.
I have driven 4-5 different cars and have found something interesting.
cars like the derv focus has absolutally no steering wheel feel to it and is far to light, found it pretty difficult to drive as such as I couldnt tell which way the wheels were pointing.
the 207 I drove on my lessons had brilliant steering wheel feel and could always tell where the wheel were and what way they were pointing just from the feedback from the steering wheel.
so what other cars have good steering wheel feedback, can be anything but smaller engines would be a bonus as i would be considering them as a first car when I pass.
Slink said:
the 207 I drove on my lessons had brilliant steering wheel feel and could always tell where the wheel were and what way they were pointing just from the feedback from the steering wheel.
Really? 207's in standard form I found pretty damned dreadful the last time I had a spin in one!Slink said:
the 207 I drove on my lessons had brilliant steering wheel feel and could always tell where the wheel were and what way they were pointing just from the feedback from the steering wheel.
When people talk about steering feel I don't think they are talking about feeling which way the wheels are pointing. That's basic stuff...
There's all sorts of aspects to steering feel. You can have a setup that's well weighted and precise without actually giving you any idea of what's going on at the tyres. Sadly that's all too common these days.
Without boring you about slip angles and the like, perhaps the most important signal you can get from a steering system is a lightening of the weight as the wheels start to lose grip. Personally I can forgive almost any other evils in a steering system if this element works well. The '90s TVRs, for example, aren't exactly the last word in steering precision, but they tend to run bags of castor angle, which gives you lots of information about the remaining level of grip.
The best I've come across? Probably a quick-rack Caterham on the track or perhaps an S1 Elise for the road.
Without boring you about slip angles and the like, perhaps the most important signal you can get from a steering system is a lightening of the weight as the wheels start to lose grip. Personally I can forgive almost any other evils in a steering system if this element works well. The '90s TVRs, for example, aren't exactly the last word in steering precision, but they tend to run bags of castor angle, which gives you lots of information about the remaining level of grip.
The best I've come across? Probably a quick-rack Caterham on the track or perhaps an S1 Elise for the road.
The modern foci(sp) from Mk2.5 on have electric steering and have the ability for the driver to select three modes of steering control, Comfort, Sport and Standard.
I find mine to be particularly nice, having driven a MK2 Mondeo for many moons before, the Focus steering is light, precise and feels accurate no mater how fast you're going.
I find mine to be particularly nice, having driven a MK2 Mondeo for many moons before, the Focus steering is light, precise and feels accurate no mater how fast you're going.
A complete granny car, but the Ford Fusion has surprisingly good feedback, some (but not as much as you'd expect) bodyroll, low limits, but you can find them easily and safely. Compared to a Fiesta sportvan of the same age the fiesta felt quicker, and probably was, but had some bad handling habits (lift off oversteer) and felt less fluid on the road.
Some of the most driving fun I've had has been in a 1.4 TDCI fusion I used to drive for work. Yes it's slow. But you can drive it HARD all day and it won't complain (One I drove had about 180k on it last time I saw it a year ago, and is still going strong I think. That's despite being abused off road, rode hard and put away wet), and won't try and put you in a ditch either. And it used bugger all fuel. I learned a lot about driving in that car.
Sadly they seem to hold their value quite well. Old pleople must love them. Insurance would likely be dirt cheap though.
I'm sure somebody will be along shortly to tell me I'm full of s
t, and I doubt you'd want to be seen in one, but that's my 2c. Other than that I'd say go for 90's Peugeot / Citroen.
Some of the most driving fun I've had has been in a 1.4 TDCI fusion I used to drive for work. Yes it's slow. But you can drive it HARD all day and it won't complain (One I drove had about 180k on it last time I saw it a year ago, and is still going strong I think. That's despite being abused off road, rode hard and put away wet), and won't try and put you in a ditch either. And it used bugger all fuel. I learned a lot about driving in that car.
Sadly they seem to hold their value quite well. Old pleople must love them. Insurance would likely be dirt cheap though.
I'm sure somebody will be along shortly to tell me I'm full of s
t, and I doubt you'd want to be seen in one, but that's my 2c. Other than that I'd say go for 90's Peugeot / Citroen. Edited by clunkbox on Monday 10th September 12:48
Edited by clunkbox on Monday 10th September 12:49
To answer your question, anything without power-steering will qualify highest.
[rant] I think everyone should experience a car with no power-assisted-steering at a young 'driving age'. The trouble with modern cars is that they are over-assisted, in nearly every application. This means your overall sensation of speed and traction / grip is impaired.
If you put a new driver used to driving modern cars in a non PAS-equipped car from the 90s they would probably think it was broken as they can't steer with their little finger.
Another reason why older cars = better
[rant] I think everyone should experience a car with no power-assisted-steering at a young 'driving age'. The trouble with modern cars is that they are over-assisted, in nearly every application. This means your overall sensation of speed and traction / grip is impaired.
If you put a new driver used to driving modern cars in a non PAS-equipped car from the 90s they would probably think it was broken as they can't steer with their little finger.
Another reason why older cars = better
PhillipM said:
Slink said:
the 207 I drove on my lessons had brilliant steering wheel feel and could always tell where the wheel were and what way they were pointing just from the feedback from the steering wheel.
Really? 207's in standard form I found pretty damned dreadful the last time I had a spin in one!Can I nominate my Accord? 
It truly is sublime! You can feel every little bump and pebble in the road, and you get so much feedback from it. You can tell exactly what the front wheels are doing, and it allows you to go round corners with amazing precision. The Lexus in comparision, while weighty, has almost no feel at all, to be expected of a Lexus I guess?
Ironically, my friend prefers the way his dull as dish water Golf feels. "I don't like the way I can feel the bumps through my hands!" - He isn't much of a petrolhead.
It truly is sublime! You can feel every little bump and pebble in the road, and you get so much feedback from it. You can tell exactly what the front wheels are doing, and it allows you to go round corners with amazing precision. The Lexus in comparision, while weighty, has almost no feel at all, to be expected of a Lexus I guess?
Ironically, my friend prefers the way his dull as dish water Golf feels. "I don't like the way I can feel the bumps through my hands!" - He isn't much of a petrolhead.
PhillipM said:
Slink said:
the 207 I drove on my lessons had brilliant steering wheel feel and could always tell where the wheel were and what way they were pointing just from the feedback from the steering wheel.
Really? 207's in standard form I found pretty damned dreadful the last time I had a spin in one!For those who have driven a 205 or 306 you will know that the 207 is a big pile of rubbish and the only redeeming feature is it was a mild improvement of the 206, another woeful car.
To be honest I find the best era for steering feedback seems to be around the 80s-90s when power steering (if fitted) was often a hydraulic system and still had some weight to it.
Things get worse in 2000s onwards as too manufactures think that lighter steering, over servo'd brakes and accelerators that give you 90% throttle at 45% of the pedal movement are great as it makes people think the car is really responsive....
CrispyMK said:
It's been a while since I've driven one and I was a bit younger but I seem to remember my MG ZR having plenty of steering feel to it. Certainly impressed me when I was 19. It was the 1.4 105+, never found out what the '+' meant.
Now, where did I put my flame suit?
No, you were probably right there. It had narrowish tyres (which helps massively) and MG/Rover were pretty good at chassis tuning. Now, where did I put my flame suit?
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