Cars with best steering wheel feedback

Cars with best steering wheel feedback

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Discussion

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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pretty much a perfect correlation between the width of the front tyre and steering "feedback" tbh. narrow = good (for various complicated engineering reasons that i can't be bothered to explain here!)

PhillipM

6,515 posts

188 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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Max_Torque said:
pretty much a perfect correlation between the width of the front tyre and steering "feedback" tbh. narrow = good (for various complicated engineering reasons that i can't be bothered to explain here!)
One of the reasons Lotus got it so right with the Elise!

GTIAlex

1,935 posts

165 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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mini

fridaypassion

8,506 posts

227 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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Elise/vx220 has to be the ultimate.

Clio 172 was a good powered setup and ford are quite good at steering.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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I'm surprised people are saying pas is the killer. steering feedback encompasses suspension, tyres, tyre pressure, size of wheel and where the engine is over the front axle.

I've had a few cars without pas that were st and others with that were good. it also depends on power through the wheels too.

good to me, golf gti mk2, pas, audi a4 3.0 ps pretty st..et

PhillipM

6,515 posts

188 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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Problem is 99.9% of power steering systems out there require there to be some slop built into the shuttle to allow the torque sensing for the ram to occur, so generally anything with power steering (with one or two exceptions perhaps) is worse than the equivelant without.
The ram itself adds considerable damping too.

Urban Sports

11,321 posts

202 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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Of the cars I've driven.

S1 Elise
MK1 MX5
MK2 MX5
Peugeot 306 GTI6
BMW E46

I've driven an awful lot of more modern and expensive cars, I suppose they don't make them like they used to wink

Although my E90 3 Series was pretty good, and my Z4M isn't bad but is a touch heavy which numbs it a bit IMO.

Edited by Urban Sports on Wednesday 12th September 19:43

LotusOmega375D

7,582 posts

152 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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Not much good to the OP but Impreza 22B. You can feel every ant you crush through the steering wheel. Those zany jap engineers even put a sticker in the rear window, to let other people know about the quick rack.

Noesph

1,148 posts

148 months

Wednesday 12th September 2012
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Chris71 said:
Forgot to add, one of the best FWD steering systems I've come across was on this:


...And it would be pretty insurable for a new driver. That particular one is the car I learnt to drive on. Felt surprisingly 205-like as it happens.
+1, don't forget the 106 is the same car.

a_bread

721 posts

184 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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To me the best was the mk1 MR2...so sharp and gokart-like.

NLB said:
Out of modern (-ish) "ordinary" cars, my ST220 is really very good - better, to my taste than the 530 Sport it replaced, despite being front drive...
I replaced my 330ci sport with an ST220 and feel the same way about the Ford's advantages. As you say, FWD doesn't get in the way of steering feel. I prefer the ST's engine too (more sporty noise and little bit more get up and go for picking up speed between corners as long as you're in the right gear) which probably helps with the sensations when chucking it around...

boothy1987

223 posts

139 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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Kia Picanto

Slink

Original Poster:

2,947 posts

171 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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wow at the couple of people saying that I shouldnt be on the road if i failed a couple of times.
Ill give one reason why I failed, basically forgot that a road went from 50 to 40 an the 40 sign was round a corner, so by the time I had slowed I was past the sign.

you obviously have never ever broken the speedlimit or made a mistake in your driving. rolleyes


scarble

5,277 posts

156 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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Slink said:
you obviously have never ever made a mistake in your driving. rolleyes
nope.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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Good luck with your test, OP, but don't rush to form opinions about cars, as at present your experience is quite limited.

Gooly

965 posts

147 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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NateWM said:
Can I nominate my Accord? hehe

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. biggrin
I really disagree, I've driven a sixth gen accord (around some nice b-roads and around town) and whilst the steering wasn't bad it wasn't that special either; a bit too light, very numb around the centre and not enough feedback; quite alot of bump steer as well. Didn't like it's position in relation to the seat either, even after adjusting it. It's certainly better than alot of other cars but I wouldn't rave about it, and compared to the equivelant mondeo/3er it's slightly sub-par.

Jimmy No Hands

5,008 posts

155 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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My 944 is brilliant for steering feel. Then again the Clio 200 isn't bad either!

brianjohns

52 posts

140 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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Jimmy No Hands said:
My 944 is brilliant for steering feel. Then again the Clio 200 isn't bad either!
Note to Porsche: Please bring back the a modern 944, a small front engine car to slide about in.

Probably too simple a design brief for them. Ok instead how about a twin diesel engined panamera with rear wheel steer and a double decker two floor configuration, now thats Posche these days. b

Special K

893 posts

158 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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DanielJames said:
BMW E46 in my opinion.

Mine was a sport if that makes a difference

Can only imagine what the M3 would be like.

Not only excellent feedback, but the wheel was lovely soft touch leather too
Go and drive an Elise / Caterham. You have a blinkered outlook on steering feel if that's your best opinion ? The E46 M3 didn't have the best feel anyway !

OldSpeed

230 posts

179 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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I'm possibly setting myself up for a flaming here but in terms off communication through the wheel, nothing I have driven beats my classic Beetle. And it has a steering box!

My Porsche 924 was quite pointy and generally felt nice but was too heavy at low speeds. Mk2 Golf GTI hydraulic power steering felt sure footed to me compared to modern electromechanical systems I have experienced.

delusional

82 posts

197 months

Friday 14th September 2012
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renrut said:
nottyash said:
renrut said:
nottyash said:
renrut said:
MR2 mk1. Amazing. I'd imagine an Elise would be very similar but better.

I miss mine frown
I reckon the mk3 was slightly better, even with electric power steering. It's about as close to a go kart as I have owned.
Have you had both in good condition? i.e. not 20yr old worn out suspension? I fully restored all the suspension on my mk1 and once done it was a world apart from any other car I've driven. Genuine question as mk1s are starting to get pricey but a nice mk3 might be a good (i.e. less rusty) alternative when I'm back in the market.
Yes I have. Don't get me wrong the MK1 is a fantastic handling car.
Sounds like a possible future car for me then. Thanks. :-)
I've had a string of MK1s (all pretty sorted) and my old man had really nice MK3 that I spent a lot of time in.

My take on the difference definitely isn't as clear cut as one of other being better, they both are fantastic cars that each excel in different ways.

As this is a thread about steering feel I should probably start with that. The PAS seems to make the crucial difference here, in the mk3 you are always completely aware of what the car is doing and are certainly never at a loss for information from the wheel, but when it wasn't letting you know about something important the wheel was happy to stay fairly quiet. By contrast the mk1's steering is the life of the party, chattering away at you about every element of the road, commenting on each track and sinew. Either one would qualify for having great steering feel, but for my money the mk1 feels just a fraction more special. It really is a close thing though.

Then there's the handling to consider - the main difference here is how forgiving the chassis is. In the mk1 you definitely know you're in a mid-engined car, there's that distinct knife-edge feel as you thread a road. It's an exhilarating experience using all that steering feel to balance the car right at the edge of grip, with a strong insinuation of the car wanting to bite if you step over. In contrast to the mk1's sharp edges the mk3 feels quite malleable at the limit, over steer is signalled and corrected before you even think about it. Everything about the mk3 feels a bit more playful and accessible - I've never taken either car on the track, but I'd imagine if you did the mk3 would be a lot easier to hooligan around sideways.

Funnily enough, thinking back it seems that with the MR2 you really can judge the car by it's styling. The MK1's sharp edges and mini-Ferrari styling quite nicely reflect the hints of something rather special on the road and the precise driving style it asks for; the MK3 looks far more rounded and playful, almost toy like, which is clearly reflected in the softer handling and tuned back feel.

Both are fantastic cars. For my money, and all else being equal, I'd pick the MK1 every time. However, with the way prices are going on both of them at the moment it would be hard to ignore the greater reliability of the newer MK3 for potentially less money.