What has been the best handling car you've owned?

[cerb4.5lee]

I've not owned any genuinely very highly regarded handling cars...but I'd say that the best one handling wise(ignoring the kerbweight) I've had was the E92 M3.

What was/is yours?

[cerb4.5lee]

Good to see the Puma getting a few mentions. I was booked in for a test drive in one when they first came out...but sadly something came up and I couldn't make it. I'm still very fond of them.

Edited by cerb4.5lee on Thursday 2nd April 19:25

[cerb4.5lee]

Bonefish Blues said:

Clio Trophy

I've not driven one but I've been a passenger in one, and it definitely felt like the best handling car I'd been in.

[cerb4.5lee]

Heaveho said:

Evo 8. Still got it after all these years.

In terms of a car that I haven't owned but I have driven...the Evo 8 is easily the best for me. It made me feel like I was an absolute driving god for sure(I'm not!).

I've really enjoyed reading all the replies thanks.

[cerb4.5lee]

MrGTI6 said:

As you can probably tell from my username, it's got to be the 306 GTI-6 for me. Saxo VTS (same as 106 GTI) comes a close second, just ahead of the Puma 1.7.

The 306 GTI-6 has been a car that I've lusted after for many years since it first came out. I recall reading a review of it back in 1996(I think) in performance car magazine...and I've wanted one ever since.

[cerb4.5lee]

magpie215 said:

Probably my 1990 Celica GT4 comfy cabin for long journeys and seemed to handle A and B roads with ease.....one car I do miss.

I remember having some fun with one of these once in my S14a 200SX, it was wet and I got left for dead by it. I was too busy fighting wheelspin coming off a roundabout...and the GT4 just sailed off into the distance.

It made me realise how handy having 4wd can be in tricky conditions for sure.

[cerb4.5lee]

biggbn said:

pti said:

mk1 Ford Ka.

Honestly.

Clio 172 was pretty handy as well.

Voted mk1 ka earlier, a wonderful thing to punt, spiritual successor of mk1 mini for me. I owned several lowly ka and a StreetKa and they were an absolute hoot.

The mk1 Ford Ka really impressed me too when I had a go in one(a mate of mine had one).

[cerb4.5lee]

Riskins said:

In order of preference from having owned all over the years;

1. Integra Type R - DC2
2. Integra Type R - DC5
3 Clio Williams 1
4 Peugeot 205 GTi
5 S2000

The DC2 was slightly more alert and on its toes compared to the DC5 variant, but all good fun cars.

Williams was a bit of a handful and caught me out on a roundabout in the wet with lift off oversteer - x2 new wheels, full front n/s suspension, partial rear suspension and a £4k bill and all was well again.....

That is a great collection of very good handling cars.

I think of all of those(apart from the S2000 perhaps) as being very good handling cars for sure(sadly I've not driven any of them though).

[cerb4.5lee]

What I've enjoyed from reading the thread is that quite a few cars that are very highly regarded as good handling cars in reviews/magazines/videos...have been backed up by people on here with actual ownership experience with them.

Sometimes cars can get a little over hyped in the motoring world(magazines etc) and it has been good to read about the ones that are universally praised(handling wise)...and they have lived up to the expectation of what has been said about them.

Take the Ford Puma for example and the magazines loved it and it was very highly regarded on the Top Gear programme as well...plus the owners of them love it too.

[cerb4.5lee]

white_goodman said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've not owned any genuinely very highly regarded handling cars...but I'd say that the best one handling wise(ignoring the kerbweight) I've had was the E92 M3.

What was/is yours?

Didn't you have an S14 200SX? Not the most exciting looking of its contemporaries but widely regarded as the sweetest handling cheapish, 2+2 sports coupe in the 90s?

Yes I did and the reviews weren't bad for it at all to be fair. Some say that it can be a little spiky in the wet but I never had an issue with it. It was a brilliant fun car as well(actually my personal favourite of all the cars I've had for fun).

I don't think that many would naturally think of it as being a great handling car though, but I do recall Jeremy Clarkson liking it quite a bit though if I remember correctly.

[cerb4.5lee]

biggbn said:

cerb4.5lee said:

white_goodman said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've not owned any genuinely very highly regarded handling cars...but I'd say that the best one handling wise(ignoring the kerbweight) I've had was the E92 M3.

What was/is yours?

Didn't you have an S14 200SX? Not the most exciting looking of its contemporaries but widely regarded as the sweetest handling cheapish, 2+2 sports coupe in the 90s?

Yes I did and the reviews weren't bad for it at all to be fair. Some say that it can be a little spiky in the wet but I never had an issue with it. It was a brilliant fun car as well(actually my personal favourite of all the cars I've had for fun).

I don't think that many would naturally think of it as being a great handling car though, but I do recall Jeremy Clarkson liking it quite a bit though if I remember correctly.

I had a 200sx Silvia import, about 140hp with an lsd as I recall, absolute hoot of a car!!

They certainly love to oversteer that is for sure! I used to fight with mine at times in the wet and the dry!

Mine was only fettled to 250bhp(decatted/full stainless exhaust/filter/colder plugs/adjustable actuator with the boost wound up from 10psi to 15psi). I absolutely loved the 4 years/40k miles I had with it for sure.

[cerb4.5lee]

biggbn said:

cerb4.5lee said:

biggbn said:

cerb4.5lee said:

white_goodman said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've not owned any genuinely very highly regarded handling cars...but I'd say that the best one handling wise(ignoring the kerbweight) I've had was the E92 M3.

What was/is yours?

Didn't you have an S14 200SX? Not the most exciting looking of its contemporaries but widely regarded as the sweetest handling cheapish, 2+2 sports coupe in the 90s?

Yes I did and the reviews weren't bad for it at all to be fair. Some say that it can be a little spiky in the wet but I never had an issue with it. It was a brilliant fun car as well(actually my personal favourite of all the cars I've had for fun).

I don't think that many would naturally think of it as being a great handling car though, but I do recall Jeremy Clarkson liking it quite a bit though if I remember correctly.

I had a 200sx Silvia import, about 140hp with an lsd as I recall, absolute hoot of a car!!

They certainly love to oversteer that is for sure! I used to fight with mine at times in the wet and the dry!

Mine was only fettled to 250bhp(decatted/full stainless exhaust/filter/colder plugs/adjustable actuator with the boost wound up from 10psi to 15psi). I absolutely loved the 4 years/40k miles I had with it for sure.

Must be something about Nissan. I had a 300zx twin turbo and it was pretty epic in the dry but if there was any moisture in the air it would try and kill you. But. It would give you plenty of warning!!

Very nice and I absolutely love those.

My 370Z can get a bit lively if you get a little bit too excited with it as well... especially when the conditions aren't ideal!

[cerb4.5lee]

biggbn said:

cerb4.5lee said:

biggbn said:

cerb4.5lee said:

biggbn said:

cerb4.5lee said:

white_goodman said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've not owned any genuinely very highly regarded handling cars...but I'd say that the best one handling wise(ignoring the kerbweight) I've had was the E92 M3.

What was/is yours?

Didn't you have an S14 200SX? Not the most exciting looking of its contemporaries but widely regarded as the sweetest handling cheapish, 2+2 sports coupe in the 90s?

Yes I did and the reviews weren't bad for it at all to be fair. Some say that it can be a little spiky in the wet but I never had an issue with it. It was a brilliant fun car as well(actually my personal favourite of all the cars I've had for fun).

I don't think that many would naturally think of it as being a great handling car though, but I do recall Jeremy Clarkson liking it quite a bit though if I remember correctly.

I had a 200sx Silvia import, about 140hp with an lsd as I recall, absolute hoot of a car!!

They certainly love to oversteer that is for sure! I used to fight with mine at times in the wet and the dry!

Mine was only fettled to 250bhp(decatted/full stainless exhaust/filter/colder plugs/adjustable actuator with the boost wound up from 10psi to 15psi). I absolutely loved the 4 years/40k miles I had with it for sure.

Must be something about Nissan. I had a 300zx twin turbo and it was pretty epic in the dry but if there was any moisture in the air it would try and kill you. But. It would give you plenty of warning!!

Very nice and I absolutely love those.

My 370Z can get a bit lively if you get a little bit too excited with it as well... especially when the conditions aren't ideal!

I am just finishing my teacher training at the grand Old age of 50 and have promised myself a 370z nismo in a couple of years when I'm finally making a regular wage

Nice one.

I love the extra exterior details on the Nismo and I also love the Recaro seats.

[cerb4.5lee]

s m said:

white_goodman said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've not owned any genuinely very highly regarded handling cars...but I'd say that the best one handling wise(ignoring the kerbweight) I've had was the E92 M3.

What was/is yours?

Didn't you have an S14 200SX? Not the most exciting looking of its contemporaries but widely regarded as the sweetest handling cheapish, 2+2 sports coupe in the 90s?

Well, as the OP of the thread Lee, here’s the car from your forum name at the 1997 Autocar day to cheer you up
It didn’t ‘win’ ....but you might like to read about it....and the Puma you could afford as a current day cheapie

Thanks very much for that s m and I really appreciate it.

[cerb4.5lee]

AC43 said:

Mine were pretty well balanced I thought. Reminded me of the (rwd) GTV. A bit understeery at lower speeds (unless provoked...) but increasingly balanced the harder you went. I leant on mine in high speed sweepers very hard indeed. It just felt more and more planted the faster you went and the more you fed through the back. Pretty trick rear suspension for the day.

The only thing that niggled was the steering - I thought it was a bit low geared.

I made my second one a bit more hoon-tastic. Lowered, stiffened, poly bushed. I can see why drifters liked them so much.

I got used to the steering in mine, but when my mate used to let me have some fun in his stage 1 Sapphire Cosworth I occasionally got sliding that a bit wrong at low speeds...because I didn't adjust to the slightly different steering in that.

When my friends were following me(at fairly high speed) they did say that the rear end would bounce around quite a bit(I never really felt it that much from behind the wheel though). So I can appreciate what a few choice handling mods would do to improve them.

I'd love another one and I've always had a lot of praise for them, and they are very well liked in the drifting scene for sure as you say.

[cerb4.5lee]

s m said:

I'm very surprised to see my old Cerbera lapping quicker than the Honda NSX...because they are very well regarded as being a very good handling car for sure.

[cerb4.5lee]

F1BHP said:

This is true however only half a second and all of that and more would have been on the straits so not really a true handling challenge.
Saying that the Cerbera was a great handling car just not very reliable or well made.

Yes and I found the Cerbera to be pretty predictable and fairly easy to control at low speeds...however it had a habit of occasionally wanting to punt you off the road without warning at high speeds though. So for me it isn't that great regards handling, whereas the NSX is regarded very highly universally from what I've read in comparison.

[cerb4.5lee]

Shnozz said:

AC43 said:

And (at the time) lusting after the R19 16V or 309 GTI that filled the hole that the 33 didn't really replace when the Sud died.

I am still hunting for my elusive dream car - Phase 1 R19 16v. Having never driven one, I hope its not a case of never meeting your heroes..

I drove a Phase 1 R19 16v for a friend on a test drive(which he then purchased) and I loved it. The steering was one of the best I'd used and I found the engine to be really sweet too. I've been a big fan of them for a long time and I don't think that you will be disappointed with it.

I really liked the shape as well. Good memories.

[cerb4.5lee]

s m said:

The one I’d really like to try from that time is the one that won pretty much every group test it was in at the time ......the Fiat Tipo 16v

Not common now

I always enjoyed reading the group tests with those in them, and as you say they were always very highly regarded.

[cerb4.5lee]

Shnozz said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Shnozz said:

AC43 said:

And (at the time) lusting after the R19 16V or 309 GTI that filled the hole that the 33 didn't really replace when the Sud died.

I am still hunting for my elusive dream car - Phase 1 R19 16v. Having never driven one, I hope its not a case of never meeting your heroes..

I drove a Phase 1 R19 16v for a friend on a test drive(which he then purchased) and I loved it. The steering was one of the best I'd used and I found the engine to be really sweet too. I've been a big fan of them for a long time and I don't think that you will be disappointed with it.

I really liked the shape as well. Good memories.

Thanks for that - encouraging! There are surprisingly few video reviews but this looks fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsYO9Sqe4eQ&fe...

No worries.

They are great fun for sure...and I remember getting a telling off from the salesman for driving it too fast!

I was just checking that it was up to scratch! My mate kept it for a few years(it was a grey one) and he loved it too.