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A car that is an all season car, with excellent handling under all road conditions. A car that I can rely on, to drive along the coast in Colorado one day, and a couple of days later, be able to navigate safely in snow and dangerous driving conditions in Montana. It is going to be an all wheel drive for safety under all road conditions.
I'll admit that as one person here said recently that most American car buyers don't care for handling as they do for crash safety, mpg, reliability, and utility. However, one could argue that handling plays a role in safety.
I am interested in what handling means to you.
Given these properties, how would you place these in order of importance
Acceleration
Braking
Cornering
Ride feel
Top speed
For me, personally:
1)Cornering
2)Braking
3)Ride feel
4)Acceleration
5)Top Speed
I'm a city driver, and cars with good weight balance are what I look for.
I like small cars that are highly maneuverable and have maximized responsiveness. I drive a Chevy Sonic, and in it I can make a full U-turn in the middle of a single-lane road without having to back up or reposition myself. I move my steering wheel ever so slightly in a direction, my car is moving in that direction. Extreme sensitivity is the most important part of a car's handling to me.
I have to drive a Ford F-350 or a Chevy Suburban for work occasionally, and those things just feel so big an unwieldy, I hate driving them. Give me my little Sonic any day.
Acceleration
Braking
Cornering
Ride feel
Top speed
I do not consider acceleration or top speed part of handling, to me they are part of performance. Ride feel to me is part of luxury or comfort - a different consideration than handling. I also consider braking separately. To me handling includes cornering, traction/grip, recovery, control, and shock absorbing (not for comfort, but ability to absorb shocks without damage or losing control).
Although acceleration and top speed make for more fun, they are rarely of much use unless the vehicle is deficient in these regards. Most better vehicles have more than sufficient acceleration and top speeds and almost no one will use either to its full advantage, not even in pursuit/evasion driving. Handling, by my definitions becomes important on some rare occasions and with larger vehicles can become a critical issue. For that reason, I am inordinately fond of the Cadillac CTS-V. The handling is unparallelled for a vehicle of that size/weight (acceleration is fun too). Center of gravity and ground clearance can also become factors in handling. You do not want a vehicle that tends to turn over on a hard turn, nor do you want a vechile with 3" of ground clearance if you are driving on the potholed roads of Northern states in the USA. I also factor drive systems and tyres, including the ability to reduce hydroplaning and sliding in water or snow/ice.
Often two other factors become more important for our uses. Capacity to carry lots of people and/or equipment, and comfort. Comfort is often paramount. Once you sit all day or night in an uncomfortable vehicle, you suddenly become less concerned about about its ability to accelerate or corner. It is very very rare that I have wanted to push any vehicle beond its capability to accelerate, corner or achieve a top speed. I have yet to drive a vehicle unable to achieve 160 KP{H (about 100 MPH), I have have never needed or desired to travel at any faster speed except on a designated course during training exercises (or just for fun).
Somtimes large vehicles like the surburbans exhibit limitations on handling, but it is not likely you will be using such a vehicle in situations were you have a need for superior handling, and with that type of vehicle, one can always use sidewalks, lawns, or fields for extra cornering space in a pinch (assuming they are vacant).
First, all vehicles handle different based on intended use. A sports car could probably be considered the fastest through a road course. A luxury sedan will have a smooth ride. A 4x4's ride will be dependent on it's ability too goo off road. A motorhome, bus, big rig will handle different.
Each person will choose what they think is best for them, or have a little of each. Some like a little of both and will get a crossover. IE: The Jeep was a utility vehicle (UV), and in the 50's were adapted from mail trucks to ditch diggers to tarmac support vehicles. Today, we have SUV's that can cross from 4x4 to a luxury car. Too drive an old American brand big tuna boat as it floats down the road with big block power is a joy, but it is just different from others that was very appealing in its time. Sometimes handling can be used as an excuse for being underpowered as in "it's not fast, but it handles". A drag car may be perceived as a vehicle that doesn't handle, but in reality is an engineering marvel to keep it straight, and direct a downward force through design of the suspension too maximize traction. Handling is specific to its application of use. Otherwise, garbage truck drivers would use luxury cars?
I place handling, as in emergency avoidance and at least doubling ramp speeds on the expressways, followed by braking both in corners and a straight line. Next comes acceleration with the 40 to 75 speed range being more important than off the line. Then come comfort and appearance. I figure any car can eventually, even the wife's '65 VW Beetle, can break the speed limit if you are patient enough.
Nice analogy, but I would say it is more like the cheap wine in the box...
I think his point is that drinking good wine just to get drunk would be a waste. If your only reason for drinking is to get drunk, cheap wine in the box makes perfect sense.
I'll admit that as one person here said recently that most American car buyers don't care for handling as they do for crash safety, mpg, reliability, and utility. However, one could argue that handling plays a role in safety.
I am interested in what handling means to you.
Given these properties, how would you place these in order of importance
Acceleration
Braking
Cornering
Ride feel
Top speed
For me, personally:
1)Cornering
2)Braking
3)Ride feel
4)Acceleration
5)Top Speed
I'm a city driver, and cars with good weight balance are what I look for.
on the road
1)Acceleration= because i like the roller coaster feeling
2)Braking= if a car has fast acceleration it has to stop too.
3)Handling= fast cars need to easy to read at the limit.
4)Ride Feel= again, good damping is crucial when it comes to reading the cars reaction to bumps etc
5)Top Speed= i never go near the top speed, there is no point.
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