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In Europe you can add a couple of Alfas, Renaults, and Citroens. I dont have any experience with them, but the Renaultsport Megane 225 is supposedly very, very good.
I've literally driven dozens of FWD cars and the best handling out of them all, I felt, was the Ford Fusion Sport. Feels very planted at speed and corners with ease.
Some of the Alfas are OK, but I find they're a little loose at the rear.
I always preferred the RWD Alfa.
French cars are just understeering machines.
They can handle well, but they take a certain way of driving, you have to get used to them.
The newer ones are much better, but any French car over 5 years old, bah ! forget it !
Never driven a 225 megane, so can't comment on that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merc63
In Europe you can add a couple of Alfas, Renaults, and Citroens. I dont have any experience with them, but the Renaultsport Megane 225 is supposedly very, very good.
French cars are just understeering machines.
They can handle well, but they take a certain way of driving, you have to get used to them.
The newer ones are much better, but any French car over 5 years old, bah ! forget it !
Never driven a 225 megane, so can't comment on that.
Renault Clio Williams was not an understering machine:
And the Renaultsport Meganes are no different, from the 225:
To the R26
And apparently the new Megane 250 is following in that tradition.
Of course, the Citroens are keeping up now, too...
Thankfully, the Renaults and Citroens, while working as good as any other modern cars, have remained funky and French in the best ways.
you've never driven one then ?
Sure, compared to a standard Clio, it handled well, but it took up the gauntlet where the R5 Turbo left off as far as understeering into ditches.
The Turbo's were legendary for it.
Sure, the Williams Clio is fast, but it's chassis is not designed to handle 150 bhp.
It does have uprated suspension and brakes, but the chassis is the weak point.
Yes, your point about the new French cars is valid, as i said in my post, they have certainly got much better, but the old ones are not so great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merc63
Renault Clio Williams was not an understering machine:
Actually, I just thought of another one. i don't know if this ever went on sale in the US ?
The Proton Satria GTi.
Yes, it's a Proton, you may laugh at Malaysian cars, but it was designed in conjunction with Lotus, and it's a fantastic little car. Not the quickest in a straight line, but the roadholding is unbelievable.
This is just my opinion but the 1st Generation (2004-2008) Acura TSX has very balanced handling for a FWD sedan and the steering feel/feedback and on center feel is great
I must admit, I don't like the steering feel on most Japanese cars.
I used to do a little racing, and a LOT of track days, and with the Japanese cars, I found I liked them a lot more with the p/s disconnected. They seemed to give more "feedback".
To be fair tho, I haven't really driven many modern cars, I prefer the oldies. I like a car you're part of, and you can feel, rather than a computer on wheels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vbbryan725
This is just my opinion but the 1st Generation (2004-2008) Acura TSX has very balanced handling for a FWD sedan and the steering feel/feedback and on center feel is great
I've literally driven dozens of FWD cars and the best handling out of them all, I felt, was the Ford Fusion Sport. Feels very planted at speed and corners with ease.
Uhhhh. Are you being serious? If so, you need to get out more often. An Integra Type-R is to the Fusion Sport what a Ferrari 599XX is to a Odyssey.
Uhhhh. Are you being serious? If so, you need to get out more often. An Integra Type-R is to the Fusion Sport what a Ferrari 599XX is to a Odyssey.
Completely serious. Have you driven the new Fusion Sport? I've never driven an Integra Type-R (Or any Japanese FWD car for that matter) so I have no idea how well it handles. If you say it handles great I'll take your word for it.
Well I have two high performance sports cars and plenty of track time over the last decade, I think I know a thing or two about handling. The Fusion is my daily driver. It feels planted at high speeds, corners with ease and has higher limits than than any other FWD car I've owned, which are:
Ford Focus SE
Mercury Cougar Sport
Ford Countor SVT
Ford Taurus SHO (1999 model, not the new one)
I find this discussion to be a paradox however. If someone is looking for a car with great handling, it wouldn't make sense to pick an FWD car. The handling will not even begin to compare to the RWD or AWD sports cars choices available.
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If so, you need to get out more often. An Integra Type-R is to the Fusion Sport what a Ferrari 599XX is to a Odyssey. 
