C&D: "The Best Handling Car In America"

[Zeus69]

** SPOILER ALERT **

Just FYI. Got the issue in the mail today...

Final rankings:

7) Volkswagen GTI
6) Chevrolet Corvette Z06
5) Nissan GT-R
4) BMW M3 (E92 with 18s)
3) Mazda RX-8 R3
2) Lotus Elise SC
1) Porsche Boxster Spyder

Summary for BMW:
(+): Stable, confidence-inspiring, rides extremely well, comfortable seats
(-): Mass compromises agility, steering is light and lacks tactility, persistent understeer
Verdict: The most well-rounded player here but only midpack in this company

[Crazy Bimmer]

C&D always has our back.

[ersin]

Cool. I'm surprised the Lotus and Porsche were down at the bottom.


Cheers.

[Lagunae92]

Originally Posted by ersin

Cool. I'm surprised the Lotus and Porsche were down at the bottom.


Cheers.

or the top?

[toper]

Originally Posted by Lagunae92

or the top?

[Technic]

I'm not surprised at all about the GTI or the RX-8 handling rankings... I owned a '07 GTI and it was the best FWD car that I ever driven, and test drove a 2005 RX-8 when new and it handled better than any of my M3 past or present (E46 and E90).

I see that still it is...

[JCtx]

The list is in REVERSE order folks .

[ChinoOrtega]

I don't think it's a valid comparison, there should be sub categories, price range, sports cars-daily drivers- GT's, exotics, AWD-FWD-RWD, there's too many cars left out

[FStop7]

They're saying the M3 handles better than the GTR and Z06?

Come on. Anyone who's spent 5 minutes in those three cars knows better than this.

And where is the GT3 on that list?

[piloto]

Originally Posted by Technic

I owned a '07 GTI and it was the best FWD car

I remember seeing your car on vwvortex. IIRC, you put in some nice, cream or tan colored upholstery. Was very unique, in a good way.

[piloto]

Originally Posted by FStop7

They're saying the M3 handles better than the GTR and Z06?

Come on. Anyone who's spent 5 minutes in those three cars knows better than this.

And where is the GT3 on that list?

Seriously. I don't pay much attention to C&D reviews, or the others, for these reasons. The're pointless and often very inaccurate.

[Serious]

Originally Posted by FStop7

They're saying the M3 handles better than the GTR and Z06?

Come on. Anyone who's spent 5 minutes in those three cars knows better than this.

And where is the GT3 on that list?

handling has nothing to do with grip or laptimes.

Originally Posted by stingray23

I have first hand experience since I own an M3 and a Z06 and there is ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON. The Z06 is a WAY BETTER handler. I love the M3, but I bought it for other reasons.

I've had time in both, the z06 is way too twitchy and skittish at the back end.

It is one of the least confidence inspiring cars i have driven; exhilarating yes... confidence inspiring no.

[330CIZHP]

Not taking any sides here.

Cough! E93 443 lbs Cough!

Originally Posted by stingray23

^^^what model year did you drive? if it was an 06 Z06, the shocks have since been changed from the factory and are MUCH better and way more stable in turns. I feel WAY more confident pushing the Z06 through corners then I do the M3.

[Serious]

Originally Posted by stingray23

^^^what model year did you drive? if it was an 06 Z06, the shocks have since been changed from the factory and are MUCH better and way more stable in turns. I feel WAY more confident pushing the Z06 through corners then I do the M3.

I don't remember probably an 06 or 07. I just remember the combination of big power and the back end moving around a bit being quite attention grabbing.

The car is insanely fast both through the corners and in a straight line but in my opinion I think the m3 coupe is a better handler.

[Zeus69]

The article was pretty exhaustive as to explaining the methods by which they came up with the final rankings (I haven't finished reading it yet). There was a price cap of $100K in this comparison...

[TailHappyM3]

Originally Posted by stingray23

I have first hand experience since I own an M3 and a Z06 and there is ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON. The Z06 is a WAY BETTER handler. I love the M3, but I bought it for other reasons.

But it is not better than a GT3 according to most auto pundits (I've owned one plus driven the Z06 many times) so I am curious why it's not near the top of that list let alone at least on this short list?

[e1000]

Originally Posted by Azorean

But it is not better than a GT3 according to most auto pundits (I've owned one plus driven the Z06 many times) so I am curious why it's not near the top of that list let alone at least on this short list?

There was a price cap. GT3 is over.

[TailHappyM3]

Originally Posted by e1000

There was a price cap. GT3 is over.

Understand now. Thanks.

[graider]

Originally Posted by FStop7

They're saying the M3 handles better than the GTR and Z06?

Come on. Anyone who's spent 5 minutes in those three cars knows better than this.

And where is the GT3 on that list?

lol, yeah, i wonder this too.
actually, how exactly do you rate a car is good handling or not. is it base on how confident it is through fast corner, body roll, etc?

[FStop7]

Originally Posted by Serious

handling has nothing to do with grip or laptimes.



I've had time in both, the z06 is way too twitchy and skittish at the back end.

It is one of the least confidence inspiring cars i have driven; exhilarating yes... confidence inspiring no.

The GTR destroys the M3 in every performance metric, it's just the way it is. Like I said, 5 minutes is all it takes to make that clear.

[serge]

Originally Posted by stingray23

I have first hand experience since I own an M3 and a Z06 and there is ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON. The Z06 is a WAY BETTER handler. I love the M3, but I bought it for other reasons.

We are talking E90/92, not the 4,145 lb E93.

[ooowowizstev]

I foresee a long debate.