http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...ing/index.html

Motor Trend searches for the best handling car of 2008.

Some pretty interesting results...
especially the Chevy Cobalt SS's time compared to the Evo X MR's.
He comments how the EVO X MR's handling is "better" yet the time run is .002 seconds faster.
Like before, I still think that handling "feel" does not achieve a better handling result. I would have liked to see how the GSR would have done, but aren't the two cars about 50/50 on magazine tests for producing track times anyway?

 

I just don't see how it's possible for the evo to not murder a Cobalt on this course.

 

Agreed. MR or not, I was a little disappointed with the results

 

some one can explain to how the GT-R is 2 place down from the RX-8 and 3 place down from the BMW M3?
And how the Evo X is better in this test when they tested already against the Viper ACR, and the viper literally killed the X every segment in the test including autoX?
not to mention the almost full race set up viper with r compound etc. is just one step a head the Mini?

this guys had a hell of the party before this test for sure.


I have more question though , but i do hate sponsored test's...

 

They're just subjective ratings for how the handling "feels"

 

The MR did fine considering the competition. It beat the cars it should have, but didn't have much of a chance against the others.

And, I'm not sure the GSR would have yielded better results. The MR is a better set up for track duty.

Don't sleep on the new Cobalt though. It put up a rather impressive 8:22:85 time around the Nurburgring. Having a manual tranny with NLS standard is a big advantage. The name on the trunk is Cobalt and the badge on the front is Chevy, but it's definitely no slouch for $23k.

 

It's no doubt that an X requires nowhere near as much skill to wring out decent performance as, say, an ACR Viper does.

Look at me, I can overdrive the shizz out of the car and still turn in ok times. If I overdrove a Cobalt SS or an ACR Viper, I would be all over the place.

Hero car... I haz one.

 

subjective in other words biased or BS, when it comes down to tests...

 

 

I agree.. i dont like how they say the handling is "better" when track times tell such a better overall story

 

I think that they are going to post the results for the Best Handling Car award tomorrow, Aug 29th.

 

The results were what I'd expected. I thought the Evo could've pulled a better time than that.

 

another BOGUS test from MOTORTREND! Best handling should be the fastest in the track and not the slowest!

 

This test was retarded. The rankings are based off of subjective opinions and not on tangible data. Sure, how a car "feels" is an important factor in a car's personality, but the editor has a very scewed view on what he considers to be a good car. I totally agree that a RWD car that is balanced and poised, with mild oversteer on corner exit makes for a great car, but those are not the only and certainly not the most important factors in what defines a good sports car.

Overall steering feel, nimbleness, chassis rigidity, overall engine power, engine responsiveness, area under the curve, overall grip, predictability, confidence inspiring factor, gearbox precision, etc, these are the main factors in determining a great sports car, and these were all neglected in my opinion. This guy doesn't care about anything other than balanced oversteer characteristics in a traditional RWD car, and that is why this test is garbage. It's just one guys biased opnion of what he likes in a car, not what is best and that's why this test is garbage.

Plus, the EVO X MR has been cited many times as being softer sprung than the GSR, and the only reason that it still squeeks by with marginally better track times is because of the gearbox. It has also been proven that on certain tracks, mainly high speed tracks that don't require as much shifting, that the GSR is actuslly faster. I'm not saying that the track times would've been any different, but the comments about the car feeling tippy (which is ridiculous and incorrect) might have been different had he driven the stiffer, less body roll prone GSR. The fact that it was even mentioned that he's not used to driving AWD cars only further reinforces my suspicion as to why that POS cobalt SS almost tied it. That would never happen, period.

 

The best handling ranks come out tomorrow, the rankings so far are just for subjective feel.