forza2.0
(Banned)
- 987
- And they look better
- Cheaper too
Some quick quotes. Read the full start to finish articles on the website as in the links I posted below.
AUDI R8
BEST LAP (MIN:SEC): 1:40.920
AVG. LATERAL ACCELERATION: 0.610 G
SUBJECTIVE RANKING: 1ST
"Well, we're not in the little cars any more!" Pobst exclaims with a smile after his R8 hot laps (ooooh, you shoulda been there to hear this Bavarian UFO circle Laguna at warp speed). "Real race-car feel. So obvious it's a mid-engine car, especially after the front-drive cars. I felt like I was moving a lot less mass around when I entered corners, even though the R8 is still a relatively heavy car. There's no substitute for having the engine just ahead of the rear axle. That's the perfect place for it." Indeed, Pobst is all thumbs-up. "Steering feel is just terrific, and handling balance is superb. The mid-engine layout makes the R8 feel light on corner-entry. It wants to turn, but that's underlined with a real predictability. The amount of grip and the way the car cornered and rotated slightly was so much like a race car. Doesn't feel like it's four-wheel drive. Also, it's completely comfortable and luxurious." Does Pobst have any complaints at all? "After the first lap and a half, the front tires got hot and started to go off, so I didn't have the bite on corner-entry. Still, in terms of handling feel...utterly superb."
SUM UP: Want to make a race driver grin? Say "R8."
NISSAN GT-R
BEST LAP (MIN:SEC): 1:40.453
AVG. LATERAL ACCELERATION: 0.628 G
SUBJECTIVE RANKING: 5TH
"Sweet!" gushes Pobst after his maximum laps in Godzilla. "Really comfortable on the track. GT-R can easily handle its power-I want more! Minimal body roll, but still good control. I could break the rear end loose when I wanted to, but when it went it really went. Steering is quick, very quick responding-which allowed me to catch the car easily. Really, it's a beastly car-not necessarily in a bad way. It's a visceral car to drive. A lot of fun." Which begs the obvious question: Given his enthusiasm, and the GT-R's impressive track numbers, why didn't Pobst rank the GT-R higher than fifth? "While it predominately understeers slightly, it can easily be provoked into snap oversteer. That was fun, but the GT-R is violent when it breaks loose; the R8, in contrast, drifts sweetly. The "R" mode really isn't a race mode-there's still a lot of stability control working, which is fine for the average guy but frustrating for me as a race driver. And before you turn stability control completely off, boy, you'd better have a lot of car-control clinics under your belt. The R8 is much more refined, a muscular dancer. The GT-R is a wrestler."
SUM UP: Lives up to its Godzilla nickname.
If handling were simply about lap times and lateral-g numbers, the awesome Dodge Viper ACR would have run away with this test. But as our data show, and as Randy Pobst confirmed, handling is about nuance and consistency. If you look closely at the graphs, the diagrams, and the computer traces from our objective testing, three cars consistently produced the smoothest curves, or the most closely grouped data points: Audi R8, BMW M3, and Nissan GT-R. And two of those three-the R8 and the M3-figured right at the top of Pobst's subjective rankings.
Pobst wasn't blown away by Godzilla, ranking it only fifth due to a tendency to snap into oversteer at the limit (a behavior easily mitigated by not switching off the various stability systems). The rest of us, though, came away from our handling test thoroughly bowled over by the Nissan GT-R (2nd place). A review of the numbers shows high finishes everywhere: third in ride quality, fastest lane change, fifth in step-steer reaction time, quickest off-center steering response, a near-textbook figure-eight trace. Nissan's computerized, all-wheel-drive superstar works wonders, delivering lofty performance numbers and the deft handling feel that enthusiasts crave. So why didn't it win? As noted, its limit behavior when its stability computers are sleeping can be tricky. And while the GT-R is undeniably majestic at full bore, at more routine chores its supercar breeding vanishes. "Almost boring when all the computers aren't firing away," said tech editor Reynolds. "On the cruise home it felt like a Sentra."
Which brings us to our winner, a near-unanimous choice from Pobst through our road-test staff. "In another world compared with the other cars here," said Pobst of the Audi R8 (1st place). "So sweet," said road-tester Scott Mortara. "Lots of steering feel, great grip, but a compliant ride, too," noted editor MacKenzie. Each driver was describing the same qualities: On track or road, the R8 is Baryshnikov-fluid yet controlled, graceful yet dynamic. The figure-eight tracing is smooth and tight, with high limits but gentle transitions. Step-steer reaction time is fourth, lane-change third, ride quality fourth. The numbers only hint at the overall handling excellence, though. At any speed, you feel the delicate transparency of the steering, the supple yet confident chassis control, the crisp turn-in. Offered a weekend off to exploit the twirls and twists of Southern California's beckoning hills, the Audi R8-a car we've experienced from the Corkscrew to the salt flats of Utah's Black Rock Desert-is the car we'd most want to pilot, the machine with magic in its mid-engine, quattro-fed chassis. Why, in just a turn or two, the R8 even makes second-thoughts disappear.
Part 1
http://www.motortrend.com/features/...ng_car_contenders_instrument_tests/index.html
Part 2
http://www.motortrend.com/features/...as_best_handling_car_track_testing/index.html
Part 3
http://www.motortrend.com/features/...ricas_best_handling_car_conclusion/index.html
AUDI R8
BEST LAP (MIN:SEC): 1:40.920
AVG. LATERAL ACCELERATION: 0.610 G
SUBJECTIVE RANKING: 1ST
"Well, we're not in the little cars any more!" Pobst exclaims with a smile after his R8 hot laps (ooooh, you shoulda been there to hear this Bavarian UFO circle Laguna at warp speed). "Real race-car feel. So obvious it's a mid-engine car, especially after the front-drive cars. I felt like I was moving a lot less mass around when I entered corners, even though the R8 is still a relatively heavy car. There's no substitute for having the engine just ahead of the rear axle. That's the perfect place for it." Indeed, Pobst is all thumbs-up. "Steering feel is just terrific, and handling balance is superb. The mid-engine layout makes the R8 feel light on corner-entry. It wants to turn, but that's underlined with a real predictability. The amount of grip and the way the car cornered and rotated slightly was so much like a race car. Doesn't feel like it's four-wheel drive. Also, it's completely comfortable and luxurious." Does Pobst have any complaints at all? "After the first lap and a half, the front tires got hot and started to go off, so I didn't have the bite on corner-entry. Still, in terms of handling feel...utterly superb."
SUM UP: Want to make a race driver grin? Say "R8."
NISSAN GT-R
BEST LAP (MIN:SEC): 1:40.453
AVG. LATERAL ACCELERATION: 0.628 G
SUBJECTIVE RANKING: 5TH
"Sweet!" gushes Pobst after his maximum laps in Godzilla. "Really comfortable on the track. GT-R can easily handle its power-I want more! Minimal body roll, but still good control. I could break the rear end loose when I wanted to, but when it went it really went. Steering is quick, very quick responding-which allowed me to catch the car easily. Really, it's a beastly car-not necessarily in a bad way. It's a visceral car to drive. A lot of fun." Which begs the obvious question: Given his enthusiasm, and the GT-R's impressive track numbers, why didn't Pobst rank the GT-R higher than fifth? "While it predominately understeers slightly, it can easily be provoked into snap oversteer. That was fun, but the GT-R is violent when it breaks loose; the R8, in contrast, drifts sweetly. The "R" mode really isn't a race mode-there's still a lot of stability control working, which is fine for the average guy but frustrating for me as a race driver. And before you turn stability control completely off, boy, you'd better have a lot of car-control clinics under your belt. The R8 is much more refined, a muscular dancer. The GT-R is a wrestler."
SUM UP: Lives up to its Godzilla nickname.
If handling were simply about lap times and lateral-g numbers, the awesome Dodge Viper ACR would have run away with this test. But as our data show, and as Randy Pobst confirmed, handling is about nuance and consistency. If you look closely at the graphs, the diagrams, and the computer traces from our objective testing, three cars consistently produced the smoothest curves, or the most closely grouped data points: Audi R8, BMW M3, and Nissan GT-R. And two of those three-the R8 and the M3-figured right at the top of Pobst's subjective rankings.
Pobst wasn't blown away by Godzilla, ranking it only fifth due to a tendency to snap into oversteer at the limit (a behavior easily mitigated by not switching off the various stability systems). The rest of us, though, came away from our handling test thoroughly bowled over by the Nissan GT-R (2nd place). A review of the numbers shows high finishes everywhere: third in ride quality, fastest lane change, fifth in step-steer reaction time, quickest off-center steering response, a near-textbook figure-eight trace. Nissan's computerized, all-wheel-drive superstar works wonders, delivering lofty performance numbers and the deft handling feel that enthusiasts crave. So why didn't it win? As noted, its limit behavior when its stability computers are sleeping can be tricky. And while the GT-R is undeniably majestic at full bore, at more routine chores its supercar breeding vanishes. "Almost boring when all the computers aren't firing away," said tech editor Reynolds. "On the cruise home it felt like a Sentra."
Which brings us to our winner, a near-unanimous choice from Pobst through our road-test staff. "In another world compared with the other cars here," said Pobst of the Audi R8 (1st place). "So sweet," said road-tester Scott Mortara. "Lots of steering feel, great grip, but a compliant ride, too," noted editor MacKenzie. Each driver was describing the same qualities: On track or road, the R8 is Baryshnikov-fluid yet controlled, graceful yet dynamic. The figure-eight tracing is smooth and tight, with high limits but gentle transitions. Step-steer reaction time is fourth, lane-change third, ride quality fourth. The numbers only hint at the overall handling excellence, though. At any speed, you feel the delicate transparency of the steering, the supple yet confident chassis control, the crisp turn-in. Offered a weekend off to exploit the twirls and twists of Southern California's beckoning hills, the Audi R8-a car we've experienced from the Corkscrew to the salt flats of Utah's Black Rock Desert-is the car we'd most want to pilot, the machine with magic in its mid-engine, quattro-fed chassis. Why, in just a turn or two, the R8 even makes second-thoughts disappear.
Part 1
http://www.motortrend.com/features/...ng_car_contenders_instrument_tests/index.html
Part 2
http://www.motortrend.com/features/...as_best_handling_car_track_testing/index.html
Part 3
http://www.motortrend.com/features/...ricas_best_handling_car_conclusion/index.html
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