[Sheel]

Is the steering feel & feed-back different between the Swift P & D?

The Swift D being heavier, should have more meaty feel to it, but I found it other-wise. It might be that particular Car though. (A brand new Car, right out of the show-room)

And yes, the hydraulics are addictive. I don't think I can go back to driving a Car whose steering response would be fake/vague.

I would chose a slower Car, but with good suspension & steering set-up.

[nukeblitz]

Well, I'll vote with my experience of cars I've driven extensively and I may be going against the rule but...

Alto Lx(nonPS) > M800 (nonPS) > Tata Indica Vista Tdi > ANHC > Alto Lxi

If I add cars I've driven over smaller distances, the punto, santro, i10 and old swift G13b and ikon 1.6 and get rid of the non PS cars

Punto 1.4 > Ford Ikon 1.6 > Santro 1.1 > Tata Indica Vista Tdi > Swift > ANHC > Alto Lxi 0.8 > i10 1.2

Before you kill me for putting the vista so high up, let me explain that it's my daily drive and that may have something to do with it. I can always tell with a fair bit of accuracy of what my front wheels are doing. Maybe it's just my strange experience. Regarding the other cars, all of which I've driven after getting used to the vista - I was chucking the ikon around at rather excessive speeds in no time and the punto is decidedly unsafe as it tempts you to do things you wouldn't otherwise. On the other hand, the i10 1.2 was incredible fun till the straight road ended and the ANHC which I've driven a few hundred kilometers, and unlike the other cars is owned by family, is still point, drop a couple of gears, FLY, slow down, then turn, repeat kinda affair for me. Direct but twitchy steering + no clue what the front wheels are doing = me too scared to do any fancy high speed maneuvers.

But then again I could just be weird and I have no idea what I'm talking about...


EDIT: Almost forgot. First Prize goes to the old school lancer petrol which a friend of mine had running on 17inch alloys (either 205 or 215 patch low profile tires, can't remember which). I still remember those constant seductive whispers from the steering...it completely blocked out the noise of my groaning vertebral column.

[Xehaust]

Personally, i love the Linea's dynamics. Dont know about the other engines but the multijet is really fun to drive. And at the same time, very comfortable as well. The suspension setup is just perfect along with that steering. Definitely a pleasure to drive. Also like the Innova for some reason, though not as good as the Linea.
On the other hand, i dont get the fuss about the Verna (1st gen) being an absolute boat. Its not excellent, but is fun and pretty darn good. Surely not as bad as what most people make it sound like (some without ever having driven one ). Probably the upsized rims & fat, grippy rubber has something to do with it.

[nishantgandhi]

Personally I would rate the steering feedback of Fiat (Linea, followed by Grande Punto) at the top. closely followed by Skoda (Laura TDI and RS) and then Ford Fiesta.

I absolutely hated the feedback of Fluidic Verna (very very disconnected at higher speeds) and NHC. Both might be good as city cars for some (due to the light steering) but I cannot trust those cars for my highway drives.

Worst of the lot were surely Maruti and Tata Indica. The power steering seemed to have a mind of it's own in Indica and Wagon R.

[throttleking]

I have never driven anything that comes any close to Ford Ikon.

[Aragorn]

Very interesting thread! A consensus seems emerging on Fords and Fiats, as was expected with the Hyundais taking flak (probably, as expected again )

My best experience is without doubt the Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXI. It felt so good, I would have bought the car just for the steering, everything else be disregarded! Following closely was the Swift (first gen with 1.3L engine). Drove it on some ghat roads and MY GOD it was good!

Something unusual but a good experience for me was the Ford Endevour (first gen). For a vehicle of its size and weighing well over 2 tons, it was one hell of a steering!

Among the worst has to be the Hyundai i10 (sadly we own one!), followed by the old Scorpio (second gen). The Scorpio felt like I was moving only the steering and there was no steering column connected at all!

PS: Including cars driven outside India, my best experience was in a development prototype of an Audi A5. Had a short blast and it was brilliant!

[shankar.balan]

The Gypsy killed one's arms with a solid work out every time one drove it.
The Bolero at mid to high speeds didn't understand that there was something called a steering wheel/ column.
The Swift has a super light electronic power steering and used to feel very nice when we had one. However, I never drove it out of town and since I used it only in the city, I enjoyed it a lot on account of its lightness.
The Indica's steering is rather vague and woolly to say the least!
The Scorpio steering feels disconnected to the rest of the vehicle. Terribly dangerously light power steering, especially at higher speeds.
This Yeti has speed sensitive steering - feels really safe and solid.

[Jammy70]

I have found it really enjoyable to be at the steering of the Ford Ikon, Palio and now the Figo. The Ikon was absolutely superb to handle at high speeds and I do get the feeling, based on comments here that Ford really knows their steering!

The scariest was undoubtedly the Santro. On a drive to Mangalore in a colleague's car few years back, I offered to drive for a while to relieve him. Within 15 minutes, I asked him to get back in the drivers seat! I never felt more uncomfortable behind a steering, ever!

[Zkalra]

Best: bmw e60 and e90(though the e90 was a bit too hard at lower speeds and especially while parking).
Worst: Innova. Has such a massive dead area at Center.

[rohanjf]

Originally Posted by Jammy70

The scariest was undoubtedly the Santro. On a drive to Mangalore in a colleague's car few years back, I offered to drive for a while to relieve him. Within 15 minutes, I asked him to get back in the drivers seat! I never felt more uncomfortable behind a steering, ever!

That was probably more to do with the whole dynamics of the car rather than just steering feedback. Even I have a similar experience. I frequently drive to Mangalore in my Palio and one day I drove a friend's Santro. It was good till Ghat section began (since I did a constant 80 kmph). On the first sharp curve, I tried driving it like Palio and the car almost lost control!

Having said that, Santro came with HPS (may be it still does). Try driving an i10 to Mangalore. You'll appreciate the Santro (I've done that too).

[Jammy70]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

That was probably more to do with the whole dynamics of the car rather than just steering feedback. Even I have a similar experience. I frequently drive to Mangalore in my Palio and one day I drove a friend's Santro. It was good till Ghat section began (since I did a constant 80 kmph). On the first sharp curve, I tried driving it like Palio and the car almost lost control!

That's an interesting coincidence rohanjf, 'cos my car at that time was a Palio too and I got to test the Santro around the ghats!

Yeah, it probably was the whole dynamics of the car, but it was scary like hell! Probably the only time I gave up an opportunity to drive.

[MercLover]

I would rate Skoda> Fiesta > Swift > Innova for the best of Steering Feel and response, for the worst the top contenders would be i20< Verna< SX-4.

P.S: i own a verna

[Kimified]

Ford Ikon will take the cake for the best steering feedback among all the cars i have driven so far. Drove a friend's Ikon and just fell in love with it. Its just so brilliant.

Used to drive a Swift before and even that was good. But no where in the Ikon league.
I have an i20 diesel now. It ain't bad, but, would have loved it so much more if it had good steering feedback with that engine Its a dream inside the city though.

Scorpio is by the far the worst i have seen. At speeds, I was just hoping/praying that the steering is connected to the wheels somehow

[Turbokick]

Mahindra Marshall's steering at speed response is the ultimate nirvana you can experience.
Only thing it does good is it turns in the direction you intend to and not the opposite

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The Swift has a super light electronic power steering and used to feel very nice when we had one. However, I never drove it out of town and since I used it only in the city, I enjoyed it a lot on account of its lightness.

The Indica's steering is rather vague and woolly to say the least!

I drove a Swift all last week and felt the steering wheel was sensitive with the EPS but the inertia, because of the weight of the steering wheel itself (not the power steering system), made it a bit tiring. Fitting a lighter or smaller steering wheel would improve the driving experience.

I'm not sure if the Indica has a HPS like the Esteem Di, but I like the Esteem's HPS because it does not have a 'dead center' i.e. a point at which you try to turn the steering slightly but there's no response from the steering.

I prefer the HPS of the Esteem to the EPS of the Swift. I'm not sure what kind of PS Toyota's Camry has, but I rank it ahead of Esteem's HPS, which is what one would expect considering that the Camry is a segment or two higher than the Esteem.