[thumpingheart]

I am a big fan of steering feedback. Here are my nominations -

BEST - 1) Ford Fiesta Classic
2) Fiat Punto

WORST - 1) Bolero (Hands down) -

When I drove it for the first time in my society itself, a biker turned from the wrong side straight into my path. I had to slow down and steer away, I completely messed it up. The steering nor the brakes have any feel! Even remotely! I turned vaguely and stopped dead in the middle of the road. My non petrol head uncle (the owner) asked me if I could really drive. I did not reply. I did not want to pass judgement on his new pride and joy

2) Toyota Corolla - Really boring to drive.

[ghostrider]

From cars I've driven and/or owned.

IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
1. The Mini Cooper S

VERY VERY GOOD
1. Mustang GT 5.0 (drove this for 2 months)
2. Merc E63 AMG


GOOD:
1. Ford Ikon 1.6 (owned, would rate it as very good, even)
2. Ford Fiesta Classic
3. Linea TJet.
4. Palio 1.6
5. Swift (owned)
In the Indian context, notable mentions are the Cruze (owned), the Jetta, and the Laura. Also, the Innova surprised me with how nimble the steering was for a car of that size and weight.
I've driven the older Accord, the current Civic and the older (type-2) City... they all had average steering.


BAD
1. Santro
2. i20
3. Wagon-R

ABYSMALLY BAD
1. Ambassador
2. Gypsy

[PAVAN KADAM]

WORST:

1) SX4
2) i20
3) Santro
4) Wagon-R
5) Swift
6) Ford Ikon

BEST:

1) Palio S10 & 1.6 GTX
2) TATA Nano
3) Lancer
4) Honda City (Latest)
5) Fortuner
6) Civic

[headers]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

From cars I've driven and/or owned.

IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
1. The Mini Cooper S

VERY VERY GOOD
1. Mustang GT 5.0 (drove this for 2 months)
2. Merc E63 AMG

GOOD:
1. Ford Ikon 1.6 (owned, would rate it as very good, even)
2. Ford Fiesta Classic
3. Linea TJet.
4. Palio 1.6
5. Swift (owned)
In the Indian context, notable mentions are the Cruze (owned), the Jetta, and the Laura. Also, the Innova surprised me with how nimble the steering was for a car of that size and weight.
I've driven the older Accord, the current Civic and the older (type-2) City... they all had average steering.

BAD
1. Santro
2. i20
3. Wagon-R

ABYSMALLY BAD
1. Ambassador
2. Gypsy

Sir, the gypsy steering is not abysmally bad..it's just plain mechanical steering box..without any assistance of hydraulics or electric motors..

I think your vast experience with so many variants..and a gypsy with bad setup made you report this..

I've had gypsies with bad steering change dramatically for the better once proper work was carried out on it...

[Ironhide]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

I've driven a 1998 Gypsy to my heart's content and for me nothing comes close to its direct feel. And as the mechanic used to say " iska steering to kamaal hai, isse light steering kisi ka nahi hai"

I agree. I have driven a fair amount over highways as well as off road on Maruti Gypsies (both 410s and 413s) and their steering , all of which are non PS, provide great feedback. By feedback (please correct me if I'm wrong), I gather one means the amount of positive control one has over the steering, like, the driver knows exactly how much the wheels will turn at a given twist of the steering wheel, which may be difficult to gauge/surmise in power assisted steering. I find the non PS Old Zen's steering too very good , with a lot of feedback.

[KarthikK]

From my experience, some that I can think of -

BEST :

- Linea T-Jet (part of the reason for buying this car)
- Palio 1.6
- skoda laura
- punto
- Fiesta classic 1.6
- Maruti 800
- new fiesta

WORST :

- Fluidic verna has to be the worst of all time. It feels like playing an arcade car racing game on those coin machines. No feel whatsoever
- i10, i20, santro, eon. Most hyundais seem to suffer from this
- SX4, wagonR, Estilo
- Honda city/civic are below average too (I know I'll be flamed for saying this - no offense meant, but that's my opinion)

[mayankk]

Just got a swift dzire for my dad a few weeks back, and oh my gawd!!
Look, steering was one thing that was not in the consideration set, and the way it is, its perfect for my parents.
But I have done some runs in it.
It's a fantastic all rounder, and the price is amazing.

The steering is really really sad.
Yes, it should get weighted at higher speeds, but this is not linear, you know (?).
It seems to have 3 or four settings- very light, light, hard, non assisted.
And you feel it shifting from one to the other, nothing in between.

I constantly found myself correcting.
Anyone else have this?


Ps- you're still a good car, very good car.

Dont get mad.

[devsoftech]

BETTER ONES: CIVIC, PALIO, LINEA, FIESTA, Polo
AVERAGE: SX4, City gen 1, VERNA gen 2, Alto, i20, Santro
BAD ONES: Estilo, WagonR, City gen 2/3, VERNA gen 1, i10

These are the ones I own/have driven

[prithvi53]

The cars that offer good steering feedback would be the Fiesta classic, New fiesta, ford ikon and the honda civic.
The worst feedback is from the hyundai accent, Hyundai verna, hyundai terracan and the mahindra bolero. The hyundai's offer very bad steering feedback. The steering is extremely light but you just don't know what the car is doing.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

WORST:

6) Ford Ikon

Are you serious? The Ikon has the one of the best steerings and the feedback is excellent. Its a joy to drive that car.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Are you serious? The Ikon has the one of the best steerings and the feedback is excellent. It’s a joy to drive that car.

The responses on this thread definitely will be on personal preferences. And definitions may vary from person to person. Last year my brother-in-law commented that our Ikon’s steering is very tight, whereas his Accent’s super light steering is wonderful. For a moment I thought he was joking

I love the Ikon's steering, and the way it communicates with the driver.
Of the lighter ones, I felt Honda cars have pretty decent ones - especially the Civic and Jazz.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Are you serious? The Ikon has the one of the best steerings and the feedback is excellent. Its a joy to drive that car.

Dont get me wrong.. You know i felt its tooo direct.

The response is Good, but Its tooo good and at times have given me some scary moments.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by headers

Sir, the gypsy steering is not abysmally bad..it's just plain mechanical steering box..without any assistance of hydraulics or electric motors..

I think your vast experience with so many variants..and a gypsy with bad setup made you report this..

I've had gypsies with bad steering change dramatically for the better once proper work was carried out on it...

It wasn't abysmally bad because it wasn't assisted .
My dad used to have a classic Merc (2.3L twin Carbs, 6-cyl). That car weighed about 1.5 tons and had unassisted steering that still managed to be fairly light at low speeds and sufficiently weighted at higher speeds. It was also pretty precise in terms of point-and-squirt. The Gypsy on the other hand had bad steering because it was very vague. It could be that there was a problem with our specific car though.... or the fact that by the time I was old enough to drive it the car had done almost 100,000 km and was on it's last legs.

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by headers

Check your Tyre pressure..the steering is well weighted at 120 .. 140..kph..

The tyre pressure was checked when the tyre's were cool and set it to 33 on all four wheels just before the drive. @ 120kph , there was a bit of a free play (like i can shake it a bit to left and right) of the steering, it was not how the steering feel used to be like, when reversing the car or making a U Turn.

Should the steering @120kph, feel that way? kindly confirm

[fi.robin]

I haven't driven too many cars. Here is my pick from the driven lot.
Best to worst.

Fabia 2008 (pre facelift with hydraulic PS)
Ford Fusion 2011, US (this belongs to the camry segment)
Yeti (have only test driven it)
Cruze 2012, US (grip was very good but steering very light)
Sonata 2011, US
Ritz 2012
Dzire 2008
Corrolla 2012, US (this one was the worst I have driven so far, discount the 800 and Alto in which I just forget about the steering feedback )