[myavu]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Tried a Figo with wider tires? That would be a fair comparison then

I am just talking about steering feel and feedback. As a complete package for an enthusiast, Figo is miles ahead of Beat. But Beat Petrol's (mine is a April 2010 make) steering is a well calibrated HPS. And after upgrading Beat's tyre to 175, Beat and Figo is same on that department.

Many a times Figo and Beat are driven back to back and I can vouch on it. But this is my personal opinion.

Cheers!

Vinu

[baddy]

The following order is as per my favourite vehicles:
1. Fiat Punto - Crisp Feel, extremely good weight, tons of feedback and beautifully sculpted wheel rim. you can feel the front tyres loosing grip at the limit in the best possible way ever (it seldom looses grip BTW)
2. Ford Fiesta S 1.6 - Super quick ratio and Ultimate response. Very Very Precise. Feel and feedback almost same as Figo ( which is GOOD), Just wish it had better steering wheel contour.
3. 2006 BMW 320i - Superb Feedback, well weighted (heavy). Impressively precise. Thick rim with soft leather.
4. 1998 Maruti 800 - Non assisted steering with radial tyres!!! Surprising Feedback and weight at highway speeds. Super precise manual rack. Wish it had a quicker ratio.
5. VW Polo Tsi GT - Downright the best Electric steering I have ever used. Definitely down on feel. But VERY precise and quick. Absolutely no friction, and gives a sense of connection with the road wheels that cannot be complained at all. The steering rim covered in soft leather with a unique wide rim surface, is just my favourite when it comes to holding feel. I loved the Vento TSI steering even more for its weight, but the polo remains the favourite.

[drivebyfire]

I posted my comment, quoted below, in the Punto Evo thread because having driven my friend's brand new punto I was replying to an ongoing discussion there. But it was suggested that I post in this thread, so here goes:

Originally Posted by drivebyfire

I took Divya Sharan's Punto for a small spin and as a first impression I felt that the steering was incredibly heavy at slow speeds, its the heaviest I felt in any modern car (of the few I have driven). May be Punto's hydraulic unit is inherently like this or may be its because the car wears wide tyres and is heavy. I also felt that the diameter of the steering wheel was a tad small, which will again add to the sense of heaviness because more effort is required to turn the steering wheel. May be the heaviness is an aggregate effect of all the different factors above. What is for sure is that this car will be rock solid at high speeds.

IMHO Figo's hydraulic unit is polar opposite of Punto's. First of all it's amazingly light in city and weighs up ok on the highway. But it is extremely responsive off center! So even if you move the wheel a little bit either side of "12" the car responds more than your input. Because of this when I first drove the Figo I felt "what a fidgety car!". It's only when I got used to it that I started loving Figo's steering! However this is completely different from Punto, where off-center steering is perfectly in-sync with where the front wheels are pointing.

SX4's EPS unit on the other hand is basically dead off-center, absolutely nothing happens between "10 & 2", you can keep rocking the steering either side of 12 (like in old movies) and the car will basically track straight. However once you turn in the steering wheel enough and load it then you get a pretty good feedback about what the front wheels are doing. This is simply how the EPS is calibrated and I don't feel SX4 is a bad handler because once you know how the system works there is good feedback from front tyres. However I have found that nobody really shares this particular opinion of mine and most pretty much feel SX4 sucks but i beg to differ (). Yes because of the dead off center steering SX4 is a lazy lane changer (whereas Figo is quick as lightning), however its a matter of getting used to.

Coming to the present discussion Swift's EPS unit will feel amazingly alive to SX4 drivers but it will feel meh to Figo drivers and positively lifeless to Punto drivers.

My point being that many times its a matter of getting used to and I do not believe that when it comes to "steering feel" there is any real absolute. Unfortunately EPS gets a bad rap in tbhp, however even between Punto and Figo, for in-city driving Figo will be the clear winner and for on highway driving it will boil down to pure driver preference.

This said, I feel Figo is better than Punto in my opinion because regardless of steering feel, a HUGE factor of having fun driving the car is in the gear changes. And Punto's gear box, very very unfortunately, is made out of soft compound rubber! One drive in the ghats (which require frequent and precise gear changes) and all that steering feel is going to fly out the window.

@Mods: please delete this post if it is against the rules the cross-post comments between threads. Apologies for the inconvenience.

[aravind.anand]

Of the cars that I have driven, based just on steering feel -

Best: Ford Fiesta 1.6S
Worst: Alto K10

Other mentions:
Honda's previous City has a EPS unit, which though not goon in feel / feedback, weighs up beautifully with speed - at about 80, Fiesta's and City's steering weigh almost the same !
Punto has a really nice steering, but somehow the gear shifts, pedal positioning and steering placement are way off a driver's car ergonomics. Also steering ratio needs to be tighter.

[Prodigy07]

From the cars that I have driven:

Best - Fiesta 1.6, Swift 1.3
Worst - Ertiga 1.4

[johy]

I own and drive probably the best and the worst:

1) Best: Fiat T-Jet.
2) Worst: Wagon R (Question: Are the Hyundai ones any worse than this?)

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by johy

I own and drive probably the best and the worst:

1) Best: Fiat T-Jet.
2) Worst: Wagon R (Question: Are the Hyundai ones any worse than this?)

You sure can comment upon the Baleno's feel, especially wrt Linea.

[johy]

Originally Posted by Sheel

You sure can comment upon the Baleno's feel, especially wrt Linea.

The Baleno has a somewhat middle-of-the road feel. Quite direct. Definitely not Maruti like, but nowhere close to the European cars (read Linea and Ford). I have test driven (read revved-like-crazy the Fiesta S) and that is one solid steering. You mentioned that you don't miss your Figo's steering too much compared to the Scorpio. Are you being too lenient towards your newly acquired ride?

[neoonwheels]

Best: FIAT Punto
Worst: Hyundai i10 (Feels like a joystick with minimal feedback)

I own both these cars and the difference is day and night

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by johy

Are you being too lenient towards your newly acquired ride?

Primary the reason I wanted you to drive my car. You would have offered an unbiased advise.

I am not the only one though. We both drove Fords. Link

[johy]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Primary the reason I wanted you to drive my car. You would have offered an unbiased advise.

I am not the only one though. We both drove Fords. Link

Put in the to-do list. Buzz me next time you are near City Centre :-)

[zwift1819]

Similarly the Grand i10 Automatic which I drive feels quite tight comparatively to the Vento Tdi steering. Perhaps I think the types play a major role in the steering feel. Reason why am quoting in the tires is because when I bought the Vento I changed the stock tyres to Michelin 15" whereas my Grand i10 drives on the stock Good year 175/65/R14 tyres. Has anybody changed the grand i10 tyres to Michelin and felt any difference? Please highlight cause I feel the tyres are the culprit here and that's what makes you feel connected to the road!

[aqualeo2040]

In order of preference of my drive feel:
Best:
1. Mitsubishi Cedia Sport : Clinically precise and the best feedback till date. Along with the fact that the hood is clearly visible (and hence the corners), it makes for one sharp drive.
2. Fiat Punto : My beloved for over 5 years of journey. Enough has been said already. I had the 2009 model, which was a tad heavy, also helped by the 5.5J rims over the stock 5Js.
3. Ford Focus (2015): Couldn't tell that it was a EPS. Nuff said.
4. Chevy Spark : A very city friendly point and shoot device. Not meant for highways though. Yeah, HPS again.

Worst:
1. Hyundai i35/i30(2015) : Driving the cars on the winding highland B roads (Scotland and Lake District) and steering the ride was a challenge in itself.The EPS has a uncanny habit of auto-correcting to the center position and hence a constant fight against the motor to keep the steering in place over banked curves. I was more tired over my 500 mile-2 day Lake District tour in the i30 than I was in the 4 day 1000 mile tour of the Wales in the Focus.
2. Honda City 1.5 VTEC (Dolphin) : Decided to leave the driving to the chauffeur. Left wheel in the gravel, right one on the tarmac and other than the fact that I could see some dust being thrown up, no feedback at all! I might as well run over something and not know about it.
3. Hyundai Santro: Made a mistake of driving on the highway and had to swerve into the service lane at 60kmph due to construction work ahead. I was in the same boat as James May when he stopped his Semi-trailer while going around the ring track at 80mph. Could have been an advertisement moment for adult diapers.
4. Chevrolet Malibu: Very Chevy, very American. Try going around a curve in one!

[Bibin]

On the basis of what I've drivel till date:

Best- Ford Classic, Fiat Palio

Worst: Tata Sumo, All Hyundais, Hondas and Marutis, but Swift was something better I felt though I have not taken it above 100s.

When is comes to Ford Classic, I can double guarantee the steering feedback and you will love it to the core while taking corners above 80s on single lane roads!!!

[Metallicar]

How do you guys decide the feedback being good or bad ? I have a Brio and recently got Jetta. The only difference I feel is that steering of Jetta requires more effort while the Brio is effortless. I don't understand the concept of feedback, how it is judged.