Overall steering feel and feedback of different cars

Hyundai Venue's steering is very light at city speeds whereas the 3rd-gen Maruti Dzire has a heavier feel than even the Honda BR-V at low speeds.

BHPian SmartCat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Now that Harrier and Innova too have fallen in line, pretty much all mainstream cars now have electronic power steering. So do you find the current steering setup in your car?

Before that, let me explain different terminologies used by reviewers while describing car steering characteristics:

Steering feel

It is an all-encompassing term that describes the steering weight, steering feedback, steering quickness/sharpness and return to center action.

Steering weight

How easy it is to twirl the steering wheel. Both hands or pinky finger? Light steering makes it easier to park and quickly dart through traffic. Disadvantage is that it disconnects you from the feel of driving a car. If you do not enjoy driving in the city, light steering is probably to blame. Typically, steering weighs up as speeds go higher, but there are steering setups that stay light. This makes high-speed driving less confidence-inspiring.

Steering feedback

While driving, steering feedback is the sensation (vibration) transmitted to your palm via the steering wheel. Similar to keypad haptic vibrations on your smartphone. In some cars (eg: Hyundai), these sensations are almost completely removed resulting in a somewhat sterile driving experience. But the advantage is that road imperfections are not transmitted to your palms, resulting in a feeling of good ride quality. In some other cars, the steering wheel transmits a lot more vibrations/sensation to your palms, resulting in a more involving drive. This is especially useful for those who try to push their car closer to the limit on winding roads because you can now "sense" the amount of grip tyres have.

Quick/Sharp steering

In cars with quick steering, small steering inputs result in relatively larger turn angles of the wheels. Such cars are nicer to drive both in the city (for darting through traffic) and on the hills (for quick direction changes). Meanwhile, slow steerings are suitable for large heavy SUVs with high center of gravity. Because in this case, quick direction changes might affect the stability of the vehicle, especially at higher speeds.

Steering return to center

After you make a turn and release the steering, some steerings rapidly return to the center position while others are slower to return to center. Some drivers prefer a fast return to center action, especially while driving in the ghats. The latest generation Maruti car steerings don't bother to come back to center, and you have to do it yourself. This can get tiring/irritating especially on winding roads.

Here is my "steering feel" review of some of the cars I drive frequently. Do note that my observations are relative. When I say "steering is quick", I'm not comparing it with a 60L BMW, but only with the other cars that I get to drive frequently.

Hyundai Venue

Steering is horribly light at parking speeds, very light at city speeds but progressively heavier as speed picks up. Hyundai has almost completely dialed out steering feedback too. According to me, this makes the Venue a mind-numbingly dull car to drive within the city. However, the steering is quite sharp, which makes rapid direction changes possible. And the return to center action is "normal". It is a much better car on the highway - at these speeds, steering weight & quickness is near-perfect.

Honda BR-V

Steering has some weight at parking/city speeds, and it gets progressively weightier at higher speeds. On the ghats, the steering weight, sharpness and rapid return to center action makes it surprisingly enjoyable to drive. Steering feedback too is significantly better than the Venue. However, in all the parameters, it is a couple of notches below what I'd consider as ideal.

3rd gen Maruti Dzire

Has a heavier feel than even BRV at low speeds. But the biggest flaw in the steering setup is the lack of return to center action. One has to manually turn it back to the center.

2011 Honda Accord

Old school hydraulic unit with near-perfect steering feel. Scores well on all four aspects from a driving enthusiast's point of view. However, it is not as good as 1st gen Civic.

Here's a related (but old) thread - Steering Feel & Feedback - Your Nominees for the Best & the Worst!

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

This is why I don't mind EPS anymore. The early electric power steerings were sad, but the latest ones are very well-tuned. It is far easier to deliver a lightweight feel at low speeds & heft at high speeds in an EPS. BMWs do great EPS, Jeep Compass has a lovely EPS and there are many more examples.

With hydraulic steering wheels, very few tune it properly (e.g. Honda Civic, 1st-gen City); most goof it up. The Toyota Fortuner is too heavy at low speeds, while the pre-facelift Harrier / Safari were heavy at low speeds and dangerously nervous / light at 120 kmph. Drive the Harrier / Safari Facelifts with the EPS and you'll see them as being distinctly superior.

I love the EPS steering of my F10 530d; butter-smooth & light at city speeds with good heft at high speeds ("sport" mode firms it up more). The Thar HPS, on the other hand, requires effort in the city. Its fatter tyres have added a little steering weight too.

Here's what BHPian saket77 had to say about the matter:

Topic which is close to my heart. And you will understand why- because of the benchmarks, i.e. 2 cars in my garage are Maruti Zen- with no power steering and 8th Gen Honda Civic- with a perfectly tuned hydraulic power steering unit. Both these cars deliver amazing feedback and are near-perfect in all respects.

My other drive is Hyundai i20 automatic- steering is light at parking speeds and weighs up at higher speeds but the feedback is sorely missing. I would prefer it to weigh up a little more at higher speeds. Feedback? What is that in i20? The steering feels totally disconnected in this aspect. The missing feedback; this is the trend with most modern consumer cars that I have driven. The connected feel of non-EPS cars is simply missing.

Here's what BHPian GForceEnjoyer had to say about the matter:

Great thread! Clarifying at the start what feel, feedback etc. mean is a good idea.

2006 Ford Fiesta (hydraulic power steering):

• Smack in between light and weighty at parking lot speeds but weighs up very well as you pick up speed.
• Has a supernatural connection with the driver; incredibly confidence-inspiring.
• Drenches you in feel when taking corners spiritedly. Practically no vagueness even in the dead centre position.
• Strong feedback which gives a detailed account of what the wheels are up to, as well as the surface they're on.
• One of the quicker steering racks out there.
• Strong return to centre.

2021 Skoda Superb (electric power steering):

• Light at parking lot speeds, weighs up progressively with speed. Direct, natural and confidence-inspiring.
• Good amount of feel but a little more feedback would be welcome (certainly isn't numb, though).
• A little less quick than the Fiesta.
• Sports mode firms up the steering and makes it a touch sportier. Still feels natural, wonderful for twisty roads and highway driving.
• Strong return to centre.

The Fiesta's steering rack is clearly the sportier of the two, whereas the Superb's aims to deliver a more relaxed experience in normal mode. Still, sports mode does spice it up. Objectively, they're both great steering racks; very well suited to their respective applications.

(I got this information from my parents. I'm 17 right now and do not drive.)

Here's what BHPian vattyboy had to say about the matter:

Out of All my Cars- CLA, Compass, Creta, Seltos and Ciaz, I love Creta's steering the most.

CLA's steering feedback is most accurate but heavy at city speeds and there are very small differences in steering hardness at city speeds and highway speeds.

Jeep Compass transmits vibrations to the hand from undulations of the road which don't give a premium feel.

Seltos has a dead centre. No response from steering till 15-deg rotation.

Ciaz steering doesn't re-centre itself.

Creta's steering has all these things matched perfectly. It has the perfect steering.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.