Handling is a difficult dynamic to quantify. Some would say a fine definition of handling is the ability to grip at high-speed around tight corners.



That would be misleading; and also demeaning to cars that do so much more - or less - than simply hang on by the skin of their Pirellis. Recently, Motor Trend magazine made an attempt to use high-tech devices, the seat of their pants, and a race car driver to crown the best handling car available in the USofA. 



Since objective statistics representing the absolute behavior of individual cars will not necessarily present you with a car you would want to drive, the editors enlisted the help of Max Angelelli, frequent racer in closed-wheel sportscar racing, to offer them opinions at the Laguna Seca Raceway. In addition, the journos enlisted their own opinions because, in the end, the best handling car will be the one you really want to drive the most. Which may or may not be the vehicle pulling the highest g's. 



Motor Trend sought to find more-than-capable cars from different automakers featuring different configurations. The Honda Civic Si is a front-driver with a front-engine. Likewise the Mazdaspeed 3 and Mini Cooper S JCW GP, though these two use forced-induction engines.



Porsche's Cayman S and the Lotus Exige S are both mid-engine and rear-wheel driven. The Honda S2000 is a front-engine convertible with its driven wheels at the rear. The BMW 335i and Chevrolet Corvette Z06 are both front-engine and rear-wheel driven, but the Chevrolet adds 205 horsepower to the BMW's already stout 300bhp. Mitsbushi is the only manufacturer with a sedan in the comparison, the Lancer Evolution IX. It's one of two 4-doors, the other being the Mazda.



Finally, Porsche's 911 GT3, the winner, a rear-wheel driven vehicle, was the lone rear-engined car. Yes, MT made life easy for themselves by crowning the one vehicle, a sublime vehicle in any situation, whose price was $45,000 USD more than the next most expensive vehicle. I would hope that the Porsche could win the competition, at $15K over its centenary. 



But let's not get to anti-wealth up in here. The Corvette, at $70,000, was only just kept out of last place. All editors seemed to like the 'Vette, but admitted that handling wasn't its strongest attribute. 



Interestingly but without surprise, the Cayman S finished with a silver medal. MT wondered if the Cayman, with the GT3's engine, brakes, and tires wouldn't be even better than the 911 GT3. That's heady praise for a car around half the price of its big brother. 



Motor Trend tested each car to see "how much steering is required at the threshold of cornering." The tests showed the 911 as the most sensitive, the Bimmer the least so. When testing on a skidpad, they noticed the Mini needed the least amount of steering effort and had the least understeer, whereas the Mitsu had the biggest roll angle. The Lotus required the most amount of effort to steer (it's a track ready special, though) and the Honda was the most understeery.



The Lotus, however, was the best to react to a sudden steering input on MT's step-steer test. The Mazda was worst, the 911 was second best. During testing for max speed in a "severe guidance maneuver to test stability and agility", aka a lane-change test, the first-place Porsche beat the last-place Mazda by 7 mph. 



In tests which would be more important to some readers, the Porsche Cayman had the smoothest ride, followed by the BMW, Civic, Evo, Mini, Corvette, Lotus, Honda S2000, Mazda, and the Porsche. This one was unfortunate for the Mazda, because finishing near the bottom in the handling testing and the ride testing shows the car to be somewhat unfocused. 



At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the Mazda outpaced its nearest competitor, the Civic Si, by a healthy 4 seconds. The Mini was a speck more than a second behind the Mazda, and even the S2000 was 3/tenths behind the Mazdaspeed 3.



BMW's iconic 3-series entry pipped the Mazda by more than second, the Evo and Cayman were about 2 seconds quicker than the Bimmer, and the Lotus around another two secs beyond the Mitsu and Cayman.



Z06 vs. GT3 would make for an interesting race. The Corvette has an extra 90 horses, shows the 911 to be 19 pounds overweight, and allows you to keep $45K in your savings account. But all 911's have an intrinsic potency when exiting corners. That engine behind the rear-axle may go against the obvious, but the weight of the powerplant over the rear end pushes each wheel into the pavement. This aid to traction helps the 911's 415 horsepower get to the ground faster than the Corvette's 505, and when 415 horses hit the pavement, things start moving. 



The Porsche 911 GT3 finished a lap at Laguna Seca 1.4 seconds ahead of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. 



Final standings showed the somewhat affordable Lancer Evo to be the highest scoring of the affordables, just 5.7 points behind the winner. The Lotus came close to the Cayman for second place, but its brittle ride likely hindered its chances. An inability to cope with bumps and yumps forces a car's driver to slow the pace, hindering the vehicle from getting to its limits, where the Lotus does its best work.



The Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works GP, a run-out edition of the first-gen of the new Coopers, was a few points back of the Mitsubishi, with the BMW a close 6th. The S2000 followed the BMW closely, then the Mazdaspeed, the Corvette, and the Civic Si.



Motor Trend shone no bad light on the the Corvette. Its high limits are completely unattainable in the real world, and its power is sometimes a hindrance to swift progress. Z06's are a fair bit quicker than a regular Vette, and a bit more expensive too. So driving the super-fast Vette through Laguna Seca's corkscrew at a speed plenty higher than the Civic's or Mazda's would make the Vette's twitchiness far more of a liability. A lack of ultimate grip on the part of the small Honda or Mazda is less of a hindrance to them then a lack of prime steering feel is to the Chevrolet. 



Nevertheless, the Corvette is a beauty which offers serious Ferrari-munching speed. But the Porsche wins. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Wherefore didst thou doubt? Many decades have gone into making Porsche's the best handling and best braking cars available for reasonable prices, and a top 2 finish in MT's contest proves that Ferdinand, Ferry, and Wendelin have done a good job.