Handling of continental cars

[Slacker001]

Out of curiosity, what is it about continental cars that give them the better road holding manners over cars from other countries? It's not just about the weight is it, since a smaller family hatchback like a Focus or an Astra feels so much more secure at speed than lets say, a Camry?

[Acemundo]

weight distribution, suspension system

[Try_conti]

imo, handling is a very generic term. it is a combination of tyres, suspension tuning, chassis stability, weight, body design etc .....

 

There's no one item that affect the road holding manners.

[Soya]

it's all in the engineering and chassis. in conti cars, u pay for what u can't see. in jap cars, the money goes to visuals aka marketable gimmicks.

[Carlover76]

Agree, Japanese makes tend to make their suspension too soft and their car body weight is a lot lighter compared to Continental cars.

[Koolaba]

True

 

Anyway, the majority of the buyers in our market will be oblivious to these details (non-exhaustive) which cannot be seen:

 

- Positioning, quantity and quality of welds

- Reinforcement, rigidity of body panels and chassis at critical locations

 

There are increasingly more non-European marques which claim that their products are inspired by European design. Design and styling, probably. However driving dynamics is one department which these marques still cannot emulate.

 

Like what you have mentioned, visuals and gimmicks command greater attention and attraction in our market.

[Bern2]

Think its not a given. Some of the jap cars like lexus do pretty well. Basically its what each class of cars are designed for. Conti cars in SG by and large still come from more luxury end brands like mercs and Beemers which are designed for long range high speed cruising on Europe highways so tend to have good roadholding to suit higher speeds. Even the lower range meganes, peugeots,citroen also have to be designed for Europe highways more than jap cars. Jap cars are more city runabouts especially the lower end ones that are on our roads like sunny's , corolla's, civic's, altis, vios, Mazzies etc. Hence the lightweight bodies and better fuel economy in city modes.

Edited November 28, 2006 by Bern2

[Slacker001]

I think i agree, because while driving these cars I feel that they are much more resistant to chassis flex, or body roll due to the stiffer suspension. Yet, the ride is much more settled at speed, which impresses me. Indeed, the money is spent on stuff you don't see but work to keep you safe. Shall start saving up.

[Soya]

weight is onli part of the equation. my T4 weighs in at onli 1250kg but it feels more solid than a heavier 2.0L jap sedan.

[Dlar2]

If you want a conti handling car but Japanese build, try Mazda3.

[Liuhao]

driving focus and astra before. the steering is very very sharp and accurate comparing to japanese made. say, if i can control the japanese made cars with error of plus/minus 10cm range, i can make it within error of 5cm range for focus and astra. somehow focus gives me a feeling that i can make it within 2cm range. that's the major improvement i personal feel. the steering of civic/nissan is a bit hesitated and vague. of course if you dont try continental cars you may not realize that.

 

focus and astra are heavier so you feel much more secure and stable at high speed. but that is at the cost of slower acceleration. japanese cars tend to be "floating" at high speed but have an ease feeling of pick up and acceleration. however, i have more horizontal body roll in focus/astra than when i drive civic.

 

road holding may not be so easy to feel.

[Turbonetics]

Out of curiosity, what is it about continental cars that give them the better road holding manners over cars from other countries? It's not just about the weight is it, since a smaller family hatchback like a Focus or an Astra feels so much more secure at speed than lets say, a Camry?

 

i drove the Renau't Clio before.

the steering is so heavy.even the camry 2.4litre is not as heavy as that.

[Slacker001]

Yep that's a nice car. But back legroom's a bit cramped and the engine's a little noisy.

[Contax]

I'm driving a 1 year old 1242cc fiat punto at 970kg.I frequent NSH and able to travel in excess of 150~160km/h for hours without that 'floating'feeling.

 

In urban/highway driving , I'm able to achieve 14~15km/L on its 6speed CVT gearbox with constant revving....the engine note is just lovely

[Dlar2]

We are talking about Conti handling here, not leg room.

Mazda3 will give you the closest conti handling you can find in a Jap made car. Even Civic does not handle this well. (no offence to Civic owners).

Next in line would be AWD cars from Subaru.

[Panda]

Hmm... Handling... subjective leh...

 

Nice nice cruising, probably.

 

Handling... I can't say for certain. I don't associate handling with moving objects like a Benz, an Audi or a Volvo.

[Zoom99]

Out of curiosity, what is it about continental cars that give them the better road holding manners over cars from other countries? It's not just about the weight is it, since a smaller family hatchback like a Focus or an Astra feels so much more secure at speed than lets say, a Camry?

 

Definitely better compared to Jap cars.

[Ahbengdriver]

I agree with the brother that car handling can mean a lot of things and sometimes people jsut use this word loosely whenever they feel a car is good.

 

For one, in general, conti cars are slightly heavier. This is but just one reason for stability. For those guys who been thru combat training in NS days, if u fire a GPMG which is damn heavy, or a 0.5 browning heavy machine gun on the M113, u will know that heavy means stability n also longer shooting range and accuracy. Apply that to cars and it has some meaning.

 

I used to drive a honda civic many years back. Its power vz weight ratio is high bcos it was made a light car. Problem is when u travel at 140/150 km/h on NS highway, it feels like floating and I had cold sweat whenever i go around curvy roads. Its also noisy n bumpy. When I sat in a friends merc E, I could fell asleep in his car to KL.

 

Heavy is one thing, so is weight distribution. Good even weight distribution also add to stability. BMWs for eg and some other conti cars are made with this goal in mind.

 

Other things like suspension, brakes , traction control and stability systems, etc already mentioned earlier.

 

Thats why I always tell people. Buy car dont just listen to the SE sales talk and what is in the car brochure. 2 cars may say they have what SOHC or DOHC, but when u drive them u will feel difference. Why? bcos of the way they built it.

Edited November 28, 2006 by Ahbengdriver