Euro 14th - Wheels Hero Car Handling Shoot Out

[ABS121]

Just bought Wheels Mag, march edition and they have a Hero Car Handling Shoot Out.

Euro finished 14th out or 21.

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/8513/image12lq.jpg


Overall Result
1 Evo 9
2 BMW M3 Comp
3 Porsche Boxster S
4 Subaru WRX STI
5 Lotus Elise 111R
6 Mazda RX-8
7 Nissan 350Z 35th An.
8 Mazda MX-5
9 HSV Clubsport R8
10 Subaru Liberty GT
11 Holden Commodore SS
12 Renault Sport Clio 182 Cup
13 Porsche Cayenne S
14 Honda Accord Euro
15 Range Rover Sport
16 Mitsubishi 380 VRX
17 Volkswagen Golf GTI
18 Ford Focus Zetec
19 Ford Fiesta Zetec
20 Holden Astra CDX Coupe
21 Holden Commodore Exec

[aaronng]

imageshack.us is a good host :)

[EuroAccord13]

Mmmmm...

All the cars ranked 13th and above are more expensive than the Euro :p

Go The EVO 9!! Woooot!

[Aratahu]

Ah, should be waiting in the mail at home - looking forward to COB now :)

[BiLL|z0r]

The Commy Exec doesn't even deserve 21st place it handles like a bucket of shit.
Good to see where it came considering who's on top of it.

[kam]

hmm, all of the cars that beat the Euro are pretty nice cars, so no biggie losing to them, but to all the cars who lost to a range rover - pwn3d

[aaronng]

Woo! The article says that the WRX STi with its semi-slicks has only 0.01G more lateral grip than the Euro!

Ok, I'm going out to buy my copy of Wheels now. Hehe. Who said scanning encourages piracy? Hehe :D

[coladuna]

quite impressive.
I wonder how much of a difference there would be between MY05 and MY04.
Seems like they tested MY05 from the pic.

[aaronng]

The 05 should have better grip because of the wider and lower profile tyres. But when it comes to acceleration, the 04's lighter tyre+rim package should give it the edge in acceleration. Someone dig out the old wheels comparo on handling that had the Euro, 330ci, Mazda6 and Commies. Let's compare G numbers between that Euro (16" wheel) and this one. I lost my magazine!

[Aratahu]

The Commy Exec doesn't even deserve 21st place it handles like a bucket of shit.
Good to see where it came considering who's on top of it.

Haha! The Exec was the ANTI-benchmark of the test :)

Very good read, worth picking up that magazine. Looks like our car scores relatively well for its chassis balance most of all.

[integraz]

where is the DC5!!! type-s... no LSD? hahaha

[PNR888]

Good result for Euro when you consider Euro is a reasonable priced 4-door luxury sedan.

[MiSloVic]

Mmmmm...

All the cars ranked 13th and above are more expensive than the Euro :p

Go The EVO 9!! Woooot!

yeah.. and they are all sporty models. excluding those, the euro is the best handling of the family sedans.

[Fr3aKi3]

I'm a lil bit suprised with the ranking of the Golf GTi, considering almost every review was raving on about its fantastic handling.

[ABS121]

What about the Liberty GT, AWD and it ranked dead last for outright grip in the entire field!

[yfin]

Has anyone got a better scan of that article - finding it hard to read on the internet cafe computers?

[stepanoz]

Has anyone got a better scan of that article - finding it hard to read on the internet cafe computers?


Buy the mag or even better just read the article at the News Agent..lol

[Tobster]

Has anyone got a better scan of that article - finding it hard to read on the internet cafe computers?
Surely a moderator wouldn't encourage a breach of copyright? :D

[Chris_F]

looks like the euro did quite well.. i think this magazine has a soft spot for the car

[PERTH_EURO]

Buy the mag or even better just read the article at the News Agent..lol

he is overseas

[yfin]

Surely a moderator wouldn't encourage a breach of copyright? :D

It isn't a breach of copyright. do a google search in australia for "fair dealing" and "copyright law" if you are interested to know why.

[aaronng]

I bought the magazine.
Power to weight ratio, 0-100km/h, 0-400m and a weird BMEP number has weighting in the score too. That's why the Euro fell back. Plus, the top speed on Oran part was not that high. skid pan was good though.

[Spec83]

It was also the second FWD car which isn't too bad considering the clio 182 which finished just above it and golf gti are supposed to be pretty darn good

[Tobster]

It isn't a breach of copyright. do a google search in australia for "fair dealing" and "copyright law" if you are interested to know why.
It's a little off topic, but as someone who works in communications and publishing (print and internet) and is fairly familiar with copyright, I don't believe that publishing a scanned page from a magazine falls into the "fair use" category for numerous reasons. It could possibly be argued, but I think you're on very thin ice and I wouldn't recommend it. If Wheels wanted to get stroppy about it, then the owners of this board could get themselves into trouble for knowingly distributing copyright material IMO (just look at Kazaa). Not meaning to be difficult, just trying to be helpful... :)

[yfin]

It's a little off topic, but as someone who works in communications and publishing (print and internet) and is fairly familiar with copyright, I don't believe that publishing a scanned page from a magazine falls into the "fair use" category for numerous reasons. It could possibly be argued, but I think you're on very thin ice and I wouldn't recommend it. If Wheels wanted to get stroppy about it, then the owners of this board could get themselves into trouble for knowingly distributing copyright material IMO (just look at Kazaa). Not meaning to be difficult, just trying to be helpful... :)

Lets take to PM as it is off topic. Perhaps we can discuss whether it falls within the criticism and review exemption. It is also arguably not a substantial part of the copyright work. :thumbsup:

[Omotesando]

What was surprising was how the semi-slick cladded STI didn't fare too well with the G-Force test compared to other cars, because from Best Motoring vids that test them, they are used to getting above 0.90G ... hmm.. but anyway, still no denying that the Euro Accord with 0.86G did pretty well considering its stock 17" tyres! I would have loved to see the Integra Type S tested as having test driven that as well as the Euro, the Type S handles in and out of corners even much better IMO and there is no trace of understeer or traction problem when throttling out of the corner, even without LSD. Weird since in the Type R DC5, you can pick up some understeer before the LSD pulls it out nicely! I actually think the handling test wasn't conclusive enough because after turning in quick with the Euro, even though its very well balanced, you cannot apply more throttle until way after the apex unlike the Integra Type S and Type R, otherwise the inside wheel pushes it understeer. That is major difference between it and the Type S when I test drove them side by side.

Perhaps I'm asking too much from a family sedan though :D


Bloody MX-5 if it had more power, would be killing the Boxster! 0.96G, unheard of in stock convertible's neutral balance in street tyres - even better than the much lighter Lotus Elise and also the M3, EVO and Boxster. Wonder how the S2000 will compare with the MX-5.... for some reason Aust Journalists tend to think the S2000 is too twitchy on the limit, whereas the Japanese guys don't think of it this way!

[aaronng]

The skidpan test doesn't involve putting a huge amount of throttle down. What you do is get the car going in a circle, with adequate throttle. You increase the speed slowly until you reach a limit and you get higher Gs by going faster in a circle of a fixed diameter. In this test, throttle is just adequate to maintain the speed and not accelerate. So an LSD won't help in this test. Instead, it is chassis stability that decides the result. But remember, good chassis stability can mean sluggish turn in as well.

If you want a test for cornering and throttle application at the same time, you have to look at the slalom test.

Slalom: (fastest to slowest)
EVO IX: 26.05 secs (49.76 km/h)
Boxster: 26.15 secs (49.57 km/h)
STi: 26.25 secs (49.38 km/h)
MX-5: 26.29 secs (49.30 km/h)
M3: 26.79 secs (48.38 km/h)
350Z: 26.81 secs (48.34 km/h)
Lotus 111R: 26.38 secs (49.13 km/h)
Clio Cup: 27.86 secs (46.82 km/h)
Liberty GT: 28.29 secs (45.82 km/h)
Accord Euro: 28.39 secs (45.66 km/h)

[aaronng]

I actually think the handling test wasn't conclusive enough because after turning in quick with the Euro, even though its very well balanced, you cannot apply more throttle until way after the apex unlike the Integra Type S and Type R, otherwise the inside wheel pushes it understeer. That is major difference between it and the Type S when I test drove them side by side.

Perhaps I'm asking too much from a family sedan though :D

I found a way around that problem. :D Throttle control. I can only do 1/3, 2/3 and full throttle though. I need to practice more so that I can apply smaller fractions to maximise acceleration out of the corner while avoiding wheelspin.

[Omotesando]

The skidpan test doesn't involve putting a huge amount of throttle down. What you do is get the car going in a circle, with adequate throttle. You increase the speed slowly until you reach a limit and you get higher Gs by going faster in a circle of a fixed diameter. In this test, throttle is just adequate to maintain the speed and not accelerate. So an LSD won't help in this test. Instead, it is chassis stability that decides the result. But remember, good chassis stability can mean sluggish turn in as well.

If you want a test for cornering and throttle application at the same time, you have to look at the slalom test.

Slalom: (fastest to slowest)
EVO IX: 26.05 secs (49.76 km/h)
Boxster: 26.15 secs (49.57 km/h)
STi: 26.25 secs (49.38 km/h)
MX-5: 26.29 secs (49.30 km/h)
M3: 26.79 secs (48.38 km/h)
350Z: 26.81 secs (48.34 km/h)
Lotus 111R: 26.38 secs (49.13 km/h)
Clio Cup: 27.86 secs (46.82 km/h)
Liberty GT: 28.29 secs (45.82 km/h)
Accord Euro: 28.39 secs (45.66 km/h)



Yep I agree completely. In Skid-pan test, throttle is fairly constant. So this is mainly a test of Chassis balance more than traction out of corners. I would think an LSD would help slightly since you can go around faster than without, which means more acceleration towards the centre of the circle and thus the car/tyres would experience more lateral G-force countering that?


I only read the Mag in the newsagent, did not realise that the Liberty GT was slightly faster around the slalom than the Euro Accord- obviously this would have to do with power difference as well. But like you said Slalom test actually tells a bit more about the car's characteristic.

The Lotus 111R being slower than the MX-5, STI, EVO and Boxster in the Slalom test however is strange. MX-5 only 0.01G more lateral grip, and less power, but Lotus being so much lighter should have helped in the slalom being more agile.

I have driven a Lotus Elise before and thought it was like a go-kart compared to anything else I have driven. Whereas the EVO/STI are heavy beasts that needs time to react, relatively speaking. INTERESTING!