By far, my favorite thing about my Focus is how incredible the handling is. For a cheap little car, you never really expect much of anything in the 'WOW' department, but the Focus really does deliver. Where I live there are plenty of twisty, tight, windy bits of road that I can throw the car around in. The steering is point-and-shoot, no tire squeal, no body roll, just fantastic cornering and a great driving feel. I remember when the first generation Focus came out that all the car magazines raved about how the Focus handled, even Top Gear liked it. And I have to say, I agree with all of them. I also like little aspects too, like how the steering wheel is small, so making quick turns and maneuvers just feels fast. And the engine makes a good noise when I step on it, unlike many other cheap cars that sound like sewing machines.
So I got to thinking, what is the best fun/best handling compact car ever? Here are the criterion: 1) It has to be a small car - since the term 'compact' is vague and changes over the years, I won't be too picky. Just think small. 2) It cannot be a special or performance edition of said car, so no SVT Focus, SRT-4 Neon (great car though, BTW), GTI Golf, etc... You get the picture. It pretty much has to be the standard model of whatever car you are debating. There are some exceptions, like for example the 05-07 Focus ST, which was basically the base model Focus with a slightly bigger engine. Everything else mechanical about the car was the same. I'm sure there are other exceptions like that as well. But no purpose-built performance models allowed like the ones listed above.
Handling isn't the only aspect, but think too of cars that were just a blast to drive, made a great noise, etc.
So I got to thinking, what is the best fun/best handling compact car ever? Here are the criterion: 1) It has to be a small car - since the term 'compact' is vague and changes over the years, I won't be too picky. Just think small. 2) It cannot be a special or performance edition of said car, so no SVT Focus, SRT-4 Neon (great car though, BTW), GTI Golf, etc... You get the picture. It pretty much has to be the standard model of whatever car you are debating. There are some exceptions, like for example the 05-07 Focus ST, which was basically the base model Focus with a slightly bigger engine. Everything else mechanical about the car was the same. I'm sure there are other exceptions like that as well. But no purpose-built performance models allowed like the ones listed above.
Handling isn't the only aspect, but think too of cars that were just a blast to drive, made a great noise, etc.
