10 Sports Cars With The Best Driving Dynamics & 10 That Are Disappointing To Drive
Some Grip The Road And Some Just Grip Your Wallet
Not all sports cars are created equal. While some offer the most precise, refined, and joyful driving experience you could ask for, others give you only pain and frustration. What sets a sports car apart from the rest is that they're specifically built for performance. Pushing the envelope of speed and power, they're often at the cutting edge of automobile technology. While oftentimes this experimentation results in a super sweet ride, it also inevitably brings about some duds. Not every sports car can be at the caliber of a Porsche 911, but you just better hope it's not at the level of a potentially deadly Pontiac Fiero either. Here are 10 sports cars with the best driving dynamics and 10 with the worst.
1. Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is one of the most iconic and sought-after sports cars for good reason. Not only is it stunning, but it has exceptional steering feedback, traction, and stability thanks to its rear-engine layout.
2. Audi R8
The Audi R8 is an everyday car with supercar speed. It has a mid-engine layout which gives it nearly perfect weight distribution and incredibly precise steering.
3. Mazda MX-5
The Mazda MX-5 was created with pure driving fun in mind. While it's not the most powerful sports car on the market due to its small engine, it's a super lightweight, agile, and playful, unpretentious little machine.
4. Porsche 718 Cayman
The Porsche 718 Cayman's steering is so intuitive and responsive, drivers say it feels like an extension of their body. Like the 911, the 718 Cayman has a mid-engine layout, allowing for exceptional agility. The chassis is tuned for sporty performance but it's comfortable for everyday driving too.
5. Toyota GR Supra
The Toyota GR Supra gives European sports cars a run for their money with its agile driving dynamics. This car is genuinely fast, sporty, and lightweight with good traction and stability, making it an absolute joy to drive.
6. BMW Z4
The Z4 is the perfect blend of sporty performance and BMW-level luxury. Like other sports cars, it has a powerful engine, but what sets it apart is its remarkable ride comfort and refinement.
Jeffrey Paa Kwesi Opare on Pexels
7. Jaguar D-Type
The Jaguar D-Type was designed specifically to take home the gold at the Le Mans 24-hour race, a feat it succeeded in three times. As a car built for speed as well as endurance, the D-Type's driving dynamics were nothing short of groundbreaking. It refined disk breaks, giving the car significantly more stopping power, and the monocoque design made it more precise and responsive than other cars of its day.
Alexandre Prevot from Nancy, France on Wikimedia
8. Chevrolet Corvette C8
Putting aside the first few generations which were more about style than driving dynamics, the Corvette has evolved over time into a refined, boldly styled, powerful machine. Modern Corvettes have a mid-engine layout, improving their balance and handling, and blend supercar performance with daily driving comfort. It's bold to say, but the C8 is now a formidable competitor to the world's most elite sports cars.
9. Mercedes-AMG GT
The Mercedes-AMG GT is known for its aggressive performance that doesn't sacrifice graceful driving dynamics. Its mid-front engine layout makes for excellent weight distribution while delivering immense power. It's capable on tight corners, has thrilling acceleration, and excellent stopping power.
10. Ferrari 296 GTB
The 296 GTB is widely considered the best Ferrari in terms of driving dynamics. Considering the level of finesse this company is renowned for, that's saying a lot. The car is a powerhouse of performance with exceptional agility and balance, making it fun and rewarding to drive at all speeds.
Now that we've covered some of the dreamiest sports cars to drive, let's talk about the ones that deliver disappointing driving dynamics.
1. Dodge Viper
The Dodge Viper was designed as a modern interpretation of a classic American muscle car, and if you've ever driven an early Mustang or Corvette, you should understand why we placed it on this side of our list. Its immensely powerful engine, front-engine layout, stiff chassis, and firm suspension make for a visceral driving experience that some people love, but that most people find tricky, uncomfortable, and dangerous.
2. Porsche 914
All of Porsche's sports car success couldn't be achieved without some duds in the mix. The Porsche 914 was certainly one of the duds, with its sluggish engine, jumpy gearbox, and tendency to oversteer.
3. Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach is renowned for being a challenging car to drive. Its mighty V12 engine makes the car extremely powerful but tricky to handle at high speeds, and its heavy controls offer a demanding and raw driving experience fit only for a highly skilled driver.
4. DeLorean DMC-12
Ah the infamous DMC-12, the car that put DeLorean out of business. Despite being immortalized in the Back to the Future film series, this was a pretty poorly designed car with a low power output, sluggish acceleration, and poor handling.
5. MG Midget
A charming little British sports car, the Midget was notoriously firm and bouncy. It wasn't very powerful at all and broke easily, but some people liked its go-kart feel, complete with terrible ergonomics and a rubber bumper.
6. Chrysler Crossfire
It may look like a sports car, but it sure as heck doesn't drive like one. The Crossfire was equipped with a Mercedes-Benz engine that, although smooth, lacked the punch people were expecting from a sports car. It also handled slowly, was prone to understeering, and felt generally heavy.
7. Triumph Spitfire 1500
Another notoriously hard-to-drive little British sports car, the Spitfire 1500 was Triumph's final iteration of their signature roadster. With a top speed of only 100 miles per hour, the engine power was disappointing, and turning the car at any significant speed felt like a wrestling match, with the car routinely losing grip on tight corners.
9. Maserati Biturbo
The Maserati Biturbo was famous for all the wrong reasons: it was both notoriously unreliable and horrible to drive. It was one of the very first cars to be equipped with twin-turbo V6 engines resulting in early fueling issues and jumpy power delivery. Its terrible ride quality and tendency to oversteer or understeer made for a pretty frustrating driving experience.
10. Pontiac Fiero
The Fiero was Pontiac's attempt at delivering an affordable, mass-produced car that went horribly wrong. Its engine was severely underpowered and tended to overheat. It was loud, unrefined, sluggish, and tough to handle.
