Great read in the October issue of Car and Driver - Best-Handling Car in America for Less than $100k.
BMW M3
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Lotus Elise SC
Mazda RX-8 R3
Nissan GT-R
Porsche Boxster Spyder
Volkswagen GTI

It's a well-written piece that defines what Car and Driver means by "handling" and has instrumented testing to inform judgement of handling characteristics.

 

Whats the point of the Elise if it doesn't out handle the competition ?

 

The GTI is on here but the S isn't?

 

gti is there but no miata. Also, didn't most people prefer the cooper for fwds?

 

The S is out of production. What's the point of testing cars that are no longer in production?

Lots of good-handling cars are missing on that list.

 

Ford F150 is missing. I call shenanigans.

 

Nicely played!

 

No where on here did it say it had to be new? It just said best handling cars sub 100k....

 

The cars in order:

7. 2011 Volkswagen GTI
6. 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
5. 2011 Nissan GT-R
4. 2011 BMW M3
3. 2010 Mazda RX-8 R3
2. 2010 Lotus Elise SC
1. Porsche Boxster Spyder

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q3/...n_100_000-video

 

Makes me want a Porsche Boxster Spyder all the more! Spartan, moderately lightweight, and pretty quick all work well for me. Less stuff to go wrong and more focus on enjoying the ride.