Steering — Blog — Healy Chen

Do we care about this?

Car enthusiasts like to lament on paper about the demise of steering feel when manufacturers switched from hydraulic power steering to electric in the late aughts. But I ask the question: do we actually want steering feel?

The golden standard of steering feel is probably the Lotus Elise. It’s got a completely unassisted rack that transmits absolutely every road and tire information to the hands. This braille-like texture is absolutely fantastic on a winding road. It’s freaking amazing to be able to feel through the hands the front tires gaining grip as I trail-brake into a corner. The Elise is an expert dance partner that allows you to perform your best, because you know precisely what the car is doing.

This however translates horribly onto normal, everyday roads. Because the rack is unfiltered, the steering wheel reacts to all the minute differences on the road surface. The car darts and move around as the front tires follow ruts and cambers. The driver has to fight the steering wheel steady at all times. A relaxing cruise on the highways with just a finger on the wheel is not a possibility in the Lotus Elise. Any extended drive to get somewhere gets tiring quickly.

Electric power steering flips that compromise around: you don’t get the tiny road and tire information through to your fingers, but filtering those things out means a calm tiller when steadily cruising. I’d say that’s the compromise that most drivers want.

Because the good sports cars are able to transmit road feel through the chassis. In my Mazda MX-5, I may not get much information from the steering wheel itself, but the car is so taut and nimble that the tiny vibrations transmitted through the body is enough to let me know what it is doing at a given moment. I am okay trading subtle steering feel for relaxed road manners on highways.

I recently drove a Toyota RAV-4: an SUV with an electric rack and no sporting intentions. Enthusiasts don’t realize what truly dead steering is until they get into one of these NPC cars. The RAV-4’s steering wheel provided zero information, plus I got nothing through the chassis because the body and suspension - as it should - soaked up everything. You wouldn’t say a VW Golf GTI has numb steering after driving one of these.

Electric power steering in modern enthusiast cars is just fine! Besides, enthusiasts tend to fit wider wheels and tires as first order of modding business anyways. Doing so immediately kills what modicum of steering feel there is. Add in lower suspension to the mix, and whatever the manufacturer engineered into the car is completely obliterated.

Which is why I say: car enthusiasts don’t care about steering feel. We just care about going fast and looking awesome. Nothing wrong with that.

Steering feel is important

Today was a rare day (during these times) I had to physically go to work, so I borrowed my brother’s car for the commute. With COVID-19 still running wild in these streets - despite what the massive protests may look like - I was not about to get on a bus full of people. Nothing again the people on buses; you simply can’t properly socially distance inside one. Even UBER or LYFT isn’t that safe, since you’ve no idea who the previous riders are, if they’re asymptomatic of the coronavirus or not. I think those of us lucky enough to have a choice of commuting with a private car are going to opt for that over the other options for the foreseeable future.

Had my brother not gotten laid off from his job due to the quarantine and therefore leaves behind a car for me to drive, I probably would have purchased another car by now to get me to work.

His car is a lovely Audi A3, 2018 edition, which honestly is a bit of a letdown compared to my weekend toy of a 911 GT3. Granted, I’m not a snob about these things: cars serve a purpose, and for the tasks of getting you from point A to point B, dull and boring is quite okay. So long as the car is a comfortable place to be, which is the A3 is. What I can’t overlook however - as soon as I turned the wheel around the block - is how awfully numb the steering is. There’s almost no feedback, as if I’m controlling the car like one does in a racing game with a wheel controller. I think my family’s Hyundai Tucson has more steering feel than the A3, which is a great shame.

Not even superb Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires can save the experience.

Of course, I’m merely nitpicking here, because as a commuting tool the Audi A3 suffices perfectly. If it were my own money, I’d probably get something with slightly more feel in the steering. It doesn’t have to drip with feedback like the rack in the 911 GT3, but I would prefer at least some sensation on what the front-end is doing at a given time. Barring a reputation for good steering feel, my next car purchase for a daily-driver - should it come to that - must involve a test-drive. Numb, lifeless steering is probably a deal-breaker.

If a Hyundai SUV can provide some semblance of feel, other cars and manufacturers really don’t have an excuse.