When handling is mentioned, it’s usually rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive cars that get time in the spotlight.
This is because of the amount of grip and balance offered. But hey don’t hold a monopoly – and many excellent cars to drive have been built whose engines drive just the front wheels – these are some of the best:
Ford Puma
In the 1990s, Mazda had the MX-3, Vauxhall had the Tigra, Fiat gave us the Barchetta, and in 1997, Ford offered the Puma, designed by Ian Callum. While it was available in 1.4, 1.6 and 1.7-litre variants, the 123bhp Yamaha-developed 1.7-litre was the option people favoured and would haul the 1039kg kerb weight to 62mph from rest in just over 9sec.
Underneath was a chassis from a fourth-generation Fiesta with uprated suspension and a lower and wider track, which gave darty handling. A rarer Racing Puma arrived in 1999, to meet rally homologation regulations, with wider arches, uprated camshafts and exhaust, as well as stiffer suspension, and around 30bhp extra.
Honda Integra Type-R
Described by many as the best-handling front-wheel drive car ever made; the Integra Type R was the benchmark for Type Rs that would follow for years to come. The large rear wing reduced lift by 30 percent while an aero lip at the front kept things stable at higher speeds. Its chassis had a reinforced subframe and additional spot welds to boost rigidity, 15in alloys helped the double-wishbone suspension to find its flow and the windscreen was 10 per cent thinner to help keep weight low.
Mini Cooper
Mini has come far with the Cooper range nowadays but the original Cooper was where it earned its famous go-kart handling and ‘giant killer’ status. A rubber cone suspension set-up was used instead of conventional springs which gave a raw and bumpy ride and all four wheels were pushed out to each corner while a low centre of gravity, and short wheel travel, allowed the Cooper to deliver sharp cornering. More powerful ‘S’ models were released in 1963 with a more powerful 1.1-litre powerplant and larger disc brakes.
Lotus Elan M100
While we’re used to Lotus giving us rear-wheel drive sportscars, the M100 was Lotus’ front-wheel drive answer to the big-selling Mazda MX-5. Lotus used a lightweight composite body which was attached to a rigid steel backbone chassis, the front suspension had a double wishbone set up and a “compliance raft” was attached to the chassis with stiff bushes to help reduce torque steer. Unfortunately, many purists couldn’t see past the idea of a front-wheel drive Lotus and sales flopped with only 4700 cars being produced. Kia later picked up the design and sold 1056 examples in South Korea and Japan.
Renault Clio 182 Trophy
While many Renaultsport cars could make our list, the iconic 182 Trophy offered the compact feel of the Williams with modern 200 Cup performance. Renault Sport engineers took the already fizzy 182 Cup and added Sachs remote reservoir rally-like dampers to the front axle, giving optimised body control and little to no flex under hard cornering. Renaultsport then added hydraulic bump stops and chopped 10mm from the ride height. Vigorous cornering meant the 182 Trophy would lift its rear rather than understeer.
