To Automakers who use electric steering...

"and 100 more" (nth256) 05/19/2014 at 19:59 • Filed to: None

5

24

Driving a rented Hyundai, and the steering just feels sloppy & gross.

CPT Speedbump > and 100 more 05/19/2014 at 20:00

5

Not all electric steering is bad

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > and 100 more 05/19/2014 at 20:03

2

Not all Electric Steering is bad, but I like manual steering too!

jariten1781 > and 100 more 05/19/2014 at 20:04

1

As opposed to the completely connected feeling you got from old Hyundais? (Note: Hyundai's steering has always sucked electric or hydraulic)

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > and 100 more 05/19/2014 at 20:12

2

Electric steering -

Hydraulic steering -

I currently own the FiST and I owned the monte carlo for 5 years. I can say without a single doubt that the Fiesta ST rack is 1000000000x better in every possible way than the MC. The MC had no feel, the steering wheel wasn't really connected to the rack at all, and maybe 3 out of every 10 times I turned the wheel, both wheels would turn at the same angle. Every lumina-carlo feels like that. Hell every GM W-body feels like that. Don't get me wrong, they're a lot of fun to autocross but it's like riding a mechanical bull after 6 double whiskey sours. It will end with a blood injury and possibly a broken bone and while you might smile while it happens, you wake up in the morning feeling a mix of shame and regret while you're recovering in the hospital bed.

deekster_caddy > and 100 more 05/19/2014 at 20:13

1

Not all electric steering is bad. It's just an electric assist instead of a hydraulic assist. They can make it so that there is feedback.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 05/19/2014 at 20:51

0

Manual steering is the tits. I fell in love with it's unforgiving response in my Swift and it's the first thing that hits me when I drive a new car.

and 100 more > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 05/19/2014 at 23:40

1

I had a Focus as a rental a few months ago; the steering felt a little dull, but far & away better than the Hyundai.

and 100 more > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/19/2014 at 23:46

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Ok, but the W-bodies (and most of GM's cars of that era) weren't exactly made as sturdy as anything these days. I'm sure the steering itself was shit, but I would imagine a fair bit of chassis flex contributed to the horror.

At any rate, I'm not putting all hydraulic steering on a pedestal, I'm just not a fan of the feel of electric steering.

and 100 more > CPT Speedbump 05/19/2014 at 23:49

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I wasn't aware that this had electric steering. I'd love to drive one some day and see if my impression is changed.

and 100 more > jariten1781 05/19/2014 at 23:52

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I don't have much hands-on experience with Hyundais, unfortunately, except for a test drive in a KIA Spectra hatch, and the the steering might have sucked, but just couldn't get past the completely binary throttle experience. I wasn't impressed.

and 100 more > deekster_caddy 05/20/2014 at 00:02

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I'll admit, maybe its just the systems I've used. I've driven a newer Altima, Focus, and now Elantra, all with electric assist, and the Focus was the best of the three, but still didn't feel right to me. The Altima & Elantra systems both seem to have this effect where you can sense the degrees of turn in the wheels, and when it changes, because there's no interval in between. Also, the input is so sensitive that it interprets the slightest rotation of the steering wheel, so I would be actively correcting the steering even when driving in a straight line. Yes, I know, you must correct the steering in every vehicle in a similar manner, but the two effects seemed to exacerbate each other; minor corrections would tend to send the vehicle just a degree or two too far, which would require a further correction...

TL;dr - not a fan.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > and 100 more 05/20/2014 at 00:02

2

You're not a fan of *hyundai's* electric steering.

and 100 more > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/20/2014 at 00:06

0

I've driven an Elantra, an Altima, and a Focus, all with electric steering. The Focus was the best of the three, but none if them felt right. They all lacked feedback, and the Elantra & Altima systems didn't like to hold a straight line. All of them felt dull and disconnected to me.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > and 100 more 05/20/2014 at 00:23

1

Nissan's non-sporty lineup has never had good feel IMO. Maybe the electrics are worse, but magically switching to a bad hydraulic rack won't make them any better. The ST brothers, the new 911, and the FR-S all have used electric steering to rave reviews. To me, this is a non-issue people will complain about but not really do anything in the end. Crappy steering setups have always, and will always, exist. But now that enthusiasts have soemthing else to nitpick all the sudden all steering racks are terrible if they're electric! When really all those cars were pretty awful to begin with, you just didn't notice because you weren't thinking about it. And the electric system smoothed the inputs but reduced the feel resulting in......still pretty crappy steering.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 05/20/2014 at 00:25

1

Electric steering us only semi-Acceptable on cars that are low to the ground. I've driven my friends fiat 500c (base model) and my moms crv (both have electric steering) I got road feel through my feet and butt in the fiat making it ok (term used loosely) that the steering was light, well ok compared to the crv

Stef Schrader > and 100 more 05/20/2014 at 00:25

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cc: PORSCHE

PORSCHE

PORSCHE CAN YOU HEAR ME

PORSCHEEEEEEEEE

PORSCHE PORSCHE PORSCHE PORSCHE

POR. SCHE.

PORSCHE.

(Yeah, even your hydraulic steering in the 80s sucked, too. Manual rack for the win.)

and 100 more > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/20/2014 at 01:22

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Agreed, you can't polish a turd. A crappy steering system is a crappy steering system. I guess I haven't experienced a good electric steering system to be able to tell it apart from the crappy ones. All I know is, the few I have used have left me unimpressed in comparison to the feel of a hydraulic system. There is a tangible difference that I don't like.

Much to my chagrin, I am mostly just an armchair enthusiast. I love automobilia, but I don't have track experience, my daily commute averages 20 mph, and I can't afford time in anything more expensive than a rented compact. So my nitpicking is less based on nuance, and more based in practicality.

and 100 more > Stef Schrader 05/20/2014 at 01:28

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I can't even sneeze in the vicinity of a Porsche, so all I've got is your word & the reviews I've heard. That said, I've heard great things about Porsche's electric steerings, but there's always the caveat that it still feels electric, but in a good way.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > and 100 more 05/20/2014 at 01:31

1

I think electric steering has bad "feel" right now because it's brand new. The older turbocharged cars were dogs and old diesel passenger car engines were smokey, leaky turds. But as things improved, they got better. I think the electric racks will give proper "feel" before the end of this decade.

Stef Schrader > and 100 more 05/20/2014 at 01:33

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Good for electric steering is one thing. Being a downgrade from the hydraulic steering in previous generations is lame.

I'm turning into one of those grouchy old Porsche people, and I think I'm fine with this. Get off my lawn!

and 100 more > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/20/2014 at 01:34

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I sincerely hope you're right about that, and I tend to think you will be. When the time comes, I will eat my Zoidberg. :)

and 100 more > Stef Schrader 05/20/2014 at 01:38

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Agreed! Get of all our lawns! And take your crappy music with you!

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > CPT Speedbump 05/20/2014 at 02:54

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Came here to post this. Thanks.

deekster_caddy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/20/2014 at 12:23

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our '08 Passat has electric and it's got decent feedback. I think they turn the assist down as you go faster. I know of several hydraulic assist systems that used to do the same thing - popular on many GM models, a lot of the Buicks made the assist very strong so old people could maneuver the parking lots easily but could still back off the assist on the highway so you didn't track all over the place.