The 10 Best Handling Cars We Tested This Year

Skidpad: 1.09 g
Figure-eight: 22.9 sec @ 0.90 g

How did a 4,694-pound four-door hatchback make this list? Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, that's how. With four glue-covered steamrollers at each corner, Porsche's 620-hp executive express leaves a trail of bona fide sports cars and even a few supercars eating its dust. To name just a few: the Toyota GR Supra, Porsche's own 718 Cayman GT4, the Acura NSX Type S, and the Ferrari F8 Tributo. "There's no sedan that feels quite like this," Walton marveled. "Even the BMW M5 CS doesn't feel this buttoned down and confident. It's so stable and precise in everything it does."

Read our first test of the 2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S

Skidpad: 1.09 g
Figure-eight: 22.7 sec @ 0.91 g

GTS models are generally regarded as the sweet spot of every Porsche model line, and this 473-hp 911 is no exception. It delivers cornering prowess and straight-line thrust in perfect harmony, all backed up by a reassuringly talkative brake pedal. And it does this while still providing the kind of daily-driver comfort that most people associate with a Mercedes-Benz. You can't say that about the 2017 Ford GT that ran the figure eight in the same 22.7 seconds. Walton noted that the GTS's figure-eight lap times were remarkably consistent, all landing within one-tenth of a second of one another. "That doesn't happen by accident," he said. "It's easy to find the limit and maintain it—over and over again."

Read our first test of the 2022 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS

Skidpad: 1.09 g
Figure-eight: 22.6 sec @ 0.93 g

Here's one instance where the experience doesn't quite live up to the numbers. Despite its 78-pound advantage, the 640-hp Lightweight lagged the standard 911 Turbo S that we tested in 2020 by 0.01 g around the skidpad and 0.1 second in the figure eight. It's not just noise in the data, either. "The rear is really loose," Walton reported. "You can get corner-entry oversteer, lift-throttle oversteer on the skidpad, and power oversteer on the exits. I had to pause after a few laps to sort out what I needed to do and go back at it again for more." Walton quickly homed in on the tires as the source of the discrepancy. The Lightweight we tested wore Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport NA0 rubber. The Pirelli P Zero NA1 tires on the standard Turbo S were much more controlled.

Read our first test of the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight

Skidpad: 1.09 g
Figure-eight: 22.6 sec @ 0.94 g

Lamborghini's V-10 supercar keeps getting better with age. This rear-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-steering model feels like an entirely different car than the original Huracán that arrived in 2014. A roadgoing version of the bonkers 631-hp Huracán STO, the Tecnica trades away some of that car's singular focus on speed for comfort. As a result, it's 0.3 second slower around the figure eight than the STO and generates less grip, but it still imparts the same sense of driver confidence. Walton reported a whiff of stabilizing understeer at the cornering limit, with the Tecnica only threatening to wag its tail under power at corner exit.

Read our first test of the 2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica

Skidpad: 1.10 g
Figure-eight: 22.7 sec @ 0.93 g

Believe the hype. The most anticipated car of the year lives up to it. The Z06's 670-hp flat-plane crank is a spectacular monument to internal combustion, and yet its chassis dynamics are arguably even more deserving of celebration. The Z06 points into corners with precision, balances on the limit confidently, and speaks the same language as the driver.

Walton did note stubborn midcorner understeer but found it easy enough to work with it rather than fight it. He also noted it's easy to kick the tail out on corner exit with aggressive throttle. "It's not threatening in a way that some mid-engine cars can be," he reported. "This is what I imagined this car was capable of being when I drove the first C8 Corvette, and yet there's still more in it."

There's more in it because this Z06 convertible didn't have the optional carbon-fiber wheels or the Z07 package that adds aerodynamic aids, unique chassis tuning, Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R ZP tires. In other words, this isn't the last time you'll read about the Z06 on this list.

Read our first test of the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 convertible

Skidpad: 1.11 g
Figure-eight: 22.3 sec @ 0.95 g

Pop quiz! Based on what we said about the 911 Turbo S Lightweight earlier in this story, was this Turbo S convertible wearing Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport or Pirelli P Zero tires?

If you answered "Pirellis," give yourself a gold star. Although it weighs 265 pounds more than the Lightweight, the cabriolet hustles harder thanks to its more poised rubber. Walton had nothing but praise for this car: "The steering feels natural and is very tactile. That allows you to know how much grip is available at the front end as the wheel loads and unloads accordingly," he reported. "This is the kind of car that's so communicative and consistent that there's no doubt when you get the golden lap and that you can repeat it. This is a unique quality that I only experience a couple times a year."

Read our comparison test of the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet vs. Mercedes-AMG SL63

Skidpad: 1.15 g
Figure-eight: 22.3 sec @ 0.94 g

Finally—finally!—we've been given a Cayman that steps out of the shadows cast by the best 911s. With the 493-hp flat-six screaming in your ear, you might not be able to hear your own thoughts, but the GT4 RS feels so natural and so connected on the track that you can drive it outrageously fast on subconscious reflexes alone. Our test car, which came armed with the $13,250 weight-saving Weissach pack and $15,640 magnesium wheels, topped all but six Porsches in our handling tests. That list includes legends such as the 2018 911 GT2 RS and the 2015 918 Spyder. No shame there.

"You can go so deep on the brakes it's astonishing," Walton relayed. "The turn-in while trail-braking is as intuitive as could be. It feels like the car wants you to slide it on corner exit, but it just puts the power down so well that there's no reason to."

Read our first test of the 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Skidpad: 1.19 g
Figure-eight: 22.5 sec @ 0.92 g

The Touring is a sleeper version of the track-bred 911 GT3, trading aerodynamic flair for a more discreet look but otherwise packing all the same capability and focus. While laying down a prodigious figure-eight lap, the manual-transmission, 502-hp GT3 Touring posted the highest skidpad figure we've ever seen from a production car, making that record a three-way tie. The other two cars? The 2022 911 GT3 and the 2019 911 GT3 RS.

Walton was smitten, calling the GT3 Touring his "favorite Porsche 911 yet," from a long, long list of P cars. "My goodness, things happen quickly in this car," he buzzed. "There's the smallest amount of understeer on the skidpad, but it really comes off as being perfectly balanced. You can do that old 911 trick at the exit where you briefly lift the throttle to kill the understeer, then mash it for a little tail action—so, so fun."

Read our first test of the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring

Skidpad: 1.16 g
Figure-eight: 21.9 sec @ 0.99 g

America's sports car becomes America's supercar when you order it as a Z06 with the $8,995 Z07 package. Think that's just hyperbole? Consider that this Z06 coupe's figure-eight lap is tied with those from the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, the 2019 McLaren Senna, and the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. The Z07 pack's Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R ZP tires elevate the cornering limits, but Walton credits the $11,995 carbon-fiber wheels for transforming the feel and behavior of the Z06.

You'll need experience to extract numbers like this from the Z06. "It takes some time to build driver confidence and to find the limits of grip, but once you're there, it's easy to maintain," Walton reported. "I found myself nicking the second cone because turn-in is so quick. This car is very talkative at the limit, and you should heed its warnings. You'll need quick hands to catch it if it starts to spin."

Read our first test of the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with Z07 package

Skidpad: 1.17 g
Figure-eight: 21.8 sec @ 1.01 g

What do you get when you combine a 755-hp twin-turbo V-8 and Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R MC1 tires in a 3,223-pound carbon-fiber package? A new MotorTrend figure-eight champion. McLaren's LT cars are built to dissect tracks, and this convertible makes few concessions to civility. Just dropping into the optional, barely padded, carbon-fiber-shell seat provides a glimpse of the violence that awaits you—before you've even fired the engine. A short-travel brake pedal, cursory noise insulation, and immediate steering response amplify the sense that the nearly $400,000 765LT is a road-legal race car.

Walton called the 765LT a "tricky car to master," logging his best time when he laid down a single golden lap in a session with about 10 attempts. "There's a very vague sense of understeer on the skidpad with the threat of it turning into oversteer at any moment," he noted. "The steering is remarkably talkative and tells you exactly how much grip you have."

Read our first test of the 2022 McLaren 765LT Spider

(Lateral acceleration (Skidpad) / Figure-eight lap time @ average g)

1. 2022 McLaren 765LT Spider - 1.17 g / 21.8 sec @ 1.01 g
2. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with Z07 package - 1.16 g / 21.9 sec @ 0.99 g
3. 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring - 1.19 g / 22.5 sec @ 0.92 g
4. 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS - 1.15 g / 22.3 sec @ 0.94 g
5. 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet - 1.11 g / 22.3 sec @ 0.95 g
6. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible - 1.10 g / 22.7 sec @ 0.93 g
7. 2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica - 1.09 g / 22.6 sec @ 0.94 g
8. 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight - 1.09 g / 22.6 sec @ 0.93 g
9. 2022 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS - 1.09 g / 22.7 sec @ 0.91 g
10. 2021 Porsche Panamera Turbo S - 1.09 g / 22.9 sec @ 0.90 g