test driving cars

So people may disagree with how I test drive cars but here is my list of criteria that I test the cars on:

- winding road test for handling, cornering stability, limit of traction from tyre / suspension setup
- braking - how the stable the car is under braking and how much stopping power the brakes offer
- ride quality over speed bumps - yes I do fly over them just to see if the car will bottom out and how well it recovers after going over speed bumps, drive over rough patches of road to see how well the suspension soaks up the bumps.
- 0-60km/h acceleration and in gear acceleration from 50km/h to 100km/h, and from 80km/h to 120km/h.
- wind noise at 110km/h
- high speed stability above 140km/h
- parking (to see how good is the view outwards from the driver's position)
- sitting position and seat comfort
- engine noise and ability to rev without shaking the nuts off the car!

 My expectations of a car is dependent on the market price. If the car is perceived to be a luxury class car but does not live up to the billing, I will put forward my opinion on it.  I will also compare my findings against the specifications printed by the manufacturer. Not all that is printed is translated into the driving experience. The reason for this is that sometimes the driving experience is blunted by certain factors that cannot be explained on the brochure. The car may have 200hp on the brochure but it may not deliver the expected performance because the car could be using an inefficient transmission.

I may not be a motoring journalist and I have no allegiance to any car manufacturer. Here are some of the common discoveries I have made while test driving various cars.  
Korean cars : -
- poor brake feel and inadequate stopping power
- no steering feel or steering feedback
- good low end torque (new models) and power delivery up to 3,500rpm, after that the engine is flat.. no high end power and torque. Will struggle with a full load going uphills
- decent ride quality
- small fuel tank
- assembled in Korea versions have good build quality

Japanese cars:
- non sports models have very little steering feels (especially for Honda)
- power delivery is more spaced out throughout rev range and responsive engine
- has tendency to have a floaty feel at high speed (above 140km/h), as the car is too softly sprung
- decent braking performance
- sports model have hard suspension that aren't suited for Malaysian roads
- small fuel tank

German cars:
- good high speed stability
- good steering feel and feedback
- more suited for highway cruising than in the city
- ride quality is firmer than Japanese cars
- engine power delivery is spread throughout rev range with good low and mid range torque
- car feels heavy compared to Japanese and Korean

China cars:
- improved interior designs (last 2 years)
- no steering feel
- coarse engine with lower power output than Korean, Japanese and German cars
- below par build quality
- massive panel gaps
- average ride quality
- could do with better sound insulation

Malaysian cars (meaning self designed and not rebadged cars)
- lacks low end torque
- good handling and ride quality (for a cheap car!)
- coarse engine
- poor quality plastics and lacks sound insulation
- could do with better steering feel and feedback
- decent braking performance
- engine power is concentrated at high rpm which makes it sluggish to drive in the city