5 Sports Cars That Prove Stiff Suspension Isn't Always Better

While car enthusiasts tend to focus on a car's horsepower first and foremost, experience has shown that suspension and handling are an equally important part of a vehicle's overall capability and driving feel. Typically, when you're looking at performance models and sports cars, stiff suspension is expected as part of the formula — and indeed, when something like the Honda Civic Type R is being engineered, the suspension will usually be substantially stiffened compared to the normal Civic it's based on.

Flatter, stiffer cornering is something that's often desirable on a performance car, especially when it's being driven on a smooth race track. But in the real world, stiffer does not always mean better — and a more softly sprung car can be both fun and rewarding. For one example, if you've watched old car chase movies, you know how entertaining and dramatic it can be to see a floaty car being hustled around by a pro driver. 

However, even on modern performance cars, there are some cases where having a softer suspension can make for a different, funner, and potentially better driving experience. Some of these cars have been designed with softer suspension to deliver more feedback to the driver; some have softer suspension for improved performance on loose or rough surfaces, and some use softer suspension setups to better balance their comfort and handling. Below, we've gathered up five different vehicles that demonstrate this. 

The Porsche 911 Dakar might just be the extreme example of what happens when you soften up and lengthen a sports car's suspension setup. Depending on your perspective, the 911 Dakar might not be "better" than the more street- and race-track-focused 911 models, but this off-road-focused Porsche represents a completely different take on the modern 911 formula. 

Porsche did a significant rework of the 911's suspension and chassis to create the Dakar model, and among the changes are longer strings and struts, with spring rates that are substantially softer than other 911s. Combined with a new suspension lift system and other changes to the car's all-wheel-drive system and computer tuning, the Dakar adapts the fun and performance of the 911 for off-pavement situations. 

Even if behind-the-wheel experience has shown that the 911 Dakar's true off-road capability is still fairly limited, by softening up the suspension and performing other small tweaks, Porsche managed to give an established, modern sports car a unique, rally-inspired edge without dramatically harming the car's on-road persona or performance. Even if the vast majority of owners won't take their pricey, limited-production 911 Dakars out for dirt-road shenanigans, this Porsche shows that you can make a very special sports car with deliberately softer suspension.

When it comes to modern sports cars with suspension setups that are softer than the norm, the ND Mazda MX-5 Miata might just be the best example out there. In this case, the deliberate choice of Mazda's engineers to go with a soft suspension tune is allowed by the Miata's extremely light weight, and is also part of a philosophy that chases driver feedback and response over fast lap times and big grip. 

The Miata has a curb weight less than than 2,400 pounds, and physics have shown that a light car doesn't need to have an ultra-stiff suspension to handle well or respond quickly to driver inputs. Additionally, having a softer suspension also gives the MX-5 a very comfortable, easy-going ride quality in a vehicle that's otherwise such a dedicated, purpose-built sports car.

The Miata's purpose, though, isn't to set quick lap time on a racetrack, and many drivers feel that the MX-5's soft suspension actually makes its driving experience more rewarding, allowing them to feel the car's weight transfer and contributing to the balanced character that makes the Miata one of the purest sports cars on sale today. With all of that said, many ND Miata owners who want to unlock more performance or enjoy hitting track days do end up swapping out their soft stock suspension for a stiffer aftermarket setup. 

Want to see just how much a softer suspension setup (and some other tweaks) can transform a sports car? During our review of the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, we called it "maybe the best car ever". The standard road and track-going variants of the Lamborghini Huracan are extremely capable supercars, but the Sterrato treatment takes things in a very different, off-road-focused direction. 

The Sterrato gets several changes to help make it safari-ready, among which are a re-engineered suspension with longer, softer springs and recalibrated software for the dampers. The goal, of course, is to make this mid-engined supercar able to handle unpaved surfaces with comfort and confidence, while still providing the performance and thrills you expect from a Lamborghini with a price tag that can climb into the $300,000 range.

Like other off-road-inspired variants of modern performance cars, the Sterrato isn't designed to tackle rugged trails or gnarly obstacles alongside Jeeps or 4Runners, but it is designed to be more fun and more usable on a variety of terrain. Based on the observations of those who've been lucky enough to drive one, the Huracan Sterrato very much accomplishes that mission — while still being extremely fast on paved roads.

Sometimes having a softer, more sedate suspension setup can be a deeply ingrained part of a car's character– and the modern Lexus LC is one of those cars. There are lots of reasons why the Lexus LC is such a special car in today's market – one of which is the availability of a naturally aspirated V8 engine, which is an increasingly rare powerplant in contemporary performance cars.

That old-school V8, though, is just one part of the LC's appeal. Less a hard-edged track day warrior and more of an open-road luxury grand-tourer, this soon-to-be-discontinued Lexus has stood out with its uniquely road-focused approach in an era when so many makers of high-end performance cars are chasing lap times. In fact, during the car's 2021 model year refresh, Lexus actually reprogrammed the LC's dampers to have a softer, smoother stroke compared to earlier models.

This is not at all to say that LC's suspension gets overwhelmed or that the car floats corners around like a '70s Cadillac. The LC is still a very capable, sharp-handling coupe (or convertible), but one that handles the road in the supple, confident way you expect from a good grand touring car. Also, when asked, the LC 500 is capable of going out on a racing circuit and putting down some very solid lap times, even if drivers will notice the car's inherently soft, less track-oriented suspension settings. 

To a casual observer, the jointly built Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ might look like identical cars with different names. There are, however, some subtle, yet intentional differences that separate the two models — and most of these differences are in the suspension setup. One of the big differentiators is that by using a stiffer front spring, and a softer rear spring than the GR86, the BRZ has been tuned for a driving feel that's a little less oversteer-friendly than its Toyota-badged sibling.

In normal driving, the differences from these changes might not be obvious, and either car is capable of sideways fun when you want it to be. However, the differences become more noticeable when driving the two cars back-to-back, with the BRZ's more planted, slightly less tail-happy nature becoming especially apparent on a race track.

Being built on the same platform with the same engines and similar, buyers need to look very closely at these two rear-drive sports cars before making their choice. As we noted in our review of the Subaru BRZ, this is a decision that will very much come down to personal preference. There's no right or wrong answer here, but for some drivers, the Subaru's slightly more planted personality might be part of that preference.