“Handling” means different things today than it did back then. We expect our modern cars to pretty much go exactly where we point them. Watch some Goodwood races for 60s-60’s sports cars on skinny tires. The fast times are pretty much 4 wheel drifting through the corners. Kind of impractical on open roads.
Like everyone constantly reminds me about 3 pedal vs 2 pedal driving, the “softness” of the handling is one of the things that endears me to my Spyder. My Smart “handles” way better.