That could probably be its own post, people have pretty strong opinions on that haha.
Me personally I've always been partial to Mario Kart 64 (& I know lots of people hate on it). It has just the right balance of speed and driving mechanics that make it a good racing game. Later on remember playing the follow-up on the Gamecube (Mario Kart Double Dash) & I never really liked that one, it just feels kind of slow/sluggish compared to 64. Like it's trying to be a racing game but it just runs too slow IMO.