Difficult question to answer. The Mario Kart franchise is among my most esteeemed. The first two installments felt wacky and only with the unique Double-Dash! did things truly start cooking. The franchise found its true tempo on handhelds, however. Mario Kart DS was overflowing with joy including the ability to race online for the first time and Mission Mode. The 16 classic track tradition was also instilled. I didn't expect to be blown away once more but last year's Mario Kart 7 accomplished just that and earns to gold trophy for me. The physics are excellent (especially when playing in Wario's standard kart), old tracks have been reworked to incorporate air and water segments as well as raise the overall difficulty. The idea of section tracks rather than laps ones is also intriguing and a motion I'd like to see return in the future.
