I'd say it's my favorite as well, as it's the most solidly built. I never cared about battle mode either, so the lack of a proper one really doesn't phase me all that much when the racing is just so good.

MK8 is definitely my favorite in the series, but I think that Wii had a better roster of characters, and that a proper battle mode stops MK8 from being a perfect game.

My ranking would be:

1. Mario Kart 8 (best tracks, music and balance)
2. Mario Kart DS (best battle mode and highly competitive due to snaking)
2. Mario Kart 64 (second best local multiplayer after MK8, and second best battle mode)
4. Mario Kart 7 (great tracks, but pulled down by awful item balancing and Waluigi's absence)
5. Mario Kart Wii (I didn't spend much time with this one, but from what I experienced it was not my taste and too different from other Mario Kart titles. If I had played more online races while I had the chance it might have gotten a better placement.)
6. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: (complete and utter shit)

Second best.

Double Dash is the best Mario Kart ever.

For what it's worth, Mario Kart Wii is the worst one.

Gameplay wise it is the best.
Graphically best obviously.
The soundtrack is also a lot better than the other few recent entries.

BUT content wise it is lacking. Specifically battle mode.

I like Mario Kart DS most. I loved all the courses, the battle mode was AWESOME, it was the first one with online and the Mission Mode is something I would have killed for in other entries of the series.

Pretty much this! Mario Kart Wii was such a damn disappointment that I stopped playing literally a month after I bought it!

Yeah maybe if it didn't have the worst item balance in the entire series. So no. Not even close.