WRX and Evo IX – but it’s no contest!
I was out at the Bira circuit this month
and watched a frantic race with around 30 all-wheel-drive cars
pitted against each other. The vast majority were Mitsubishi
Lancer Evo’s and Subaru WRX Imprezas. There was hot rivalry
between the two makes, and the ultimate winner that day was an
inspiringly driven Mitsubishi Evo VII (or VI or VII – they
all look the same).
That round to Mitsubishi, but another
direct comparison in Australia in their “Motor” magazine,
with a race driver taking both cars round Oran Park circuit,
had the Subaru ahead by 0.3 of a second. Round 2 to Subaru,
but on the road in Thailand, there’s no contest, in my
books. An Impreza is two point something million here, while
the Mitsubishi is four point something million! With the cars
so equal, I would have to pick the Subaru and pocket the extra
two million change.
The
latest version of the Subaru, which is now coming out of Japan
for model year 2006 has a 2.5 -litre turbo four in place of
the venerable 2.0-litre turbo boxer engine. It has some of
that awful styling still there, but perhaps everyone is
getting used to the snuffly nose look, called the koala nose
Down-under.
According to GoAuto, the new 2006 Impreza
is just 55 mm longer than the old car and remains largely
unchanged except for specification improvements, an
engineering makeover involving the engines, gearboxes and some
added dynamic refinements.
In profile, the Impreza’s handsome lines
continue, with its wheel-arch blisters and chunky door
handles. Apart from some new tail-light lens the rear end
remains the largely same.
Overall weight has inched up a tad, by 20
kg to 1415 kg in the WRX, which one assumes is because of the
extra weight of the now standard side head and thorax airbags.
In the absence of having any normally
aspirated 2.0-litres available, which include the perky 2.0R
with its double overhead camshafts and active valve control
delivering 118kW of power at 6400rpm and 186Nm at 3200rpm, we
were easily coerced into the WRX for a modest spin around the
windy mountain roads behind Brisbane.
As
soon as you were under way the Rex was like an attack dog
straining to be let off the leash. The power we remember from
WRXs of old – rapid and unrelenting - but its seamless and
linear delivery from barely above 20 km/h really impressed in
the new car.
The newest WRX is less aggressive, more
progressive. The same can be said of the all-paw traction in
the WRX. It offers levels of grip that can leave passengers
spell-bound if they have never experienced four-wheel drive
before. But the price you pay for such acceleration and
handling is a firm ride and plenty of tyre noise generated
through the cabin.
Even though the WRX’s power output
remains at 169 kW at 5600 rpm it remains an awful lot for a
little car. Torque is up 20 Nm, or 6.6 percent, to 320 Nm at
3600 rpm. The power comes on in a seamless fashion from low
down the rev range, making third-gear point-and-squirt
acceleration through some windy hills an entertaining
experience.
However, because of heavy holiday traffic
we had to amuse ourselves running through the car’s revised
specification levels – aluminium lower suspension arm in the
sedan, aluminium pedals, electronic throttle control, HID
headlights with headlight washers, immobiliser, Suretrac
limited slip differential, four-pot front and two-pot rear
disc brakes and new 17-inch alloys.
All very nice touches complemented now by
dual side airbags for the modest ask of AUD 40,990 (about 1.2
million on direct conversion) for the five-speed manual. This
includes climate control air conditioning, cruise control,
sports seats, anti-lock brakes, remote central locking and fog
lights and the WRX remains a persuasive argument for low-cost,
high-performance motoring.
Apart from the more refined power delivery,
the clutch and shift linkage quality felt vastly improved –
more positive in the gearshift throws and with a firmer, more
precise clutch take up.
The car’s drive-by-wire electronic
throttle control – all Imprezas get it – allows the WRX to
be driven with more precisely measured throttle inputs.
Fans of the traditional throbbing
horizontally opposed boxer engine will also be delighted by
subtle exhaust changes that have made the WRX more efficient
while also delivering a more throaty engine note.
In our all-too-brief exposure to the latest
WRX it is clear Subaru has maintained a build-brief of
continuous improvement, refining and improving the things that
it really believes count – a car’s dynamics and overall
performance.
The bottom line however, is that the WRX
remains a thoroughly entertaining car to drive.
That was what one Aussie tester thought of
the new WRX, which should hit Thailand next year. For my
money, the WRX remains the performance bargain package of the
year. You are getting close to ‘supercar’ performance at
everyday car prices. Zero to 100 kays in 5.4 seconds is
quicker than the vast majority of cars available on the
market, and would have to be the fastest in the sub-3 million
baht bracket. Since the Aussies pay around half of what we are
forced to cough up, perhaps the much vaunted FTA with Japan
might see the price come down? Please raise your umbrellas now
as a squadron of pigs is going overhead!
Audi. The
‘forgotten’ marque?
When people discuss German makes, the names
of Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche and VW come to mind
immediately. However, Audi somehow remains the poor cousin,
passed over when the plaudits are handed out. This is a shame,
as Audi has a very colorful history, resulting from the
amalgamation of Horch, Wanderer, DKW and Audi, to form Auto
Union, with its symbol of the four linked rings. As Auto
Union, they built some of the most awe inspiring race cars,
rear engined and prone to some vicious road manners. But they
were quick!
These
days, Audi does make some very good cars, in the
German-European mold, and the latest A6 Quattro (four wheel
drive) is receiving good reviews. However, it is still
struggling to overcome a lack-luster recent history.
The following piece comes from GoAuto.
Audi’s A6, since the first model was launched in 1994, has
always been seen as something of a luxury-class wannabe. The
latest A6 came at the end of 2004 and, like its predecessor
did at its launch, it looks a pretty complete package.
The new A6 is bigger, sassier and a
recipient of every known piece of practical technology short
of the all-alloy construction of its bigger A8 brother. It
does have some A8 DNA though, including the trapezoidal-link
rear suspension, and there is quite extensive use of aluminium
- primarily in the suspension - to keep the weight down.
As before, the A6 offers a choice of
two-wheel or all-wheel drive, the former only available on the
base 2.4 and 3.0 litre models. The 3.0 litre version offers a
choice of two or all-wheel drive, while the 4.2-litre V8 and
the new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel are quattro only.
Like
all Audis, the A6 makes an impact with its styling, in this
case amplified by the new front-end treatment with its
massive, full-depth “single frame” grille opening leaving
one in no mistake about what sort of car this is. (Audi
claimed that this was to remind the world of the Auto Union
racers. Dr. Iain.) The A6 is aerodynamic, but certainly not
class leading.
The instrument display is classic Audi,
with the eerie red glow of the gauges and switches dominant at
night. The ergonomic layout is generally faultless and
there’s plenty of adjustability to keep the driver happy -
although even at this price point there’s no memory function
for the power seat adjustment.
All A6s gets eight airbags including
full-length curtain bags as well as anti-whiplash front head
restraints. There’s also the full array of electronic safety
aids including four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with
four-channel ABS, electronic brake-force distribution and
brake assist.
The car’s interactions with the driver
are important here too. The A6’s nicely communicative, well
weighted steering denies its actual size and weight. It steers
with precision even though it might lack the tricky
varying-ratio systems now starting to come into vogue (BMW 5
series, Lexus GS430).
The A6 feels well-planted, confident, which
is the sort of thing you might expect from a high-end German
luxury sedan with full-time four-wheel drive incorporating a
Torsen centre differential as well as a differential lock to
supplement the traction control.
Couple this with a well-controlled,
absorbent ride and the A6 quattro, in all conditions, is about
as unfazed as it’s possible to be in a passenger sedan.
Yes, the A6 is an advance over its already
refined predecessor. It’s big, comfortable, practical and,
in turbo-diesel form, powerful and economical at the same
time. And it has full-time all-wheel drive to separate itself
from the opposition.
Will it make the transition to a serious
luxury contender that will sell in BMW/Mercedes numbers? Maybe
not in the foreseeable future, but that will be nothing to do
with the intrinsic quality of the new Audi A6.
They’ve altered the 2006
F1 calendar already
Mar 12: Bahrain Grand Prix (Bahrain)
Mar 19: Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang)
Apr 2: Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
Apr 23: San Marino Grand Prix (Imola)
May 7: European Grand Prix (Nurburgring, Germany)
May 14: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
May 28: Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
Jun 11: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
Jun 25: Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
Jul 2: United States Grand Prix (Indianapolis)
Jul 16: French Grand Prix (Mangy-Cours)
Jul 30: German Grand Prix (Hockenheim)
Aug 6: Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)
Aug 27: Turkish Grand Prix (Istanbul)
Sep 10: Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
Sep 17: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)
Oct 1: Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)
Oct 8: Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
Oct 22: Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which candle manufacturer
also built motor cars? The clue was Agnelli! The answer was
Michele Lanza who built cars at the turn of the 20
th
century. He refused an offer of a partnership with Giovanni
Agnelli, who went on to found Fiat. OK, it was a long time
ago, so you’re excused if you didn’t get the right answer!
So to this week. The use of aluminium and
steel in car production is thought of as something new.
However they were building cars in 1900 that had
steel/aluminium chassis and alloy mudguards. What was the
manufacturer?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
