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Two against One In what sounds like a comparison test for suckers, we put two $40,000 German sharks up against a $25,000 novice from Subaru. Surprises to follow. BY LARRY WEBSTER
The Law of Diminishing Returns: A yield rate that, after a certain point, fails to increase proportionately to additional outlays of capital or investments of time and labor.* Relax, we're not about to launch into a sleep-inducing lecture on money supply, interest rates, and the effects of Alan Greenspan's bedtime rituals on the Gross Domestic Product. The definition is for those of you who are wondering how we could even think of comparing a car costing $25,000 with two that each cost 60 percent more. The question here is: If you spend that extra 60 percent — 40 thousand bucks in all — do you get a car that is 60 percent better? In the 40-grand corner we have the Audi S4 Quattro and the BMW 330xi. In the other corner — actually, down in the bargain basement — lurks our underdog, the $24,520 samurai challenger, the Subaru Impreza WRX. Unfair comparison, you say? Duuuh! But wait — check the spec sheets. All three cars have full-time four-wheel drive, four doors, manual transmissions, engines with 225 or more horsepower, and interior and exterior dimensions that come within inches of one another. Our glowing reviews of the WRX suggest it's a worthy opponent to two of our favorite sporting sedans. The snorty little Subaru sedan has rocked the sporting establishment by producing a remarkable combination of performance and character for the price. We only decided to send it to the wolves after we looked at other similarly priced sedans and realized that matching them against the WRX wouldn't be a comparo, it'd be a slaughter. So we called in the German sharks. Both the Audi and the Bimmer have been frequent honorees on our 10Best list (10 straight years for the 3-series and three years for the S4's less-powerful sibling, the A4). Audi's S4 is a pumped-up, twin-turbocharged version of the A4 and has the added distinction of being the first and only car to outperform the previous-generation M3 in a comparison test. While the M3 has moved up in price — to $46,000 — and in performance, BMW has also upped the performance of the entire 3-series line. The model representing a step down from the new M3 is the 330i, offered in both two- and four-door bodies and available with a $1750 four-wheel-drive system that changes the model designation to 330xi. Ask any one of us to pick our favorite cars, and these three would be high on our list. If you're thinking we've put ourselves in the unenviable position of having to choose a favorite child in this test, you would be right. We put the three through our usual battery of performance tests, lapped DaimlerChrysler's 1.7-mile road course, and tore up the curvy roads of northwestern Pennsylvania — a fitting locale since the discovery and eventual refinement of oil in these hills made fortunes for many and changed the country's path nearly 150 years ago. And, of course, without oil we wouldn't be writing this. Many of us have been quick to point out that there's no need to spend more than $25,000 on a car. Do the German cars deliver the goods to justify their major-league prices? Let's find out. THIRD PLACE BMW 330xi  Let this comparo remind all the whiners out there that we don't automatically place the trophy in the trunk of the car bearing the whirling propeller badge before the test. In this one, the Bimmer finished last. What gives? Clearly, this BMW wasn't loaded to compete with the two others. Its 225-hp six-cylinder engine is the least powerful of the group, and it's pushing around the second-heaviest weight. At the drag strip, it lost the sprint to 60 and through the quarter-mile. Still, we love its engine. Neither of the other cars can match the throttle response of the Bimmer's six, which doesn't bear the burden of spooling up turbos. Comments such as "power oozes out in silky-smooth pulses" and "very smooth and strong and makes the best noise" filled the BMW's logbook.
We also thought the five-speed was the best-shifting box of the bunch, with low effort and Teflon-coated detents. The transmission routes power to a planetary center differential that under no-slip conditions supplies the rear axle with 62 percent of the torque. Should one wheel slip, the electronic traction control of the Bimmer's Dynamic Stability Control system routes the power to the wheels with grip. The rearward torque bias preserves the rear-drive handling we've come to appreciate in BMWs, but sadly, BMW doesn't offer on four-wheel-drivers the optional stiffer suspension and larger wheels and tires of the 3-series Sport package. The setup of the base model is softly tuned and has weak tires. "Definitely the Cadillac of the group," complained one tester. The Cadillac of the group? A BMW? It was also the quietest. We're not above appreciating a good-riding car, but unfortunately for the BMW, neither of the other cars was unduly harsh, so the BMW came across as somewhat floppy.
And then there are the tires, which squeal at even modest cornering speeds. The tires and the soft suspension conspire to hurt the BMW in every test of grip. The Bimmer finished the poorest on the skidpad and in the lane-change maneuver. On the road course, the 330xi rolled in the turns and the tires howled in protest, limiting cornering speeds and putting it 3.4 seconds behind the Audi and 1.8 seconds back of the Subaru. BMW has heard complaints that the base 3-series is too soft and in response has made the Sport suspension — but not the tires — standard on all 3-series produced after last March. That change was too late for this roundup, and any egg that appeared on the BMW's grille from its performance on the road course quickly flew off when we hit the back roads. The soft suspension displayed a fluidity we hadn't anticipated after those disappointing track laps. We still don't endorse the trend to light steering, but the brakes had the best feel of the bunch, with a firm pedal and perfect linear action. If you're still incredulous over the BMW's third-place finish, consider the features content of the Bavarian car, which at nearly 40 large as tested came with lousy, nearly flat seats that are covered in "leatherette." Sounds like a covering better suited to a $25,000 car, doesn't it? SECOND PLACE Subaru Impreza WRX  We're still arguing the Subaru's second-place finish. Two of the three voters put the Subaru in first place, with the Audi second. But one — and he'll remain nameless — put the Audi first and the Subaru last, so when we averaged the scores, the Subaru missed the top spot by just one point. So what's missing in the $25,000 car? Actually, it's not what's missing, it's what's there, and in the case of the Subaru, there's a lot of extra noise. The Subaru's sound levels were the loudest during all our decibel tests. The WRX does not qualify as a loud car compared with others in its price class, but it becomes one when the competition gets very expensive. Poke around the Subie's exterior and interior panels, and you see how the noise trickles through to the inside of the car. There's only a paper-thin mat on the trunk bottom and no covering for the underside of the trunklid or hood — items both the BMW and Audi have.
That said, two of the test drivers weren't annoyed at all by the noise levels. All of us loved the wonderfully designed and supportive cloth seats, the favorite chairs of the group. We also liked the Subaru's in-dash CD changer and cassette player, a combination unique in this zooty group. The Subaru also has no power seats, no stability control, no automatic climate control, and no sunroof. That nose-dived its features rating, but to us, many of those goodies fall under the "nice to have but you don't need them" category. The rest of the car is pure joy.
There's a touch more turbo lag than in the Audi, but we could get a better launch in the Subaru, which gave it a slight edge in the low-speed-acceleration tests. The trick is to do the unthinkable in a four-wheel-drive car: Hold the revs at five grand, and drop the clutch. The WRX's full-time four-wheel-drive system uses a viscous limited-slip center differential that routes power equally to the front and rear axles. The clutch drop breaks the tires loose for only an instant, and then the WRX leaps off the line, scooting to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and through the quarter in 14.1 seconds at 96 mph — both the best of the bunch. Turbo lag, however, rears its head in the top-gear tests where the Subaru trails from 30 to 50 mph. Keep the engine rpm north of 3000, however, and you won't notice the lag. We also found the Subaru to be the most neutral-handling of the group. Midcorner throttle lifts cause the rear end to slide just enough to tighten your line without provoking fears of a major spin. "Subaru got the big stuff right — the motor, tranny, seats, and handling," wrote one tester in the logbook. That sums up how we feel about this car. One can only marvel at what Subaru could do with another 15 grand. FIRST PLACE Audi S4 Quattro  So, you say there's no mystery to the Audi's win. Why wouldn't the most expensive car in the test win? Its as-tested price is $1659 above the BMW's and a universe beyond the Subaru's sticker — exactly $16,262 more. Likewise, you get a ton of stuff — power, torque, valves, features, gears, grip, and pounds in this contest. But you don't get the quickest sprinter to 60 mph. Owing to its greater girth and tires that refuse to break loose at the moment of launch despite our best efforts, the Audi trailed the Subaru to 60 mph by a smidge, 0.1 second. By 100 mph, however, the Audi had picked up enough steam to be a half-second ahead of the two other cars, and it continued to widen the gap to its governed 142-mph top speed. But the Audi is the king of every other performance contest, posting significantly better numbers on the skidpad (Audi, 0.86 g; Subaru, 0.82 g; BMW, 0.78), through the lane change (67.8 mph versus 66.5 for the Subaru and 63.1 for the BMW), and around the road course, where it was nearly two seconds a lap quicker than the second-place finisher, the Subaru.
The Audi is the amusement ride of this group — sit down, buckle up, and hit the button. It's the easiest to drive of the trio, with benign handling and nearly telepathic steering. "The most enjoyable and secure car to drive fast. The rubber really bites in the corners, and the engine pumps power like a fire hose," said one test driver. Which brings us to the wonderful twin-turbocharged 30-valve V-6 engine. There's noticeably less turbo lag in the Audi than in the Subaru. The S4's engine enjoys a considerable displacement edge over the Subaru, so it feels more powerful off-boost. Plus, it runs less boost pressure (10.2 versus 14.2) and employs two blowers, which spool up faster than the Subie's single unit. Unfortunately, the six-speed tranny's action is best described as rubbery. The gearbox routes power to a four-wheel-drive system that uses a Torsen limited-slip center differential to send power to the axle with the most grip, so the traction control only has to limit slip from side to side. Like all the systems here, it's transparent under normal driving conditions.
In addition to the shifter, the powerful brakes drew disparaging comments as well, despite their ability to stop the car from 70 mph in only 164 feet. "There's lots of pedal to push through before the brakes retard, and then the binders are way too touchy," mused one tester. Yet those two niggles did not alter our appreciation of this car's great versatility. Not only is it swift, it's also plush and very serene on the highway. It's easy to drive fast, yet as comfy as a La-Z-Boy. And no one can dispute the attractiveness and quality of the Audi's interior — its subdued hues and materials would fit nicely in a car costing twice as much. And as much as we liked the S4 model, it still came achingly close to being beaten by a car that is hugely less expensive. Perhaps it's not right to say that the S4 is 60 percent better than the WRX. Maybe the best way to put it is that in this test, our collective minds simply liked the S4 60 percent more. *American Heritage Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. |
