Sports Comparison Review: Focus ST, Cooper S, Golf GTI Performance, WRX
$40k Fun: Ford Focus ST, MINI Cooper S, VW Golf GTI Performance And Subaru WRX Comparison Test
TMR takes to the hills around Melbourne to put a quartet of small and (mostly) practical performance cars through the wringer. Which will take the crown for all-round best buy?
Read on...
Variants Reviewed | Fuel use - l/100km | ||
Model | Power/Torque | claimed | tested |
Subaru WRX > | 197kW/350Nm | 9.2 | 10.4 |
Ford Focus ST > | 184kW/340Nm | 7.4 | 10.6 |
MINI Cooper S > | 141kW/280Nm | 5.9 | 7.9 |
VW Golf GTI P > | 169kW/350Nm | 6.6 | 10.1 |
Overview
Say you’ve got a budget of around $40,000 and you want something a bit fun. Something a bit practical, something you won’t tire of driving, and something that oozes cool.
With $40k to spend the choices are many, but we’ve assembled a group of some of the newest small speedsters - as well as an old favourite.
Cheapest here is the $36,950 MINI Cooper S. It’s all-new and trades heavily on its unique design and go-kart handling. The smallest car in this group, it’s also a lot less versatile.
Next is the $38,290 Ford Focus ST. When launched, it redefined what 'good value' meant among hot hatches, offering in excess of 180kW for substantially less that $40k. It’s about halfway through its life cycle now though, so has time robbed it of some of its sheen?
The Subaru WRX, meanwhile, is one of the most impressive sub-$40k performance cars around. It wowed us at its local launch by proving to be a sharp steerer with blistering speed. Priced from $38,990 it offers tremendous bang-for-your-buck value.
And then we have the interloper, the $48,490 Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance. Volkswagen could only provide us with the dearer 'Performance' variant (in base GTI-spec it sits at $41,490).
Even at base spec it's the dearest in this company and the Performance is only available as an automatic. But does spending more necessarily net you a more enjoyable car?
We took all four to some of Victoria’s most enjoyable roads to find out which gave us the most smiles-per-kilometre.
So, ranked on price we have:
1. MINI Cooper S: $36,950
2. Ford Focus ST: $38,290
3. Subaru WRX: $38,990
4. Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance: $48,490 (base-spec GTI manual $41,990)
The Interior
If all we were assessing was build quality and material quality, the GTI would win convincingly.
The seventh-generation Golf has an interior that bests all other small cars, and could easily pass for something from a more luxurious marque.