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RE: Battle for the B-road: WRX STI vs S3 saloon

Tuesday 7th April 2015

Battle for the B-road: WRX STI vs S3 saloon

Japan versus Germany as the fight for honour in the twisties pitches 'yo' against 'ja'

Our battleground? The British B-road. Our contenders? An original hero of 'the twisties' - the Subaru NotImpreza WRX STI. And our new pretender? An Audi S3 saloon. 'What about the Golf R?' you say. Fear not - the newly delivered PH Fleet VW will be out to prove itself against the Subaru over coming months. But here we've chosen the closely related Audi, its three-box saloon format perhaps closer in spirit to the WRX STI since Subaru abandoned its attempt to go hot hatch.

£30K, 300hp, 4WD - which is king of the twisties?

The giant-killing ability of an Impreza in this environment was for years its USP. But the Subaru's performance advantage over increasingly potent hot hatches has closed. The rally heritage has faded from recent memory, scoops and wings are considered a bit chavvy these days and it seemed like game over.

Favourable exchange rates have permitted its rebirth, shorn of the iconic Impreza badge, sharpened, toughened and considerably more aggressive than ever before. But the beach towels went down while its back was turned. And now for the same £30K as the WRX STI you can get a German premium badged four-wheel drive compact saloon with a matching 300hp, looks that won't scare your fleet manager/other half and an interior made from materials more substantial than your average kebab box. If the Audi S3 can pull off weekend Subaru-style B-road ability yet slip unnoticed into the work car park of a Monday morning, what hope is left for the WRX STI?

Audi S3 Saloon
Funny how the addition of a boot turns the Audi S3 from just another hot hatch into something a little more interesting. Superficial or not, as a three-box the S3 stands apart in the crowd of hot MQB platform cars.

Audi engine gets job done; hardly charismatic

The basics. As a relative of the Golf GTI/R, Leon Cupra, Skoda Octavia vRS et al the S3 has a transverse 2.0-litre turbocharged four driving all four wheels via a Haldex 5 powertrain and, in this case, a six-speed manual. Dual-clutch S Tronic is also available, an instant score over the Subaru for many, even for the £1,480 premium. It has a Golf R equalling 300hp/280lb ft of torque, is slightly slower 0-62 at 5.3 seconds and records official numbers of 40.4mpg and 162g/km. As far as spec sheet number crunchers are concerned though the WRX STI's 27.7mpg and 242g/km are the four-wheeled equivalent of Nigel Farage on a John Smiths and B&H bender. No matter that the real-world fuel consumption is actually much closer.

Mechanically the S3 is a much simpler car than the Subaru, the Haldex clutch delegating torque to the rear wheels when necessary and the open diffs regulated by ESP brake nibbling. The S3 does have Audi's Magnetic Ride adjustable dampers and runs 25mm lower than regular A3 saloons but is unmistakably more about style than substance compared with the Subaru.

Unsurprisingly Audi does this bit better

When it's carried off this well you won't hear many complaints though. Predictable or not the styling is crisp, well proportioned and won't upset the neighbours. And inside it's the same story, tech and minimalism working hand in hand with flourishes like red bolsters on the logo'd seats - enough to set the S3 apart but done in the best possible taste.

Cars like this shine on a wet road; defiantly the weather remained balmy and dry for our test. Damn. Expecting playful though? Of course you weren't, the Audi still blisteringly rapid across country and utterly consistent in its responses no matter what you throw at it. If the low speed ride feels a little underdamped at pace it actually feels very well sorted and - whisper it - compliant. S Audis often drive with a little more subtlety than RS equivalents and so it is here - maximum pace, minimum fuss. The controls are light, the shifter flopping around the gate as if its linkage has come adrift like most VW group manuals while the variable ratio/variable assistance steering varies weight and response but never feel. Because there isn't any. The brake pedal bites a little too hard on initial prod but none of these gripes interfere with the sense this is a very fast and sorted motor car and quietly satisfying to pedal at pace. Just don't expect much surprise and delight.

The all pervasive EA888 engine is an Audi design and traditionally torquey and undersquare in configuration. It's down 20lb ft on torque compared with the Subaru but subjectively pulls harder, its peak at just 1,800rpm compared with the WRX STI's 300lb ft at 4,200rpm.

This means it can pull away from the Subaru out of the corners, even if it gives you fewer options on entry. There's very little emotional connection though and no sense of revs or boost building. Press throttle until desired speed is reached, shift gear and repeat. S Tronic and the ability to blat up and down the 'box via paddles probably suits this binary power delivery better, as is the way with many modern engines.

So in all but the final tenths of the handling envelope the Audi is more than good enough to keep the Subaru honest. And its Q-car invisibility is undoubtedly appealing. Is it enough though?

Subaru WRX STI
Fair play to Subaru. It's seen the threat from the Germans and others and decided attack is the best defence. And attack is the WRX STI's default mode. It's so darned aggressive and hyped up it actually takes a while to adjust and tone down your inputs so as not to dive into the bushes with every tiny application of steering lock.

Yes, it's the same old formula ... and same power

Where the Audi takes relatively basic underpinnings and applies a level of electronic garnish Subaru approaches the problem from the other direction. The WRX STI has three different types of mechanical limited-slip differential (helical front/viscous centre/Torsen rear), plus an additional electronically controlled one to control torque distribution fore and aft. It has super fast hydraulically assisted steering and passively damped suspension running fierce spring/damper rates and mounted rigidly to a significantly stiffer body. It then adds torque vectoring, manual torque bias adjustment and a choice of throttle maps into the equation. No wonder there was no budget left to spend on squidgy dash plastics.

And here's the difference. The Subaru is all about the driving. The Audi contrives a convincing enough impression and then devotes itself to soothing and reassuring you the premium was worth paying. The WRX STI is purely about maximum attack, the ghost of McRae and the 'if in doubt, flat out' mentality.

This is a blessing and a curse. Thanks to the complexity the Subaru has a multitude of answers to the same question and the response is only ever as consistent as the input. Meaning a fractionally different approach to the same corner, a smidge later off the brakes, a tad earlier on the throttle, a different setting on the centre diff ... the outcome can vary wildly. But while the Audi resolutely plays it safe no matter what the provocation the Subaru gives you options. And it's playful, responsive to diving into the apex on the brakes, tucking its nose in and adopting a neutral to oversteer stance on the way out if you're brave on the throttle and decisive about your intended direction of travel.

For all the stereotypes it's not actually that flimsy

And the contact points are so much better. You don't get a huge sense of the road through the wheel but the response and weighting are a reminder of why we bang on about hydraulic assistance. The brake pedal feels almost unservoed in its solidity and is perfectly matched to the throttle for heel and toe. Likewise the tightly gated shift and crisp throttle response. It's geared short and the sweet spot at the top of the rev range is narrow, meaning you're busy with hands and feet to keep it on the boil. Thanks to the charismatic engine and old-school power delivery this is immense fun. When you're in the mood. Assert yourself and the Subaru will happily play along; be timid and it'll feel unpredictable, overly twitchy and demanding.

Whisper it but on that dark rainy night on an unfamiliar B-road the cool glow of the Audi's (optional) LED headlights and its calmer nature will probably be the more comforting place to be. Would you get up early the next morning to take the long way to go and get the papers and milk? Probably not. But for all the superficial similarities in bottom line specs the difference in the character of these two cars is fascinating.

Verdict
It'd be easy to write the Audi off as hiding behind a premium badge and an artfully contrived impression of talents Subaru used to call its own. Like when some X Factor wannabe murders a soul standard by hurling a load of notes at it, hoping nobody notices the Autotuned loss of nuance. Impressive at a superficial level but just missing that, well, x factor.

But it's still rather an appealing car, not least for its combination of understated looks and discreetly blistering pace. Like a less shouty version of the mechanically identical Golf R, it is more than capable at all-conditions fast road pace and surprisingly potent on track too, accepting that, Terminator like, it absolutely will not deviate from its intended plan of attack. For those - and there will be many - who simply can't stomach the scoop'n'wing image of the Subaru it's more than good enough to play the under the radar substitute.

But the WRX STI is still a proper driver's car, full of geeky details and as eccentric and hardcore in engineering as the looks would suggest. OK, so they suggest it should have perhaps another 100hp too. But when you look at the MQB cars' electronic simulations of what Subaru still chooses to do with mechanical components it's refreshingly old-school. And, get this, it's actually a bit of a bargain too.

Remember we kicked off by saying these were both £30K, 300hp cars? Well the Subaru, as tested, is barely nudged over that threshold by the solitary option of its dealer fit Pioneer touchscreen nav unit. And the Audi, already carrying a 10 per cent premium for starters? Driven out of the dealership as seen it's a £40K car. Style, it seems, costs over substance.

For more on this head-to-head see PHTV on Wednesday!

AUDI S3 SALOON
Engine: 1,984cc, 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 300@6,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 280@1800rpm
0-62mph: 5.3sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,430kg
MPG: 40.4mpg (NEDC)
CO2: 162g/km
Price: £32,745 before options (£40,350 as tested comprising Glacier White metallic paint £525; Parade Red design package £895; 19-inch wheels £395; 'advanced key' £425; auto dimming mirror/rain sensor £245; LED headlights £795; interior lighting package £170; ;Technology Package' inc. phone prep £1,795; dimming/heated/powered mirrors £250; Audi Parking System £835; cruise control £225 and Audi sound system £225)

SUBARU WRX STI
Engine: 2,457cc, flat-4 turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 300@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 300@4,200rpm
0-62mph: 5.2sec
Top speed:159mph
Weight: 1,534kg
MPG: 27.2mpg (NEDC)
CO2: 242g/km
Price: £28,995 before options (£30,007 as tested inc. Pioneer touchscreen infotainment/nav unit and dealer installation)

Photos: Antony Fraser

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