Comparison: Four Fun, Sporty Runabouts Under $30,000
Honda Civic Si vs. Mini Hardtop Cooper S
vs. Subaru WRX vs. Volkswagen Golf GTI
Twenty years ago, in the August 1994 issue of Motor Trend, we tested four sports cars whose averaged stats read like this: 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, quarter mile in 13.9 at 102.3 mph, 60-0 in 116 feet, and lateral acceleration of 0.92 g. The cars? Porsche 911 Carrera, Acura NSX, Chevrolet Corvette, and Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. Legendary nameplates, to say the least. For the day, they were heady cars touting heady stats.
Today, numbers like theirs are still heady, but are associated with nameplates with a bit less panache and histories not quite as storied (save for the bantam Brit, maybe). I'm referring to the sporty runabouts on these pages: the 2014 Honda Civic Si, 2014 Mini Cooper S Hardtop, 2015 Subaru WRX, and 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Whereas the 1994 icons boasted averaged outputs of 279 hp and 280 lb-ft, these pocket rockets come in at 220 hp and 224 lb-ft. Thus, their numbers aren't as quick, but not far off, either: 0-60 in 5.9 seconds, the quarter mile in 14.4 at 97.4 mph, 60-0 in 106 feet, and lateral accel of 0.90 g. Keep in mind that the average inflation-adjusted price of the "oldies" is $77,559, a big leap from the $27,293 for the youngsters.
Now, let's take a look at today's youngsters.
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