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perksofwifi · 5 years

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2019 Subaru WRX STI S209 First Test: What Makes You So Special?

Subaru stans rejoice: A mythical S-model has finally landed on American soil. Subaru Tecnica International’s motorsport-inspired, limited-production creations were previously reserved for Japan, but now the Pleiades have aligned, and we get our own. Building off the WRX STI Type RA, Subaru’s speed-obsessed engineers proceeded to widen, stiffen, lower, and boost, resulting in the S209. It is, quite simply, the most powerful and performant factory-built Subaru ever.

As a week of hammering the S209 revealed, it represents peak STI. The car delivers a visceral, engaging driving experience that’s ever rarer in this increasingly digitized and electrified world. It demands and rewards your focus, goading you to dig deeper and work harder. If you want this analog thrill before it’s lost to kilowatts and computers, act immediately: Only 209 S209s will ever be built.

There’s a problem, however. Whereas the standard STI offers good performance value, the S209, well, doesn’t. The one we tested cost—sitting down?—$64,880. That’s approximately $27,000 more than a stock STI, a difference equivalent to a brand-new 2020 Outback.

Price is the S209’s curse, for as good it is, it’s the factor upon which it will be endlessly compared. Would you rather have it, or a mildly optioned BMW M2 Competition, or Audi RS3, or Porsche 718 Cayman? Or a stock STI, and a stack of cash with which to modify the hell out of it? Or, perhaps, a two-car garage of the aforementioned Outback and STI? Here even the most steadfast Subie bro must do some soul searching, and decide whether this ultra-exclusive super-roo is worth it.

The S209 looks like someone already dropped some coin to add street style to an STI. Those looks work, too: Every vent, scoop, and strake is functional. Gold rims under bulging arches look like they were swiped from a rally team garage. The regular STI’s infamous wing is replaced with a smaller adjustable unit, which, like the roof, is crafted from carbon fiber. Quad exhaust outlets are an STI trademark, here with a bespoke exhaust system behind them. Inside, the only clues that this isn’t a standard STI are the faux suede steering wheel and numbered dedication plate behind the shifter.

Subaru wrung everything it could from its EJ-series 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-four, resulting in 341 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque. How that power is delivered is as old school as the engine itself (its lineage traces back to the 2003 STI). Low in the rev range you can keep the throttle floored and not worry about breaking speed limits. After about an hour of lag the car lunges forward, commanding decisive gear changes and thoughtful planning to keep the engine on boost. Riding that surge gives the S209 dimension, and fun.

One S209 trick is the intercooler water spray, activated by paddles behind the steering wheel. Tug one and a mist hits the heat exchanger, cooling the charged air and feeding a more oxygen-dense, fuel-rich mixture to the cylinders—basically, extra power on demand. It’s not much and the effect is subtle, but it works. The higher the revs, the more you’ll feel it.

Where does the S209’s 31 hp, 40 lb-ft boost over the regular STI come from? Read our technical deep dive here.

Still, “this is not a drag racer—it hates launching,” said road test editor Chris Walton. Conspiring against it are that peaky engine and a driveline-protecting clutch damper which forces slow shifts. Walton found launching “requires more than 4,000 rpm to be in the torque, and major clutch slippage.” Despite his best efforts, “it bogs bigly,” and the S209’s quickest 0-60 mph time disappointed at 5.9 seconds—two tenths behind the standard STI. The much-less-expensive Honda Civic Type R did it in 5.0 seconds flat, while the similarly priced Audi RS3 did the sprint in just 3.6. Through the quarter mile it barely beats the regular STI, tying at 14.1 seconds, but ahead at 101.2 mph against 98.5 mph.

Walton thinks the S209 could borrow something from the aforementioned Audi, calling it the “number one candidate for a dual-clutch transmission (with launch control) ever.”

For better or worse, like the standard STI, it’s solely available with a six-speed manual transmission. Dastardly damper aside, it’s a pretty sweet setup. Shifter throws are short, tight, and require some shoulder. The lever itself feels very stiff, but there’s some softness in the gates. Consistent takeup starts just off the floor for the hefty clutch, and there’s a nice interplay between left foot and right hand. Short gearing benefits windy roads, not highways: Revs hold around 3,000 rpm at 70 mph.

Contrasting the S209’s drivetrain delays is its braking immediacy. Brembo six-piston front and two-piston rear calipers carry over from the STI but now hold high-friction pads. Typically soft-spoken testing director Kim Reynolds abandoned form, calling the brakes “Eh, so-so… That is, so, so amazing!” Brushing or stomping on the extremely firm pedal results in “instant bite, zero dive, and straight, steady stops,” according to Walton. He found the fade-free stoppers “extremely effective and trustworthy.” The S209 halted from 60 mph in 103 feet, improved over the regular STI’s 109 feet, and ahead of the M2 Competition’s 106 feet. Don’t worry about the squeaking and scraping noises—that’s just the track-spec pads working.

How much grip does the S209 have? It actually has more than that. Handling is where the S209 shines. During our First Drive, technical director Frank Markus called the car’s hydraulically assisted steering “a revelation,” praising its direct and lively feel. Supporting that is Subaru’s intrinsic all-wheel-drive system and the STI’s central limited-slip differential, plus specific Dunlop Sport Maxx tires and firm Bilstein dampers. It lapped the figure eight in 24.6 seconds at 0.78 g, a shade better than the Volkswagen Golf R’s 24.8 seconds at 0.77 g, but not quite as good as the 718 Cayman’s run of 24.0 seconds at 0.81 g. Nonetheless, at the end of the lap Reynolds beamed, “Holy moly what fun.” High praise from a guy who drives everything.

Much like what we found with the standard STI, the S209 impresses more on the road than by the numbers. As if to help prove the efficacy of Subaru all-wheel drive, rain dumped in Los Angeles for most of our review period. That didn’t stop us from venturing out to canyon roads at every opportunity. Through gritted teeth and furrowed brow it stuck and stuck, gobbling up twisties and begging for more. Every drive was a sensory delight, each to be remembered in the coming epoch of rechargeable cars and computerized steering.

But at what cost? With its preposterous price tag, the S209 forces a hard think. It’s hardly better than a regular STI. There are higher-performing cars at the same price. A robust aftermarket exists to build standard STIs a million different ways—is the S209 how you would craft yours? Exclusivity, perhaps, is the S209’s most notable selling point, and there may be buyers who take the investment approach, only to sequester it in a garage. Those who buy an S209 to drive, however, will always get a kick out of it. We sure did.

2019 Subaru WRX STI S209 BASE PRICE $64,880 PRICE AS TESTED $64,880 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 2.5L/341-hp/330-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve flat-4 TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3,449 lb (60/40%) WHEELBASE 104.3 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 181.9 x 72.4 x 58.1 in 0-60 MPH 5.9 sec QUARTER MILE 14.1 sec @ 101.2 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 103 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.00 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 24.6 sec @ 0.78 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 15/21/17 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 225/160 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.13 lb/mile

The post 2019 Subaru WRX STI S209 First Test: What Makes You So Special? appeared first on MotorTrend.

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/subaru/wrx/2019/2019-subaru-wrx-sti-s209-first-test-makes-special/ visto antes em https://www.motortrend.com

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componentplanet · 5 years

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Top Cars of the 2020 Geneva Motor Show That Never Was

Out of an “abundance of caution,” a phrase we’re hearing a lot, the Swiss government pulled the plug on the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS). Since this is 2020, not 1990, the news from the show went out anyway as automakers switched to video reveals over the past week. Geneva intros fall into three categories: a wide range of mainstream and upscale cars from across the world; a lot of EVs and some plug-in hybrids because Europe is moving more quickly (governments for sure, buyers somewhat less so) to alternative energy sources; and the eye-candy $150,000-$3 million cars for those flush with oil money and others who Americans, from a distance, sniff at as Eurotrash.

Geneva is not just any auto show. In the even years when there’s no Frankfurt show, this is the world’s most important auto show. And unlike Frankfurt, Detroit, and Tokyo, there’s no hometown bias since Switzerland has barely any auto industry. It does have a lot of wealthy residents and visitors with money to burn. Here’s our take on virtual Geneva 2020.

2021 Audi A3 gets a standard 10.1-inch center display. The instrument panel goes up to 12.3 inches.

The 2021 Audi A3 debuted with a showing of the Sportback version, meaning hatchback, which will ship later this year along with the A3 sedan. It has bolder styling and will be heavy on tech with a 10.1-inch center stack display standard, this on a subcompact vehicle about 175 inches long. At a time when some mainstream small cars are doing 8 inches as standard, this is one way to justify a price tag that can push into the forties. The instrument panel is digital, too (dubbed Audi Virtual Cockpit), with a 12.3-inch version optional and offering more display modes.

International editions will get small turbocharged gas and diesel engines. The US gets a larger turbo-four (gas) with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Sport S3 and RS3 versions will come later. Ditto hybrid versions. The big difference: the US for sure will get an A3 sedan but probably not the A3 Sportback. That’s because it’s a hatchback. But you could also call it a small SUV – many of which have sloping rear rooflines – and we’d happily buy. Although to our eyes it mostly looks like a wagon, which is another body style Americans aren’t currently keen on.

The Fiat 500 will be an EV-only vehicle with a range 0f 175-200 miles depending on test procedure.

The beloved little Fiat 500 Cinquecento (Italian for 500) – beloved for its style and sporty driving, less so for reliability – is gone as a combustion-engine car. Bigger Fiats such as the Fiat 500X motor on, and the Cinquecento is to become a battery electric vehicle. An older version was called the 500e but now that electric is the only way you’ll get a Fiat 500, it will be the 2021 Fiat 500, no e.

The new EV 500 has doubled its range. Fiat says it can drive up to 199 miles (320 km) using a 42.0-kWh battery. That’s on the European WLTP test, which stands for Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure. Harmony or not, US EPA numbers are lower, perhaps 175 miles. For a car that’d be great urban runabout, 175 would be plenty, but American buyers like 250-300 miles even more. Because of this, Fiat has not yet said if it’s bringing the new 500 to the US. Right now, pure EV sales are less than 1.5 percent of the US vehicle market, and the majority of those sales belong to Tesla, at least currently.

Eight-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI. It’s the only Golf Americans will get: the fast one.

Golf GTI cockpit.

The 2021 Golf GTI is redesigned inside and out. This is the sportiest of VW’s compact (actually, subcompact at 168 inches long), four-door Golfs. Let’s jump ahead to why lots of people buy GTIs: The 2.0-liter turbo-four engine climbs from 228 to 245 hp, and torque from 258 to 276 pound-feet. The standard transmission is a six-speed manual, or millennial anti-theft device, as VW says in its ads – and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is offered.

VW had some years with mixed reliability. That’s better. The most recent Consumer Reports reliability survey has VeeDub right at average. And since reliability has gone up over time, VW is in a good spot. Still, as VW works to rebuild sales, it isn’t bringing every variation to the US. For now, only the sportiest Golf will be offered, even if this car, with its upright seating, provides a lot of rear-seat comfort and luggage capacity.

Hyundai Prophecy is much smoother-looking than 2019’s sharply edged 45 Concept.

The Hyundai 911 Turbo. Or so it seems.

How many more reminders do we need to understand what a mature car company the Hyundai group has become? Now there’s the Prophecy concept EVd using Hyundai’s Sensuous Sportiness concept. The effect is of an elongated, lowered Tesla Model 3 done right, with beautiful curving lines and few interruptions (such by side mirrors) in the concept. In the rear view, there’s a spoiler that pays homage to Porsche 911s. Inside the cockpit, the steering would be done by joystick, at least on the concept.

Propulsion, were the concept to come to market, would be electric-only, and Hyundai vows to have 44 electrified vehicles by 2025. According to Hyundai, “The expectation is to sell more than 670,000 battery and fuel cell electric vehicles annually by this time [2025], and to be positioned among the top three EV providers globally.”

BMW i4 Concept: Shipping in Europe late 2021, US early 2022.

The BMW i4 Concept is the stalking horse for a late 2021 / early 2020 3 Series-sized EV. It’s a closer-to-production advance on the Concept 4 coupe from last fall’s Frankfurt Motor Show. (See, with all the motor shows, sometimes you have more than one concept, plus the final shipping car, and you’ve got new at three shows.) It will be a powerhouse, with 530 hp and a sub-4-second 0-60 mph time.

Range is in flux, or rather the world’s competing test cycles are not in sync. The WLTP figure says 600 km or 373 miles. But BMW says on EPA tests, range will likely be in the mid-200s. Length is listed at 189 inches, or 3 inches longer than the 3 Series sedan. Based on BMW’s evolving naming convention, 4 in the name means 4 Series means the coupe version of the 3 Series, and four doors make it a 4 Series Gran Coupe. We believe most buyers don’t need 300 miles of range most of the time. But try telling that to someone cross-shopping the Tesla Model 3 that provides two options: 250 miles (standard range) or 322 miles (long range). While Tesla is the industry’s benchmark for battery efficiency, long range, and loyal followers who put Bernie Bros to shame, BMW is the leader in cockpit telematics and the past few years the premium German automakers have developed a reputation for highly reliable cars (Porsche, Audi, and BMW; Mercedes-Benz is a bit below average currently).

Fisker Ocean will have a head-up displaying karaoke lyrics. Your life is now complete.

Fisker Ocean cockpit. No, no 48-inch display across the dash. That’s Byton.

The Fisker Ocean SUV got its European (virtual) debut at the non-Geneva show, reprising some of what the industry saw in Las Vegas at CES 2020. It is “the world’s most sustainable vehicle” with a vegan interior, offers a solar roof adding up to 1,000 miles a year of range (that is, 3 miles a day) in sunny climes, and Fisker would prefer to lease out the Ocean rather than sell this compact (183-inch) SUV: $379 a month with $3,000 down.

Safety fanatics may freak, but Fisker says there’ll be a head-up display with karaoke mode, meaning the lyrics to songs will be projected at the base of the windshield so you can sing along. Fisker’s challenge is that the company will be coming to market along with a lot of other electric vehicles from vendors with lengthy pedigrees. But then, Tesla was just a startup, too, and not long ago.

Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport: You can’t afford it. Most people who can are too old to get in. There is justice.

Some Bugatti customers had a complaint. Not the $3 million price tag. (Paying that kind of money proves you’re a Player.) Nor was it the top speed well over 200 miles per hour. Rather it was the feeling the car wasn’t 100 percent comfortable to drive at speed. Now comes the Chiron Pur Sport.

The Pur Sport is lighter, but it also has a six-foot-wide spoiler to plant the car at its insanely high speeds. The engine remains the same: 16 cylinders, quad-turbos, and 1,500 horsepower. The tradeoff is the top speed of about 235 mph has been scaled back to 217 mph. Price will be $3.3 million and 65 will be built.

Now read:

EVs Finally Get Some Love from the Most Important JD Power Study

2020 Subaru Forester Review: The Safety-First, Can’t-Go-Wrong-Buying-One Compact SUV

Tesla Teardown Scares Competitors: ‘We Cannot Do This’

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/307280-top-cars-of-the-2020-geneva-motor-show-that-never-was from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/03/top-cars-of-2020-geneva-motor-show-that.html

#Top Cars of the 2020 Geneva Motor Show That Never Was

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perksofwifi · 5 years

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Four Is the Furious: Mercedes-AMG Reveals New CLA 45

Watch out, BMW M2 and Audi RS3: There’s a new contender for the hyper-compact crown.

The Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 lives again, now with far more power and performance than before. Packing the new M139 turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 engine—the most powerful production four-cylinder in the world—the CLA 45 throws down 382 hp and 354 lb-ft. A more potent version of this engine makes 416 ponies.

That’s largely thanks to its turbocharger, which features improved ducting and low-friction roller bearings to aid response and deliver a maximum of 30 psi. AMG engineers worked to give the punchy powerplant a naturally aspirated feel, indicated by its 4,750 rpm torque peak and 7,200 rpm redline.

It’s all bolted to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters, which sends power through AMG’s 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system. While front-wheel-drive based, the system constantly distributes power between the axles, and can deliver it variably between the left or right side.

With launch control, this drivetrain allows a 0-60 sprint of 4.0 seconds, on to a 168-mph top speed unlocked by an optional driver’s package. Optional too is drift mode, which, like in its E63 stablemate, sends power solely to the rear axle for—as AMG puts it—”even more driving pleasure.” Keep in mind the cost of the CLA 45’s 235/55 R 19 tires before hitting that button.

Changes over the standard CLA improve dynamic response. Bracing in the engine bay increases front-end stiffness, while diagonal struts on the underbody tighten the rear section. Model-specific suspension elements, including springs and shock absorbers, work with adaptive dampers to provide driver-selectable modes ranging from Mercedes-soft to AMG-stiff. Additional drive-select modes adapt the car to conditions, whether around town cruising, wet road treading, or racetrack ripping.

Compared to the previous CLA 45, designers worked to further differentiate it from the base car. It now wears the AMG-signature trapezoidal multi-slat grille, which works with the squinting headlights to give the car a ferocious visage. The lower fascia features twin inlets to feed heat exchangers, surrounded by aerodynamic splitter elements. Around back, double double-barrel exhaust tips sunken into the diffuser blat out what’s sure to be a delightfully crackly exhaust note. A trunklid spoiler and front bumper dive planes come with an optional aero package.

The interior gains visual distinctions including front bucket seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. Lest you forget you’re inside the sport model, AMG reminds you with available red or yellow seat belts, dashboard stitching and trim, and air vent surrounds (yellow trim is part of a special edition). Brushed steel pedals and door sills further the theme. Like the standard CLA, the 45 includes Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment system. Here, however, it features AMG-specific readouts which show a g-force meter, manual-mode gear display, and engine data such as temperatures or real-time power output.

With the A-Class now opening the door to entry-level Mercedes-Benz ownership, the CLA is elevated as a more stylish, sporty offering. That’s especially true of this new 45 AMG, which sits at the top of the range with the CLA 35 AMG below. It competes against other hardcore compacts like the BMW M2 and Audi RS3, and certain super-hatchbacks like the Honda Civic Type R or Volkswagen Golf R. Regardless, based on how the original CLA 45 performed, we’re guessing its successor will be more than good—we can’t wait to get behind the wheel.

The 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 will go on sale by the end of the year in the U.S. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Photos of the Euro-spec CLA 45 are shown. Note that the 416-hp AMG CLA 45 S seen in these photos has not been announced for the U.S. market.

The post Four Is the Furious: Mercedes-AMG Reveals New CLA 45 appeared first on MotorTrend.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2020-mercedes-amg-cla-45/ visto antes em https://www.motortrend.com

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