21 Mar 2007

Subaru’s Impreza WRX has beaten the Renault Megane and Ford Focus XR5 in a comparison published in the March edition of Hot4s & Performance Cars magazine.

The five-page article says: “Pitch into a corner and the Rex leans, but only to a point and then it settles on its springs and just digs its claws into the road.

“Push too hard and like the others it’ll run wide. You can’t beat physics, but ease off on the gas and it’ll quickly pick up the line again. And unlike the other two, a slight lift won’t unsettle the back end. It’s more manoeuvrable than the two tail-draggers, a lot more stable and much sharper.

“Where the XR5 and the Megane feel as if they’ve been slightly sanitised to suit a wider audience, the WRX is all raucous aggression. It’s more fun.”

The feature concludes: “Our contenders, however, and they are indeed contenders not pretenders, are just a little too nice.

“They make great cars, great transport and they can be fun, but at their upper limit, when the Rex is just getting into its stride, they can become too hard to handle – too tiring even. And so, as far as this comparison is concerned, all-wheel drive beats front-wheel drive.

For the full story, see Hot4s & Performance Cars, out now.