Just received this month's Evo magazine and they have a group test with the new Civic type r, Leon cupra ultimate sub 8 and Renault Megane 275 trophy r. They voted the Leon the fastest fwd hatch currently on sale as it beat the other two on track. Commented how much faster it was in a straight line even though Honda quotes more power and said the brakes on the sub 8 were in a different league. It's also 5k cheaper than the megane! Only thing they criticised was the standard seats due to the cornering grip the car has with the cup tyres. Good article and proof that power figures aren't everything.
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EVO magazine review - Ultimate Sub 8 review
- Thread starter neil_f225
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Said the Megane carried fractionally more corner speed than the Leon or civic. Civic was left for dead in the corners. Civic is also the heaviest of the three but still has the best power to weight ratio. In fairness the civic runs conti sport 6 tyres compared to Michelin cup tyres on the other two which would have quite an impact on cornering performance. They were actually doing the test as an article to settle the debate on the back of Honda claiming the lap record at the nurburgring but apparently that car had a roll cage , no radio , air con or passenger seat and was a pre production model.
Exactly this, the CSC 6 aren't a semi slick like the Cup 2 so this wasn't in any way a fair test. Would the CTR be over 1.8 seconds faster with Cups than with CSC6? Thats another debate, it would definitely be close, if not faster IMHO.
Evo even said the CSC6 are closer to the Michelin PSS which are good but aren't Cup 2 fast so to say that the Sub 8 Leon is the fastest FWD car ever made is just shoddy journalism.
I do think the CTR would be hard pressed to beat the Sub 8 around the Nordschleife with the CSC 6 but with Cup 2s that extra power and torque (and now grip/traction) would pay dividends and i'm confident its fastest FWD production car around the Nordschleife to date.
I like EVO for the fact when reading the mag they really put across the excitement and 'thrill of driving' but when they make statements of fact that are based on pseudo evidence or unfair advantages its annoying.
Yeah I agree a civic on the same cup 2 tyres would be quicker but the point EVO were trying to make in the test is that each manufacturer claimed to hold the fwd lap record but it was rather vague if any of the cars were a spec that a customer could actually buy. The fact that Honda claim the civic is quicker (presumably on the conti 6 tyres compared to more track based rubber) means the test EVO conducted is fair as it is the only production model of that vehicle that the public can buy.
It also made the point that the cupra could out accelerate and out brake the other two, and was believed to deliver well over its stated 276bhp. So the extra power that the civic is meant to have might not be an issue cos it probably doesn't actually have any extra power, and the cupra can out brake it all day long too.
The civic's claim to the ring record, although not denied, is surely somewhat tainted by honda's refusal to confirm what boots it was wearing
The civic's claim to the ring record, although not denied, is surely somewhat tainted by honda's refusal to confirm what boots it was wearing
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