Polo GTI wins Motor Magazines "Bang for your buck" 2012

[Guy_H]

once again, knocked off all rivals including the new BRZ & 86:

From another post:


Out of 18 cars, the 86 came 10th and the BRZ came 8th. The winner was the defending champ, the Polo Gti. The Skoda Fabia RS came second and the Renault Megane RS 265 came third.

Before we all get our manties in a knot though, BFYB is a much more scientific than a lot of other car comparisons. Most of it is geared towards the 'bang' with the bang criteria as follows:

0-100 = 10 %
100 km/h - 0 =10%
0-400m =10%
400m v-max = 5%
Hill climb = 10%
80-120km/h = 5%
Lap Time = 20%
Apex speeds = 10%
Lap v-max =5%
Judges rank = 15%

Guess who got the 1st and 2nd spots (conclusively) on the judges criteria? Yup, the 86, closely followed by the BRZ.

The 'buck' (ie. retail cost) is then factored in to give an overall BFYB score.

Interesting points to note were that they slightly preferred the 86 to the BRZ but said that it's really splitting hairs - both are great cars. They also commented that the tyres let the cars down on the track and they have durable enough brakes , they performed very poorly in the 100 - 0 test (lowest scores).

They also performed 0-100 times in 6.90 and 6.93 for the 86 and BRZ respectively. Not bad

[Gambit]

Well well did not expect that! Awesome result!

[pologti18t]

A "spoiler alert" title might have been appropriate

Interesting to see the 0-100 times. The Gti/VRS were very close to the Megane RS265. 6.7-6.8sec
I

[gareth_oau]

cheers guy, i havent even got my magazine yet.

I usually like to tread the whole article before seeing the result

[cstb_87]

When does the tuner challenge come out?

[Guy_H]

When does the tuner challenge come out?

Its being run next week @ Eastern Creek - Thursday & Friday - Spectators welcome - Magazine generally out a couple of editions later.

[Guy_H]

Sorry for the "spoiler" - It was on facebook days ago & I have had many emails about it!

[cstb_87]

Its being run next week @ Eastern Creek - Thursday & Friday - Spectators welcome - Magazine generally out a couple of editions later.

Curse me living in Melbourne and working full time

[Gambit]

Just brought and read the article . A heap of praise for the humble gti. Makes me a proud owner that's for sure. Sticking it up to the likes of some very capable cars

[JonW]

The bit that amuses me is they dis the Fabia for the handbrake/armrest competing for space, and yet they dont mention it in the Polo, and then seem to praise the BT touchscreen as well, obviously they dont read this forum or know its not needed in the GTI. Bizarre. But that said, having driven the Fabia and the Polo, I prefer the Polo and would agree its a better BFYB, I would (did!) happily pay a bit more for the same engine in a better looking, better handling car with a nicer interior etc. but for me, when it came down to it I felt the Polo drove better, the Skoda just seemed less planted and less 'zippy'.

What was interesting to me when reading the article was that the BRZ/86 didnt do better. What impressed me was that cars Ive driven and rated against the Polo when i was looking to buy the car, came about where I thought, eg the Swift.

[Bassik]

The bit that amuses me is they dis the Fabia for the handbrake/armrest competing for space, and yet they dont mention it in the Polo, and then seem to praise the BT touchscreen as well, obviously they dont read this forum or know its not needed in the GTI. Bizarre. But that said, having driven the Fabia and the Polo, I prefer the Polo and would agree its a better BFYB, I would (did!) happily pay a bit more for the same engine in a better looking, better handling car with a nicer interior etc. but for me, when it came down to it I felt the Polo drove better, the Skoda just seemed less planted and less 'zippy'.

What was interesting to me when reading the article was that the BRZ/86 didnt do better. What impressed me was that cars Ive driven and rated against the Polo when i was looking to buy the car, came about where I thought, eg the Swift.

Funny I bought the mag as well and thought exactly the same thing. Surprised the BRX/86 didn't do better because realistically "Best Bang for your Buck" I would put them a lot higher and if not winning. I know they are not as torquey as the Polo and Skoda but it's definitely the best band for buck in relation to sports and track car. If you want a sports car you'd get that if you want comfort you'd get Polo. It's very hard to put them both in the same category. Having said that where was the Golf Gti, I say that because it's weird they picked the Polo over it.

[JonW]

The golf GTI not being there intrigued me as well but then i thought... Polo has same 0-100 time and 12-15k cheaper. Not that that sort of thing mattered with other brands in the test, so yes it was a strange omission.

[gavs]

They didn't "pick" the polo, or the other 9 cars that finished above the higher of the 2 same same cars, the mathematics did. The car that finished 3rd is far superior to anything other than the BMW 1M as a performance car but the formula that they punch in is what produces the results.

Yes I agree regarding the bug bears ie handbrake and touch screen, daft really. It also annoys me that there is no mention about the inherent issues plaguing this platform, especially as there were 3 of them in the field. I also notice the "long term" A1 got handed back rather quickly....

As a side note, aside from the electronic calibration differences, the Fabia does actually have physical differences compared to the polo that contribute to it being a less dynamic vehicle, namely things like ballast etc and the battery in the front, forward of the axle line.

[pologti18t]

As a side note, aside from the electronic calibration differences, the Fabia does actually have physical differences compared to the polo that contribute to it being a less dynamic vehicle, namely things like ballast etc and the battery in the front, forward of the axle line.

The Fabia is not quite the same platform as the current A1/Polo, for better or worse. Seems closer aligned (except for mods to fit newer engines etc) to the old Polo GTI. The narrower tracks and thinner tyres seems to suggest that.

The VRS is a bargain at the prices you can buy them for (rather than RRP).

[readerr0r]

The Fabia is not quite the same platform as the current A1/Polo, for better or worse. Seems closer aligned (except for mods to fit newer engines etc) to the old Polo GTI. The narrower tracks and thinner tyres seems to suggest that.

The VRS is a bargain at the prices you can buy them for (rather than RRP).

Yup the Fabia is based on the A04/PQ24 platform while the Polo is based on the A05/P25 platform. That's why it feels slightly last-gen. It's also a bit heavier and thus a bit slower (7.3 vs 6.9)