Adam's Scooby Tests Page
Some magazine comparative tests involving the Scooby ...
Autocar, 29 July 1998
Autocar conducted a variety of handling tests comparing a 1998 Impreza
Turbo 5 door with a Lotus Elise, Peugeot 306 GTi-6, BMW M3 and Porsche 911
Carrera, with each test conducted in both wet and dry conditions.
The front-engined cars - even the RWD M3 - are tuned for understeer, while
the problem in the Elise & 911 is oversteer.
Constant Radius Bend
The car is simply driven around in a circle until it won't go any faster ...
The limit on the Elise was oversteer (even on constant throttle), while the
Impreza, M3, 306 and 911 all understeered.
| Wet | Dry |
|---|
| Position | Car | Speed (mph) |
|---|
| 1 | 911 | 51 |
|---|
| 2= | Elise | 49 |
|---|
| 2= | Impreza | 49 |
|---|
| 4= | M3 | 48 |
|---|
| 4= | 306 GTi-6 | 48 |
|---|
|
| Position | Car | Speed (mph) |
|---|
| 1 | Impreza | 57 |
|---|
| 2= | Elise | 56 |
|---|
| 2= | 306 GTi-6 | 56 |
|---|
| 2= | 911 | 56 |
|---|
| 5 | M3 | 54 |
|---|
|
Lift-off
At the highest possible speed in the constant radius test, the throttle is
suddenly closed. The M3, Impreza and 306 all tightened their line slightly.
In the wet, the Elise and 911 tucked their nose slightly, but in the dry they
both span.
Slalom
The Elise had big understeer in the wet, while the 911 wagged it's tail. M3
& 306 had controllable understeer; Impreza was the best balanced.
| Wet | Dry |
|---|
| Position | Car | Time (s) |
|---|
| 1 | Impreza | 17.9 |
|---|
| 2= | 911 | 18.4 |
|---|
| 2= | Elise | 18.4 |
|---|
| 4 | M3 | 19.0 |
|---|
| 5 | 306 GTi-6 | 19.9 |
|---|
|
| Position | Car | Time (s) |
|---|
| 1 | Elise | 17.7 |
|---|
| 2= | M3 | 18.1 |
|---|
| 2= | 911 | 18.1 |
|---|
| 2= | Impreza | 18.1 |
|---|
| 5 | 306 GTi-6 | 19.7 |
|---|
|
Speed Corner
The fastest possible speed through a given corner. For the M3, 306 & 911
they lifted slightly just before the apex, to tuck the nose and reduce
understeer. They couldn't back off in the Elise or it would spin, so they just
did slow-in/fast-out. The Impreza was best of all, with a slight lift to bring
the nose in and then flooring the throttle to drive out.
| Wet | Dry |
|---|
| Position | Car | Speed (mph) |
|---|
| 1 | Impreza | 52 |
|---|
| 2= | 911 | 50 |
|---|
| 2= | Elise | 50 |
|---|
| 4= | M3 | 46 |
|---|
| 4= | 306 GTi-6 | 46 |
|---|
|
| Position | Car | Speed (mph) |
|---|
| 1 | Impreza | 58 |
|---|
| 2 | 911 | 56 |
|---|
| 3 | Elise | 55 |
|---|
| 4 | 306 GTi-6 | 54 |
|---|
| 5 | M3 | 52 |
|---|
|
Traction
The time to 15m from a standing start. Predictably the front-engine
front-drive 306 was crappest, with the front-engine M3 not much better. The
911 & Elise, with the weight over the driven rear wheels, were good, but
nothing could touch the Impreza, which "felt like a car crash in
reverse".
| Wet | Dry |
|---|
| Position | Car | Time (s) |
|---|
| 1 | Impreza | 2.50 |
|---|
| 2 | 911 | 2.79 |
|---|
| 3 | Elise | 2.86 |
|---|
| 4 | M3 | 3.05 |
|---|
| 5 | 306 GTi-6 | 3.47 |
|---|
|
| Position | Car | Time (s) |
|---|
| 1 | Impreza | 2.05 |
|---|
| 2 | 911 | 2.33 |
|---|
| 3 | Elise | 2.44 |
|---|
| 4 | M3 | 2.65 |
|---|
| 5 | 306 GTi-6 | 3.04 |
|---|
|
Conclusion
... a properly sorted four-wheel-drive car like the Impreza will blitz any
two-wheel-drive rival in virtually any objective handling contest, the
incredible realisation being that it does so in this instance with as much -
if not more - feel than any of its rivals. That's a truly astonishing result
given the quality of the rest of the field.
... in the end there was one very clear winner in this contest. The Impreza
was more composed, generally faster and markedly grippier than most of the
competition in most of the tests.
... Impreza Turbo. It's one of the outstanding car designs of the decade.
