When you think about a compact, powerful, all-wheel drive car, its difficult not to think of the Subaru STI. It is a car that has defined a segment for as long as anyone cares to remember. But the times they are achanging, and in some ways, the STI just hasnt.
Just a few years ago, this race would have been rather silly. But with the latest generation of Golf, VW has not only attacked the territory dominated by the STI, but is running wild.
The current generation Subaru STI has exactly 221kW. As we learnt in our Golf R feature film, the Golf 7 R has 221kW. But thats in Europe where its cold. Here in Africa where its hot, VW had to downtune the 2.0 litre, turbocharged motor to 206kW.
Both cars have clever all-wheel drive systems and I have no doubt that the STI would be quicker around a track; it is simply more hardcore and better set up for that purpose. But in reality, most owners will need the cars to perform in a straight line, when pride is at stake at the traffic lights.
And heres the crucial difference, the STI is only available with a manual box, while the Golf R can be fitted with DSG VWs double clutch gearbox.
And so we were very excited to put these two cars together on Killarneys quarter mile drag strip. We ran the race multiple times and this was the closest result
Well have many more drag race videos coming out over the next few weeks, featuring cars like the Mercedes CLS 63 AMG and the A45 AMG, Audi S3 and VW Scirocco R. Make sure you dont miss a thing by subscribing to our Youtube channel here
If you are interested in a used VW Golf, see our listings here
If you are interested in a used Subaru STI, see our listings here
