Battle Of The Xs

[937]

Battle of the Xs

Southern Ocean smashing into the rocks below; sheer rock face climbing into the Otways above; a long, thin stretch of bitumen snaking between. It can only be the Great Ocean Road.

Climbing, falling, fast, slow, closing, opening, rough, smooth -- Australia's best driving road is an intoxicating mix that constantly challenges geometry, grip, brakes, response, sinew and nerve. And parked here beside it are a Subaru Impreza WRX, Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo, and this bright orange newcomer, the Ford Focus XR5 Turbo.

The WRX is a global icon, the XR6T the most capable mainstream muscle-car ever built in Australia. And despite its localised name, the XR5 is the latest graduate of Europe's tough hot-hatch school.

All three should be right at home here then, honed and sharpened for a challenging road despite their massively different technical origins: Rear-wheel-drive Falcon, front-wheel-drive Focus, all-wheel-drive Impreza. Turbo engines all round, but a home-grown 4.0-litre in-line six for the Falcon, Volvo 2.5-litre in-line five for the Focus, and Subaru's ubiquitous boxer four for the Impreza, albeit boosted from 2.0 to 2.5 litres for 2006.

Why no Golf GTI, when it shapes as the XR5's most obvious rival? That comparison will happen, but it makes sense -- in a year where hot-hatch interest is growing exponentially -- to wait for the Expensive Daewoo Astra SRi Turbo, HSV VXR and Mazda 3 MPS.

But the XR5 demands our attention now. And that's why it's been lined up against the best mass-market sports stars Australia and Japan have to offer. It's a fight between ideologies and philosophies as much as a comparison for potential buyers.

But if you do fall into that category, then no doubt the XR5 Turbo will attract your attention before even a wheel is turned. An astonishingly good $35,990 starting price guarantees a second look, even if the package is bereft of cruise control, full-size spare tyre,

or the option of an automatic transmission alongside the standard six-speed manual.

It's $5000 cheaper than the Impreza, more than $10,000 cheaper than the Falcon, but looks more expensive and imposing than either of them. Coated in optional ($1800) Electric Orange paint, a belligerent yet graceful bodykit, elaborate 18-inch alloys, and a colour-co-ordinated interior that includes Recaro sports seats, it's the car your eyes lock onto.

Except for its signature bonnet scoop, the WRX looks underdone. The aircraft-inspired front-end is contrived, the basic interior hinting at none of its performance ability.

The XR6T is also guilty of not offering greater visual differentiation from mainstream Falcons farther down the evolutionary chain. It's a more pleasing effort than the Subaru, but still pales in the XR5's neon glare.

And yet, up and running on the Great Ocean Road, or on the highway, or in town, it is quickly apparent that the XRs have more in common than badge engineering.

The XR5 Turbo is flexible and powerful, yet comfortable, accessible and surprisingly quick across country. It's a familiar feel, yet delivered via a unique engineering amalgam that shows just how thoroughly Ford prepared for the second-generation Focus.

The basis is an architecture called C1 Technologies, co-developed with Mazda and Volvo so it could also be used for the 3 small car and the S40/V50 sedan/wagon. Crosscheck the specs and you'll find a common 2640mm wheelbase, front strut and rear multi-link (or Control Blade in Ford-speak) suspension, and electro-hydraulic steering.

This commonality meant slotting the potent Volvo T5 engine into the Focus was a straightforward exercise, one that was planned from the early days of C1. Still, open the bonnet and you'll see it's a tight fit, made possible by an intentionally long piston stroke that

allows skinnier width and shorter overall length.

The all-alloy engine is fundamentally unchanged from its Volvo application, apart from reduced flywheel mass, more direct accelerator-throttle connection, new injectors and ignition strategies. It has double overhead cams and independent variable timing of its 10 inlet and 10 exhaust valves. A mild 0.65 bar (9psi) of maximum boost is provided by a KKK K04-2080 D turbocharger, resulting in 166kW at 6000rpm and a significant 320Nm from 1600rpm to 4000rpm.

Fire it up and there's no doubt you're sitting behind a Volvo in-line five. There's that throbbing idle, then the growl as revs rise. But hang on, the noise is getting louder and louder, much more prevalent than anything offered in the current Swedish line-up.

Two reasons for this: the first is a voluminous silencer mounted under the boot from which two fat, chrome-tipped pipes exit either side of the tailored rear bodywork. The other is a little more ingenious. It's a thin hose Ford calls the 'symposer', which runs from the heart of the engine bay right up behind the firewall, effectively transmitting the vocals directly into the cockpit.

It's an elegant solution to modern-day drive-by noise requirements. And it works: the XR5 offers little external auditory stimulation, but there's a party going on inside the cabin, including some snap, crackle and pop on the over-run.

There's massive substance to back up that soundtrack, too. Virtually no turbo lag means instant throttle response and a rolling swell of bottom- and mid-range grunt. There's none of the traditional Great Ocean Road hot-hatch gear shuffling -- just lock into third and enjoy thrusting out of one long radius corner into another. It's an indefatigable pleasure.

Only the tightest hairpins demand second gear, and it's a change made easily courtesy of a light shift and a civilised clutch.

Keep the revs going beyond 5000rpm and there's a brief eddy as torque drops away while power is still climbing towards its peak. There's a kick again from 6000rpm, but the best results are long gone. There's simply little point in operating up around redline -- or beyond it.

Where the Focus is at its weakest is getting its power to the ground from a standing start. In first gear, it's rev-limited to 3500rpm -- and dropping the clutch at that point on a slippery Calder Park drag strip simply produces an excess of axle tramp. Engage stability control and the XR5 virtually stops before regathering itself and producing even slower times. Best to slip the clutch at lower revs with DSC off, but whichever way you go, it's still the slowest in a straight line.

It's not all a sad stats story, though. The XR5 shines in rolling tests, where wheelspin is a non-issue and its torque dominates. It also leads the fuel consumption comparison. Its on-test average of 13.4L/100km was two litres ahead of the Subaru and four litres thriftier than the Falcon.

Of course, the XR6T offers a stunning level of performance in return for the extra 95 RON it gulps. The BF upgrade brings more power, torque and refinement, and it feels like it. Such is the engine's effortless ability and the serenity of the cabin, a speedo check often shocks. It simply doesn't feel like it's travelling that fast.

Essentially, the XR6 offers a similar engine philosophy to the Focus. The Barra 245T I6, with its independently variable cam timing and low-blow Garrett turbo, is as lagless as the XR5 and even more potent, using all of its 480Nm from around 2000rpm to 5000rpm to provide unrelenting, unstoppable progress.

Only the whooshing induction disappoints, although it sounds much meatier from the outside. The Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox is a carryover from the otherwise virtually invisible BA Mk II update, and that's no bad thing. It's robust at the drag strip, where the XR6 Turbo is consistently the quickest from a standing start.

On the Great Ocean Road, just like the XR5, slot it into third and let the engine do the work. It's heavier and firmer in both shift and clutch feel, but hardly bothersome. If you can't cope, there's always the excellent ZF six-speed auto.

No such luxurious choices for the Impreza, and nor should there be. Sure, the WRX is user-friendlier for '06 with a wider spread of torque, more capacity and a new MHI turbocharger. But this is still a focused beast, with noticeable turbo lag, a big kick-up in performance from 3500rpm, and an explosive top-end that simply embarrasses the XRs. It screeches, shakes, rattles, fizzes and goes off like a grenade.

Chasing launch times is an exercise in gratuitous punishment, building revs to 6000rpm and dropping the clutch. There's a bang and shudder as the drivetrain and body absorb the twist and the bonnet points to the sky. It steams off the line, wavers momentarily, and then goes again, revving furiously to its 6800rpm cut-out.

It has a notchy gearshift, with one ratio less than the other two, and a finicky clutch with a narrow take-up.

But on the road, short gearing (fifth at 100km/h equals 2900rpm) keeps the Impreza on the boil and your attention fully engaged. This is a car that simply gets better the harder it is pushed, and that includes the brilliantly controlled suspension tune.

Ultimately, the WRX boasts the highest handling limits. Its combination of all-wheel-drive grip, fast steering, responsive braking and intimate tactility deliver an astonishingly vibrant experience. Corner exits are its forte and the Great Ocean Road allows it to show-off time and time again.

Just tramp the new-for-'06 electronic throttle, and the Impreza harnesses its power and slingshots forward. Push too hard into a corner and you'll eventually encounter understeer -- easily corrected by a lift and a tuck. Go in way too hot and you'll feel the tail swinging wide.

The XR5 is saner, safer and only a tad slower. Just like the regular Focus, this is a pretty neutral car that transforms into a predictable lift-off oversteerer at the limit. It's just that the XR5's limit is much higher. It really is quite amazing how comfortable, co-operative and confidence-inspiring this car is despite the torque load, the front-wheel drive and the absence of a limited-slip front diff.

Compared with the standard Focus, the XR5 Turbo gets an additional crossmember between the struts, the anti-roll bar diameter is increased, ride height is lowered 15mm, dampers recalibrated and the springs stiffened by 30 per cent. But careful spring tuning means travel remains around 200mm and that helps explain how smoothly this car rides at pace.

The fine-tuning of the stability control system (DSC in Ford-speak) shines, too. Away from the race track, it takes a lot of speed to make this car scrabble its inside front tyre for traction, but even then it's only moderately intrusive. No doubt the excellent 225/40R18 Continental SportContact2 tyres help. But the biggest footprint here also increases noise intrusion; rear-seat passengers are inundated by tyre roar just like the standard Focus.

The steering is eight per cent faster than the standard car, yet is heftier, more composed and inspiringly corruption free. The computer-controlled electric steering pump can even be adjusted between Comfort, Normal and Sporty maps. Sporty was our set-and-forget option because of its instant response.

It's the same story for braking. Caress the pedal, and the four-piston front calipers start clamping onto the 320mm ventilated discs, but retardation is dependent on your foot pressure. As it should be.

In some ways, the Falcon is dynamically the most impressive drive here. Taking into account its size and 1700kg bulk, its litheness is sensational. Shagged rear tyres betrayed our test car a little, but the competence of the chassis, allied with that amazing engine, make this a Falcon that handles like no other that has come before it.

On the Great Ocean Road, it works hard to hang in there with the XR5 and WRX, using the solidity of uprated-for-BF ‘Performance' brakes and hammer-throw corner exits to provide a dramatic counterpoint to the nimbleness of the smaller, lighter cars.

Even more than the XR5, DSC aids the Falcon's fast, smooth progress. It's constantly -- but surreptitiously -- there in the background, guiding, caressing and mollifying, yet permitting the rear-end drifts and twitches that aid its poise, and communicate so much back to the driver. Steering remains a moot point; more weight and more off-centre feel would be ideal. More unsettling is how high the driver sits, accentuating the car's body roll and weight shifts.

The XR5's otherwise excellent Recaros have a massive base that also push the driver higher, but the car's cornering attitude is so flat it's barely an issue.

By contrast, you really sit down in the WRX's snug winged seats. But apart from that and its nicely machined Momo steering wheel, the Subaru runs a distant third in terms of any interior measure you care to cite, from quality to space. Spartan, scratchy, cheap plastics, an aged look and cramped rear seat without split-fold leave a lukewarm impression, not helped by the flimsy feel that is accentuated by its frameless windows.

And Wheels' Verdict...

If you want space and solidity, then the XR6T is the choice, of course. But again, it's the XR5 that brings the whole picture together, marrying functionality with form. There's a good dose of room and flexibility courtesy of its five-door layout (there's also a three-door sold in Europe), even if the modified exhaust chews into boot space (hence that spacesaver spare tyre).

Yes, there are other faults to nit-pick: The buttons are rickety on the good-looking Sony stereo, the readout for the digital clock is hard to read, and, like the standard car, it's hard from certain angles to see the trip computer readout over the steering wheel.

Big deal. The XR5 Turbo wins anyway. How could it not when such a significant price advantage is married to a great look and feel, and an all-round ability that puts it within reach of the WRX's narrow-focused excellence while retaining the effortless liveability of the XR6 Turbo?

Let's not detract from the immensity of the Impreza and the Falcon; they are both wonderful cars. But like the Great Ocean Road on which it thrives so impressively, the Focus XR5 Turbo is undoubtedly something very special.

[RHR]

Wasnt this article in Motor or wheels

[Iconic Bionic]

One of the longest posts in a while but a good read. The WRX embarreses the XR's at top-end I was a bit surprised to read. Always thought the AWD would do us off the mark but not at the other end of the spectrum.

[tmac450]

One of the longest posts in a while but a good read. The WRX embarreses the XR's at top-end I was a bit surprised to read. Always thought the AWD would do us off the mark but not at the other end of the spectrum.

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I can tell you from experience that the WRXs launch harder, but up top, no way.

[Iconic Bionic]

I drove my first WRX only the other week. It felt like a pocket rocket off the mark but not the mid to top end of the XR6T.

[RHR]

You obviously havent driven a quick one..

Road from Kiama to jamberoo is quite fun in a WRX

[Iconic Bionic]

You obviously havent driven a quick one..

Road from Kiama to jamberoo is quite fun in a WRX

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99 model with high K's.

[RHR]

You obviously havent driven a quick one..

Road from Kiama to jamberoo is quite fun in a WRX

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99 model with high K's.

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[937]

You obviously havent driven a quick one..

Road from Kiama to jamberoo is quite fun in a WRX

←

99 model with high K's.

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Now now you two.

[tmac450]

You obviously havent driven a quick one..

Road from Kiama to jamberoo is quite fun in a WRX

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The questions raised was to do with the top end of a WRX versus a T.

I've driven a few rexes and own a current Forester XT (same motor, gearbox, ratios etc as a rex) and there's no way they have as much thrust up top.

That said, off the line and in anything other than straight roads, the rexes will eat a T alive (standard to standard of course).