In previous years, we’ve strapped our
timing gear to each of the contenders
and sent Matt Saunders out to see
which can set the quickest lap time.
This year, slightly variable weather –
and the organisational deficiencies
of th e r o a d te st e d i to r – d e n i e d u s th e
necessary time. It’s a good job, then,
that fast lap times aren’t directly
proportional to fun behind the wheel.
Had we pitched each of these
cars against the stopwatch, both
previous testing experience and gutinstinct suggests that the Civic would
have set the pace. The Type R feels
devastatingly quick, successfully
balancing surgical precision and
agility through the tight sections of
track at Bus Stop and Devil’s Elbow
w i th m a s s e s of g r i p a n d a cce l e ra ti ve
power through the sweeping right-
hander that leads on to Hangway
Straight. The Mégane manages a
similar effect although the heightened
agility its four-wheel steering imparts
can come across as nervousness.
By comparison, the rear-driven
MX-5 feels far more playful. It might
lack the outright performance of a
lot of the cars here, but it’ll happily
allow its rear end to step out into
progressive, controllable drifts
through Llandow’s tighter bends. The
Hyundai is similarly expressive and
the temptation to back it into Glue
Pot on the brakes and deliberately
cause it to over-rotate often provedtoo strong to resist.
The Golf and the Leon both had
rather more serious demeanours,
and where the Seat could struggle
at times for front-end grip, the
Golf’s Cup 2 tyres provided plenty
of reliable bite and feel. That said,
on track, the Volkswagen’s slower
steering did come across as a touch
sedate next to the hyper-quick rack
fitted to the Focus ST, which came
close to the Renault on the grounds
of agility, if not outright pace.
The Mini and the Abarth both
entertained but a shortage of grip and
outright composure (among other
things) hampered their effectiveness.
SENSE OF SPEED AND THE SCORES
LLANDOW TRACK
T 3
T 2
T 1
T 5
T4Glue Pot
Runway Straight
Hangway Straight
Devil’s Elbow
Bus Stop
Pit lane Start
PaddockMP MS RL SD MC TOTAL
1 Mazda MX-5 2.0 SE-L Nav 3 3 2 3 3 14
2 Honda Civic Type R GT 2 2 3 2 2 11
3 Ford Focus ST Performance Pack 1 1 1 - 1 4
4 Hyundai i30 N Fastback - - - 1 - 1
- Abarth 595 Competizione - - - - - -
- Mini John Cooper Works - - - - - -
- Renault Mégane RS 300 Trophy - - - - - -
- Seat Leon Cupra 300 ST - - - - - -
- Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR - - - - - -
JUDGES’ SCORECARD
FINAL SHOOTOUT BBADC 2019
28 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 57
Price
Engine
Power
Torque
Gearbox
Kerb weight
0-62mph
Top speed
Economy
CO 2 , tax band
1 Mazda MX-5 2 .0 SE-L Nav 2 Honda Civic Type R GT 3 Ford Focus ST
Performance Pack
£22,795
4 cyls, 1998cc, petrol
181bhp at 7000rpm
151lb ft at 4000rpm
6-spd manual
1030kg
6.5sec
133mph
40.9mpg
WLTP figures tbc
£32,245
4 cyls,2261cc, turbocharged, petrol
276bhp at 5500rpm
310lb ft at 3000-4000rpm
6-spd manual
1433kg
5.7sec
155mph (governed)
34.4mpg
WLTP figures tbc
£33,550
4 cyls, 1996cc, turbocharged, petrol
316bhp at 6500rpm
295lb ft at 2500rpm
6-spd manual
1380kg
5.8sec
169mph
33.2mpg
WLTP figures tbc
MX-5’s engine is well matched to its chassis and, like the Civic’s, thrives on high revs, whereas the Focus has a strong mid-range
What the MX-5 lacks
in raw track speed it
makes up for in fun