If Brian Williams just sat in a studio at 30 Rockefeller Center, reading a Teleprompter every night, he would lose credibility. That’s why he dons fatigues and embeds himself with troops in Iraq, that’s why he rolls up his sleeves and slogs through the muck of New Orleans, that’s why he squirts Deep Woods Off all over himself and flies to Phuket in the aftermath of disaster. Williams needs to be as good in the field as he is under the lights, experiencing the big news stories personally, or he will lose the trust and respect of his viewers. With performance-tuned cars, the same theory applies. Even though few people take their cars to a track and drive ‘em like they stole ‘em, a sport-compact that’s as capable in a racing environment as it is on public roadways is more credible than one that falls apart at the slightest hint of serious exercise. So off we went to Willow Springs raceway in the desert north of Los Angeles on a hot, muggy late-spring day, to see just how credible our quartet of sport-compacts was when driven the way their marketers, if not their engineers, intended.
Scion tC Supercharged: Fourth Place
Given our disappointment with the Scion’s powertrain, brakes, steering, and suspension, it’s no surprise that it fell way behind on the Streets of Willow road course. Still, it performed better in a controlled environment threading through twists and turns that each driver had memorized than on a public road with unpredictable bumps, dips and blind corners. Compared to the other three cars, however, the Scion tC Supercharged’s lack of steering feel, excess body motion, long throw shifter, and greasy tires made it the most work and least entertaining ride on the race course, even if it’s supercharged engine was less work to exercise than the Honda Civic Si’s rev-happy powerplant. “Camry-esque. Soft ride, numb steering, lots of understeer, too much dive and squat, but it does a better job of gaining speed than the Civic on the front straight.” – Blackett “Not a track car, but it did an OK job pretending to be one. Vague steering and soft suspension are main issues.” – Chee “My least favorite car on the track. Excessive understeer, long shift throws, and the car gets twitchy under hard cornering and braking. Driving the Scion fast is difficult.” – Perry “Inside tire spins plenty exiting a turn. Tires get greasy and tail gets sloppy. Steering feels better on the track than on the street, brakes feel OK and showed zero fade. Lots of body roll and the nose pushes wide in turns. Still, the Scion performed better than I expected.” – Wardlaw
Volkswagen GTI: Third Place
Though the GTI didn’t exhibit any deal-breaker faults on the track, our test drivers didn’t have as much fun in the Volkswagen as they did the two remaining contestants, relegating this “excellent all-arounder” to third place. Volkswagen offers lower-profile 18-inch summer tires as a $750 option for the GTI, and if you plan to spend more time on curvy blacktop than clogged boulevards, you’ll want to consider ordering them, if for no other reason than to get the sensational brushed aluminum wheels on which they come mounted. All but one driver complained about grip at the Streets of Willow course, and the optional performance rubber would likely have helped the GTI place higher in the rankings. Otherwise, everyone loved the turbocharged engine’s broad, flat torque curve, which helped the GTI attain the highest Turn One entry speeds of any car in the test. The shifter was also applauded, and while we all noticed the GTI’s body roll, it didn’t bother anyone. As for the brakes, well, the desert heat and heavy use didn’t do them any favors. They still sucked. “Brakes shudder and suffer some serious fade, tires scrub and lose grip early, body exhibits some roll in the corners.” – Blackett
“At Willow, this was the only car I was able to get up to 90 mph on the front straight, but the GTI felt more like a bull charging around the track when I wanted it to dance instead.” – Chee “ This is a fun car with lots of torque and great handling. Heel-and-toe shifting was easiest in the GTI, and though the nose pushes a bit, the body doesn’t roll much. It’s easy to just get in and go fast in the GTI.” – Perry “Body roll and the tires seem to limit the GTI on the track. Steering, shifting, acceleration are excellent, once you get the body to settle down and the front tires to hook up. The brakes could be better, but I didn’t find the same fade and feel issues that I did during the street drive. A terrific all-arounder.” – Wardlaw
Honda Civic Si: Second Place
Honda needs to add a turbocharger to the Civic Si right away, because other than its utter dearth of torque and the VTEC engine’s narrow warp-speed band of added power, it proved to be a terrific car to drive on the track. The Civic was utterly predictable, a “serious track tool,” and “one heckuva ride” around the Streets of Willow road course. Generally, we agreed that the brakes performed well, that the all-season Michelin Pilot tires ultimately gripped as hard as we needed them to even if they complained vociferously about the treatment, and that the steering was sharp and precise. We spent lots of time shifting the terrific short-throw gearbox between second, third, and fourth gears, but despite our best efforts, the Civic Si achieved the slowest maximum velocity of the four cars at Turn One. It is this lack of speed that relegates it to second place in this portion of the contest. “More power, please! The tires feel and sound like they’re gonna give up, but they hold on well. The steering feels good on the track – much better than on the street. Excellent brakes.” – Blackett “This high-revving beast proved itself weak-kneed on the track, and I felt some brake fade when the discs heated up. Still, this is one heckuva ride, showing all of its best attributes on the track, where no one will ever drive it.” – Chee “Predictable on the track, but lacks torque for quick corner exits and achieved the slowest Turn One speed of the group. Have to keep the Civic revved high, shifting plenty. Steering is a bit numb, and the car will get tail happy under hard braking in corners.” – Perry “The Civic Si is a serious track tool once you master the VTEC engine’s power band. The downside is constant shifting – this was the only car than needed fourth gear on the course. Shifter is a delight, steering is excellent, tires are noisy but grip well, brakes are infallible. This is a slick piece of work.” – Wardlaw
Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged: First Place
Chevy has hit an enthusiast’s home run with the 2006 Cobalt SS Supercharged. One editor, fresh from a hot-lap session at the Streets of Willow, jumped out and exclaimed: “That Chevy is awesome!” Seriously, have you heard anything remotely close to that come out of an automotive journalist in the past couple of decades? One member of our team thought the 215/45R18 Pirelli PZero Rosso tires got a little skittish in the corners, and another wished for a more communicative brake pedal, but otherwise every aspect of the Cobalt SS jelled together to create the most fun and memorable car to drive on the track. Now, if Chevrolet could just apply the same focus and attention to detail it has lavished upon the Cobalt SS’ powertrain and underpinnings to the rest of the car, they’d have an unbeatable sport compact car on their hands. “Much better brakes than the VW. Pulls hard in the straights. Nice feedback through the wheel. Excellent body control, and I was able to push the car through corners with no worries.” – Blackett “Fun to drive aggressively and nicely planted, but the tires get a little skittish during hard driving. Going to the track and have to choose? Pick the Cobalt SS.” – Chee “My top choice for the track. This car goes exactly where you point it. Great acceleration and handling, with no twitching or surprises. Definitely the most controllable car of the group, and second fastest for me on the front straight.” – Perry “The Chevy rocks! I drove most of the course in third gear, and the Cobalt was never short on power or feeling out of breath. The brake pedal doesn’t communicate as clearly as I’d like, but the shifting, acceleration, suspension, and steering are all spot on. This car is a big confidence builder.” – Wardlaw
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