In this drag race video, Nathan, Roman, and Michael try to find out if the Civic Si or the Elantra GT Sport have what it takes to defeat the king of the hot hatch world.
The Hyundai
The Elantra GT Sport has a 1.6L turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission, although you can get a 7-speed dual clutch if you prefer. Pricing starts at $23,250, although ours came in around $28,200.
The Honda
The Honda makes a very similar amount of power from its 1.5L turbocharged four-cylinder. Power output on the Civic Si is 205 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque. Like the Hyundai, power is sent to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual gearbox. No option for an automatic here. Pricing on the Civic Si starts at $24,100 and that is really as much as you are going to pay. There are no options on this car other than paint color and summer tires.
The VW
Finally there is the king of them all, my car, the Volkswagen GTI. This hot hatch is powered by a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 210 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Horsepower is really close to the others, but I have a lot more torque. Power is sent to the front wheels, once again, thanks to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Pricing on a new 2017 VW GTI starts at just over $26,000. Mine ended up costing right around $25,000 as it is a 2015 model. Side note (to save face for my poor driving skills) my car has a set of Pirelli P7 Cinturano all-seasons which are some of the worst tires I’ve ever experienced.
The format of the race was as follows: Roman and Nathan would each do a run in the Civic and Elantra. Whichever car won, would go on to face Michael (myself) in the GTI.
However, the races were a lot closer than expected. These drag races really came down to the driver. The cars were a close enough match that a poor launch meant the difference between winning and losing. To see the results, be sure to watch the whole video!
