Performance
Now here’s the biggie: VW’s automatic option is the quick shifting six-speed DSG dual-clutch, and the WRX now comes with a continuously variable transmission. Say what? The bookies know how to set a handicap when somebody brings a knife to a gunfight, but what do you do when Subaru shows up with a slingshot?
First though, a discussion on powertrains. On paper, the GTI is completely outclassed by the WRX’s direct injection turbocharged flat-four. There’s a peak horsepower gap of 58 hp (268 hp at 6,500 rpm for the WRX, 210 hp at 4,500 rpm for the GTI), making the Subaru more than 25 percent more powerful. What’s more, the WRX isn’t the lag-tastic slop-monster it used to be, with peak torque of 258 lb-ft arriving at just 2,000 rpm. Subaru now mounts the turbocharger directly underneath the engine, making for quicker spool-up, particularly with the new direct injection.
  2015 Subaru WRX CVT engine bay, headlight. Click image to enlarge |
However, the GTI matches that torque output, and makes it a further 400 rpm earlier. With less drivetrain loss than the Subaru’s AWD, the GTI doesn’t get off the line quite like the WRX does, but it’ll scream through the quarter-mile at pretty much the same trap speed. Cole’s Notes: even though they differ in piston arrangement and driven wheels, these cars are closer than you’d think.
And then the CVT/DSG come along and muck everything up. Firstly, the WRX is affected by a bit of off-the-line slack, almost what you’d call driveline lag. The turbo spools, the engine revs up into the powerband, and then zoom – you’re off after it like mountaineer roped to a plummeting Pavarotti. Problem is, winding up the all-wheel-drive through the CVT takes a half-step, in which time the more directly connected GTI has scampered off the line, quicker even than its six-speed manual compatriot.
  2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG, engine bay. Click image to enlarge |
But who said anything about drag racing? These are backroads cars, apex predators who live for the winding mountain road, free of traffic. Here, the WRX is surprisingly good. Actually, if you’re one of the folks that think a CVT is the wrong transmission for a car like this, it’s irritatingly good.
Mated to grippy, neutral all-wheel-drive with a brake-based torque-vectoring front end for corner bite, the WRX is simply relentless. You flick the silly-named Sport-Sharp button with your left thumb, bury the throttle and brace yourself as the Subaru slices through the corner with little drama and considerable speed. If you’re using the paddle shifters you get a quick slide between the eight preset ratios – one that’s a lot less satisfying than the VW’s binary thump on upshift – but if you just leave it in gear it’s like riding a juiced-up snowmobile on tarmac tires. The steering is quick and accurate and the ability to balance thrust with the continuously variable gearbox makes the CVT an advantage rather than a demerit.
  2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG, 2015 Subaru WRX CVT. Click image to enlarge |
Most of all, it’s actually quite good fun, and why else would you buy a car like this? By comparison, the GTI, even in sport mode, comes with a tendency to upshift a little too quickly, and the DSG gearbox’s ratios are more widely spread than those in the six-speed manual. If you take control yourself, the GTI becomes considerably more lively, which makes me wish the gear-position indicator in the central display was just a little bigger.
