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RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Welcome to "U-Drags".
Today, we've got the 2022 Subaru WRX
going against the 2022 Hyundai Elantra N
in a bite-sized, boosted up battle to the finish.
So what is "U-Drags"?
That's where we take two cars and send them
down this airfield.
When they get to the end, they have
to brake hard, flip around, and come back to the finish line.
That means you get a standing quarter mile, hard braking,
handling, and a rolling start all in one.
We'll race them once, then we'll swap drivers and do it again.
That way, we can weed out the pretenders from the contenders.
So going head to head today, we have the 2022 Subaru WRX
with 271 horsepower.
And the 2022 Hyundai Elantra N with 276 horsepower.
One is all wheel drive.
One is front wheel drive.
But both come with a manual transmission.
Sick.
Our drivers today are Edmunds test drivers Kurt and Reese.
I'm your host, Ryan Zummallen.
And make sure you click Like and hit Subscribe so that we can
keep making more "U-Drags" videos for you.
Also, if you want to get a cash offer on your car right now,
go to edmunds.com/sellmycar.
Yes, it's really that easy.
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If either one of them can jump out to a big lead,
that could very well be the difference
because I don't think there's going
to be a whole lot of a difference going
around the corner.
And I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of difference
in top speed either.
But we'll see.
I think it's going be close.
REESE COUNTS: So I am in the Hyundai Elantra N.
And unlike Kurt, I have launch control.
That's good because I've got front wheel drive, where
he has all wheel drive.
But it's pretty easy to set up in here.
You hit one of the two end buttons on the steering wheel
like this, which automatically sets the car up
into its most aggressive mode.
You have the infotainment on the N Mode button.
Then go over and there's a little launch control
that you can activate.
Now if you actually go into the menu,
you can even adjust the launch RPM.
But after a few practice runs, I'm
going to set it at 2,500, which is its lowest setting.
You hit the Activate, it says, activation lasts five minutes.
And then clutch and first gear.
That's it.
KURT NIEBUHR: All right.
This is the new WRX.
And from this position, it looks pretty much kind
of like the last WRX except for this huge screen here.
If anybody is familiar with WRXs,
there's no real trick to launching them other than you
just rev the snot out of the engine and sidestep the clutch
and go for it.
There is no launch control in this new one.
So it's just down to that poor, poor clutch.
These two cars are actually pretty evenly matched.
This car is a little bit heavier, probably
because it has all wheel drive.
I honestly don't know who's going to win this one.
Yeah, that's it.
Kind of worried about turbo lag at the hairpin down there.
I'm going to have to get on the throttle early.
I wish I could grab a handful of E brake
and pivot the thing around like Richard Burns.
But nobody sent me to rally school yet.
So here we go.
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RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Count down in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Go.
Oh the WRX out to a big jump.
Oh, it's not a good thing to launch in one of these.
It feels so abusive.
KURT NIEBUHR: Come on.
He's hanging in there though, I got to say.
Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn.
Power, power, power, power, power, power.
Boost.
Come on.
Oh no.
He's probably going to get me.
REESE COUNTS: Come on.
Go, go, go, go, go go go.
KURT NIEBUHR: Come on.
No.
Horsepower?
What's that?
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: It's real, real close.
Elantra.
This might be the video that proves to some of you
N is for real.
For an Elantra N to come out here and smack a WRX even
though the WRX beat it off the line, it's pretty impressive.
KURT NIEBUHR: For those of you interested,
peak boost was 14.4 PSI on that losing run.
REESE COUNTS: Well, how about that Subaru, Kurt?
KURT NIEBUHR: I hate launching this car.
It feels so abusive.
REESE COUNTS: It really feels like you're
going to break the thing.
The entire car shutters every single shift.
KURT NIEBUHR: As a person that likes
to keep their car for 20 years, it's
just hard to put it up to like 6,000 RPM
and just sidestep the clutch.
Oh.
REESE COUNTS: That thing does not
get off the line any other way.
KURT NIEBUHR: How does that thing turn?
Because this thing is really reluctant.
Just, you have to slow it down to the point where it basically
falls out of boost.
But it's too fast for first gear.
And it just it's kind of unsatisfying
to hook it around a hairpin.
I mean, I can't E-brake it obviously.
But how's that?
REESE COUNTS: Well, as much as I usually prefer to heel toe,
I've got the rev matching on, which is really helpful.
I'm only dropping it down to second.
But I've got enough boost coming around here.
The problem is getting on to the power.
It's, I'm still hitting stability control a little too
early.
But man, we got here right at about the same time.
KURT NIEBUHR: There's not a lot more power in that.
But it is 200 pounds lighter.
And it shows right here.
You just, I'm solidly into fourth gear.
And it's pulling as hard as it can.
But that thing just slowly pulled away.
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: OK, let's change lanes and do it again.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, let's do that.
I want to win.
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REESE COUNTS: So now I'm in the Subaru,
which has the advantage of all wheel drive and not much else.
But if I can get off the line better,
I might still have a chance.
KURT NIEBUHR: All right.
So now I'm in the Elantra N. And I've decided
to not use launch control.
Launch control takes a long time to reactivate
after it's been used.
And I think I can probably get a better launch if I just
slip the clutch like a regular person.
But I'm looking forward to seeing how this car handles
around that hairpin turn.
I think I might have the advantage on this one.
So I don't know.
Wish me luck.
Or don't.
I don't care.
What's the matter?
You got some bright light in your eye there?
What's going on?
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RYAN ZUMMALLEN: OK, here we go.
Countdown in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Go.
Pretty good launches.
Go.
KURT NIEBUHR: Not a bad start.
I'll take it.
REESE COUNTS: Dang.
KURT NIEBUHR: This engine makes good power.
Love rev matching.
Oh, good steering feel.
Good steering feel.
Good power.
LSD.
REESE COUNTS: Oh, he's got me.
KURT NIEBUHR: Works great in this car.
Oh Subaru is nowhere.
The changing of the guard in the small sedan class.
REESE COUNTS: Too much power, man.
Elantra.
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Fast across the line too.
That's a decisive 2 to nothing victory, you guys.
REESE COUNTS: That was a change.
KURT NIEBUHR: I mean, the only way this car could get better
is if you made it in a wagon.
Maybe if I didn't stall it either.
Oh, amateur hour.
REESE COUNTS: Oh.
KURT NIEBUHR: All right, so I noticed
right away that this car turns and feels much, much, much
better than that car does.
REESE COUNTS: Steering is nice, right?
Real accurate.
Tells you exactly what the tires are doing.
Yeah, it's kind of vague and messy over here in the Subaru.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, there's just so much push.
I mean, I know that that car is set up more probably
to do rally stuff.
But you think with most people only using them on the street,
they'd be a little bit more sophisticated on asphalt.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, it really just wants to push out.
And like you mentioned earlier, if this thing is not on boost,
there's nothing.
There's no power anywhere.
So unfortunately, this turn is a second gear corner.
And it just feels so sluggish.
Watching you come up, I knew you had it.
You look really handsome in your periwinkle.
KURT NIEBUHR: Nothing wrong with periwinkle.
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: So what happened?
Well, the Hyundai is faster is what happened.
Unfortunately, our testing equipment failed in race one.
But it's clear that the Elantra N had a rough start.
The WRX beat it off the line and to the quarter mile.
In the end, the Elantra N just needed some space
to put the power down.
Close finish though.
In race two, the equipment worked.
But you don't need that to see that the Elantra
N nailed the start.
While this time, the WRX struggled to get going.
And the Elantra N won to a quarter mile.
The WRX tried to catch up, pulling almost a full G
around the turn.
But at that point, it was already doomed.
And this time, the winner was clear.
Best time for the Subaru, 38 seconds flat in race one.
That brings up the rear on the leaderboard.
But this strikes us as not too shabby considering its price
and horsepower.
Sadly for the WRX, the Elantra N simply
fared better, putting up a respectable 37.6
on the board in its second run.
Here we are with my beautiful blue baby boys.
Kurt, a pretty decisive win.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
This car and everything about it when you compare it to that car
was just better.
Launch was better, the clutch felt better,
transmission felt better, the steering felt better,
power felt better.
It won.
So it is better.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah.
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: So it's the better beautiful blue baby boy.
Got it.
Reese.
The biggest difference in the driving experience
between these two is--
REESE COUNTS: Honestly, the steering and the turn in.
To Kurt's point, everything feels a little better
in the Elantra.
But it really is the steering for me.
Getting around down there and turning around,
you can get on the power so much better,
you really feel what the front tires are doing.
The Subaru just feels a little vague and sloppy.
And while I know it's got all wheel drive,
I still don't get a ton of sense of what the tires are doing.
The steering in the Elantra might be better than the M4.
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Oh.
REESE COUNTS: I know.
That's hot.
But--
KURT NIEBUHR: Hey.
REESE COUNTS: I know.
Right?
It is.
The steering in that car is so good.
And you know what?
Albert Biermann, former BMW M engineer,
was in charge of the Elantra and all the N division cars.
RYAN ZUMMALLEN: Spitting straight facts on "U-Drag"
as I like it.
All right, well, I'm going to drive the Elantra then.
Thank you for joining us today.
Don't forget to like and subscribe to see more
"U-Drags".
And leave us a comment below to let
us know what we should put this up against now.
I'm going to try out that steering.
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