HONDA CIVIC TYPE R VS. TOYOTA GR COROLLA MORIZO IN U-DRAG RACE - WHICH TURNS BETTER?
The Edmunds crew are at it again, and the latest in their series of rather entertaining U-turn drag races caters for the front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive aficionados. The first one we saw was when they pitted the 2022 Ford Shelby GT500 vs. the 2022 BMW M4, and there was a decent amount of skill needed to reign them in and get them pointed the other way thanks to all the power headed to the rear wheels. It should be a lot easier to do with the power going to the front wheels or all four wheels, but there is a fair amount of speed that still needs to be scrubbed off, especially since this U-turn drag race features a pair of the most impressive hot hatches on the market today and they can pick up some rather impressive pace in a short distance. Both of these cars hail from the land of the rising sun; the one representing Honda comes in the form of the Civic Type R and this one has power sent to the front wheels only, and the other comes from the house of Toyota in the form of the newly-released Gazoo Racing-tuned Toyota GR Corolla Morizo. This one sees all of its power sent to all four wheels, and thanks to that this is the one we have our money on. In our expert opinion, the small capacity 3-cylinder-powered competitor has all it takes on paper to better the bigger capacity 4-cylinder in this horsepower and handling duel. While it’s usually not a thing to compare an all-wheel drive to a front-wheel drive, with these cars being the only readily available new performance hatches with a manual transmission it makes more sense.
The Edmunds U-Drag race consists of both cars heading down the track just like in a regular drag race but things change at 402 meters, instead of tramping on the clamps to scrub off speed and then coasting until a return road is found, it’s a case of jumping on the brakes hard to scrub off just enough speed to get the car pointed back at the start line before punching on the gas to get back to the start first. This setup obviously tests the acceleration, and also the braking, but to navigate the turn coming from such a high speed with the point being to keep as much speed as possible puts the suspension dynamics squarely in the spotlight. The Honda Civic Type R is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine that’s rated at 235 kW with 420 Nm of torque, and that power arrives at the front wheels via 6-speed manual transmission. The Toyota GR Corolla Morizo is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre 3-cylinder engine that’s rated at 221 kW with 400 Nm of torque. In this one, the power is sent to all four wheels and also employs a 6-speed manual transmission. On the weight side of things the Toyota tips the scales at 1440 kg and the Honda at 1429 kg, so things are pretty even there, it’s so close that the driver’s weight on the day could even them out.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the Edmonds Cars crew as they show us how two of the world's most popular modern turbocharged hot hatches against each other is their typical U-drag race setup that we're liking more and more when we see them. We just love how it's not all just about straight-line speed but that they also don't need to use a circuit to test the braking and handling of the cars. Click through and let us know your thoughts: U-DRAG RACE: Honda Civic Type R vs. Toyota GR Corolla Morizo | Quarter Mile, Handling & More! | Edmunds Cars
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