We may be at the dawn of the electric era but there are still quite a few performance cars powered by pure gasoline engines. If you’re shopping in the compact segment, you are spoiled for choice as there are quite a few models. The folks over at Carwow selected four of the best and put them on a dyno to find out their real power before using an industrial scale to accurately measure their weights.
The BMW M240i was the only coupe of the group, with the AMG A45 S and VW Golf R being hatchbacks while the Audi RS3 was a sedan. All four had automatic transmissions and featured all-wheel drive, but let’s keep in mind the Bavarian brand is also selling a RWD variant of its M Performance 2 Series Coupe. At £48,430, the M240i xDrive was more expensive than the £42,850 Golf R but substantially cheaper than the £54,905 RS3 and £63,140 AMG A45 S.
Rocking the largest engine of the four cars, the BMW with its inline-six 3.0-liter unit produced 375 horsepower or a mighty 1 hp more than advertised. Your favorite automaker is known for deliberately underrating its engines, and it’s no exception here as the B58 produced 572 Nm (422 Nm) on the dyno. That’s an extra 72 Nm (53 lb-ft) compared to what’s written in the technical specifications sheet.
BMW may say the M240i xDrive weighs 1,690 kilograms (3,726 pounds) without a driver, but the car seen here actually tipped the scales at 1,733 kg (3,820 lbs), so 43 kg (95 lbs) more than claimed. For purists eager to buy the rear-wheel-drive model, it shaves off 55 kg (121 lbs) compared to an equivalent AWD-equipped M240i.
As for the other cars, the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Golf R was rated at 325 hp (+5) and 478 Nm (+58) whereas the Audi RS3 produced 413 hp (+13) and 543 Nm (+43 hp) thanks to its inline-five 2.5-liter engine. The 2.0-liter, four-pot AMG A45 S was a major disappointment, with just 386 hp (-35 hp) and 418 Nm (-82 Nm).
Source: Carwow / YouTube
