Top 5 Cars That Are Better Than Their High-Performance Variants [Video]

Performance Bargain or Over-Powered, over-priced Performance?

Yesterday at TFL HQ special guest MotoMan and Tommy gave a rundown on their top 5 picks for lesser powered, cheaper cars that they believe are the better value and driving experience than their tricked out, factory super-tuned performance variants. Some of their choices had to do with price, some with technology, some with their own experiences in the cars. But in the end, their choices came down to this: What model produces the most smiles for the least amount of dough?

Here’s the list. Check out the video to find out why Tommy and Mica came to their conclusions.

 

Subaru WRX Subaru WRX STI The gist: The WRX is a terrific car at its price. The price of the STI starts getting into a very competitive segment of arguably better cars.
VW GTI VW Golf R The gist: For less than $25K the GTI is hard to best. The Golf R, while amazing, is a serious jump in cost for the performance delivered.
Dodge Challenger 392 Dodge Challenger Hellcat The gist: The 392’s 485 hp is all the Challenger really needs. The Hellcat’s 707 hp is fun but useless most of the time.
Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo (base) Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid The gist. The Sport Turismo has 550 hp and is plenty fast. The hybrid has 600-plus hp. And costs six figures more.
Mercedes-Benz AMG 63 Mercedes-Benz AMG 65 The gist: The V8s in the AMG 63 vehicles are better engines than the V12s in the AMG 65s. Plus the 63 gets better transmissions.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

So why is there a BMW on the front of the video? At TFL we always throw out an extra car to consider in our Top 5 lists. You’ll have to watch the video to find out.

VW GTI
Let us explain how a VW GTI trumps a VW Golf R. [photo: VW]