The final reckoning

With the Yaris relegated to ceremonial hero status, 10 contenders vied for the spoils. This is how the CAR team ranked them

10th Kia Stinger GT 3,3T

It may have been the first Kia ever to take part in Shootout but it strikes another, somewhat less desirable first: it bows out of Performance Shootout 2019 first. Some of the Stinger’s elements are fantastic – the turbocharged 3,3-litre V6 and its clean, cultured sound chief among them – but we couldn’t ignore the unusually brittle ride of this test unit (something, it must be said, we did not notice in our initial road test of another Stinger GT published in the November 2018 issue), inert steering and a curious instability under braking evident both in our road assessment and during Deon’s laps of Killarney.

Show it a fast, sweeping, smooth road, however, and the GT strikes a lovely flow. Sadly for the Stinger, Shootout is a strenuous test of how a vehicle performs across a broad spectrum of disciplines and simply being a great cruiser isn’t enough of an advantage to guarantee an impressive ranking.

9th Subaru WRX STI Diamond Edition

Perhaps the most divisive competitor this year, Subaru’s locally fettled Diamond Edition frustrated and delighted in equal measure. The exhaust note was fun for five minutes before tunnelling its way into our inner ears. Likewise, the heavy clutch was initially praised … until we hit traffic and its action prompted many a team member to exit the car sporting a limp. Push-on understeer was a constant bugbear in the tighter turns on our route, too, and some grumbled about the passive steering.

There’s much to like here, however. Filter past the understeer and the chassis displays a neutral balance and there’s loads of confidence-inspiring grip served up by the all-wheel-drive chassis. That’s not enough, though, for it to place any higher than ninth. We look forward to the next generation of STIS regaining some lost icon status…

8th Mercedes-amg GLC63 S Coupé 4Matic+ 9G-tronic

Each year, we endeavour to include an SUV in our line-up, often against our better judgement. They’re habitually point-andsquirt machines, capable of raising a smile as they devour straights only to elicit a grimace when they heave into the first corner. Not so the GLC. Thanks to a balanced chassis, body lean which is kept well in check on the road, and an organic-feeling steering system that loads up nicely to telegraph grip limits, the AMG surprised us more than any other vehicle here bar the Toyota.

It’s not perfect, however. Even in comfort mode, the ride is brittle at best and downright uncomfortable on coarse roads. And why is the glorious V8, which is allowed to scream unfiltered in other AMGS, oddly sedated in this application? We must note, too, this was another AMG test unit with an interior that chirped and squeaked. If our experience with the facelifted C-class is any indication, Benz has improved the quality and those changes will filter through to the GLC later this year when it’s facelifted. Until then, though, R1,7 million is a lot of money to spend on a vehicle that has a few too many cons.

7th Audi RS5 Coupé Quattro S tronic

I must preface this piece with a caveat before explaining why the RS5 places only seventh. We had requested a TT RS from Audi SA – a vehicle the entire team rates highly and one which would have provided stern competition to the GTS and M2 – but the test unit was damaged elsewhere in a shunt a few weeks before Shootout. The RS5 was its replacement. Audis generally do remarkably well in Shootout (our 2017 winner was an R8 Plus and the Spyder version of that car placed second last year) but this year’s competitor languished in the background as more exciting machinery enlivened our frequent stops at hair-raising passes.

There were plaudits aplenty, sure: like any all-paw Audi, grip levels are plentiful and so it’s easy to jump into the RS5 and tackle an unknown road with gusto without worrying about the vehicle running out of answers in tricky situations. The engine, too, is impressive, registering an M4/c63-beating 3,76-second sprint to 100 km/h (the coupé’s ability to leap off the line is astonishing).

But too many times the suspension would struggle to rein in body movements, control feeling somewhat loose on fast, bumpy roads (a number of staffers are still rubbing their heads where they connected with the Audi rooflining). Like the Kia, it’s a great long-distance cruiser and is comparatively excellent value for money at R1,3 million but that’s not enough to elevate it above the more interactive competition to follow.

6th BMW M5 Competition M xdrive M Steptronic

When I tallied the final votes, I did a double take when the M5 was relegated to sixth. An initial drive in Spain had me giddy with excitement at the prospect of the Competition included in Shootout 2019.

Yet, somewhere along our nearly 1 000 km road trip, the M5 began fading into obscurity as other participants – including its little brother – started asserting themselves as potential victors. There are a number of reasons for this: unlike last year’s bronze-

medal winner, the AMG E63 S, the M5’s otherwise-superb V8 lacks character, it’s synthesised engine note contrasting with the Benz’s war cry. The BMW’S chassis, too, is composed but somewhat aloof. The M5 Competition needs serious speed under its tyres before it starts engaging its driver, who by then is flirting with extended jail-time.

Quickest to 100 km/h and around Killarney it may have been, but we expect our winner to strike an impressive balance between composure and amusement, and the consensus was the BMW errs too strongly to the former…

5th Porsche 911 T PDK

Last year, a 911 won Shootout. Why, then, is the 911 T fifth when that 911 GTS became the most unanimously praised winner in the competition’s history? Let’s list the reasons: chiefly, the spec of this test unit curbed its appeal. Where we would have preferred a manual gearbox and cloth-covered standard seats for the full T effect, Porsche SA specified this vehicle with a list of optional extras including full racing buckets and, more gallingly for some team members, the PDK dual-clutch ‘box. Of course, Porsche plans to sell on this test vehicle and, by its own admission, buyers don’t choose manual transmissions any more. We were also sceptical of the T treatment in general. Where the German carmaker could have made a stripped-out 911 to distance the T from the Carrera, all it’s done is build a, well, more expensive Carrera.

That said, everything that makes a 911 brilliant is present and correct. Rear-axle grip is astonishing, its flat-six sounds like the thoroughbred it is against the industrial timbre of the Cayman’s four-cylinder, and the electrically powered steering system feels deliciously analogue.

It’s still a 911 – and that means it’s a great sportscar, simple as that – but we couldn’t look past the T as a curious marketing exercise rather than a fully fledged, deserving member of one of motordom’s most iconic lineages.

4th Aston Martin Vantage V8

Aston Martin is getting better and better at building great sportscar-cum-gts. Last year’s DB11 gave us a taste of what a revitalised Aston was capable of, but the main event is this new Vantage. Replacing a model that overstayed its welcome – as fantastically engaging and beautiful as the 11-year-old Vantage was – the new version uses AMG’S V8 to dramatic effect. It sounds delightful (somewhat like an AMG but with a more strident note) and pushes along the comparatively heavy Vantage (1 730 kg, fully fuelled) at a impressive lick, registering a 3,98-second sprint to 100 km/h despite being only rear-wheel driven.

So much of the Vantage’s appeal is rooted in its visual drama but it backs up the swagger with substance. Its chassis is composed but playful, the rear-end nicely teetering on the edge of slip but always informing you of its intentions, and the steering system is satisfyingly weighted and communicative. The brakes, too, are excellent, with a firm, progressive pedal.

Certainly, R2,9 million is a lot when a 911 GTS at two-thirds has the Vantage’s measure but, for the sheer spectacle, sound and seductive drive dished up by the Aston, it deserves every accolade it gets.

3rd Honda Civic Type R

Like any human being, we crave validation. In this instance, we desired justification for including the Type R in the main Shootout and it assured us we had made the right decision, oh, about five minutes into attacking our first pass on day one, Clarence Drive. How is it possible for a front-wheel-drive hot hatch to have such a decisive turn-in and be able to put down its 228 kw without becoming scrappy? There’s some black magic at work here…

Despite suffering braking issues that turned progressively worse as our Shootout route cut a swathe through the Karoo – turns out it simply needed new stoppers after a hard life as a press unit, which it received before posting a 1:26,10 at Killarney – the Civic Type R rendered every pass a playground. That planted chassis is aided by oily, slick steering; what’s quite possibly the best manual transmission in a seriesproduction car; and a characterful 2,0-litre turbopetrol with punch to spare.

Until we drive Renaultsport’s Megane Trophy and the upcoming AMG A45, there isn’t a better midsize hot hatch anywhere on sale. Take a bow, Honda.

2nd BMW M2 Competition M-DCT

Ah, what a lovely thing the M2 Competition is. And what an intimidating thing… And a hair-raising th… You get the idea. Placed first by three team members, but also fifth and sixth by two others, the M2 asks as many questions about its driver’s commitment at full-attack as it elicits smiles and the occasional grimace (usually on a bumpy road). I had a particularly enthralling outing in the M2 on day two of Shootout as the wheel wriggled in my hand while I attempted to keep up with the 911 T and Cayman GTS on the slice of driving heaven that is the R318 heading to the N1 and our stop at the Shell in Touwsrivier. I got out at our destination sweaty-palmed but elated at one of the best drives I’ve had on Shootout.

When you’re committed, the M2 plays along. If you’re disinterested, it strives to frustrate with a busy ride, tramlining tyres and a steering system that requires familiarity before you plug into its workings.

But when the M2 is good, it’s utterly brilliant, and makes you feel like a brilliant driver by association. At R1 million, few – if any – cars are more enthralling. Except one…