Imagine you are shopping for a sporty car and you have about $40,000 to spare. You’re left with two choices: the Mk8 Golf-based Volkswagen Golf R, or the new Nissan Z. Which one will you choose?
There are a few things to consider, of course. But if you want to know which one is the fastest in a straight line, here’s the drag race from Sam CarLegion on YouTube will show you the clear winner. Better yet, the drag race video above features both standing and rolling starts, which must somehow offset the traction advantage of one car here over the other.
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In its stand-start drag race premise, the Volkswagen Golf R has a striking advantage over the Nissan Z. It has an all-wheel drivetrain and is nearly 200 pounds (90 kilograms) lighter than a Nissan sports coupe.
However, the Nissan Z is substantially more powerful than the Golf R. With a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine producing 400 horsepower (298 kilowatts) and 350 pound-feet (475 Newton-meters) of torque, the rear-wheel-drive Z 85 -hp (63-kW) more power and 40-lb-ft (54-Nm) of torque than the VW hot hatch.
Worse for VW, the Golf R here comes with a 6-speed manual stick shift, meaning its performance in straight lines will be affected by the skill of the person behind the wheel.
Results? Let’s just say the VW Golf R has no chance against Z in the drag start and rolling start races. Despite getting a lot of wheel spin, the Z managed to beat the Golf R by a pretty big margin.
Then again, the Golf R can accommodate more than two people with ample space for cargo, so that’s something else to consider if you’re cross-shopping between the two.
