Here is my post from ProtegeClub
buy the mag...scanning is bad!!
Nice nice NICE!! Finally SCC compares all 8 of the new "sport compact cars under 20k"!!
Comparison included the Civic Si, Focus SVT, SER Spec V, Mazdaspeed Protege, Hyundai Tiburon V6, Neon SRT4, VW GTI and Mini Cooper S
Guess which one won???????
SRT4 of course, but teh MSP got second! Followed by a tie for third with teh SVT and Mini S. Then 5th is the SER spec V, 6th was Tiburon, 7th was GTI and LAST was the CIVIC........excellent.
And also they dyno'ed all of them......the SRT4 had more than 2x the torque of the Civic, and beat the next highest HP car (the gti) by about 50WHP!! insane.
They praised the hell out of the MSP for its decent accel, decent LSD, and amazing handling.....but they said the seats suck, and that adding a free flow exhaust (instead of keeping that MP3 stock exhaust) would free some power immediately. They also gave tips on adding a FMIC, and said that getting a boost controller would be good too.
The SRT4 was praised for its insane hp, well designed turbo system, but needs a LSD, and stiffer suspension.
Focus, was praised as the best valueo f them all, just a well balanced car, but they hated how tall the 6 speed trans is, and how bad it felt.
Mini S, was praised for its great steering response and handling, but they don't like the 17" wheels for some reason b/c they look "stupid" and weigh 100 lbs more than 15"ers. They also didn't like the tall gearing, and itnercooler's crappiness.
SER spec V got praise for the great LSD, great gear ratios,a nd good torque, they didn't like the styling, and the suspension.
The tibby got praise for its styling, firm shocks that don't require upgrades if lowered. They didn't like the low RPM power from the V6, they wanted more high RPM, which can be fixed with an intake
the GTI got praise for its good power, but they didn't like the soft as hell suspension, and bad horrid tires.
Lastly, the Civic Si got praise for its nice seats and small steering wheel........thats it

. They didn't like the handling, saying the tire and rim size choice sucks, and that it "flops around too much" . They also said the bakes are overwhelmed, and that it could really use the RSX powerplant (someone say TYPE R

).
Anyways, the SRT4 barely won, but I think it deserves it. It was the most expensive of the group, followed by the MSP, and Mini, then Si, GTI, Tibby, SVT and cheapest was the SER.
here are the numbers:
weights:
mini: 2720 lbs
civic si: 2730 lbs
SER spec V: 2750 lbs
SVT focus: 2780 lbs
Mazdaspeed: 2810 lbs
SRT4: 2870 lbs
GTI: 2890 lbs
Tibby: 3040 lbs.
1/4 mile acceleration:
SRT4: 14.2 99.5mph
Mini: 15.4 90.4
GTI: 15.5 91.8
MSP: 15.5 89.4
SVT: 15.7 88.5
Tibby: 15.8 87.0
SER Spec V 15.9 87.5
Si: 16.2 84.3
Lateral grip (200-ft skidpad)
MSP: .89g
Mini .87
SVT .87
SRT4 .85
GTI .85
SER: .84
GTI: .84
Si .83
Slalom (six cone 700ft)
MSP 70.3 mph
SRT4: 69.0 mph
SVT: 68.4
Mini: 68.1
SER: 67.5
Si: 67.4
Tibby: 67.3
VW GTI: 65.7
Lb's per wheel HP
SRT4: 12.9 lbs
GTI: 16.9
Mini: 17.3
SVT 18.5
MSP 18.7
SER: 18.8
Si 19.8
Tibby: 20.5
Get this mag! its at newstands...came out today or yesterday i think..........great read!!