BMW 320i

I've been having a long standing debate with myself: Which car would be more fun to play with? A relatively cheap to run, but hardly exclusive Japanese, or a sophisticated, complicated (albeit sometimes too complicated for its own good) and classy German. It's funny how this was also the case in World War II. The Panzer tanks used by the Nazis were very efficient killers with the latest technology but were extremely expensive to produce and maintain, whereas their simpler Japanese counterparts were much easier to run.

We don't see many tuned German cars on the road, especially here in Malaysia, as BMW's and Mercs are, well, way out of reach for many people. Japanese cars on the other hand are a dime a dozen. I must confess that my own ignorance has led me to believe that German cars just aren't tuneable, due to the simple fact that there just aren't as many tuned BMW's as there are Nissans, Hondas, Toyotas and Mazdas. Take into account that a typical BMW costs twice as much as its Japanese counterpart and the higher cost of tuning parts and higher running costs; it's quite easy to see why most people stand firmly on the Japanese side of the fence.

Costs of modifications aside, you'd be hard pressed to fault the result of a nicely done up Beemer. A fully done-up Evo or Skyline just doesn't have the same visual clout as a Beemer, especially Beemers like this Motorsport Division demo car. An Evo with a full Varis bodykit may look fierce and intimidating, but a fully done up BMW will have the same intimidation level as the Evo, but it does it with so much more class.


Think of a street thug with piercings and tattoos covering his arms, brandishing a rusty blood-stained parang, dressed in tight jeans and a leather jacket (the Evo), standing next to a clean shaven man dressed in a white suit, with greased hair combed all the way back, gold chains, toothpick in his mouth and a silver-plated Colt M1911A handgun with ivory grip inserts and intricate engravings along the length of the barrel, resting in his left hand (the Beemer). Yeah, now you get the idea don't you?

BMW are known for making some of the world's best automotive engines. The E46 M3 S54B32 3.2 litre engine won numerous awards for its smoothness, high power output and all round awesomeness. It's good to know that BMW has passed on some of the M3's engine DNA to its lesser siblings such as the 2-litre straight-six engine which resides in this pearl white E46. In stock form, the M52B20-T produces a barely adequate 150bhp. That's hardly enough to power to propel this 3-series BMW which weighs around 1500kg.

Subaru

It's slightly innocent demeanor makes it impossible to imagine the performance potential. The S203 is gloriously tuned by STI for impeccable driving attributes, and that is never a bad thing.

The realm of high performance cars must be one of the most demanding of all, other that the more obvious reasons that is. For the manufacturers, their reliance on pleasing the enthusiast drivers means that in no way can a competitor have a product that is better than theirs. If someone comes out with another upgrade to bump its' horsepower just a mere 10 horses, you can bet your behind that the competitor will suddenly come out with something to better that. In some ways, their motorsport guys are a bit attention crazy.

But let's not make you presume that i am actually complaining. No, far from that. Had things been more innocent or uncompetitive, we'd probably still think that 200 hp is more than enough. And nothing personifies this war on performance vehicles more than the friendly rivalry between Subaru Imprezas and Mitsubishi Evolutions. Based on the motorsports where both shine the most, which is along forest trails, icy routes or even dusty roads all over the world in World Rally Championship races, they have enjoyed almost equal glory time at one point or another. Having said that, it is interesting to note that both camps have had a drop in performance these past couple of years and although the respective manufacturers have every right to be frustrated, at least their reputation is sealed thanks to the street credentials and history.


It comes to no surprise that both models are a struggle between which has more power and superior handling. Newer better versions are at worst just a year apart between the two. As for myself, i am still undecided on which do i like most. Though the Mitsu is better when it comes to aftermaket upgrade availability (and relatively cheap), the Scooby's boxer engine is addictive. Apart from that, the former is just too common while the latter is only still coming up. Which brings us to the Impreza here.

Being Hypertune, this is of course no ordinary Impreza. It's loaded with Subaru Technica International's products. And for most of us, if it's rich with STI parts like this one here, it means that the car is part of the S series. True, the S203 is a wildcat that needs little introduction. It is ironic though that information on the web is contradicting based on the sources as if indicating that this is one monster that's better to be driven rather than concentrating too much on the technicalities. For comparison purposes, Mitsubishi's equivalent to the S Series would probably be their FQs or to some extent their RS version.