Driven 100 - Audi A4 wins, Volvo S60 second, and Merc C-Class comes last!!

[BeCos]

Go and see the new Impreza.....there really isn't much to talk about as far as interior quality goes. It's still crap. My wifes 206 has a far superior quality feel to it and that car is hardly the benchmark for it's own class let alone the class that is twice the price!!

To be honest I wouldn't consider the Subaru in this category at all !!

The difference BTW between traction control and LSD is that TC is electro mechanical and uses the abs sensors to reduce wheelspin by measuring the driven wheels speed independently and either reducing the throttle and/or applying the brakes to the spinning wheel. So you re-gain traction via speed reduction.

Limited Slip Differentials work purely mechanically and basically allow full throttle to be used and full power to be transmitted to the driving wheels. Basically it's like two clutches on the drive shafts that will slip to a certain degree, for parking and spirited cornering, and then lock up and transmit direct drive!!

The Torsen diff is basically a liquid filled "TORque SENsing" differential, that never transmits all of the drive. It is better for torque splits and was used on the original Audi Quattro to split the torque front to rear.

[Junior]

Hmm I dunno most of the people I've spoken to seem to use the words bland, tacky and cheap. But it is allegedly an improvement on the last version. But in comparision with the present company the Audi Merc and Volvo I believe it would be found lacking interior build wise.

[WhipLash]

Thanks for the tech explanation of the slip diff Vs. TC Ben - you really do know your stuff, don't you! :supercool

As for the interior of the new Impreza, I may not have seen it in the dealers showrooms, but I was at the Irish launch and got to see it then. I still think that the interior is substantially better than crap, and is a damn site better then the previous version (but then again maybe I’m being biased as I'm currently a Jap car driver! ;) ). And I suppose its comparison here is unjust as this car is all about its superior driveability and excitement, where as a C-Class / Audi A4 would be more of a comfortable exec luxurious saloon. Or something like that anyhow.