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Watch A Tuned Volkswagen Jetta Go Head-To-Head Against A Ford Mustang GT
The Jetta is a lot lighter than the Mustang and makes almost the same power, but it has an FWD layout – Who will win?
by Sidd Dhimaan, on‘Sam CarLegion’ has come up with yet another interesting drag race, this time pitting a Ford Mustang GT against a tuned Volkswagen Jetta. The Jetta makes almost as much power as the Mustang, but is significantly lighter than it. However, it is a front-wheel-drive car as opposed to the rear-wheel-drive layout on the Mustang. With so many factors working for and against it, do you think the Jetta will be able to beat the Ford Mustang GT?
Front-Wheel-Drive vs Rear-Wheel-Drive
The Volkswagen Jetta GLI is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine. It features a new downpipe, intake, and comes with the Golf R’s turbo. This pushes the power outputs to 380 horses at the wheel, which is about 440 horses at the crank as per Sam’s guesstimate. The torque is rated at 400 pound-feet. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox powers the front wheels.
The Ford Mustang GT comes with a 5.0-liter, naturally aspirated Coyote V-8 engine under the hood that puts out 460 ponies and 420 pound-feet of twist. Unlike the Jetta, the rear wheels are powered here by a 10-speed automatic gearbox.
The Jetta weighs 3,217 pounds, whereas the Mustang GT stands in at 4,398 pounds. This makes it approximately 1,200 pounds heavier than the Volkswagen Jetta. This puts the American muscle at a slight disadvantage because the power difference between them isn’t a lot. The power-to-weight ratio of 0.105 hp/lb versus the Jetta’s 0.137 hp/lb ratio is a testament to that.
It All Boils Down To The Traction
The first round was a standing drag race in the sportiest settings with the gearbox in automatic mode. The Mustang sprinted off the line and kept at it till the very end. It looked like the Jetta had started to catch up, but there was nothing much it could do in a quarter-mile distance.
Next up was a rolling race from 31 mph (50 kph) in the same settings. The Mustang had a great kickdown and trumped the Jetta to score another win. They gave it a shot again and this time, the Jetta got the win, but the driver jumped the start. So, they attempted it once more, and this time, the Jetta scored a clean win over the Mustang. For some reason, it looked like both the drivers didn’t start at the same time, but we’ll give them a benefit of the doubt and call this the Jetta’s win.
For the next race, they started at 31 mph (50 kph) again, but this time in manual mode, locked in second gear. They were neck and neck for a few seconds, but the Mustang pulled things back just enough to add another victory to its kitty.
Conclusion
The Jetta’s driver mentioned ‘traction’ quite a few times during the races, thus leading us to believe that it played a big role in the results. If the Jetta wasn’t fumbling for traction, do you think it could’ve beaten the Mustang? Watch the video below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
