quattro Digest, Vol 3, Issue 144 - '90 CQ

[l.leung at juno.com]

You may wish to find old test reports on the CQ and 
90Q 20V. It may be a perception that the 20V's are
slower off-the-line than the 10V cars due to the 
stronger top end (the contrast). I know when I was
trying to be convinced by a dealer that I needed to
replace my 8V GTi with a 16V that the 16V FELT slower
off the mark than the 8V, but according to test #'s in
Road and Track, as well as Car and Driver and even MT,
0-30 and MOST DEFINITELY 0-60 MPH, even the 1.8 16V's 
were distinctly quicker. BUT, it did take running up the
revs to acheive these better times. Since I was running 
competitively in ES Solo2 at the time, and at the time 
16V GTi's weren't as competitive in DS, I opted against the
new car. AND, certainly at the track, the lighter weight 
(my 8V had no where near the equipment of the 16V)payed off
in better response and overall track performance (okay, P-lot,
Auto-X "tracks" are in P-lots and runways. Ifon a true road 
course, the 16V would've totally overwhelmed the 8V, no contest). 

So, it woudl really pay to see if you can get a ride in either 
a CQ or a 90Q before you make a decision. 

HTH,

LL - NY