Watching drag races on the internet can be quite entertaining. From monstrous V8-powered pickup trucks like the Ram TRX and Shelby Super Snake Sport to four-door Tesla EVs challenging legit Lamborghini supercars, there's no doubt that drag racing has become popular. But that popularity developed regardless of how much drag racing might actually apply to the average driver, which makes a new video posted by the UK-based YouTube channel CarWow a bit more relevant as it features two more reasonably priced daily drivers in the form of a base BMW 420i coupe and an Audi A5.
Both Have A Turbocharged 2.0L Inline-Four
Most people might daydream about driving torque monsters from BMW and Audi like the M5 Competition or the RS6 Avant, but the truth is they're much more likely to buy lower-spec models like these. On paper, the two white coupes step up to the line with similar spec sheets, both employing a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four under the hood.
Rear-Wheel Drive Vs All-Wheel Drive?
The BMW pumps out a respectable 184 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque, which is routed to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It also tips the scales at just over 3,500 pounds. The Audi, meanwhile, has a slight power advantage with a factory rating of 190 horses and 236 lb-ft of twist. But this isn't a Quattro-equipped Audi, instead sending that grunt to the front wheels only with a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Daily Driver Drag Race
The Audi also tips the scales at just under 3,400 pounds, giving it about a 5% advantage in heft to go along with the power imbalance. But the BMW's rear-drive layout, combined with a launch control setting for the trans, may render those stats completely irrelevant.
After revving the Audi's engine in somewhat hilarious fashion (wind noise completely drowns out the powerplant) after it struggles to nail the launch in the front-drive coupe, host Mat Watson opts for a rematch before setting up a rolling race from 50 miles per hour.
Watch the video to see which of these seemingly similar daily drivers manages to come away with the win (hint: an Audi A5 with Quattro seems like the ticket here, though in the United States, the lowest-spec BMW 4 Series is the 430i).
Sources: youtube.com and carsguide.com.au.