Chill.
I just "guessed...
And would i help if I changed the sentence to.. "I would guess they wanted to find the best drivers car
in terms of overall performance"?
And then we could ask.. what performance... Handling performance, balance performance... drifting performance.. mpg performance.. there are several types of performance.
There is also
overall performance. That would include things like the stuff mentioned above and things like, driving feel, agility, steering feel, shifter feel, pedal feel, smile on your face, seating postion, confidence behind the wheel .. etc...etc..
The test showed the mustang outperformed the BRZ/FR-S in laptime. Basically due to the tires.
Buy a scion IQ (or Toyota Aygo if it is available over there), put on some slicks and see it outperform the Mustang on a tight Autox track in terms of lap time. And in terms of a braking test and cornering Gs..
Would that make IQ the better performance car for the buck? It would cost less than 20k and outperform the 25k vehicle in terms of lap time.
It is all relative to how you compare things.
This test showed that the staff of motortrend found the BRZ(/FR-S) to be the best performance car for the buck...
It is a over a week since I read the article but I do not recall them saying the fastest laptime wins or equals best, (overall) performance.
If you would buy a racecar. You would most likely buy the car posting fastest laptimes within your budget.
If you would buy a (performance) sports car, you would most likely consider everything. The overall picture. At least I would.. So did the staff of motortrend the way I see it.
According to tirerack the tires on the genesis are in the same high performace group as the tires on the mustang. According to consumer reviews they basically have the same dry performance grip as the tires on the mustang. Tires on that car are nothing to whine about in terms if grip. If you would whine about that you should be crying out loud for the tires on the Toybaru.
It does not come with performance tires.
Seems like you should buy a Genesis with ECU flash then if you like it so much. Dont remember to testdrive the Toybaru tough. Make your own decicion. Reviews are just "guidelines" anyway...
The FR-S is 25k. Add 600 for some 215/45-17 star specs and it would outperform the mustang on that track. It would have crushed it on a smaller track.
They put the BRZ on first place, that just shows that laptime (performance) was not the the big factor.
These videos pretty much sums up the cars.
It is easy to see why they put the mustang below. Their arguments are valid. If you dont get it. Then you probably crave the features of the Mustang more. Buy a Mustang and be happy with it.
If you are a part of that niche. It pushes all the right buttons.
There is no such thing as a steal when it comes to cars. According to sales in Europe VW Golf is a steal. Not in my book! (and yes, I "owned" a 2010 model as a company/private car for a year)
At the end of the day. Bang for the buck is all relative to your needs and preferences.
Some persons "bang" for the buck could be another persons "crap for the buck".