Comparison: Black Bandit Subcompacts

It's amazing how Greenlight has evolved from their first introduction: ten years ago it was all American muscle, and if someone told you that in the future Greenlight would include Trucks, European, and Japanese vehicles you'd be laughed at!  Not anymore ever since Greenlight bought the remains of Malibu International (the ones who used to sell the small cars in a display at Wal-marts at the end of last decade) and turned those remaining castings into the new Motor World line, Greenlight has been taking advantage of going world-wide.  Things looked like the usual recycled castings and air-cooled VW feast in the beginning, then Greenlight released something I least expected from them: a subcompact Ford Fiesta!  Maybe it was a flute as it was a tie-in with Ford to produce the casting, but then more started to come and now we sit here and look at three compact cars, each from the Big 3 American automakers, that have all shown up in the Black Bandit series at one point!

Click Here for Photo Gallery

The first Black Bandit, and the oldest tool here, appeared in 2012 just before the actual car went on sale, the Ford Focus ST.  The Focus is the more performance-oriented version, and one with five doors, here.  Next is the Dodge Dart GT, which was released earlier this year and profiled previously here.  Along with the sleek black version the orange County Roads version comes along, both with vast improvements over the first release including the blacked-out headlight bezels and in the Black Bandit version black 5-spoke wheels.  Finally is the newest casting in its first release, the Chevy Cruze.  The Cruze is the less-tame version of the three and the smallest, but the level of detail is sharp on this casting, well almost.  The Civic Si was left off because of only two doors and no black bandit version, as does the Mini Cooper (three generations old and left the GL line a long time ago), and the Fiesta is smaller than these three.

So which one is the winner of this comparison test, read on:

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Exterior

All of them look sleek in the blacked-out look, but then again not always.  The Focus lack of grille detailing and jelly bean headlights look bland as compared to a lighter color with grille details (like the yellow ST I profiled before).  On the other hand the back looks great, but why two gas tank doors behind the headlights???  The Dart looks stealthy and much better than the dark blue Motor World version in black, and the trim package is available on all Dodge vehicles as the Blacktop package; Ironically there's no version for the Dart, yet.  The orange version looks sharp on the other spectrum of the color rainbow, and both look best with the proper black headlight bezels that are on the real Dart GT's.  The aggressive black front fascia and racetrack rear light look great, but the casting seems pudgy from some angles.  The Cruze, despite looking like an ordinary rental car, still looks great with the edgy headlights, two-piece grille with bowtie in gold; dual 5-spoke wheels (instead of the lace wheels originally planned), and large taillights with correct trim detailing though I would like to see a detailed license plate.

 

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Interior

The Cruze has one of the nicest GM interiors to come out, especially when it first came out marking the start of changing GM vehicle interiors for the best.  The twin-pod look still looks great today, though the center stack is starting to get dated by today's latest in-car technology.  As for seating it is the tightest of the three, as is the trunk space.  Also the door panels lack the extra detailing like the Focus.  On the other side of the spectrum, the Dart has all the latest gadgets with a large touch screen and a digital speedometer on higher-end models.  Interior room is comfortable though rear seat riders get less legroom in the back.  The Focus is the best of the group with a sporty look added by the ST's three auxiliary gauges above the radio and supportive seats.  The layout and the steering wheel look sporty and are available on all Focus models.  Having a hatchback look aids in more cargo room when the rear seats are folded down, but entrance and exit of the rear doors do require watching your head!

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Engine

Talk about unfair!  The Focus ST has the 2.0L turbocharged Ecoboost I-4 producing 247 hp. and 253 Ib-ft. torque through a six-speed manual transmission.  The Dart GT, also with the largest engine, goes natural with a 2.4L I-4 producing 181 hp. and 171 Ib-ft. torque through a six-speed manual.  The Cruze has the smallest engine, but a peppy one: A 1.4L turbocharged I-4 producing 138 hp. and 148 Ib-ft. torque through a six-speed manual transmission.  Sounds like an awkward field, but remember the Cruze is the lightest of the group in terms of curb weight so both are close, if not really close.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Acceleration

The Focus ST was the clear winner here at 6.5 seconds 0-60 with good off-the-line punch.  The Dart GT suffers from excessive weight and an engine that seems to lack luster to go with the sport moniker, managing a 0-60 in 8.7 seconds and felt the slowest as well through the test.  The Cruze was a surprise ranking 0-60 in 7.8 seconds and feeling pretty peppy thanks to the lighter weight of the body.  I've test driven a 1.4L Turbo Cruze and I can agree:  Stomp on the pedal and until 2500 RPM it feels slow, then the turbo boost kicks in and it really starts to move!

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Braking

Again the Focus ST was the clear winner posting the shortest braking distance of the group even with small wheels that were used from the front wheels of a C6 Corvette ZO6 (this was before Greenlight tooled the correct 5-spoke wheels for the Motor World versions later on).  The Cruze posted the next best thanks to the lightweight body and fast reflexes.  The Dart was the longest thanks in part to the excessive weight of the vehicle.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Handling

The Focus ST is the best on the track despite the smaller wheels, still even with the correct treads or not the Focus hugs the corner with no roll and even some hint of oversteer.  The Cruze is up next with its light weight and grippier treads delivering fun, predictable manuvers...except for a rear suspension (still uses a Z-link beam axle) that caused the inside rear wheel to lift up and gain a little bit of hair during hard 90 degree turns (In my years of testing diecast I've never seen this happen that often).  The Dart was last with excessive weight and dull driving dynamics making the vehicle seem lifeless compared to the other two.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Features

Both the Focus and Cruze tie this one:  The Focus features the extra detail and room inside and the sporty driving characteristics, but suffers from a lack of front-end detailing and base detailing, though the central exhaust looks cool.  The Cruze gets nods for a sharp exterior detailing, interior detailing, and surprisingly good performance despite the small interior, rental-car look, and a base showing a rear-wheel drive layout (what the heck?!?!?).  The Dart has cool looks in either black or orange and cool features inside, but lacks the sharp, edgy look of the other two, nor does it have the performance either.

Price

Surprisingly the price for all three are very close:  The Cruze is the affordable one at $22,000 est. for a mid-level turbo I-4 model, while the Dart in GT trim can be had for $23,000 est. though adding options can really increase the price.  The top-tier of the Focus line, the ST, can be had starting at $23,700, so again all three come really close in price range.

Click Here for Photo Gallery

Verdict

Third place goes to the Dodge Dart GT.  While the Dart looks good in both color combinations and has lots of potential to be sporty, it ends up carrying too much weight with an engine that lacks the aggressiveness that the GT trim level would provide.  Plus it looks pudgy from some angles!  Second place goes to the Chevrolet Cruze.  It put up a good fight with sharp styling, well laid-out interior, and peppy performance, but let down by a small interior volume, rental-car status, and a rear suspension that is way behind the true performance of the car.  Oh, and who puts a RWD base on a FWD car!!!  First Place, no surprise, is the Focus ST.  Even with a bland front-end and small wheels on early versions, the Focus shines with higher levels of performance and interior content and space.  So now that we've seen these three, the new Big 3 mainstays of today, one must wonder what else is next around the corner for Greenlight.