Here are my impressions from the road tests:
(1) I drove the VW first. It is very impressive. The chassis is refined and solid, the steering quick and communicative. This car was fresh out of dealer prep, so the engine was tight so there were limits to how far I was comfortable pushing it, but it seemed nice enough. The car corners flat and sticks like glue. The interior is comfortable and the quality of the surfaces and materials is high.
(B) Next was the Mazda, since the Mazda dealer was right next to the VW shop. This car is a hooligan. It has the most horsepower of this group and it shows. Very well behaved in the corners too, even flatter than the VW. But the interior is dark, dark, dark, depressingly dark and gloomy. I'd need new bifocals to drive and read the gauges at the same time, they seem to be down a deep tunnell, partially obscured by the steering wheel, and the red-on-black writing has poor contrast. I couldn't see to find the controls. Visibility out of the car is poor, I think it's a parking lot fender bender waiting to happen. Its lowered suspension is an issue with curbs and speed bumps too.
(III) Subaru. Sitting in this car is the polar opposite to the Mazda. The windows are big, the sills are low, it's light and airy and inviting. The surface materials and textures look and feel cheap, and the seats are kind of thin, but they seem supportive enough. Overall, the interior is a very nice place to be. On the road, this car seems to have zero learning curve, it's immediately familiar and easy to drive. I was asked to keep the revs below 4000 since the engine wasn't broken in, so there was a lot of what this car has to offer that I wasn't able to explore. However, the chassis feels soft and the steering is a little numb or over-assisted. It'll still go wherever you point it, and stick to the road with grace, but it doesn't dare you to push it the way the VW does. It's very user friendly though, all the controls are in the right places and don't require a lot of consulting with the owner's manual to figure things out. This is a very likeable car, and it'd be easy to run as a daily driver/grocery getter that will also get down when you wanna.
(d) The Audi was beautiful. Considering that it's built on the same platform as the VW, it's hard to believe they share anything at all. The interior is as light and inviting as the Subaru, with top quality materials too. The seating position wasn't like the VW, VWs always have that kitchen-chair-high upright posture thing, the Audi was more normal. The only one they had on the lot was an automatic though, and didn't have the handling option package. It's more of a small luxury car than a hot hatch, but it's a great little car.
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