BenR said:not really a good comparison.
Saloon vs hatch?
WRX is by no means a car to take as a base for a good handling car, its positively bland and you have to be super aggressive to have any fun.
The weight offset on the WRX isnt as large due to the primarly wheel base, and F/R split. Plus the polar moment is not in the same place as a fwd clio.
Take a alfa 147 GTA.........fast......BUT, prime example of understeer, again you have to be pretty brutal to get it to tuck in.
But yea, it could be fast......but not keeping the OE suspension setup, you'd have to pretty much re-engineer the basic package to get the thing to be anywhere near neutral.
it certainly wont be a drivers car, fast in a lazy way, but not my cup of tea.....maybe yours.
I'm confused now - my comparison proves that having additional weight isn't necessarily detrimental to the handling provided the issue of suspension is addressed.
If you need to apply the concept to a hatch, look at the additional 300kg Lancia put over the front axle of the Delta, didn't stop it from winning 6 WRC titles, nor did it stop it from being still one of the best handling cars of all time.
Regards