As far as quality I'd say they are equal. I don't regularly use Varycon, but found it nice when I did. It's hard to find in Sweden these days.
Regarding tonal scale, image tone etc, they are quite different. If I remember correctly, Varycon separate highlights better than shadows: it should be used with a film that matches that.
I find Varycon to be much warmer than VarioClassic. VarioClassic is close to blue-black in highly concentrated Dektol. Selenium toning does not make it go purple, but rather slightly colder. I haven't toned Varycon with selenium and cannot say how it reacts.