2017 Tokyo Motor Show

Fayeding_Spray · 27 October 2017 20:18

@squidhead I now feel really bad, but @ramthecowy was the one who designed the Rizun for me. I knew I had forgotten to mention something when revealing the car.

squidhead · 27 October 2017 22:45

Kudos to Ramthecowy then! The design is great

MrChips · 28 October 2017 15:38

Some very nice looking cars in this show, well done everyone!

And a big thanks to @DeusExMackia for kindly reviewing my car as well!

titleguy1 · 29 October 2017 22:52

Welcome to the first round of voting for the Tokyo Motor Show 2017 awards. In this initial round, we will be voting for the best car in each category, with the winners going on to the second round of voting which will decide the ‘Best In Show’ winner.

In the event of a tie, the adjudicator (myself) will choose a winner to go though to the Best In Show round, though both cars will be awarded Best In Category.

This vote will only consist of brand new cars that have been revealed at the show.

One car per manufacturer per category, one vote per person per category, you can vote for your own cars, and that’s that. Best of luck to everyone!

Not every car has been included in here, either because there weren’t enough similar vehicles for it to fall into a category or because the company released a large number of vehicles and only a few were selected. Without further ado, let us begin!

Best Sports/GT/Super Car

0 voters

Best Compact (A- to C-Segment) Car

0 voters

Best Saloon (D-Segment and larger) Car

0 voters

Best Concept Car

0 voters

DeusExMackia · 29 October 2017 23:25

Final Round-Up
With the public now viewing the show and all the latest the automotive world has to offer, it’s time for one last update. Make sure to vote in the polls too, I know I will be…

Monolith made room for the N270 Pro-G 4x4, which sounds more like a video card rather than a car. It’s a new trim for their N-series pickup and can’t seem to be able decide how many headlights it needs. Still though, it’s pretty good with the looks and Monolith are even selling it with an LPG-capable engine in Japan only.

Montes showed us how good their counting was revealing the successor to the M200 sports car, the M300! Zenshi might want to have a world with the Spanish marque about that front end styling, whilst the rear takes cues from their other new car, the RSX-6. Producing nearly 500 hp, it’s certainly very fast and comes in at a price of 70k Euros, certainly giving it a competitive price tag. You’ll have to wait for a roadtest to see if it offers any value for money, however…

Saminda have either a) forgotten the name of the car they were releasing at the show or b) had a very quick last minute title change. Whatever happened, the ~~sports~~ SuperDynamic Concept is aimed to be the worlds first electric enthusiasts car, with such incredible accolades as “the lowest height electric sports car in the market”. Mmmmm, that’s gonna sound good down the pub isn’t it.

But come on. Saminda, please. “Autonomous is the future”.

No, autonomous is the future for people who don’t care about driving, for people who only have a car because they have to have one for commuting or traveling, not because they car. And it seriously worries me when the main feature of a sports car is that it can drive it self. One logically questions what the point of it being a “sports” car is in that case. Still, at least the electric sports car is getting closer and closer - I for one am looking forward to that, but I’d just prefer to drive it myself.

Before we go though, there’s one more review to be done - the AL Tetra get’s a road test!

Review: 2017 AL Tetra 346 RS

“The millionaire YouTube vlogger of cars”

It’s not often that we drive an AL car here at Splendid Auto Monthly, despite how many vehicles they seem to make, but this one took our fancy; it’s a compact, the the test of any company wanting to make a proper name for themselves with the mass market surely has to be whether or not they can make a compact.

The AL Tetra is a fairly handsome machine, especially in this sea water light blue it’s painted in. The big chunky design of everything is surprisingly tasteful, and works best at the rear with the rear lights/fake grill combo. Heck knows if it’ll age well, but it does the job for today.

As far as I can tell, this 346 RS trim is some kind of hot hatch, probably top-end what with it’s 4.6 seconds 0-60 time and 346 hp i4 engine. It’s sadly a bit stinted, with a bit of a cap on its revs that lets it down a tad, but the spool time is very amacable and the torque is generally level throughout the revs. Plus, individual throttle bodies! They’re certainly taking things seriously wherever AL is based.

Power delivery is very amacable too. The spacing is neither too wide nor too short on the 6 speed manual gearbox, and the wheels only ever want to give way when you really flaw it. 40/60 F/R torque split with the AWD system makes for a very drive too, and certainly makes this hatchback feel a lot more professional than its contemporaries. And then, you take it to a corner…

…And it all goes to pot. The active suspension, you would think, should do a good job even if it’s been set up by blind chimpanzees, but not with this car. It’s a sloppy drive, somewhat sharp but far too mixed for its own good. The back feels composed and tight, but the front wallows due to serious imbalance between the spring and damper setups. The result? Massive oversteer.

It’s a mess. It feels wrong. It just doesn’t work. This is like the 1969 Pontiac GTO of hot hatches, great in a straight line but like the Queen Mary 2 trying to negotiate Eau Rouge through the corners.

At least the interior is nice, and you can’t fault the equipment nor the practicality. And if JD Power surveys are to be believed, this will be mightily reliable too. But, that’s as far as everyday usability goes. It’s heroically inefficient and the service costs are beyond any form of reasonability.

But as if it couldn’t get any more horrific, the price is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. This car, with no mark-up, reportedly costs over $50k to make. For a hot hatch!

There’s some promise here, but it’s far too expensive and far too sloppy for anyone with half a brain to take it seriously.

And that’s yer lot! Make sure to vote in the polls and look out for the next show I’ll be attending. Time to hit the Tokyo streets and see whether British pick up lines work over here in Japan.

- Gavin Anderson

Thanks to @11alualhati for the car!

11alualhati · 30 October 2017 01:07

Thanks for reviewing the car @DeusExMackia !

abg7 · 30 October 2017 03:15

Yet another case of a car that promises so much on paper and underperforms in practice. Cut the costs, bin the active suspension (to replace it with a well-sorted passive system) and it could be a winner.

titleguy1 · 17 November 2017 00:38

Guess who realized that they didn’t finalize the voting?

Best In Show

0 voters

Show results

Fayeding_Spray · 17 November 2017 02:42

Clapking

titleguy1 · 1 December 2017 21:20

Congratulations to @Leonardo9613 for winning best in-show for Tokyo with the Bonham Fleming and Fleming GTE!!

Sorry for the delays, I promise Los Angeles will move much faster.

Leonardo9613 · 3 December 2017 18:24

Thank you to everyone who voted for the Bonham, and congratulations to all other finalists.