Splendid Auto Monthly - A Motoring Man's Meanderings (Gavin Anderson's Blog)

[DeusExMackia]

Wherever work is available, Gavin will be there.

[DeusExMackia]

A new review! This time, it’s the Sachiuri sLR200.

Sachiuri Motors - Introducing the 2018 Sachiuri Sagitta

#A Motoring Man’s Meanderings ###Review: Sachiuri sLR200 “I’m the pint-sized beast from the east, here to ravage your expectations and wave the Anikatian flag”

[DeusExMackia]

#AutoThoughts - Promising Startups and Sad News from Japan

A round up of opinions on some of the stuff that’s taken Gavin’s interest on the forum recently.

With summer in full swing, quite a lot of Automation is either on holiday or about to go on holiday. Not for myself however, I drew the short straw this year and have to wait until September to jet off, and in the mean time I’m still in the office.

Mashimitsu have been setting themselves up nicely over the last few weeks, and their latest car Y6 MaSport Wagon is certainly their best looking effort yet. The name is odd and something tells me that a bi turbo 4.3l V8 can do a lot better than 452 hp, but it’s a start nonetheless, and out of the many, many fledgling companies on the forum, this is one I’m keen to see do well.

Wright Motors’ Bullet is another example of a promising car from a new company, and while it certainly doesn’t look like a 2006 car, it is nonetheless good looking. Of the specs we have been told about, it looks to be decently quick, though I’d expect a bit more than a 27hp increase for $4k more.

With the ACCC deadline fast approaching, there have been quite a number of new entrants revealed, though they’re certainly a mixed batch. The complete lack of anything on the Stryker CMR has left me particularly perplexed. I almost want to call it unfinished, but it wouldn’t make sense to post a picture of it in the thread if it wasn’t. Still though, Maesima’s recent announcement of their entry into the competition is great to see, especially since they’re running with the same livery they used in the ATCC. That will be coming back at some point, according to rumours. When exactly remains to be seen.

Contendiente’s first classic car reveal was a welcome addition to the Spanish marque, and I hope to see more of such vehicles in the future. Speaking of which, I’ll be test driving the Enemigo very soon and will have a full report for you guys soon after.

There was also some sad news last week when Saminda/Auxuras announced it was ending development of the RXE and ZXE sports cars to instead focus on tuned versions of its regular cars and more C-k-R vehicles. It’s a shame to see that such promising cars were getting the axe, especially after almost a year in build up, but such is the way of the industry. The sports car market is bigger than ever now as it is, yet I can’t help but feel they would have made fine additions to it. Still, it’s good to see that Saminda want to focus efforts on what they do best, which is making every day cars. The backbone of the automation car market can’t just ignore its important position is holds.

[DeusExMackia]

The Contendiente Enemigo gets a spin, and Gavin gives his thoughts.

http://discourse.automationgame.com/t/contendiente-a-car-forged-for-you/21453/43?u=deusexmackia

[DeusExMackia]

AutoThoughts - Racing Challenges and a new tech-focused company

A round up of opinions on some of the stuff that’s taken Gavin’s interest on the forum recently.

As I type this, the west midlands countryside is speeding past my window. I’m on a train up to the Yorkshire Dales for some test drives, and it reminds me how refined rail travel is. Slower than flying, sure, but at least I don’t have to go through security for this.

Oh yes, the cars. Right.

The Automation Engineers Challenge got under way recently, and the first round produced some, er, interesting cars. There was a golden yellow retro-mod thing called the SPE T-180R. The name sounds quite menacing, but this streamlined 50s design certainly isn’t. The spoiler felt very weird on such a car, though it was entering for a 1980s challenge. Scarab’s Auroroa was much more pleasing, looking like a solid non-911 body design, and the Bogliq Dolphin wasn’t half bad either, though it certainly felt more 1971 as opposed to 1981. That said, one can’t help but feel that the challenge is awfully simple, and is going to need something more engaging to keep contestants coming to back to it, certainly more than just “who can go around the track the fastest”.

Deserving far more praise is the IMSA Automation GT Challenge, the deadline for which is very near. The lack of entrants has been a bit of a shame, though I am certainly looking forward to it nonetheless. Bogliq’s Coyote GT has really caught my attention; it looks perfect for the era and those triple headlights that the company are so famous for look stellar on this wide body coupe.

We were treated to a glimpse of the updated Zenshi Grandea GTR yesterday, with the company restyling the sports coupe for the 2018MY. It’s a bit less aggresive, but also classier and more grown up in my opinion, while the specs remain just as outstanding. Any chance to drive it would be most appreciated if anyone at the company is reading, and I’m especially keen to see how it rivals up to the sports car market especially given how much I’ve waxed lyrical about it.

Erosiamotor - I hope I’m spelling that correctly - set themselves up this week as a technologically advanced company with a focus on EV’s. The styling isn’t exactly groundbreaking, though the odd looks of the Malmo have grown on me. Naturally, it’s unfair to expect much of such a new company, though I am keen to see the specs of their lineup and indeed the engineering behind the tech they emphasise.

Nickel gave us the N8LP, which aside from sounding like a hi-fi system, is actually really rather fast. It joins the roster of super-saloons in the top end limousine market, packing some 667 hp and a top speed of 204 mph. The back lacks the smoothness and consistency of the front styling wise, though its $88k price tag makes it quite the bargain in this department. They’re even keen to highlight its lap time capability. Quite something for a land barge.

[DeusExMackia]

A Motoring Man’s Meanderings

Sports car shootout: Zenshi-Cavallera vs KHT vs Baltazar vs RJM

KHT Augusta SL vs Balatzar Zeppelin Helium 2.0T vs RJM 13R Track-R vs Zenshi-Cavallera Seriyu Sport

“Hunting for the best out-and-out sports car you can buy for under £50k”

Sports cars have a very broad definition. My Zenshi Nimessa is technically a sports car, simply because the guys at Newman shoved some dynamite in the air intake. Sports cars originally, however, were made specifically for performance. You could still drive them on the road of course, but they were ultimately made to be fast, and sacrificed luxuries and comfort in pursuit of this. This isn’t me going on a rant about ‘how it was in the good old days’, as the vast range of sports cars available today is superb. It’s just that a number of companies recently have evidently looked at the current market and saw that it was lacking pure, performance-focused sports cars. The results of these projects have now been released, and we’re here to test them. And where better than the Yorkshire Dales National Park? Astounding scenery, amazing roads and very few cars. Perfect.

First up, the KHT Augusta. The German speed freaks launched this ‘budget’ model last year, and it’s now the company’s main source of income. The Augusta doesn’t hide or shy away from telling you its fast, you just know it is from the multitude of intakes around the car. Hardly a car to get if you don’t like getting second glances, but the inner 12 year old in me really likes it. ($35000)

Then, from Ridgewell-Jeong Motors, comes the 13R. The Anglo-Korean machine is a combination of British sports car standards and advanced Korean technology. Quite the mix then, and they’ve done well on the styling too. Really well. The front has a restrained ferocity about it, while the back looks gorgeous, especially with the single mid exhaust. ($38135)

Baltazar’s offering, the Zepellin, recently had a facelift and a retune, and now offers some serious pounds-per-performance with 321 hp lurking underneath its smooth lines. The styling doesn’t captivate me as much as the others, but its simplicity and smoothness are to be rewarded. There’s an elegance here that some people will get instantly. ($37400)

And finally, the Zenshi-Cavallera Seiryu. An international sports car project that has produced a tidy looking vehicle that, on paper, is very quick indeed. Once again, there’s a turbo i4 planted in the middle, and it produces 300 hp. It’s not as exciting style wise as the 13R or the KHT, but it seems to promise a lot. ($38205)

All of these cars have a certain thing in common; they’re light. And they all have small engines. Everything here is about cutting off every last bit of baby fat and being efficient in terms of what mass they do and do not need. To keep up with this weight avoidance, they all have small engines too. Testing these cars, however, is about more than just working out which one is fastest. It’s about how they deliver their performance, the package they offer – or try to offer – and how well they reward you on the road. It’s subjective, oh yes, but no one said drivers couldn’t be picky.

Don’t worry though, there is some fairness to this test. We’re sticking to the road from Garsdale to Hawes to Thwaite, the latter half of which is the infamous and brilliant Buttertubs Pass. Why? Because these cars are made for b-roads like this. No pointless testing in stop-start city traffic today for me. The conditions will also be the same, so long as the weather doesn’t change its mind.

I try out the RJM first. The interior certainly has stuff in it, but they’ve clearly been trying to push the boundaries in terms of what “basic” is. Not that that is the point, as you still get satnav, plenty of radio functions and even simple aircon – in other words, just enough creature comforts to keep you going. On the road we go and you quickly realise how civilised everything is. Smooth sequential transmission combined with a turbo spool that doesn’t shove a spear through your chest and the result is an experience that won’t require you to wear brown trousers whenever you drive it. And that’s despite this things 1.3l i4 producing 274 hp. Quite an achievement if you ask me.

It’s certainly nippy, and the gearing feels slightly old school with 5 driving gears and one overdrive which gives you plenty of revs to play with, benefitted especially by its wide powerband. In short, the power is very usable and very easy to use. The engine is on the quiet side however, a shame given how nice the engine is to rev. You get all the go without that extra reward on top.

However, we then come to what I consider to be this cars deal breaker; air suspension.

On the one hand, it makes the car very comfortable when you’re just driving normally, and gives it acres of adaptability when you’re driving harder. On the other hand, it makes the ride response feel weirdly numb. It’s just something air suspension cannot do; it can never feel tactile, and the result is that it’s like 70s hard rock song with a disappointing guitar solo. I couldn’t feel satisfied no matter what I did.

Worse still, it’s not setup as well as it could be. It understeers way more than you’d expect from a MR car for one, and it doesn’t quite feel as sharp as I want it to be either. It’s too quick to give in when cornering hard to be a machine that really enjoys being on the limit, and that’s a shame for such a vehicle.

How does the KHT fair then? Well, its way more powerful than the 13R with its 2.0l i4 Turbo rated at 334 hp, and much louder too. This is a proper track machine more than anything else, with a sparse interior and a 3 point safety harness as standard. You don’t even get power steering, just to save on that extra bit of weight. It all adds up though, and the result is a car that is way, way faster than the 13R. It delivers its power just as unfrantically as the 13R too, only there’s a lot more of it. It rockets out of corners, stops like no tomorrow and handles with razor sharpness.

Speaking of which, the suspension. It’s horrifically uncomfortable, and constantly feels like someone’s bashing you with a hammer from all sides. But the result is incomparable handling perfection. The sharpness is one thing, but because it’s light, the lack of powersteering doesn’t end up being an issue. Of course, you do have to work it – a lot – but the precision you can achieve is quite something. On the sharper, more dangerous corners, where nimbleness is everything, the Augusta really proved itself. It’s here that it works best.

But, when you aren’t hugging every apex as though you’re going round Rascasse, it’s dreadful. Maybe they priced it that low so you could afford to buy a tow truck to drive your Augusta around. This simply isn’t a road car, it’s far too rough to be that. But holy god, as a track machine, this is a bargain.

The Baltazar then. It has the nicest interior so far, with most of the features you’d expect on a top end Quasar , which is nice. It’s certainly my favourite for style and equipment levels so far, though it does also make it the heaviest. Still, with 321 hp coming from its 2.0l i4 turbo, it can certainly shift, and accelerates as well as the previous two cars. Better still, the turbos kick in at 3000 rpm, lower than the other two also. And it’s a properly big spool up too, shoving a ton of torque down through its manual gearbox. You can certainly control it thankfully, and that force makes this a very exciting car indeed.

It’s certainly the most rounded so far in terms of handling. In all honesty, it feels comparatively soft to the KHT, though it does make it more road friendly and less twitchy. It under steers quite nicely if anything, but like the RJM, gives up too early for my own liking. The thing that really impacts the handling though is the weight. Drive any of the others and you will notice it. It’s more planted, but only because of that extra mass, and the result is it has a more lumbering feel through the corners. It certainly handles its weight well, but the chuckability is notably lower here.

After a bit of driving, I’m certain that it’s the power that really sells the Zeppelin. It just feels better than the others when it comes to delivering it, and I really came to like the gearing. It’s just right, and that low turbo spool really helps it. The rounded feel of the suspension does give it a softer side, but that is continued with its well equipped interior. Without a doubt, it’s the one to go for if you don’t want a razor sharp car – essentially, the opposite of the KHT in the context of this test.

Finally then, I clamber into the Seriyu. The interior feels very Zenshi – that is, very Japanese, but with European flair (I guess that’s the Cavallera side of things?) which ultimately comes across as appropriately sporty. Acceleration is predictable; turbos don’t kick in too hard and spool low, which is nice, but they give a surge of power later on in the rev range, making them very usable. The engine is rather quiet compared to the others, but still offers a reassuring thrum. It stops as equally predictably and quickly. So far then, it’s a solid sports car.

And then you feel how light it is.

Oh yes, it’s really light. At 1.02 tons, it’s considerably lighter than the rest, and boy does that make a difference. It’s like driving a gnat. The semi active suspension is the only thing that will put off performance purists, but you’d be stupid to turn that into a deal breaker. The speed is fantastic, and it rockets in and out of corners.

It does roll more than you expect, however, plus the front wheels are a lot more narrow than the rear, meaning it does feel like you’re fighting the back of the car when you’re taking sharp turns, but what makes the Seriyu so good compared to the rest of the field is how far you can push it. It rewards hard driving, and I like that.

After a bit more driving in all four of the cars, and a bit of time to contemplate, we go to the Farmers Arms in Muker for a pint of proper ale and some steak and chips.

Time to summarise these cars then. The KHT Augusta; a race car for your pocket, very uncomfortable and totally stupid to try and daily, but very fast, and the only choice if you want something for the track. Plus, it’s the cheapest here, and you certainly get a lot of speed for your pennies.

The RJM 13R; clever technology, and very usable power, but you’ll have to get used to driving with air suspension, for all its benefits and cons. It’s a well rounded machine though, that’s for sure, and it looks fantastic.

The Baltazar Zeppelin; the heavyweight of the crew, and the one that feels the fastest, but also quite a bit heavier and lacking in styling against the rest. It doesn’t cut the mustard for me, however much I want to like it.

And finally, the Zenshi-Cavallera Seriyu; brilliant in the corners, conservative with the styling, but thoroughly convincing as a sports car. I really struggled to find a flaw with it other than overtly subjective issues with it.

I think it’s fairly obvious which one is the winner then. The Seriyu simply outclasses the rest in just about every category. Buy the KHT if you want a weekend track toy, buy the RJM for the styling, buy the Baltazar for the power, and buy the Seriyu if you don’t want to have to compromise.

- Gavin Anderson

It’s been a bit of a while coming, but at last, here we are! Cheers to @squidhead, @Leonardo9613, @titleguy1 and @Grandea/@ramthecowy for lending me your cars.

[squidhead]

@DeusExMackia

the suspension. It’s horrifically uncomfortable,

I’ve read this so many times about all the different KHT cars that I think it should be in the slogan. Thanks for the reviews mate, good read! Also yeah, in company lore, the Augusta was created for track day enthusiasts, with the help of track day enthusiasts’ feedback on Adelaide. It all fits nicely!

[DeusExMackia]

I came at it from the same approach as I did with the other cars. Had this been a track day car review, it’d have been no competition

[titleguy1]

Thanks for the reviews! Thankfully, the car you have is a bit of a pre-production model… Changes can still be made to give it the standard non-air suspension of the base model.

[squidhead]

But did you use the JDM spec SL version or the regular one? Casuse IIRC 334 hp is the toned down version.

[strop]

Aw shit I had no idea this was happening! I would have jumped in on it for sure!

[abg7]

That was an enthralling contest! I wish I’d sent in either of my competitors to those four, though.

[Leonardo9613]

The Baltazar being the sane, serious and most comfortable offer, not a huge surprise

[DeusExMackia]

@squidhead The SL trim, it was the most roadworthy of the lot imo

@strop and @abg7, if you want stuff reviewed, send it in to me and I’ll put it on Gavin’s schedule!

@Leonardo9613 I dunno about entirely “sane” tbh. Saner than the rest of them here

[DeusExMackia]

A Motoring Man’s Meanderings

Review: Merciel Corsaire GTE

“French race car on an English road - that surely should mean something, but all I know is that it’s scaring me to hell”

Sorry folks, but unless you have any intention of becoming a race driver for Merciel, you aren’t ever going to be able to drive car I’m sitting in today. The Merciel Corsaire GTE will make it’s motorsport debut next year in a number of big GT and endurance competitions, marking a big return for the company who will be entering into one of the fiercest times for the disciplines we’ve ever seen. It’s a good job this baby comes packing 722 hp and weighs about as much as a tea towel.

We’ve also got some nice quiet Yorkshire Dales roads to ourselves, courtesy of the lovely guys at Merciel (thanks also for that rally event you got me into back at Geneva earlier this year), which at least means the chance of me soiling myself isn’t quite as high as it would otherwise be. I don’t often drive race cars, you see.

The Corsaire GTE is clever. It combats on costs to make it cheaper to run, whilst still remaining very, very competitive. Fibreglass body with aluminum chassis instead of going all-aluminum or adding in some carbon fibre for good measure; turbocharging a homologated engine instead of designing something all new; taking away the heavy active spring sets but keeping the active dampers to keep it agile. Little things like that make a big difference on the track.

I won’t be able to properly see just what this thing is capable of, as we aren’t at a track, we’re in overcast late-August Yorkshire. Plus, it isn’t exactly setup properly for such roads. But that doesn’t stop it from being wildly able out here. It’s so bloody nippy, with razor sharp precision in the throttle and an absolute response, by which I mean it feels like even the Earth itself trembles a little when you hit the magical 3500 rpm and the turbos spool up fully. There was never once a moment when I accelerated this thing where I didn’t feel on the edge of death all day.

It’s remarkably refreshing to hear a straight-six race engine. It’s somehow more sophisticated - in an upper class, stately fashion that is - than brash V8s and brummy V6s more common in this sort of racing these days. It’s also a symphony of noise in itself, and the epic valleys that we drive above echo with its reverberations. I almost wish I could sit 2 miles away and hear this drive past more than I wish I could drive it on a track, just to experience how it would sound.

Obviously, this is not something unique to just this particular car. A lot of race cars sound pretty darn good however near or far you are from, but it’s very different when you’re actually driving one. You forget just how much of an impact even a basic interior can make on sound insulation, meaning that when you have nothing at all, you have absolute nothing to shield you from every fiery vibration. Along with standing next to the amps at an Oasis concert, it’s the only other way I’d want to go deaf.

Strangely enough for a race car though, it’s not quite as sharp on the steering as you’d expect. By god it’s hard to drive, but you can trust it to respond when you turn the wheel, and it feels weirdly soft for such a car. It’s the one I’d want to be in at Le Mans given how comfortable it is for such a car. The French clearly care about the welfare of their drivers it seems (and yes, I did try to think of a politically relevant joke regarding France’s age-old traditions of being absolutley subservient to their working class. Which is a good thing, I might point out, though I’ll stop being this becomes an article in a politics textbook)

It feels tight at the rear end, and subtle else where. It’s balanced, but has it’s limits and will understeer eventually. But, it can pull some serious G in the corners, and especially on the banked bends on the roads I drove it on, it held its own phenomenally. You can fly through the twisties with this thing all day, every day.

Of course, I can’t really give a sutible judgement on this car, as I’m not a race driver. Give it about 7 months though, and we’ll be able to see what this thing is really capable of when it gets its racing debut. For now, I’ve got the memory of driving this fantastic machine and you’ve got the text I’ve written here about it. Driving a race car is not something for everyone, I should point out, and it’s about as un-easy as driving gets. This is a perfect example; the Corsaire GTE is a stupidly fast car, that does deep down probably want to kill you, but thankfully the Merciel team behind it have reduced such tendencies a bit.

- Gavin Anderson

Thanks to @Dorifto_Dorito for lending me the car!

[DeusExMackia]

A Motoring Man’s Meanderings

Review: Albury CMS-20T and Harris RMA-4

“One’s a work horse, the other’s a hit-and-miss”

Editors note:
We didn’t quite have time to get every single mid-engined sub £50k sports reviewed in the big shoot out last week, hence why I’m back here today reporting on two more cars. Consider this as additions to that previous review.

---

What of the Harris RMA-4? Well, it seems to have been named after a photocopier. Speaking of inspirations, it’s styling cues seem to be a knock-off GTA-esque Honda NSX at the front and a cheap homage to a generic late 90s/early 00s Ferrari. It looks tired and dull, and doesn’t evoke…well, anything,

Specs wise, it’s the slowest of any of the sports cars I’ve tested recently, being more a competitor for the entry level market (the likes of the Adenine Essence and Maesima MRZ-3) with its 200hp 1.6l i4 turbo. Small engine means low weight of course, yet at 1190kg it seems awfully heavy, especially for an all aluminum car. The equipment levels are at least good, but it still doesn’t really explain where the hell that extra mass is coming from, except for safety equipment.

But on a sports car? Really? This thing needs to be as light as possible, and it just isn’t. It isn’t a slouch though, capable of 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, meaning it’ll out run most hot hatches in a straight line. It’s also remarkably sharp in the corners, and changes direction like a Swallow chasing flies. It drives with a knife-edge level of precision all the time, making for a real on-your-toes experience. At least it’s exciting then.

As an entry level sports car, it’s perfectly acceptable, and the price will be tempting to those wanting to get a slice of MR action on the cheap. But as a car to own? I certainly haven’t been convinced. It’s the styling that really lets it down, while the rest of it feels too standard to be any good. It’s ‘good enough’ in too many places to stand out and make up for its flaws. A confused car, that simply doesn’t cut the mustard.

The Albury CMS-20T’s styling has left me perplexed. From a distance, its perfect. Everything you’d expect from a micro-supercar sorta thing. But study the details, and it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The positioning of everything is a just a bit off. Not hugely, just minutely. But it still adds up. And yet, it still looks good. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not put together perfectly. Or maybe I’m just being picky.

Still, I’ve still got my Yorkshire Dales playground to have some fun in, and the weather still seems to be holding. Let’s see what an Aussie sports car goes like.

Fast, that’s what. 0-60 in 4.2 seconds puts it a tad behind the other cars in its class, but that’ll be made up for by the lower price and forgiven due to its lovely manual gearbox. The spacing is absolutely spot on and you can slam it through the ratios.

The suspension is setup in the same mind. All analogue; stiff without being too twitchy; beautifully, wonderfully sharp. It’s a ballet dancer in walking boots through the corners, and knows exactly how to handle its weight. It’s considerably heavier than its rivals though at 1230kg, and that’s despite all aluminum construction. But they clearly didn’t try to work around that and instead worked with it. Once you, the driver, get used to it, the car is very happy to be driven hard.

Malleable - yes, that’s the word. This thing can take a beating, but still demands that you don’t hit it too hard.

It’s surprisingly sketchy to drive sometimes though. It isn’t afraid to cut you loose sometimes, though I like that. It shows the designers weren’t keen to just shut it up everytime it lashed out at them during testing.

The engine? It’s a bit redundant in character. 2.0l i4 turbo, lovely thrum and the usual 3500 rpm turbo spool. I approve, but don’t expect it to be any more exciting than equivalent cars.

I get out again to have a look at this thing. I’m still not convinced by it, and looking at the front, it it definitely lacking something. More to the point, it’s a bit without soul. It’s efficient and hardy in being a performance machine. It’d be the one that never talks and just shoots in an infantry platoon. For a sportscar that just gets the job done, this is great, especially with its price. Just don’t expect it to be very memorable.

- Gavin Anderson

Thanks to @abg7 for lending me the cars!

[abg7]

It is worth noting that since this review was posted, both cars have been revised somewhat, and ought to be available with both the 1.6T and 2. 0T engines. But your reviews have once again hit the spot, and I will use your feedback to improve the pair further.

In particular I’ll most likely give the Harris more grunt and, more importantly, much more distinctive (but not repulsive) styling, which it needs more than any mechanical upgrades.

[DeusExMackia]

Review: 2017 Armada Fore (Birdie and Eagle GTi)

“The automotive version of the neighbour who always organises the community bake sales and never asks for anything in return”

Hell yeah! It’s a double review today of the Armada Fore. Wait, Armada? Not a clue. A company that I’ve only ever “known” about, in that it’s one of those companies everyone seems to have heard of but couldn’t tell you a thing about other than “I think I saw one when I was on holiday a few years back?”.

Which is quite surprising, because this is the 5th gen Fore I’m driving today. As to the other ones, you’ll have to consult someone else. Still, means I’m coming into this clean. First impresions from the look? Nice, and well laid out, but lacking in flare. It’s a bit blocky, and doesn’t have much of a soul to it.

The Birdie trim is the base model, which specs wise seems very standard for a compact. Good. I’d expect a bit more than 48.8 mpg combined for an aluminum bodied, 1251 kg car, but the trade off is 139hp. 0-60 in just under 10 seconds is also decent, certainly enough in my eyes for any family who might buy this. What won’t be fun for the family though is the erratically small rear doors. Seriously, imagine trying to get any decent car seat out of that thing, let alone in a car park or confined space. The boot is well sized though, thanks to its sloped rear that provides plenty of room behind the rear seats.

On the road, it feels civilised and actually responsive. Doesn’t roll that much at all, holds in decently when you push it a bit more and feels malleable and predictable. The sporty looks aren’t for nothing; the Fore can handle very decently. The power is a bit iffy though. You have to redline its 1.6l engine before it shifts’ - the auto box is nice on this model to be fair, wide gears to keep the hypermilers happy - but I can imagine a manual being more effort to use with this engine if you just want something easy to drive.

The interior is as standard as it gets, certainly making it enough for anyone who just wants a car with the usual modern amenities. I’ve already mentioned rear space, and you’ll be glad to know the front is much more roomy and also easier to get into.

Most of all, the ease of driving impressed me most when driving the Birdie trim. It was just so hassle free and nice. Oh god that word taunts me. I had a teacher in school who always complained whenever anyone used it during English lessons. Yet, I can’t think of a more appropriate word to describe this car’s characteristic. To phrase it better, you warm to it very quickly. I would love to commute in this thing, and that’s saying something.

So then, what happens when you shove a bit of extra power under the bonnet and tune this thing to be sharper? Well, the Eagle GTi is the result. Apart from sounding like something out of a Burnout game, it looks good. Red stripe and black spoiler? Yes please. Lovely chunky fenders, and an overall sense of toughness to it. There aren’t too many thin and finicky aero details here, it looks solid and purposeful.

All of which only begin to hint at the madness going on here. 340 hp only going to the front wheels, meaning this car ought to just wear a “I LOVE TORQUE STEER” t shirt wherever it goes. At least it has a geared LSD to deal with that. More remarkable is that it’s a 1779cc i4 turbo powering this thing, unlike the standard 2.0l turbo. It saves on weight a bit, and something tells me this is a car where every gram saved matters.

Onto the road, and boy is it fast. That’s to be expected though. The manual gearbox is lively, though the engine is surprisingly manageable. Punch in the guts from the turbo at 3.5k rpm, but after that, it’s no madder than any other hot hatch. What is different is the front wheel drive. The only other cars I’ve driven with this kind of power have had RWD or AWD, where I’m used to less wheelspin and the feeling of being shoved from behind, not pulled along. No prizes for guessing that maintaining traction requires a keen control of your feet and bigger balls than I have.

Once you’re used to the power, however, it’s a buzzy little machine to drive, and quite the fun one too. There’s no doubt that it can handle, and that it’s sharp, but it doesn’t bash you for it. It feels precise but also soft, much less race car-y than I was expecting. What amazes you most of all though is just how fast it wants you to go.

It grips and grips and doesn’t stop. You can drive constantly on the edge all day and it never gives in. I love it. This feels less like a hot hatch and more of a performance tool. The 0-60 time isn’t as fast as some cars, and it doesn’t have the power of the top end performance cars, but I have few doubts that it wouldn’t be able to keep up with sports coupes more than double its price.

What it feels is well intentioned. It’s been honed and focused and sculpted into this performance weapon. What an experience to drive.

The Armada Fore then. My first drive in this little known hatchback line and I’s say it does the job for a compact car range. The speedy Eagle GTi trim is a stellar hot hatch. Some will be after an even sharper experience at this price range, but if you can learn to handle its tower of power, you’ll be rewarded with something that drives far better than the size of car it competes with on the showroom floor. The entry level Birdie trim is more forgetabble, but drives well and is well equipped. Just don’t get it if you are going to be needing the rear seats a lot, the door is a nightmare and you’ll probably end up throwing your £140 Graco childseat on the multistorey carpark floor and curb stomping it once you’ve been suitably annoyed by trying to get it in there.

If you can deal with the dulled looks and that rear space issue, it’s well worth considering for a hatchback, especially with such competitive prices and the niceness of its driving habits. Well rounded, fairly well designed in general and capable as far as hatchbacks go.

-Gavin Anderson

Eagle GTi left, Birdie right

Cheers to @strop for lending me the car!

[abg7]

I must also admit that either Fore is great value for money and a fine drive, especially in Eagle trim, which is a real giant-killer! It was developed before the Birdie, though, and it shows.

[strop]

Perfectly pitched. The Birdie is indeed the “afterthought” where the Eagle GTi is the mainstay. Its strengths and weaknesses that Gavin so accurately captured are somewhat modelled after the 9th Gen UK Civic Hatch: same strangely disappointing power to eco ratio, lazy auto with long gears, strangely deficient rear legroom and teeny rear doors, but also really nice and pleasant to sit in and drive. The main point of difference is that it has alu panels so it’s lighter. But also a bit more expensive than the entry-level it aimed to compete at, which is why it’s the afterthought: it can’t really make up its mind because it is in essence a heavily detuned, toothless Eagle. You’d get it if you were struggling to eke out a little enjoyment in your commute in a life dictated by practical concerns and people wanting you to get a car with all the amenities so they didn’t have to suffer, a situation I know very well. As a result I would expect the Birdie to sell about as well as the 9th Gen Civic Hatch, which is to say, not particularly, especially since the hatches of 2017 are so damn competitive I wouldn’t be surprised if rear leg room was actually a major determinant in market share.

As for the Eagle, well, it’s pretty much been said. You might ask “why not just make it FR, MR or AWD, anything but FF” but, again, like the FK2 and FK8 Type R, that’s precisely the point and Armada simply won’t do otherwise, because they have cars in other formats already, duh. This is out to prove that FF can do real sporty, and for that to happen it had to be light.

With markups accounted for, you can get the Fore Birdie for under 17k AMU, and the Eagle GTi for 27.7k AMU. The latter is expected to compete with sport cars in the 30-35k AMU bracket.