Edited the price !
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I’d say 50MPG from the 1.6T is far more than “decent,” but hey, I won’t complain about victory 
A good set of comparisons, if you ask me. And now it’s really bugging me that I’m still back in the past, thereby out of the running for modern cars.
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How do I get some of my econoboxes in here? They will make for some "good"reviews 
Neat little review! Please keep doing more of these.
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#The 90’s Legendary Iconic Shootout!
So during 90’s Saminda and Maesima make pretty cool cars that youngster would drool over them , but the real question is which of this are better, the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) or ADM (Anikatian Domestic Market)?
We love Maesima for their dedication on their performance vehicle , as you can still get a Prova ST-R. However, not Saminda because they decided not to make the C3R anymore after 2007.
Long talk cut short , let’s proceed to it comparision!
The fast Prova is truly classless. Everyone wants one. From the lady who works at the bank to the university student who works part time at the pub, finding one who hates the Prova ST-R is tougher than getting a distinction in, say, F math. But that’s just me.
Who could have known that a mere project that started out some decades ago would evolve into something of a cult today?
Perhaps the idea of an ordinary Prova just isn’t enough, although global sales figures prove otherwise. While eccentrically elegant and supremely competent in its segment, the Maesima Prova is still an ordinary Sedan/Coupe compared to its very own hardcore brethren bearing the three magical alphabets.
HIGHLIGHTS
2.2L inline-4 DOHC turbocharged codenamed (MCG)
170HP
Redline @ 6800RPM
5 speed manual
FWD
7.86L/100km
Bought for $12,850
Saminda’s racy C3R s a delicious thing. Beautifully-balanced on road, it also has one of the best engines to be found anywhere - it’s i-VIC DOHC four.
And i am gonna talk about something that is very very important , something that is so important to Saminda that somebody believe that is the reason why Saminda are so successful to date , and it give many racer-wannabe and youngster orgasm , are you ready ? it’s i-VIC
If you are a Saminda fan than i-VIC is nothing new to you , it’s stand for Intelligent Variable Intake Control , check out Saminda mainpage to see how it’s work.
HIGHLIGHTS
2.0L inline-4 DOHC i-VIC engagement @ 5500 RPM codenamed (LE Series)
180HP
Redline @ 8000RPM
5 speed manual
FWD
7.01L/100km
Bought for $13,430
First, the Saminda. There are some FWD cars that defy common convention. The C3R is one car that puts away all pre-conceived notions about FWD – understeer, lack of grip, torque steer – and then shoves you into one thrill to the next. The lack of torque from the revered LE20 is a blessing in disguise, for 186Nm will hardly overwhelm the front wheels, if at all. To reach that figure necessitates that you get the engine working to 6,000 rpm where it peaks, after which you hold on longer to extract all the power you can when i-VIC kicks in. So definitely no torque steer issues here, on paper, the stats would make a modern direct injection turbo-diesel gloat with laughter. With a torque-light engine, the front wheels have actually more dedication to getting grip down; going through the same corner which would have gotten the ST-R screeching its tyres and struggling to keep on the road, the C3R felt immensely composed, as if it was just on its way to a local supermarket. Don’t mistake that for docility though – that composure comes at the fiery sensation of a i-VIC-soaked soundtrack, an unforgiving ride and a notoriously short gearing. You will break a sweat wherever you go in the C3R, make no mistake about it.
The ST-R doesn’t bend logic. It understeers. It torque steers until you’re instilled with a primal fear of hedges and wild dogs skipping past the road. And, coming with 170 bhp and 250 Nm in the particular one I drove, there is a definite need to trim the throttle carefully to drive on the edge of grip, because it is so easy to lose it all in an instant. But guess what, there is a genuine joy when you want to drive fast but with ruthless efficiency. Where you have to time your shifts perfectly and blip like what Kuro Saminda expects of you in the C3R. Sure, understeer is always lingering in the back of my mind, but it can be dialed away with proper throttling and gauging the amount of grip available, so you don’t overdo it. Even with that restraint, the car is already plenty quick, giving the C3R a hard time. There is no doubt about it – in the hands of a professional, the C3R is easily unrivalled except by the very best of the breed. But in the hands of common men like us, the ST-R is the faster real-world car.
Both Saminda and Maesima have distinct concepts about what makes a fun FWD car. Although they appeal to distinctly different camps, they both prove a point – FWD cars are no lesser than their RWD and AWD counterparts, just different. On a winding road or on the track, I think I would take the keys to the C3R. It just felt more at home attacking the corners and more rewarding when you gave it your all. But in the process, it also made the driver worse for wear, as if it was hard labour driving the car. The ST-R, in complete opposite, felt like the more supreme daily driver – its breadth of talents simply cannot be matched by the C3R at all. Where the C3R has a singular, one-track determination to its purpose and strength, the ST-R seemed to be able to do everything rather well. It all boils down to this when you have to decide: what do you use the car for?
Winner : Saminda
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Great comparison! Based on your descriptions of the two cars, I think I would have gone with the all-rounder - after all, if I wanted a dedicated track weapon, I probably wouldn’t choose a FWD car 
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Fuck yeah. Well written mate. I think I’ll have to vouch for what Phale says too though
Great to finally read this comparison! This was from the period of Maesima’s humble developments out from dark days of the socialist rule. While Saminda was at their peak in terms of fun driving dynamics. The ST-R was us making the best of the parts we had already developed.
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Those front-drivers are proper affordable performance car icons! Pity that Saminda lost the plot dynamically in later years, but at least Maesima still builds a hot Prova now.
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Ah, Saminda in their glory days, when they made some mildly exciting cars. The start of Saminda’s fall and Maesima’s rise, perhaps?
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When Samindas were at least reliable
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The glory days of the Asian Hot Hatches…
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That’s right , we don’t see any Saminda engine rev more than 8k rpm anymore .
If anything ever catches the reviewer’s eye in the Storm Automotive thread, feel free to just ask. I’m always up for having a car reviewed, and not too picky one-way-or-the-other on how it fairs in the review. Not every car’s a winner, after all.
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If you look for modern revvy engines, then you look for Zavir
#shamelessplug
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No, you should look at Mott Works with our 9k+rpm city cars.
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9k+ rev, pff thats clearly nothing to the 12k revs on my supermini 
jk
How much of that 12k can you use though? Unless you’re using minimum bore than it’s really hard to make usable power up at 12k
Revs aren’t everything. Making the most of what you’ve got is everything.
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