Themed Car Challenge Shakedown (UE4) [Voting until 25.02] - Eurocoupe

Community Challenges & Competitions
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So here’s my opinion, based on my own extended spreadsheet, bang for the buck calculations based on stats and costs, and general opinion on the ads:

Good cars:

CHOICE OF THE BACHELOR (heart):
Znopresk Zeta. Like, right away. Take my money, take my girlfriend, gimme the keys. Screw back seats when you got a mid engine AWD car with GTI punch. And if there’s a turbo version, take my right kidney too.

CHOICE OF THE BACHELOR (wallet):
ABR Sennler SS. Cheapest to buy, cheapest to own, drivability/sportiness/reliability on point. So good it’s the benchmark for my “bang for the buck” calculations. Too bad it lacks in the exterior design department.

CHOICE OF THE FAMILY (Heart):
BAM Bavaria. For looks and PSSSSHHHhtututututu. Also for being really really close to mine in pricing, depreciation and general stats (except Safety which is through the roof for the Bavaria)

CHOICE OF THE FAMILY (Wallet):
Estrogé Pintade. Most decent stats for 4+ seats. Good in the stats that matter (safe for comfort but it’s still above average)
the Kimura Kohala ain’t far behind, if only it didn’t lack in power. But that ad, tho.

Bad cars

JHW Stiletto GT
Quite simply the most expensive car to own (while not even being the most expensive to buy), and doesn’t back it up with numbers you can’t find in cheaper cars. Only car on the list on which you lose more than 50K after 5 years of ownership + resale.

Ramthecowy’s troll car
Tried too hard to be sporty at the expense of literally anything else. Also, dem running costs.

Zasteros SST
35K+ range, and backs it up with one of the worst practicality value of the lot and the worst drivability.

Like everybody else, this is just my 2 eurocents.

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Early leaders for me are the Foreia Coupe with fantastic driveability and great practicality, the KOMOFO (KOMODO?) XS-S with great drivability and sporty performance and looks, and the BAM Bavaria CT for it’s great practicality and terrific long-term value.

As far as the beauty contest goes, the RCM Megabit and Znopresk Zeta are also contenders, despite the vast difference between them.

The Knuckle T-C also has a long-term value you can’t ignore despite its elevated price. Its prestige means it will be quite desirable in the future.

I’ll have to go through these in more detail, especially in judging looks. I only checked if they looked period accurate and generally pleasing for now. I’ll have to be more critical and also take a magnifying glass to the performance stats to decide on a purchase. As it looks now, I expect to go for a 4-seater with ABS, and either FR or AWD. Will also have to be careful with my budget as some of these cars perform well but at quite a premium.

I can also say with certainty I won’t opt for a car with a single seat. Even a two-seater seems unlikely unless it’s particularly practical elsewhere, and even then it wouldn’t be my first choice.

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It’s a fun normal car, therefore simple judging for me:

Looks good? - Very much yes.
Is interesting technically? - Very much yes.
Has good stats? - Pretty much yes.
Would be daily usable? - Yes, quite.
Are the costs reasonable? - Very much yes.

The answer - Znopresk Zeta. Looks awesome, is a mid engined car with AWD at that, has really good cargo volume (especially considering it’s mid engined), pretty “meh” radio, but still is acceptably comfortable and really drivable. Performance might not be mind blowing, but is still really good. Same for economy and other costs in general. Plus, as a bonus, it’s from a brand I like. As simple as that, if I were to buy such car in 1990 I’d definitely choose this :slight_smile:

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well my car is very much along the lines of a British 2 seater from 1990, drives well and hemorrhages money. it’s very correct to the era, so i fail to see an issue.

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Simply put, I just don’t think that many people understood the challenge too well. Had I been in this market I would have wanted a comfortable, practical, stylish car that happened to be a bit sporty; not the other way around. As such, all these mid-engined and turbo car nonsense doesn’t apply to me personally, especially as the cited real-life rivals are the Toyota Celica and VW Corrado; not their sportier counterparts like the MR2 which I felt was a more commonly seen car in this round.

Had I to choose a car from the list, I would’ve gone with something inexpensive, comfortable, with a good balance of sportiness, like entries from @thecarlover, @conan, or @Rk38 were I feeling a bit esoteric and budget-minded.

These opinions are only mine, so take everything I’ve said with a grain of salt and think about it into your own opinions and decide for yourselves if you want what I’ve suggested or what you yourself would prefer.

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I agree, but me being me, with my irrational way of choosing cars, I stick with a mid engined one :smile:

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the Corrado did get a 2.9 190hp engine, though.
And since the contest had a displacement based tax and no restrictions on turbos… well… you know where this is going.

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Tbh I go more on style than on stats - not to say that stats aren’t important, but I can tolerate so-so stats if the car looks the part.
That being said, my favorites so far:

  • Znopresk Zeta 1.7 - I’m not 100% sure an MR sports car fits in this category, but aside from being able to only take one passenger the Znopresk does really well on the practicality front with more cargo space than many of the front engined coupes. The styling being the bomb helps a lot, too :smiley:
  • FAAL Foreia Coupe - I’ve already said how much I love the styling, but it’s also a very well-engineered car with great performance and fantastic fuel economy.
  • AAU M2087E - Fantastic styling and the concept behind it is great too. I especially like how you stuck to the company lore by keeping the leaf-spring suspension and OHC engine head, even though semi-trailing arm and SOHC would’ve given it better stats; it really fits the whole ‘obscure communist country economy car souped-up for the western market’ idea.
  • Knuckle T-C - Probably too expensive for the category, but it’s definitely a looker and at least you get a decent chunk of money back when you sell it.
  • Estrogé Pintade - Great quirky southern-european styling and some decent stats too.
  • BM Type 3 - probably has the best bang-for-the-buck, at least in terms of performance. Second-fastest 0-100 time, great fuel economy and decent service costs too. Looks a bit too much like the Audi Quattro though.

Anyway, here’s the ad I made:

Eagle Vertru Ad
Eagle Vertru Ad1280×1195 486 KB

If anyone wants more pics of the car I’ll happily oblige.

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My favorites are the RCM Megabit, Kimura Kohala, Bam Bavaria CT, Mitsushita Crista, Peniston F-16, and Znopresk Zeta XS. In particular, the Zeta appeals to the heart, while the Bavaria appeals to the head.

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I’m having some kind of judgment problems, to me lots of cars look Japanese and the Baravia GT look American imo (I’m probably biased by the Garvil Barstow in BeamNG )… Am I supposed to juge the best European Affordable Sportscar or the best Affordable Sportscar in Europe…

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:+1:

Congrats to my top three picks. Nice work!

Top Pick - Kimura Kohala @titleguy1

The Kohala is as sensible as it gets while still satisfying my desire for a sporty coupe. It may not be particularly agile with FF and a modest engine, but it’s incredibly driveable as a result. Combined with its excellent comfort, the Kohala is a joy to drive and I trust it to serve my family well.

Its looks are quite sharp as well, though the headlight bulbs are a bit intimidating. At several hundred below my $28k budget with excellent running-costs, I don’t have anything to feel guilty for with this purchase.

I’m curious what Kimura will do with this car in the coming years. A sportier engine would give it some soul that I’m sure would make it an enthusiastic seller in their lineup.

Second Pick - RCM Megabit ELS @thecarlover

For a sporty FR car, the Megabit ELS is quite affordable. Compared to the Kohala, its slightly higher running costs are balanced by a price below $27,000.

This is an affordable sports car made impressively practical. Its rear seats are cramped compared to the Kohala, but it miraculously has more cargo space. Its appearance is simple and unique, though the rear is plain for my tastes.

The Megabit is my second choice because, despite being much sportier than the Kohala with a 2 Liter engine, it sacrifices driveability and comfort in the process. While I’d buy it in a heartbeat were I single, I couldn’t justify this as a family car without feeling slightly guilty. However, if you’re a bachelor or have a family of car enthusiasts, I’d highly recommend it.

Third Pick - Foreia V 2.0T Coupe @Knightophonix

The Foreia Coupe is unbelievably drivable and no slouch either. AWD and 180HP make it a great performer. Although the looks feel a bit too modern for 1990, especially the rear, it’s a good-looking car.

The practicality of 4 seats and plenty of cargo room top even my first two choices. Compared to similar cars it’s a bit lacking in safety features, but with ABS and 4WD, I’m not worried about losing control.

The biggest downside of the car is the price, at a steep $35k. As well, the running costs are quite high. Fortunately, with good reliability and a strong desirability, the potential resale value may placate some budget concerns. If you have the money, this car won’t let you down.

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Do the voting now!

Voting open till Sunday 25.02.2018 24.00CET.

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I've done my vote !

There was some very difficult choices, there is some special mention to three details I loved on those cars :

  • FABEL Beltegeuse : Those front lights looks very nice
  • Solstice Turbo Coupé : This color… :weary::ok_hand:
  • Znopresk Zeta 1.7 XS : Details, lots of details !

Here’s my vote :

All those cars share the same points :
They look European and they are quite cost effective

  1. Pt : Mitsushita Crista RS14 2000 G
    This car has a very nice Front reminding the BMW Z1, the rear is quite good too !
    It’s a comfortable vehicle seating 4 people, and is even a practical car !

  2. Pts : KOMOFO XS-S
    It screams SPORT !!! with his kinda EB110 looking, but without having to sell your house, wife and organs !
    The colour choice is not common, in a good way

  3. Pts : Estrogé Pintade
    4 seats, practicality, cargo space and sporty everyday car !
    It’s a quirky car, I like it ! Except the Long.F FWD…

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excuse me? you’re French :stuck_out_tongue:

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We missed the vote by a year :stuck_out_tongue:

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Fixed it - however just 5 hours until the votes will be closed! If you have not voted yet, do it!

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The results are IN!
Very exciting end and some really good cars, tough choices everywhere… but enough of that, lets have a small… snipped from some car magazine?

1991 - Time to report on last years coupe crave into which a lot of people have suckered in, infact over 220,000 of those rather niche cars have been sold just in europe. It has been a very good year for a handful of manufacturers who tried to showoff their best and in some cases the most affordable cars they could make - afterall a lot of people want cars like these, and the cheaper the better right?

But the winners are really the three big manufacturers like the Anikatian Auto Union, Znopresk and BAM who together dominated half of the market. Though it has to be noted that the backorders on some models are huge, and people also moved to other models like the Kimura Kohala or the Canadian Megabit ELS.

More about the 2087E and Zeta 1.7 on Automationeers Standoff at 21.45 on BBC1

Here are the results!

grafik

Everyone not on this has scored below 1 point.

The video review is coming in about 4-6 Weeks - give us time for producing it.

Complains, criticism, ideas? Post them!

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It’s going to be an interesting review considering how different those two cars are.

I did better than I expected. I’m glad I participated, and I look forward to the next challenge. :+1:

And congrats to the winners of course. :tada:

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Fuck yes do I get a best loser award?

Oh yes communism stronk, communism will prevail
Congratulations to Rk for winning round 1 of the TCC!

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