So, if I wanted to send in a car, how would I go about it? Curious as to how the 2005 Sinistra Savage would do in these reviews.
Just PM me the car file. And maybe some further info about the car.
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I have decided to take a break from Automation (not from the board) until the engine update, so this is temporarily closed now.
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“Taking a break” was working well…not. 
And with all the challenges out of the way, I feel that I can open this for submissions again, BUT…
At the moment there is some things that I want you to keep in mind.
- It can take some time to get a car reviewed at the moment, since I neither want, or have the time, to sit glued behind the computer and automation at the time.
- If the queue gets too long, I may temporarily close for entries again.
- If I find a car more interesting to review than another, I may not take them in chronological order. Hint: I think that there is kind of an overweight for sports cars and hot hatches now and would gladly see something else submitted. (And since this is a magazine that’s mainly for Mr. Average doing his car shopping, there is a greater chance to get a full review, and maybe even to get it quicker, for a more “average” car too)
- I can’t promise that I will be able to review your car before the update will render it useless. Send it at your own risk.
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Good to see you back. I was missing my lazy chair read!
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REPRINT FROM #19 1971
REVIEW OF ARMOR STREETHAWK
A DYING BREED OF HORSES
It seems like many of our readers dream of an Armor Streethawk. To use a metaphor, the alarm clock is soon ringing, unfortunately.
“Please test the Armor Streethawk!”
“Why haven’t you tested the Armor Streethawk yet?”
“If you will not test the Armor Streethawk soon, I will cancel my subscription!”
The letters from the readers are all saying the same thing. And now we agree with you, we have to test it now. Because in some months production will be cancelled. The muscle car fad is already dying on the other side of the Atlantic. Stricter regulations and silly insurance premiums means that an end is coming soon, and one of the first models to be axed is the Armor Streethawk. But will it be missed or was production barely justified at all? We will answer this now, and also some of the other questions that readers have sent in, regarding the Streethawk.
DRIVING CHARACTERISTICS
In city traffic, it is of course a barge, like most large american cars. However, standard mounted power steering is something we appreciate with the heavy V8 up front. And we are also surprised how well it works, given that a good feedback from the steering isn’t necessarily what you expect in this type of car where straight line performance is a priority.
The behaviour is the usual one, easy to swing out the tail at slow speeds, but understeering when pushed hard through corners. But sticky and wide radials makes the cornering abilities better than usual for this kind of car. But that didn’t help them from easily going up in smoke. This is not a car for unexperienced drivers (which the insurance companies in the states can confirm).
When it comes to the brakes, though, they are excellent! Yup, you did probably not expect to read that, but four wheel disc brakes puts them in sports car rather than muscle car territory. Hardly sensitive to fading at all and a short 42.7 metre stopping distance from 100. Bravo, Armor!
VERDICT: ***
PERFORMANCE
It would be a shame if the Streethawk didn’t excel here. And it does. The performance is almost scary. To start with, it can reach a 270 km/h top speed - where on earth you are supposed to be able to drive that is another story. 0-100 is done in 6.43 seconds - if you can get grip instead of burning tyres or clutch. 3.40 seconds 80-120, yup, you read it right. The quartermile is done in 14.47 seconds.
The Armor should be respected for its performance - it is almost too much, actually.
VERDICT: *****
COMFORT
The traditional soft suspension found in american cars is gone - the Streethawk is actually quite stiff. But the seating comfort is a surprise - better than many of the more “refined” cars out there. But it is heavy on braking, heavy on clutch and the gearbox is not the easiest to handle - common drawbacks of manual performance cars. And we have a quite remarkable engine drone. Tough or only rough? Well, probably depends on your own mood that day.
But overall, the car will get rather tiresome in the long run and is probably better suited for a short time of fun and games than for the long trips.
VERDICT: **
ROOMINESS & PRACTICALITY:
A two door body is not the most practical - but once you have crawled into the rear seat you have adequate space. The Streethawk is a bit cramped for its size - but so are many of the competitors too.
Armor has not joined the “fastback” trend, instead the Streethawk has a conventional notchback body. That means easier loading and a large luggage compartment. 598 litres are able to fit inside - not too bad.
A large luggage compartment is at least one rational argument for the Armor Streethawk. As if you wanted or needed one…
VERDICT: **
EQUIPMENT
How about radials, 4 wheel disc brakes, power steering, a nice velour upholstery, map lights both front and rear, flow-through ventilation, rear centre armrest, a leatherette sports steering wheel, alloy wheels… Yes, the Streethawk offers much in the standard equipment. A pushbutton selector radio is also standard. It had a crystal clear reception and a richer sound than most we have heard.
VERDICT: *****
ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
The 5.8 litre V8 features conventional technology, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It puts out impressive figures of 312 hp @ 5400 RPM and 498 Nm@2800 RPM. Sure, it is a bit loud and unrefined, and maybe even better bottom grunt would be expected by many people, not that we see why, because it is more than enough.
The 4 speed transmission works well - when you have gotten used to it. Spacing is sane but gearing is high for a muscle car.
VERDICT: ***
QUALITY & RELIABILITY
Forget the myths about american cars - the Streethawk is well built. Also, reliability is decent (thanks to true and tried technology maybe). Body on frame construction means it has fair rust protection - but absolutely nothing more since there was no extra treatment.
VERDICT: ***
ECONOMY
Expensive to tax and insure, expensive to run. Unstable second hand values (nobody knows what will happen to the muscle cars in the future), 19.1 litre fuel consumtion per 100 km - at NORMAL driving.
$21000 AMU to buy - but of course, a competent car is what you get back.
However, we can’t fool anyone that this will be cheap to run. Because it will not.
VERDICT: 0
SAFETY
American regulations are more stringent than european. There is also a great deal of safety equipment like dual circuit brakes with a vacuum operated servo, collapsible steering column with yielding wheel, 3-point safety belts, extensive padding on all hard surfaces and headrests up front. If one should complain about anything, unibody cars ofter have a stiffer passenger cell and some better controlled crumple of front and rear ends.
VERDICT: ****
FINAL VERDICT: 27/45
Soon, you can’t buy this anymore. But at least it leaves with flying colours. Some muscle cars is pure muscle - Armor Streethawk is some brains too. Still, it’s of course a completely unnecessary car. For some people - totally unthinkable.
But it has many enthusiasts, it seems like. And our test have found out that it is after all justified. It is surprisingly good at many things you don’t expect from cars like this. If you can afford running it, then why not?
Insanity on wheels - but sane insanity.
Thanks to @GassTiresandOil for the car!
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Thank you for that review! I’m glad it excelled in the areas it was supposed to lol.
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I thought that I had to fill in with this review since it has been mentioned in the TGOD column.
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REPRINT FROM #9 2000
TEST DRIVE: HIROCHI EXATIMA VL
The Hirochi Exatima has gotten more refined through the years - unfortunately that is also reflected in its pricing.
The Hirochi Exatima is an old model now, and a replacement is on its way. Though the old saying is that a car is never as good as the day it ends production - and that is true at least when it comes to the Exatima. It has always been a pleasant car to drive, no question about it, but at the same time it has been kind of a diamond in the rough, with a low safety rating and a build quality that has left much to be desired.
Now, that was true for the earlier models, and it is a bit unfair that the reputation kind of never went away, because the Exatima of today is a much more refined car than it was back in 1993. Its Euro NCAP rating is now 3 stars, close to the border to 4, and it is at least as well built as its competitors. Reliability and rust protection is not stellar - but still at very competitive levels.
Unfortunately, that has kind of moved the Exatima out of its segment as a price fighter, we guess that there is no free lunches in this world after all. This top of the line VL model costs $22800 - but it should be said that it is well equipped too. And Hirochi dealers are offering a $2000 discount at that price for this run out model.
The new for the year 1.8 litre engine with variable valve timing is by no means amazing, but a well working unit for mr. Average. It puts out 120 hp at 6600 RPM and has a reasonably flat torque curve. NVH levels didn’t impress us but could still be called acceptable.
8 litres per 100 km is not an impressive figure though - but once again acceptable. Servicing is borderline on the expensive side and the question is how well it will hold its value, an old outgoing model as it is.
But nobody can take away from Hirochi that the Exatima is still competitive after 7 years, and probably better than ever with all the bugs from the early examples sorted out - which also comes at a price premium. So, with the current price discount in the mind, it can absolutely be an interesting alternative for anyone in the market for a compact sedan.
Thanks to @nicholasrams774 for the car!
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Thanks so much for the review!
You mind if I send in one of my cars for a review, @Knugcab? Its one that I posted for Goodwood Festival of Speed
REPRINT FROM #11 2000
REVIEW OF SCHNELL D4
BULLS EYE!
In the SUV segment, the Schnell D4 is an interesting newcomer, and fact is that many things does speak in its favour.
“Do we really need another SUV?”
That question is far from stupid at the moment. It seems like every manufacturer wants to have one in their model programme now. And sure, who does not want to have a piece of a lucrative, growing market? Especially in the US, where sales figures are about to beat the ones for passenger cars.
One of the latest models released is the Schnell D4. On the outside a fairly modern looking car, that have abandoned the boxiness of most vehicles in this class for smoother, more rounded shapes. But is the inside as modern as the outside, or is there just a shiny new shell over outdated technology? Our road test will give you the answers.
DRIVING CHARACTERISTICS
The drive system is a 50/50 split AWD. You don’t have to think about touching anything, the power is always going to all the four wheels. And we found out that it could be seen as a good compromise between driveability and offroad capacity. The car feels very stable and secure, yet you are able to push out the tail if you want to. It will “never” break out uncontrollably though (never as in never during normal driving) and the handling is very good, especially for its class. We could reach numbers as high as 0.91 G on the skidpad. And, of course, during bad weather conditions, you have an even higher advantage compared to most cars. ABS and traction control helps in that case, but it doesn’t have the latest technology that also adds stability control.
But it is actually somewhat competent off the road too. Don’t believe for a moment that this is a real offroader, it doesn’t have any ambitions to be one either, but AWD with a viscous differential, large amounts of ground clearance and fairly big wheels and tyres will help you a lot. We dare to say that it can be driven anywhere you want to drive unless you are actually actively choosing to drive off road.
In city driving it can feel a bit clumsy if you are used to a regular passenger car, but we’d say that it is mostly a matter of getting used to it. A large executive sedan has a bigger footprint, actually, and the high seating position gives a good overview of the car. There is also variable ratio power steering which works well.
The brakes are unusually large which means no fading problems, and also moderate stopping distances. 100-0 is done in 40.4 metres, and there is of course ABS.
VERDICT: ****
PERFORMANCE
166 hp and 2.3 litres in such a heavy car doesn’t make for a rocket, right? Well, maybe not. But it has to be said that it does offer what you can expect nowadays. A top speed of 226 km/h, 0-100 in 9.19 seconds, 80-120 in 6.96 seconds and the quartermile in 16.62 seconds is fairly regular numbers and we find no reasons to complain. It’s more than adequate in a type of car that doesn’t exactly beg you to drive fast.
VERDICT: ***
COMFORT
The engine is a bit loud, even if sound insulation is good, the drone can get a bit tiresome on the long drives. Seating comfort is relatively good and the seats have a nice half leather/velour upholstery. The suspension is a rather normal affair, you are not exactly riding on a cloud, but it soaks up bumps relatively well. For a SUV, the tyre profile is kind of low, which makes the ride a bit more harsh on bad roads.
The Schnell D4 gets an average rating here. It really doesn’t shine comfort wise, but then again, few of its competitors does either. It still could be called reasonably comfortable and is not behind its competitors in general.
VERDICT: ***
ROOMINESS & PRACTICALITY:
A large box on wheels should also be reasonably roomy, right? Well, the Schnell is. But it is by no means exceptional. It has decent passenger space, not much more, and a 793 litre cargo area. Large, but some regular station wagons offer even more. The longitudinal AWD layout is somewhat space consuming, and like many SUVs, you’re easily tricked into believing the car is larger than it actually is.
This may sound like sour critisism, but it isn’t. The car is both roomy and practical but one should know that it has its limitations too. If you need an MPV, this is by no means a replacement.
One good thing: the legal maximum payload is as high as 1430 kg. You won’t overload that the first thing you do.
VERDICT: ****
The cargo compartment is roomy, but not unlimited.
EQUIPMENT
For a SUV with no direct ambitions to compete in the luxury class, the level of equipment is still pretty high. Electric windows and mirrors, climate control, leather/velour upholstery, CD player, anti lock brakes, traction control, leather gearknob, brushed aluminium inserts on the dash, alloy wheels - all is standard equipment. Especially for its price, we didn’t feel like something was missing.
VERDICT: ****
ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
Nothing is holy anymore. Schnell is now in a joint-venture with japanese Hakumai which actually is the largest shareholder of Schnell now. And the engine is co-developed with Hakumai, which gave us some worries since they have rarely impressed us with their engines in the past. But it did show that our worries was not justified. The 2.3 litre unit puts out 166 hp at 6700 RPM, kind of a positive surprise, but what we really liked with it was its nearly flat torque band, giving 167 Nm already at 1000 RPM with a peak of 210 Nm at 4000 RPM. That makes the 6 speed manual almost unnecessary since you can skip gears without any troubles. But we can’t complain about the operation of the gearbox.
For a modern engine, we are not impressed with the NVH levels though, we have driven better. But it has a peppy throttle and clean emissions, and is all in all a nice unit that features modern technology like VVT and VVL.
VERDICT: ****
QUALITY AND RELIABILITY
Predicted reliability for the Schnell is generally somewhat better than average. That could be said for the feeling of build quality too. Nothing impressive - but generally good. Far from a bank vault but everything sits there, works and doesn’t rattle.
The body structure is well protected against rust, but with no use of aluminium or galvanized steel, prepare to find surface rust in some years since there is just regular steel panels. But probably we won’t be talking 70s levels of rust now, thank god.
VERDICT: ***
ECONOMY
Count with relatively high ownership costs. Servicing is expensive at $866.50 while fuel economy is acceptable for the type of vehicle - still 9.4 litres per 100 km is not exactly what could be called economical anymore. But it should be said, though, that $27500 AMU for what you get is by no means expensive, and we predict a high second hand value.
VERDICT: **
SAFETY
You are relatively protected inside a car as big as the Schnell D4, by nature so to speak. Mass, long crumple zones and large distances to surfaces inside the car you may hit, is always a good thing.
On the other hand, we would like to say that it is by no means excellent compared to other cars in its class, rather on an average level. Some of the latest equipment are missing, for example there is only one single airbag, none for the passenger and no side airbags. Generally, the SUVs are still a notch below passenger cars in this area, so the Schnell D4 is by no means alone.
VERDICT: ****
FINAL VERDICT: 31/45
The Schnell D4 is one of the more interesting newcomers in the SUV segment. The perfect car does not exist, and the Schnell D4 is far from perfect, yet we think that Schnell has nailed it when it comes to what the customer expects from a car like this. Where it has to shine, it shines. Compromises have been made where they don’t matter as much - but maybe even more important, nothing is compromised so much that it is actually bad.
We predict a bright future ahead for the Schnell D4. Schnell have aimed right - and hit bulls eye!
Thanks to @interior for the car!
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Yes. Go ahead.
By the way, I have added some covers to the main, overview post. What do you think?
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I like the covers, I think they look period correct afaik, and having hyperlinks to the articles covered within the magazine will make this thread much easier to navigate as well.
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REPRINT FROM #21 1979
CENTERFOLD: 1950 AKERSTROM TYPE C AERO COUPÉ
The centerfold of this issue takes us back 30 years in time. To the beautiful Akerstrom type C Aero Coupé. The first production car from Akerstrom, that with its streamlined handmade aluminium body, its beautiful split rear window and shiny wire wheels could make the heart beat faster for any automobile enthusiast.
But it was also powerful. 138 hp is a respectable number nowadays, let alone in the 50s. A top speed over 200 km/h was almost science fiction. It could also reach 100 in a little more than 11 seconds. Not the fastest by todays standards, but still…back then…
And the handling then… Still competitive by todays standards, mainly since Akerstrom gave it a more sophisticated coil sprung rear axle than the more common leaf springs mostly used back then. But like other fast cars from days gone by, the brakes were somewhat underpowered for the task.
Today, the C-type Coupé Aero is already a classic, steadily rising in value. And for most people, it will only remain a dream, forever.
Now, take some pins and attach your dream to the wall. They could need some decoration like this. What you will miss then is of course the roam from the 3 litre OHC inline six. We can’t replicate that on a picture, you know.
But man…the shape, the curves, the lines… At least you have got them to look at, which is far from the worst.
Thanks to @HybridTronny for the car!
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Now I have a request…
Does anyone have a .car-file for a really old car? We’re talking early 1930s or older, the older the better.
Since I am only needing it for a photoshoot, engineering is completely irrelevant, it only has to look convincing for its age.
(Found it)
So, now I got the cover photo I wanted for issue #3 1985 - thanks @Riley, and for that matter @Arn38fr.
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REPRINT FROM #21 1979
MOTOR SPORTS: IS MARA BEING DISHONEST?
INVESTIGATING THE IRENA GTR79
This picture got kind of famous after the 1979 International gran turismo rally. The question is now - did Mara run into the ditch with their advertising, too?
The Mara Irena. A kind of nice compact car for a competitive price, but nothing that automobile enthusiasts are running their legs off to be able to buy. It has been so for the more than 10 years it has been in production, which also means that it is feeling slightly dated at the moment. So, a bread and butter car, and absolutely nothing about it will spawn excitement, right?
That was true a year ago. Then, BOOM!, something very interesting happened. Many people laughed at Mara for their entry in the 1979 International gran turismo rally. The humble Irena sedan all of a sudden had a sporty 2 door fastback body, and due to homologation rules we all were guessing that something interesting was lurking in the shadows. But other than that it looked like nothing special at all. It was even said to have a bored up version of the standard Irena engine and nobody believed in their chances at all.
And then….
The laughter was stuck in the throat of everyone after stage 1. Mara in first position. Among more exotic cars, an economy car from Archana was taking the lead. Looking like nothing special at all. Sure, their success varied very much, but nobody had expected the Archanan budget car to finish in third, which they have advertised very much.
And now it is here, the Mara Irena GTR79. The “road legal” rally car version. Or is it? Well, of course it is road legal but looking at it, we started to have our doubts…
First of all, it should be said that there are no bad feelings about the GTR79 in itself. Reasonably quick, yes, but not really rally winner quick? It is fun to drive, great value for the money. It still runs four wheel drum brakes (!). Stopping distances are still reasonable even if they have the classic drum brake fading problem - but is that really equipment for a rally winner? Otherwise it is a typical Mara as they always have been. Simple, robust, practical. But that’s part of the problem. It is very much a normal Mara, while Mara is advertising it as a road going version of their famous rally car. And to us, it feels kind of doubtful that the standard Irena could be a rally winner.
But who are we to answer? Instead, we did something interesting, as a real investigation and service to you as a reader.
We went out incognito and bought a brand new Mara Irena GTR79. No spiced up press car, but the exact same car that you can buy as a private customer. Then we took it for disassembly by the real group of experts.
To Gotland and the engineers at RAUK.
This was a nervous moment to be a Mara Irena indeed.
Now, it may sound kind of biased to let one car company say things about a competitors car. But keep in mind that RAUK is a low volume sports car manufacturer, and about the opposite to Mara on the market. Keep in mind that they are by no means unwilling to co-operate with the large car companies (for example, you probably remember the RAUK-Olsson 97, a spiced up version of the Olsson 67 that was a hot hatch before the term was invented). Also, RAUK said that they had no ambitions at all to enter the 1979 International gran turismo rally. “Rally is not the kind of motorsport that we are going to compete in”, says Gunnar Hedqvist, engineer at RAUK.
“But you are capable of building a rally car?”
“Yes, absolutely. There is no magic behind that.”
So, the engineers at RAUK tore the Mara down and studied it in detail. And how about their verdict, is it a rally winner or is it just a regular Mara with war paint?
“To start with, this is absolutely not a bad car”, says Hedqvist. “It is pretty sane engineering for what it is, in our opinion it is a sporty compact coupé for the budget conscious buyer”.
“But nothing more?”
“In this version, absolutely nothing more. This car requires hefty modifications to be competitive in rallying.”
“More than you can achieve without altering the base car too much?”
Here, we saw that Hedqvist got uncomfortable. Probably he wanted to say something more salty, but preferred to stay humble.
“Well. Let’s just say that we would not build on this base. The engine could probably be upgraded from the base block, but would need heavy internal modifications. The rest of the car…well. If RAUK were to build on this base, we could have kept the basic body shell but built a completely new car underneath.”
“Are you saying that Mara in one way or another has cheated with their rally entry?”
“Absolutely not. Just because we can’t see how to do it at RAUK, does not mean that other manufacturers can’t achieve it. Also, we haven’t seen the rally entry up close, which not many people have done due to Mara being very restrictive in many ways. We would definitely not sink as low as accusing them for cheating.”
“But is it by any means possible to see this as a street legal version of the rally car?”
“Only by a far stretch maybe. As we said, in this form, this car is extremely far from being a rally winner, and you can’t make it one in a garage with a spanner and a hammer. Maybe they have found ways through the homologation regulations, but let’s just say that we would not advertise it as such if it was RAUK that sold the vehicle”.
It can be driven hard, but is it really a street legal rally car?
So long the input from RAUK, but we contacted the Mara importer in Sweden to get their view of what we have found out during our investigation.
"First, thank you for the opportunity to comment on your article.
You may not be aware, but the Irena’s coupe version has already been available in the home country for a couple of years, so it is well-established on that market. However, we only have introduced it here earlier this year due to the success in the GT79 rally.
For the Irena coupe, there has been a widely available lower-end trim (the SX 2.0) and an upper-end trim (the GTC 2.5) with more limited availability. The rally entry’s homologation has been based on the GTC, and then even further refined in a collective effort within the range of allowed modifications.
The GTR79 special edition we have introduced here is based on the regular SX 2.0 but modified to match the rally special in appearance and spirit - and as you may have seen, our recent campaign for the GTR79 emphasised ‘Drive the Spirit of Surprise’. What other manufacturer makes the spirit of a GT79 rally contestant (let alone a stage winner) available for a comparable price point?"
In one way, we can give Mara right. It looks the part, is fun to drive and sells for a price that is hard to beat. For the money, you will probably not get anything else that even looks like one of the other contestants.
The problem is, though, that we still feel like Mara is trying to boost their image by trying to say that they won with a car that was not much different than the GTR79 version currently for sale. For example, they now admit that the GTR79 is not even based on the same trim level as the rally winner, but on the GTC 2.5 - that hardly anyone has seen in this market. Something they have been very quiet about.
Is this then an argument against the Mara Irena? Absolutely not. But we feel that you need a honest view of everything as a customer. That will help you to do the right decisions, wheter it involves buying an Irena GTR79 or not.
But one lesson that we have learned before and that we can learn again - in war and advertising, everything is allowed.
(Thanks to @AndiD for helping me with the article, supplying the car and giving me the idea!)
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REPRINT FROM #25 1988
REVIEW OF LACAM ORNON 230 G A
A FANTASTIC CAR IN MOST WAYS, BUT…
Many customers will probably find the new Ornon stylish and handsome, and there is lots of weight in the Lacam name in itself. But how well will it stand up against the competition?
Lacam. Just taste the name in your mouth. It oozes refinement and high class, it has an aura of luxury around itself, right? Even if they lately have aimed also at the entry level luxury market with their little Furka, they haven’t forgotten the upper segment. Now it is time for a new Ornon for the fourth time in history. But is Lacam still up to what they stand for, or are you only buying a brand name nowadays? We will try to find out by testing the top of the line model, the 230 G A.
DRIVING CHARACTERISTICS
There is of course no problems to swing out the tail in this 228 hp rear wheel drive vehicle. But during normal conditions it is generally predictable, and there is no dangerous oversteering tendencies when pressed hard, during, for example, an emergency maneuvre. For a luxury sedan, it still has a relatively small footprint, so city driving is not as much as a hassle as it is in many of its competitors. Power steering is of course standard (in this class everything else would be a shame), it is of the variable ratio type and offers a very good balance between ease of steering and feedback from the road. The skidpad rating is 0.89 G - a more than acceptable value even though some competitors may be even a step further forward.
Thanks to vented discs all around, there is no fading problems, and braking from 100 is done in a short 38.7 metre distance. ABS is standard equipment.
Something that may be a bit surprising is the open differential in a performance car like this. It is easy to end up with spinning wheels if not being careful - especially in slippery conditions.
VERDICT: ****
PERFORMANCE
0-100 is done in a fast 7.1 second time. The top speed is 250 km/h - and it is limited there, something we probably will be seeing more of in the future, like it or not. That may be something that harms the Ornon’s status as a performance car, compared to non-limited competitors. But one can really question - where is the need to drive more than 250 km/h? 80-120 is done in an equally fast 4.2 seconds and it manages to do a 15.55 second quartermile time. One of the faster sedans on the market, no question about it.
VERDICT: *****
COMFORT
You have probably heard multiple times that a car “feels like your favourite couch at home” or “rides like on a cloud” - but sometimes it is justified. The suspension of the Ornon is good at soaking up bumps, and the dampers have adaptive rates, so you always get the ideal compromise between sportiness and ride quality. The V6 (yes, V6, more about that later) whispers quietly and is hardly even heard through the thick sound insulation. The four individually reclining seats offer state of the art seating comfort,matched by almost nobody. Until we get cars that can drive themselves, a Lacam Ornon will probably be one of the most comfortable ways to get from point A to B.
VERDICT: *****
ROOMINESS & PRACTICALITY
It is roomy inside, no question about that, but the 4 seater configuration somewhat hampers practicality. 522 litres of luggage space could be classed as adequate for a sedan of this size.
Sometimes, packaging has not been given such high priority in this class, and well, we can understand why since it is not really a question about the most practical vehicle for the large family, building a plush and luxurious vehicle is more important, but the Lacam is a good compromise after all.
VERDICT: ****
EQUIPMENT:
As usual in this class, it has all the gizmos you may ask for. It is upholstered in really fine leather and there is inserts of real walnut veneer in carefully chosen places. The steering wheel is wrapped in leather too, there is four electrically controlled bucket seats, of course electric mirrors and windows as well as central locking, a dual zone automatic climate control, centre armrests with built in cupholders, cruise control, alloy wheels, ABS…
If you mention it, there is a huge chance that the Ornon has it and everything we are missing is, as stated earlier, a limited slip differential.
VERDICT: *****
ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
For the first time ever, Lacam has gone from an inline six to a V6, and we are not sure that we totally like it. Even if it’s very quiet, it still lacks the smoothness of an inline six. But it is a fully modern unit, 24 valve DOHC made entirely out of aluminium. It puts out 228 hp from its 3.5 litres which is absolutely enough to move this light (for its class) car out of the way. Overall a good powerplant, but without anything that made us go “wow” (we are quite spoiled nowadays in this class, I guess).
Behind it you will find a 4 speed autobox, computer controlled, with lockup and a kind of “sporty” close ratio spacing. Gearing seems to be well chosen and operation left nothing to be desired.
VERDICT: ****
QUALITY AND RELIABILITY
There is no question that the Lacam is built like a bank vault, almost over-engineered. It is absolutely rattle free, everything seems to be straight and perfect and it really gives that aura of exclusivity. Also, it will take a long time before its body structure will give up because of rust. The protection against weather and wind is simply excellent.
But lots of technology also means lots that can go wrong, and earlier Lacams have not really been trouble free. Unfortunately, we don’t expect the new Ornon to be, either.
VERDICT: ***
The Ornon is raising the bar in the class in many ways - including the sticker price, unfortunately.
ECONOMY
This might be the most costly alternative, but $52400 AMU for a car can by no means be justified from a rational standpoint, and even if we predict it to be sought after on the used car market, the amounts of money that will be lost the first years is going to be huge. At $1340.70 AMU, service costs are astronomical, and at 12.8 litres per 100 km it is not really a fuel sipper by modern standards. Like almost any competitor, the Lacam Ornon gets a very low rating on this point.
VERDICT: 0
SAFETY
The Ornon is a modern construction with well engineered crumple zones and a reinforced passenger compartment. It also offers most that you can ask for when it comes to safety equipment, like airbags, side impact beams, pretensioning seatbelts, headrests and such, as well as active safety equipment like ABS. It may not be the largest land barge on the road but it has scored well in crash testing. This could absolutely be called one of the safest cars on the market without stretching the truth too much.
VERDICT: *****
FINAL VERDICT: 35/45
We may not have been impressed by its little brother, the Furka, when we tested it some years ago. Maybe some sour comments that it has recieved for “not being a real Lacam” bears some truth, because the Ornon shows that Lacam really is on top. The competition in this class is getting harder for every day, but the Ornon is certainly one of the best cars on the market at the moment, which of course comes at a price premium.
But one has to keep in mind that the competition is everything but weak. An interesting alternative is, for example, the Auxio AQ500 that will arrive in Europe very soon. It may not feel as refined or have the same aura of upper class as the Ornon, and is from a new and “unknown” brand, but truth is that it does most things at least almost as good as the Ornon - to a price of “only” $41100. That is hard to argue against.
But the buyer that can afford an Ornon will be rewarded in the end - no question about it.
Thanks to @Arn38fr for the car!
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