2018 Antiyita International Motor Show

DeusExMackia · 12 June 2018 13:23

Press Days 1 & 2(ish)

Anikatia’s biggest automotive event of the year is in full swing, in what is turning out to be one of the most action-packed shows of 2018 so far. Time to take a peak into what’s been going down:

GBSC - not EVE you plonker, Gavin - revealed three plain looking concepts at this year’s show. What any of it means, I don’t know. I did consider messaging my school friend who took art at A Level to see if he could decipher it, but even then I think he’d be left perplexed. Their ‘BEAST’ concept “shows [them] the limits of [their] fear”…what?

TSR’s Taikan might well be a 2019 model, but it looks like it came fresh out of an early 2000s sci fi film. The company’s marketing team’s obsession with emojis is pretty off putting too. It’s decently priced though, well within the range of the current crop of lightweight MR sports cars. But one can’t help but feel that having no less than 7 trims on sale from the outset is overdoing it, compared to the far more straightforward lineups for rivals such as the Seiryu and RJM 13R.

Farox revealed their newest gen Aerio at last. You can read my full disection in the form of a test drive below.

Kasai revealed two cars at this year’s show, the first being the Calibri Hybrid - which you can see a full review of below - and a new variant of their Shindai compact. Powered by a V6 and sporting smiley but handsome looks, it’s pretty undeniable that it’s a hot hatch of some point. A test drive might be in the works if I can find time in my diary.

When IP said ‘A 90s legend is reborn’, I was rather hoping the styling would be reborn too. The idea is a brilliant one, on paper at least: powerful straight six heart, all wheel drive and a manual gearbox. More than that, it’s an estate, which as we all know, means it is just better. So why the hell does the styling look so outdated?

Montes’ X90 is a plain and uninspired SUV with what seems to be a decent range of engines (which hopefully won’t require bloody 98 RON to run) and hydropneumatic suspension…
…what? I mean it’s a nice touch that it’s active and all, but that to me just screams “horrendous repair bill 5 years down the line”. The offer of a 570hp V12 on the top end Exclusive trim is a nice touch, but at $98k, you’d surely be expecting a bit more excitment and boldness from the design.

Wentworth’s positively retro Womble might sound - and look - like a bit of a joke, but something tells me there’s more than meets the eye. The little known sports car maker’s newest car offers good performance but overdoes it with the chrome, and the rear lights look very confused and uncohesive, but there is an odd charm to its quirkiness. At the same time though, those front indicators still make it look like it has food stuck on the edge of its mouth.

Zenshi’s updated 2019MY Seiryu is handsome as ever, and has now taken some cues from it’s Zenshi GT stablemate. Minor updates to the interior have also been carried out, as well as a retuning of its Cavallera-designed 2.0l i4. Considering how much I enojyed reviewing it last year, one hopes they haven’t tried to fix something that isn’t broken.

Conqueror’s presspack reads “The XCL, or “Crossover Coupe Luxury”. No. No. No.

Ceder’s Mk6 Friala looks like it’s got a real grump on, but it sure is efficient. The company is really pushing its OpenSky engine range, with average efficiencies around the 60 MPG (UK) mark, which certainly is impressive. If you can get past the slightly off styling, it has the potential to be one of the most affordable compact hatchbacks on the market today.

Wales’ finest, Caliban, have launched their new 600hp Predator. The crisply styled supercar continues the marque that we last saw in the late 80s and early 90s, only this time it offers 0-60 times in the 3.3 second region. Plus, they seem keen to make a return to the GTE in 2019. That’s great and all, but who’s gonna be the one to tell them that the SuperSeason has already started?

Monolith’s appropriatley-named current gen Jupiter utility vehicle has has a mid-life update, though don’t worry, they haven’t dropped the V12 diesel engine line up - including that megalithic 8.0l unit. The styling refresh is decent, though that gold colour on the Pro-G model being displayed…I’m not so sure.

Merciel have been playing around their Corsaire sports coupe, shaving off 250kg and whacking 55 more horses from the engine. The result? The Rafale. If it goes anything like its name suggests, it’ll be a success in my mind.

Albertuni’s Leopardo has a blank expression and a vagueness in its lines that seem to almost show a boredom in what it is. And it’s a good question; a 900+ hp, £150k super coupe that can’t even do 0-60 in less than 4 seconds and a four speed manual transmission. I’m not making that up, and that’s after reading it back two times over. What the hell were they thinking?

Hurrah! Shromet’s Interval is back at last. Modern looks and a classy body certainly hint at a bright future for whatever this concept becomes eventually. Most signification however is that it is all-electric, with two motors at the rear. That shouldn’t certainly make it quite the rocket off the line. And speaking of electric cars, the company’s compact hatchback, the Radiant, has been given the electric treatment too with a new E variant.

Turbina’s Alka is a real mixed back with its styling. The headlights are nice, but each trim seems to have a different grille design, more hideous than the last. The NK8 trim is the only one that really works, though considering it can’t even manage 20 mpg Highyway, it’s going to have a tough time beating those sports cars it claims to be able to outrun when it comes to running costs.

Holt’s ever-changing styling continues to evolve with the release of the H8, or at least this month’s version of it. The teaser shots may have looked nice but the finished product has a weird case of ‘looking like a Montes’ going on about, and much like the Spanish company’s current cars, it also looks very flat and lifeless. They’re desperate for sales, it seems, as they resort to language such as “hopefully this will change your mind”. Even with the offer of a 7.7l V12 or a 6.8l V8, it doesn’t get away from the fact that it looks so damn dull.

I’ve also been able to get some test drives in for good measure. Click to read my full thoughts.

2018 Ferrain Mistrain - "Driving this car is the equivalent of hosting your wedding reception at a KFC

Review: 2018 Ferrain Mistrain

Driving this car is the equivalent of hosting your wedding reception at a KFC

Little is known about Ferrain. Despite several questions directed to staff members at their stand and a thorough search on the internet, I can’t even work out they’re from, let alone when the company was founded. Alas, it’s a detail we’ll just have to leave behind as I attempt to review what is truly one of the most ghastly looking cars I’ve ever had to lay my eyes upon.

The Mistrain concept appears to have been styled with the express intention of scaring children. The lights have as much composure as a donkey on an acid trip, while the door handles seem to have come right out of the Halfords RipSpeed accessories catalogue circa 2004. And what the hell is up with that ride height? As far as I can tell - and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m wrong here - it’s supposed to be a mid-sized sedan, but instead looks more like a botched crossover.

The interior is a bog standard premium interior, as you’d expect on such a car, and simply isn’t worth covering in relation to the rest of this creation. As for the engine, well, on this PremiuSX (a name perfectly suited to my dirty mind), you get a 3.5l V6 producing 316 hp, which would be perfectly fine if the car wasn’t so inefficient. An average of 31.3 UK MPG should not be what customers have to deal with on a car like this in 2018, and this is despite having VVT and VVL, as well as seriously high quality pistons and conrods that add seemingly unnecessary cost to this already very hard sell of a vehicle.

Power delivery is decent, with plenty of low end torque and a nice if limited top end. What a shame though that Ferrain have fitted this thing with a 9 speed automatic, which just feels like such overkill on a car like this. The biggest crime however is that there is no overdrive, meaning accelerating is just one boring line of jumps between gears. There’s certainly no point trying to do an economy run in this thing when the gears practically un-encourage it.

Nothing, however, prepares you for the horrendous, fear inducing, something-you-thought-impossible mess that is the handling. A roll angle of over 6 degrees, needlessly complicated active suspension that doesn’t solve anything and a staggered wheel setup that gives you no choice but to understeer when even the mere notion of ‘driving hard’ goes through your brain. It’s a practical joke of a setup, and a shit one at that.

However, we’ve only seen one side to this car so far, driving the PremiuSX trim. Ferrain also offered me a drive in what I think is there performance mid-size sedan trim, the RaceX. For a suspiciously small amount of money more, you get a 415hp twin turbocharged version of the 3.5l V6 on the PremiuSX trim, putting it at the lower end of the power output for rival cars (see previous reviews for all of that). It doesn’t even manage 0-60 in 6.1 seconds thanks to the same, stupid bloody 9 speed gearbox being found here, setup in the same erratic, erroneous way.

The handling is even worse, rolling more like a first gen Jeep Grand Cherokee, which isn’t helped by its near 2 ton curb weight and an awful brake setup that has so much emphasis on the rear that it ends up feeling like you’re in a mid engined car, which simply should not be the case.

I gave up after a while. This is dreadful car. Don’t buy it, not even for a joke.

- Gavin Anderson

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2019 Farox Aerio - "Boredom in the name of comfort"

Review: 2019 Farox Aerio

”Boredom in the name of comfort”

Purveyor’s of the plainest looking of cars, Farox, have launched the newest generation of their mid-sized saloon, the Aerio. It’s a smart looking machine with a clear love for parrelograms, though it’s hardly groundbreaking or breathtaking. It still adds neat details like that chrome strip along the doors and the twin-armed wing mirrors, though I feel they overdo it with glitz on the top-of-the-range Limited trim what with the chromed wheels and detailing around the boot grab. It detracts from the subtlety of its lines.

Speaking of the Limited trim, the highest end of the range will get you an incredibly well specced interior with a gorgeous infotainment system and interior that just about matches it though does feel lacking compared to rivals at a similar price point. The big 3.7l V6 on this trim may sound like a thoroughly American unit, but it’s quite surprising actually: a smooth rev range, good responsibility thanks to direct injection and 300hp to boot. It’s a long way from sporty however, what with the huge over drives Farox automatic transmissions have, which is very much the same case on the 7 speed unit delivered on the Limited.

Furthermore, being front wheel drive, they’ve had to fit a costly electric LSD to deal with that power, which sadly doesn’t solve this car’s addiction to understeer. Then again, the handling is pretty shoddy from the outset, with a big roll angle and mushy suspension that doesn’t compliment the weight balance. The Limited, then, is very much for cruising and not for hard driving, and indeed it is incredibly comfortable around town and high speed, noticeably more than some European and Japanese rivals.

It’s a similar story on the lower end trim, available with either a 2.0l turbo or 2.3l turbo unit. While also very comfortable, it would have been nicer to see more of a distinction between the two engine options, given that it’s only a 30hp difference and both feel very similar in terms of power delivery. The 8 speed auto on this trim once again has huge overdrive, allowing it to deliver a respectable 40-41 UK MPG. As for why this trim has an electric LSD however, that’s another question. It’s a major cost that only feels necessary on the more powerful Limited trim.

Also odd is the lack of 3 seats in the rear. The two seat configuration is certainly nice, but I can’t help but think that buyers are going to be wanting more practicality - this isn’t going to be bought by people wanting to be chauffeured around, after all.

While the 2.3T trim is quick with a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds, the spongey suspension once again makes it very much a straight line cruising machine. This is not a car to buy if you want any kind of engaging drive, nor any kind of engaging experience at all given how plain the whole thing is.

The new Aerio is certainly a nice car overall, but it’s on the forgettable side due to that mushy handling, plain styling and limited engine choice. While well equipped and very comfortable, it’s far from fun and has some issues with practicality and costs that could have been avoided in my mind, meaning I can only recommend it to those looking for a plush car specifically for getting them from A to B.

- Gavin Anderson

2019 Kasai Calibiri Hybrid 1.8 S - "Proof that we’re just around the corner from the ideal hybrid”

Review: 2019 Kasai Calibiri Hybrid 1.8 S

”Proof that we’re just around the corner from the ideal hybrid”

Semi-premium Japanese make Kasai made a real impact a few weeks back when they revealed the new look Calibri supermini, and they’ve gone the extra mile by making it a hybrid. Thank god it’s good looking; hybrid/eco vehicles have been a bit hit and miss so far, but this is a really well styled supermini that captures the cheeky-chunky but also edgy look that most of its best rivals offer. Particularly in the standard light blue my test car was finished it, it’s a really snazzy looking machine.

The premium interior gives it a positively high end feel - this is not a bargain basement supermini - and that’s backed up by it’s $20k price tag. Then again, compared to non-hybrid rivals in this class, that’s a very decent price for such advanced technology. I was expecting to say that such a nice interior was only there to cushion the issues of it being a hybrid, but this is one of the first cars I’ve driven where that isn’t the case.

On the road, it’s quiet and comfortable, though any kind of harder driving feels well out of this car’s league. Despite the clever semi-space frame all-aluminium chassis and overall decent weight balance, the suspension just feels off. The back feels bouncy compared to the harder front, while the car just loves to roll about when near the limit. The short of it: it’s a chore to drive hard.

Cruising is fine, and very much what this car is made to do if the design choices are anything to go by. At $20k, it’s never going to be the revolutionary affordable hybrid we’re still waiting for, but for that you get plenty of car and a powertrain that delivers outstanding fuel economy. It’s not one to buy if you want something fun to drive, but as a premium run about, it ticks all the boxes. If you can swallow your pride and not have to drive around in a big high-end saloon, but still retain all the interior comforts of such a car, the Calibri Hybrid offers an incredibly compelling option.

- Gavin Anderson

That’s all for now. The team at Trafikjournalen are hitting the town tonight - if that’s even a phrase over here in this far corner of Asia - and told me that they’d teach me some Swedish drinking songs. Well how could I even consider saying no?!

- Gavin Anderson