Haha, @VicVictory, looks like no beer for you! 
3 Likes
As if it’s not modified enough.
1 Like
So happy I went with the JDM bus.
While flicking through stuff, I noticed the Japanese do a lot of camper conversions on these types of buses/mini-coaches, so I thought such a bus would be a good idea.
Turns out I was right and it seems my engine choice helped. 
3 Likes
I’ve realised If I get binned on anything, it’ll be my below par economy… 11 Mpg… hey maybe an engine swap would be worth it…
rip i got instabinned
Lol… see, here I go throwing out a wildcard, and it actually does decently… lol
2 Likes
CSR 119: The Kings of Summer
The Prelims, pt2
About an hour of Smash Bros, some 20 few packs of chips and other snacks later, the boys have sat on the couch once again to look at more cars. Scott has the laptop, Dan and Eric are handling the reasearch on the iPad and they still have 14 more cars to go through for today, before having a closer look at them.
Quick note: Today’s reviews might end up being shorter.
Scott: S, Dan: D, Eric: E
Gordan SVB 4x4 V8 by @LinkLuke
S: Alright, I like this one so far, but the thing is… I’m sure these ones are known for guzzling gas… a lot.
E: I mean it’s a V8 with 4x4. It’s very reliable compared to many entries but like most other British cars, the service costs are pretty high, almost 200 bucks higher than what we’d like.
D: Damn these things are built like a tank though, perfect 5/5 star safety rating everywhere. Shame that it does about 11-12 mpg on average. That’s already too much running cost than what we’d like.
E: It’s a rugged 4x4 but I don’t think this one would go well for us. I hate to let this go because I actually liked it.
S: Same.
I liked it, but 
Kuma BO-X4 3.0 SUPERWAGON by @Xepy
https://i.imgur.com/PRxZGIX.png
S: Hey check this one out! This one’s quite nice.
D: Ahaha looks like the guy is pretty salty about his exwife! Damn bro.
E: Reports suggest that this van won multiple reliability awards for 5 years straight, hot damn even the running costs are low.
D: 5/5 Safety rating and a very advanced 4x4 system, the springs are balanced for both smooth offroading and load carrying. The ride is smooth too!
S: Yeah say no more, this one’s in the shortlist.
Passes Through!
STAG - Highway RV by @Mikonp7
S: Bro 
D: No way… Is that an actual A class RV?
E: Wow that’s one shady ad heh, can’t imagine how much cleaning one would have to do after buying this.
S: Eh just sell the leftover meth, if there’s any. Anyway uhhh big straight 6 and about 7 to 8 mpg.
D: Pretty reliable and carry a fuckton but the servicing costs are higher than some cars we’ve seen recently.
E: I don’t think we have the budget to run this on the road, boys?
The meme is ed
Albatross Kirkwood Four by @zschmeez
S: Boys 
D: Oh shit no way! Check if it has the original boxer-4…
S: It does it does! Only below $1500, running costs are rather low, very reliable as we all know, carries a lot and a lot of room in it, I mean just look at that interior!
E: Almost 5 star safety rating, too impressive for something that’s from the 80s and so cheap
D: This one’s in, no questions!
Passes Through!
S: Another dustbuster, but god this one is beautiful!
D: I don’t care about you guys I wanna have a look at this one, I’ve heard so many good things about this one.
E: I mean according to these reports, durable, easy to fix and cheap to repair, near 24 mpg on average, powerful and RWD so it’s fun to drive for days… yeah this seems good!
D: The owner says that the springs were softened due to him not needing it and mostly preferring smooth ride, so we can just tighten the springs if we want.
S: We don’t need to discuss anymore, it’s beautiful and it fits our case. It’s going in.
Passes Through!
Only if you let me any chance you fucker
Huangdou GX6471H by @yangx2
S: Oh hey it’s a Huangdou van based on that countlessly facelifted Japanese van… Wait it links to a blog post… Wow!
D: Dude, this is so cool.
2 mins of reading later
D: Yeah this van seems like a pretty good deal for us. It stacks up with the newer vans with budget but seems to do everything better, be it marginally or substantially.
E: Yeah yeah enough heavy words are you sure this one’s good for us though? He says the steering is as heavy as the truck… the owner seems to point out the flaws himself?
D: But according to most of these reports, it doesn’t seem like it’s bad at all. It even has variable power steering so the steering must be nice. Yeah here’s one review saying that even their child could drive it.
S: How’s reliability and safety reports? And how’s the running costs?
D: Running costs are on the lower side overall and they say it’s as rugged as it can get, but ahhh the safety is where they skimped, it’s on the higher 3 stars.
S: Hmm… I feel like we can do some modifications to improve the rigidity of the frame at small expenses, but considering it’s rustproofed well enough, we can try it… yeah we’re considering this for sure.
Passes Through!
Armor AM van by @GassTiresandOil
S: Hmm, it’s one of those SUV looking minivans but this one’s quite better than the the ones we saw before I think.
D: For sure, it’s known for being dependable. Running costs are low overall and it got almost 5/5 safety ratings. The trouble is in its handling and ride quality. It understeers badly at highway speeds and according to this guy, he had to replace the standard stock springs for higher quality progressive springs. Doesn’t carry much either when stock.
E: It’s not cheap too guys, 3500 bucks is quite hefty if we need to replace so many stuff… Yeah I kinda liked it at first being hi-roof and good looking but this won’t do.
Pemhall A50 Panel Van by @Centurion_23
S: Oh god it’s beautiful!
D: It really is and it looks like it’s in good condition too… oh man I don’t think we can make this happen though…
S: It’s too old but that’s not the problem, this one carries less than the 60s van we saw a few hours ago and the engine is probably way more fucky considering this one revs higher and has more advanced internals.
D: Uhh… the safety ratings are dismal… just look
S: What? Oh dear…
Again, I hate to do this but
Also,
**Kotashi Dangan Sport by @Ryan93 @MGR_99 **
S: Oh god looks like we’re on a roll with beautiful vans this time… oh my god!
D: It looks amazing bro, I think I have a hard on. I’ll quickly browse through the sites to see how it is… Reliable, safe, cheap running costs and easy to fix internals, effortless highway driving with good interior options, straight six engine (yeah I like my quirky engines fuck you don’t judge me) and apparently this is as comfortable as a city minivan???
E: Could this get any better?
D: Well you say that… but apparently this soft springed offroader can carry almost a ton without hampering the ride quality at all!
S: I don’t want to hear anymore just put it in the list already man!
Passes through!
Pipi Loders Eco by @ShinyBat
S: Oh man that brand name… hahahahha
D: Heh, aside that hey this is pretty decent.
E: Let’s see, again… cheap and reliable, easy to fix except for the early on advanced DOHC 5v system I mean wow, how desperate they must’ve been back then to focus on economy…
D: I’m impressed that the service costs are still so low, and hey it’s an AT too. Can haul a good amount of weight as well, average rust protection but it’s not too expensive so that’s not an issue.
S: Interior looks barren, fine. Less work for us, in a way.
E: I think we should give this one a chance, see how it fares IRL?
Passes Through!
Cascadia Moonliner 4WD by @thecarlover
I think I’m gonna die nutting today from all these beautiful vans omygod
S: Yo check this one out, unbelievable!
D: Wait it’s a good condition Moonliner? At 4200 only!
E: Wow, 4x4 too with all the factory offroading package parts. I can even see the modular roof thingies (for the love of god I can’t remember what these roof bits are called) that’s gonna be very handy.
D: No surprises here, rugged, cheap and safe and decent amount of rustproofing. It pretty much rivals with the exwife van we saw earlier.
S: Yeah this is a great one, put it on the list!
Passes Through!
Turból Romero Hearse by @donutsnail
S: Uhhh…
D: Look guys, this may look crazy but trust me on this one, it’s actually a good deal.
E: I mean… I don’t think I’d be able to cope up with the fact that…
D: We’ll clean it as many times as you want if we buy this but trust me. These things live forever and parts are everywhere. Running costs are average at best but for what they are they’re pretty practical.
S: I mean look you got me interested but it better be trumping every van and that one truck we’ve seen so far to be chosen, Dan.
Passes Through!
Atera Taikan Super Luxe 4x4 by @HybridTronny
S: Oh damn it’s another Japanese van of the same type of build but different fascia and specs.
D: Hmm, straight away I can tell from the reports, it’s noisy and slow and the running costs are quite average with fuel econ being slightly on the higher side. It’s a 4x4 though so it offers decent ride with even more decent carrying capacity.
E: Looks like it even has removable seats, which makes our lives easier. The hi-roof is quite convenient too.
S: Even disregarding the hi-roof look how roomy it is from the pics…
D: I kinda like this one, let’s see where this goes.
Passes Through!
Avantii Campava by @EnCR
S: Wow that’s a box right there, looks quite outdated to me.
D: It is, it’s RWD and still drinks fuel like no tomorrow, it’s slow even after having a V6 and the rustproofing is marginal. 3 star safety rating as well to top it off.
E: At least it doesn’t break down a lot? Oh nevermind apparently the Multi port system tends to get fucky some times.
D: Uhhh this guy says it oversteers… a lot!
S: I don’t think we need to go any further.
And that concludes the entire prelim section for CSR 119. I’ll post one more round, before the finals, to narrow the selection down. Stay tuned for all the updates. Peace!
19 Likes
that’s my style right there
I just have to root for donutsnail c;
As I suspected, I overbuilt mine, and suffered with economy.
Shhhhh, should’ve gone with an asian style van…
CSR 119: The Kings of Summer
Time to Narrow the List Down!
Out of 28 cars that didn’t get the boot, 22 still remain of them. The boys need to narrow it further down to actually be able to test out the vans and decide which one suits their cause more.
Be informed that no car this round is going to be bad per se. If your entry survived the instabin stage, your van is good. It’s just the vans that are progressing over the rounds are the ones that managed to be more suitable for their use case. That doesn’t make them bad because the vans that dominated this round could do pretty badly in some other van based round. So don’t get downed if you got binned during the first round and definitely don’t get downed if you get binned now.
S: Right, so I’m out of chips and it’s getting late. We’ve looked at 28 cars and researched every single one of them thoroughly and we still haven’t managed to get to a smaller number. 22 cars! How the fuck are we gonna go through 22 cars in roughly a day or two?
D: I mean… we could just decide from here, our home, what we want?
E: I’m pretty sure that if you didn’t buy your '89 Rabbit by checking all the potential cars in person, you’d be in the garage 24x7 trying to fix something.
D: Well… yeah fair. So I guess the only choice for us is to narrow the list further down to get to a reasonable amount of cars that we can go ahead and check in person.
S: Yeah. We should start narrowing down right now, I don’t wanna stay out too long in case my dad starts getting suspicious. We’ve been here for almost the whole day.
D: Yeah let’s just get this over with as quick as we can. I’ll start it off… MUD Maxivan by this user @abg7 ?
S: I feel like we should definitely check that out. It’s reliable and has decent specs. It’s a bit high priced and the annual service costs are high, but the fuel economy is nice and the engine is quiet. But again, I feel like we saw a similarly priced van with cheaper running costs, lower carrying capacity but a nicer ride overall.
E: I think you’re talking about the Bogliq. In that case, yeah goodbye to the MUD Maxivan.
D: Next up is Independent Econliner by user @Admiral_Obvious which I think is kinda falling behind compared to the other cars we’ve seen over the last few hours?
E: Yeah it’s relatively less safe, less reliable and the fuel economy is average with service costs being not that great. It’s definitely as good as it can get with just under a thousand bucks but hey we have the budget so might as well use it. The Econliner is out.
D: Shuriken Masakari TrayChop by the user @That-S-cop … something tells me Scott likes this a lot.
S: I do haha. The engine is nice and powerful, it’s pretty economical, carries a good load and manages to ride all sorts of terrains pretty well. The prefab shell will require effort but it’s worth a look at least. Keep this on the list.
D: Next up is the Aanholt Versatile Custom by @Fletchyboy100 and while we consider this… let’s bring up the Jino TourMaster XL by @SyberRacer as well because I feel like they’re competing with each other and only one should be chosen if we want a proper shortlist…
S: I agree with you. Well according to our online research, the Aanholt is only slightly cheaper to run and the fuel economy is better sure, but there’s more things to go wrong in the engine compared to the Jino’s one. Both are great options and they both technically suit our needs from all angles, but the Jino has a bit more of its life left in it and would hold up much longer compared to the Aanholt. Not to mention that the Jino is considerably larger for just $1500 more. That’s so much more space to work with. And the Jino would be a lesser pain to drive on the hiway.
D: So the Jino passes, good bye to the Aanholt.
E: If I’m not wrong, next up is the Kiran Aerovan by @Hilbert and I’m pretty happy about this one.
S: Yeah, it looks good, doesn’t cost much to buy, running costs are low, spacious, is fast enough but the suspension isn’t actually looking too strong. It’s not only geared more for comfort, that arm suspension doesn’t actually have much tightening left to carry more weight. Also the rustproofing isn’t as good. This one has to go.
D: Next up is the KnightFreight Packer by @mart1n2005 … this one’s a bit janky but… I’m very sure my cousin can manage something like a 2008 Civic engine that can provide enough power for this thing, and we can do some chassis solidifying and rustproofing and what not. It’s so cheap that I just don’t wanna leave it behind.
S: Same thoughts. It’s too good for it’s age and reselling some of the stuff from it might actually give us even more money to work with haha. Put that on the list.
D: Now we have Albatross Kirkwood Four by @zschmeez and I think this one passes to our shortlist?
S: Yep! It’s beautiful, it does everything right, it’s durable and it’s sooo cheap for what it is. Definitely on the list!
D: Now we have the Bogliq Bazaar 3100 by @HighOctaneLove … Hmm this is a good van I believe.
S: Definitely, this one made me let go of the MUD which I already liked. It has almost the same body but is a bit bigger and more spacious from the inside, no need for extra rustproofin in this one, ride is smoother and running costs are much lower. On the list!
D: Right, next up is Darvin Windjammer by @VicVictory. Thoughts?
S: Highly reliable and cheap running costs overall, carries less and the overall ride isn’t that smooth. Not as safe as other vans of this age we have on our list and nor is it that big. I mean it’s big just not relatively big enough. If it were a bit cheaper, I would’ve considered it.
D: Now we have the DM L3100 DTV by user @EddyBT and… I feel like this one’s a bit weak compared to our other choices?
S: Yeah, it’s a cheap workhorse with pretty rough ride and while it’s reliable and easy to repair, the fuel economy is very concerning for something that’s roughly larger than other vans we’ve chosen. This one has to go.
D: Next up is the Postal Van by @Echowaffle8 and I’m very much falling for this…
S: Same here honestly. It’s a good deal at such a price and for such a robustly bulilt thing it’s quite nice. Could do with an engine and rear suspensions swap kit though. And yes the chassis needs to be modified to be more rigid for sure. But this one’s a go.
D: Kuma Superwagon by @Xepy?
S: Fuck yeah dude, it’s super safe, fast, drinks moderately, low costs and easy to fix, superbly reliable and boy does it have the perfect suspension setup. It’s pricey but it’s 100% worth it. There’s a good chance that we might get this.
E: Morton Grandeur by user @CriticalSet9849 seemed like a decent van at first but is now falling behind compared to some of the stellar vans we’ve seen over the last few hours.
D: I’ll talk for this one. It’s fine and would’ve definitely fared well for our premise. Unfortunately, as you said, it falls behind. Its running costs are low and bloody safe, but known to be less reliable and can’t carry much and also has a complicated Multilink setup. Would’ve been fine if there weren’t already better cars.
E: Sisten Pacific TC @CorsicaUnknown is next.
S: It’s large, safe, reliable and relatively cheap and running costs are pretty decent. The suspension will need tuning but who gives a shit when it looks so good and the rustproofing is as good as it gets! On the list now.
D: Huangdou GX6471H by the user James K I mean @yangx2 and I like this one a lot.
S: Hmm, me too. It looks rugged and nice in its own way, that larger front cabin would be significantly useful for us during long trips for extra headroom. The van and the engine are both bulletproof and the only concern is safety which we can kinda work on for not too much effort. Pricey but also worth it. On the list!
D: Kotashi Dangan Sport by the user @Ryan93 and @MGR_99 ?
S: I have my eyes on this one. If it’s really as reliable, safe, economical and load carrying as they claim it is… this might just be our perfect ride.
D: Next is Pipi Loders Eco by user @ShinyBat which you liked a lot Eric?
E: Well I liked it and I still do think it’s a good option but what gets me is the torsion beam setup. There’s not really a whole lot of tunability, the ride won’t be smooth for long term driving and while the running costs are so low and it’s so damn reliable, I feel like it’s not gonna come without caveats. And the rustproofing isn’t really too good. Lots of work to rubberized, insulate and repaint a big van.
S: I feel bad to let this go too but only if it were less utilitarian and a bit more ride friendly…
D: Fair enough.
E: Only three left boys… oh shit we’re at 10 cars but… ugh… I’ll just go through the next two. First up is the beautiful Cascadia Moonliner by user @thecarlover.
S: I’m feeling good about this one. Competes very well with the other 4x4 cars we’ve chosen and also offers great suspension setup, high safety and durability. Running costs are just a bit higher than we’d like but it’s definitely manageable if it’s that good.
D: Two remain, one of which is the Turból Romero Hearse by user @donutsnail and erm…
S: Well this is one of those, great car and would’ve actually owned it if there weren’t better choices. It’s durable, fast but not as safe, is costly and the running costs are average at best. Sorry Dan.
D: Yeah fair enough. Next is Atera Taikan by user @HybridTronny.
S: Again, we already have vans that we’ve chosen that suit our premise just a bit better. Would’ve been a great van other wise. I actually liked it a lot. But gotta let it go.
So uhhh looks like we have 11 finalists instead of 10.
Why? Because two entries seem to have managed to score very closely and I honestly can’t choose between the two. I’ll be giving a joint 10th position for this reason to two different cars. Should the hosting duties be passed that far, I’ll specify after the results that who should get it first.
Cars that passed on from this round
- Shuriken Masakari TrayChop
- Sisten Pacific TC
- KnightFreight Packer HD V8
- Bogliq Bazaar 3100
- Aeros Medium Postal Van
- Albatross Kirkwood Four
- Kazuki-Jino TourMaster XL Turbo
- Huangdou GX6471H
- Cascadia Moonliner 4WD
- Kotashi Dangan Sport
- Kuma BO-X4 3.0 SUPERWAGON
Everything’s a lie, Mikon’s RV is the real winner here
13 Likes
Second-round elimination as a debutant? I can live with that for sure.
I think I locked in on building an authentically functional and useful van, and apparently went too far there. But there are worse mistakes you can make (especially on CSR debut) than overindexing on practicality in a van round 
4 Likes
Glad I went out to the techno wagon… yeh we were in direct competition lol
2 Likes
that arm suspension doesn’t actually have much tightening left to carry more weight. Also the rustproofing isn’t as good. This one has to go.
1 Like
The TourMaster is looking strong. Glad I got through to the Final 11.
1 Like
Placement prediction achieved.
Second round elimination puts it slightly above mid pack.
1 Like
Hey @VicVictory, what kind of beers do they have in the bin?
I’m hoping there’s some ginger beer in there for me when I join you… Soon!!! 
Oh good, @HighOctaneLove… I can finally get my beer now!
While I warm my feet at a fire started by a Bogliq stereo.
3 Likes
RIP the year-old repost meme. A bin for being too average was very much expected
1 Like
6 out of the 11 finalists are 4WD, let’s see who is most victorious Trail Buster.
Shuriken Masakari TrayChop
Albatross Kirkwood Four
Huangdou GX6471H
Cascadia Moonliner 4WD
Kotashi Dangan Sport
Kuma BO-X4 3.0 SUPERWAGON
I'm expecting
I’ll probably end up like… 4th in this list…
Mind you, the only sort of mods it will need is just an interior freshen up and a Shell, it’s already got every other Touring mod on it.
1 Like