First to come to the test track is the
Storm Guardian (Madrias).
First Impression:
an interesting shade of very dark green…. I think? ‘really
nice but not more’ styling on the front, and on the rear, it’s the trademarked
Storm Automotives rear end styling. And we like it, simple, clean, and looks
like it means business. Which is really fitting for the theme.
Lets take a look at the inside. My driver to his driver seat
and me to the passenger seat. There’s a bunch of features are most likely not
gonna be used near the driver since no one else but the driver is gonna be
there. So that’s that. But on the other hand, the passenger side is VERY nice.
It has Everything you would expect it to has. Leather seats, heated everything,
extremely nice sound system, a plethora of power outlets. It also has a
computer with a touch screen monitor on each side which is used to controls
everything on the car, and they could also do their work while they are on
their way, or have a video conference meeting. although they still include a
classical radio which is nice for some other people.
Time to Open the Trunk and see what’s under the Hood. A huge
8.2L v12 with VVL and VVT making 675HP. It was also said that, the internals is
also made out of the very best material on it’s class, billet steel crankshaft,
titanium conrods and lightweight forged pistons, all to ensure the best
reliability and performance. I will be holding to those words, since those
sounds quite pricey to repair. Suddenly I remembered, the hood is opened with
the engine is still running, but I can’t see much vibration or hear anything.
Seems like this is a well built engine. So that’s a plus on my book
Okay then time to hand it to my driver and let it rip on the
track. 0-60 in roughly 4.4 sec and it completed the track in 2:17.9. off to the
skip pad and make the car do a slalom and back with maximum water spray on. Me
watching from quite a bit away, could see that the car is rolling quite a bit,
It really shows the heft that it has to move. The feedback I got from the
driver was “ it’s really good and very easy to handle. It could handle the rain
no problem. Also transmission is really helping with that gear skip features,
it just that you could feel the car rolling quite a bit. Although even with the
‘sport’ setup” He guessed that, that’s just the price of the suspension being
tuned for comfort than performance, and that is more than acceptable,
especially with the overall track performance and a tops speed of
Too soon to make the judgement, we will need to see what the
others will offer. Although it does set the bar pretty high.
The runner up to show up to the track is the
##Aques Gold (thecarlover)
So by the name of it, we’ve been imagining a gold painted
saloon or sedan. But when we actually saw it coming, our first impression was:
well……we actually never did say we wanted a sedan. And I
guess there’s the space advantage of an SUV.
Anyway, so the looks from the front is quite complex
looking, but it kinda fits. Looks like it’s trying to say “I don’t like
messsing around”. From the side we notice a neat side indicator, and it seems
like it has suicide doors for easier access. The rear is looking a bit more
restrained but is still keeping with the theme.
Interior time. Doors were opened and jaws were dropped. What
we are seeing are 2 fully hand-made
almost-reclining-sofa-like, you literally could spread your feet and not
bother the other passenger. Since it only have 4 seats total, it’s super spacious
and, the seats were positioned face-to-face but offset with a chair on each
side of the car. And on the driver seats, I think my driver is also quite
surprised with the 18-wheeler-chair-suspension on the front seats. That means
he could drive for days without getting a pain in the butt. For him literally,
and for me because he’s always whining about it to me on our current car.
ENGINE TIME! Hoods were opened and expectation were smashed.
We see 2 huge engine heads on each bank of the engine. As the representative
explained, it’s a 6.3l v12 with 5 of those squeezed mushroom head on top. A
racing tech on a luxury car! They also claimed that it would get up to more
than 9km/l, which is okay on a car this size and weight.
Okay then, test track time. But before that, the we were
told that this suv had a near perfect 50-50 weight distribution, which is
impressive on a freaking SUV! but 0-60 in…… 8.3s? and track time in…… more
than 2:42, which was done on the second lap because he spun out the first time.
It looks like a monster, but sadly doesn’t perform like one. My driver also
said he felt like the car was lifting the inside wheels on the corners. He also
said like there’s more to the engine, like it’s not finished making power when
the limiter kicks in. we’re guessing it’s for reliability reasons?
Okay, next is the skid pad test, aaaaaaand tire screech on
take off, the car is sliding around a lot with occasional spin out, it’s really
apparent that it’s not up to the test. My driver stopped the test halfway and
came back. His words were, “that showed enough for me, the assists helped, but
it’s already on it’s limit”.
In short, a really impressive creature comfort car, but
relatively lackluster performance. It’s not something we can’t modify, if we ever
to choose this car, especially with the $48685 tag, but that’s extra work for
us and something to note of
the third coming is the
Facciamo Cars Archeon Traveler V12(Vri404)
i’m sorry but, your submission was having problem, although you said you would remodel and send again, until the deadline you never did. i already tried ‘fixing’ the problem and try to make do with the pictures you provided, it just doesn’t work. the number are a bit too skewed for it to be accurate.
a below average 65.8 reliability and way below average fuel consumption of 5.77km/l didn’t convinced me.
so i’m sorry to say your car is disqualified this round.
4th to come is the:
##Revera MS580 AWD (asdren)
First impression:
overall….im just not sure what to think of it…… it just doesn’t
look like anything. Maybe a bit like a cartoon character where they’re smiling
really wide until their nose are gone, on the front. It’s weird, yet
attractive, it just makes me thinking about it nonstop. I guess that’s a good
point, but I personally not sure if I like it. my driver seems to be digging it
a lot though.
So, let’s just get inside. 5 luxurious leather stiched seats,
which shows it’s quality AND it feels wonderful. “These must be made out of
unicorn hides!”. And the entertainment systems is just as good. When the doors
were shut, the sounds were kept out. On the back of the front seat were
attached a 40” monitor, with keyboard and mice tucked in the center console
that could also be used as a 5th seat. Both heating cup holders and cooling bottle chillers are
also present. This the second most comfortable interiors we’ve tested so far.
This one feels like we’re sitting on a god’s throne. You could control
everything from where you sit.
Time to open up the bootie scootie. with the representative
explaining, here’s the point that we noted. 5.8L v12 with their own AlSi mix
engine block and heads, NO VVL tech, only VVT, cast internals except for the
forged pistons. I guess since the engine isn’t that big, it doesn’t need fancy
parts. Except the computer and fuel systems, we were explained that it was the
best that we could get on the market today, and they guarantee that it will
last much longer than just a short 10 years. That’s a pretty bold statement.
But that is also proof that they are super confident in their engine, which we
like.
Now then. The track test. 0-60 in 5.8s is not bad. 2:29 around the
is also not bad. Although it was fitted with an awesome automatic transmission,
we can’t help but feel that it’s the limiting factor in this car, for both
performance and fuel economy. But it does the job, really well at that. “the
performance is good. And the power is also good enough, and that’s good enough
for the job. Especially with relatively low weight in the class. But I can’t
help but feel something is lacking.” Is what I got from my driver. On to the
skid pad test. And, the car just glides through the test, eating it for lunch.
You could really see how losing weight really helps with the cornering even if
it’s still rolling quite a bit.
In conclusion. Except for the interiors, this car is a compilation
of ‘Good enough’. But then you look at the rather low expected running cost,
and the price tag of just $44310, suddenly it becomes ‘Really good’. With that
price, I’m sure we could ask for a bit more option for a bit more moolah. Especially
when we’re not buying only 1 car. The contender-ency is strong with this one.
5 th to come is the:
##Boqliq ambassador
but after that.
##it’s-IT’S-IT’S!!! IT’S A NONE BLARING BLUE BOQLIQ EVERYONE, THIS IS SOMETHING TO REMEMBER!
Joking aside. The design is really simplistic and clean, and I’m really
liking it. my driver? He said it’s “nice, I guess”, talk about taste
preference. Honestly, this is the best looking one that I personally like. At
least, so far.
Coming into the interiors we found 4 hand-made leather seats with
every feature you can imagine on a car seats. Although it looks pretty
standard, we can’t help but feel that it’s really not your standard seats. The
beauty of hand-made interiors. So to the infotainment system, it’s everything
you would expect on a car in this class, touch screen monitor to control stuff,
good sound systems, and we found it neat that you could adjust the temperature
of your cup holder heater, which means you could heat up your morning coffee
fast, and not get it too hot for immediate chugging.
Below the hood hides a 5.7L ttwin turbo v12 making…. 383hp? That’s
unexpectedly low for a turbo v12. looks like a pretty standard v12 engine so
far. Well, a standard on this class at least. That is until we see under the
car…… we’re baffled that…… the car is baffled, I mean, no reverse flow
mufflers, and instead replaced by a twin baffled exhaust. 6 gear single clutch
sequential gearbox transfers the power, a really good one at that, smooth and
quick shifting transmission with ‘auto’ mode for when you you just want the
computers to controls the gears. And we also see some other expensive choices,
like magnesium wheels and carbon ceramics disc brakes both front and back. That
has to drive parts cost up.
Track test time. 0-60 in 5.7s neat. A claimed top speed of 292km/h
yet with also claimed average economy of 11.36km/l, highest one we’ve tested. .
Do note that this is the lightest car we’ve tested so far, yet it still rolls quite
a bit, I think due to it’s high ground clearance. 2:22.9 around the test track,
It’s really good. So feedback from the driver? “if you don’t know what you’re
doing, it’s possible to loose your tail out of the corners thanks to the turbo
not the easiest to drive but it’s fun to drive. I also noticed that the
temperature is constantly rising ever so slightly”. Okay then, skid pad test.
Take off spin, the slalom seems nice until, he spun. Im guessing, because
turbo. Another retry he seems to be getting the control better this time,
although the tail still likes to wag a little bit.
So overall. A really nice looking car with a standard everything,
with a couple of exceptions like the transmission, and the aerodynamics of the
car. $49,280 as the price tag, but with the lowest running cost and the most
efficient car, the decision is more of a business one for this car.