Your writing so far has been blunt and to the point. Keep it up!
And with this in mind:
I have already made several cars from that time period. Now I just have to decide which one I should submit… or if all else fails, build an entirely new model and submit that one instead.
INTRODUCTION:
The 1995 model year OMG Canny is an odd RWD hatchback we don’t really know what to make of, it seems that neither did OMG.
ROADABILITY & PERFORMANCE:
The Canny is easy to drive simply because it’s so lightweight and small (Standing at only 10’ 11’’ with a wheelbase that doesn’t even span 8’, and with a curb weight of around 1555 pounds).
It doesn’t even have power steering, but it really isn’t much needed on a car like this, still, a car from 1995 is expected to have it even such a basic one.
What is odd is that the car skimps out on certain basic features but still has ‘‘luxuries’’ and things that add to the price and weight (These are clearly attempted to keep low), such as a 5 speed automatic gearbox, a Limited Slip Differential, excessive brakes for such a small car and the worst offender, the fiber glass for the body (This also means the production of the car is reduced a lot, not ideal for such a cheap car).
The 75 HP Straight 3 engine together with the previously mentioned automatic brings the little car up to 100 MPH, with a 1/4 of 18,42 @ 76 MPH.
The final gearing is too long, meaning that the car loses acceleration but doesn’t gain any efficiency.
The car handles alright despite the suspension being a bit out of tune, the light weight obviously helps a lot.
A combination of the RWD drive and the odd tyres (175/65R13 in the front and 205/55R13 in the rear) means the car has a hint of oversteer at very low speeds then evens out into strong understeer.
COMFORT & PRACTICALITY:
The odd thing about the car is that it’s a two seater, and it barely has any luggage capacity which is disappointing and means it’s terrible at being a practical car.
The interior isn’t very comfortable, the seats don’t have a lot of support and there’s a lot of noise in the cabin because of how insanely loud the engine is, and how cheap the car body is.
The engine is both loud and unsmooth thanks to use of cheap materials and no catalytic converter or even mufflers (How is this street legal?), it feels less like a tiny Straight 3 from 1995 and more like an old huge V8 from the early 60’s, and unlike that old huge V8 you don’t get the nice roar of a V8 or power to go with the engine.
ACTIVE & PASSIVE SAFETY:
The car has ventilated disc brakes all around, emergency braking from 60 MPH resulted in a stopping distance of 108 feet, with zero signs of overheating.
The interior doesn’t have a lot of safety, mainly just airbags.
However the main killer for the car is it’s weak and cheap body coupled with fiber glass and the tiny size of it all, this thing would not stand up against even a mid sized car from the time period.
RUNNING COSTS:
The car itself doesn’t suffer from any quality issues besides the engine and how terrible the body is.
The engine is a tiny stressed DOHC Straight 3 with a lot of aluminium parts that doesn’t get any rev range because it doesn’t have the capacity to handle the high revs, and it’s made out of cheap materials like mentioned before.
The chassis is made out of regular heavy steel with no rust proofing at all.
The Canny gets and average MPG of 46 and runs on regular octane fuel.
COST:
The price tag is low at 13,950 but it’s clearly at a cost of skimping out on parts of the car, and we feel like the car should have sold for cheaper or used it’s price better.
PROS:
Price
Fuel Efficiency
Drivability
Braking
CONS:
Comfort
Safety
Looks (This doesn’t really retract from the final score but the car just looks unfinished or boring to me)
Design Choices
Engine
Practicality
Reliability
Is It Street Legal?
FINAL RATING:
3 / 10
lol I forgot that the requirements for the GAR didn’t really have any good regulations for the base car.
INTRODUCTION:
The 1999 model year Hanson Halberd GTS, a unique turn of the century GT car, trying to combine comfort with the speed and handling of a super car.
ROADABILITY & PERFORMANCE:
You would be surprised at how tame this thing is, then again, it has less power than you would expected, even though it still can spin the tyres at launch.
It’s also deceivingly small at just 14’ 4’’ (Don’t let the long sporty hood fool you).
It of course has every single driver aids they could put on it, the nicest one being the stability control which really helps your confidence when driving.
The Halberd features sporty standard from the factory tyres (245/35R18 in the front and 265/35R18 in the rear), that provide a lot of needed grip.
The engine is a classic big and pretty heavy DOHC V8 (335 CI) that produces a healthy 410 HP, has a ton of high quality exotic materials, and the engine has a clear mixture of performance, comfort, and efficiency.
With the 6 speed manual gearbox the Halberd reaches 185 MPH and our best 1/4 run resulted in 12,66 @ 114 MPH, not bad for a 90’s performance car at all, but the car has a jack of all trades thing going for it, meaning it doesn’t really excel or set records in anything performance wise, and the luxury aspect of the car weighs it down (Literally). The car is heavy at a curb weight of 3600 pounds.
The car does suffer from understeer at higher speeds and isn’t as fast through the corners as you would expect, we were actually disappointed by how slow the Halberd got through some tracks, even beaten by a lot of older similar cars and theoretically slower cars. The car would improve with a proper suspension adjustment and some more power would not hurt.
One thing we wanted to mention was that the Halberd uses regular rust proof steel for the body which we thought was odd considering that it’s already an expensive GT car, we thought it would at least use some aluminium parts for reduced weight.
COMFORT & PRACTICALITY:
As a performance GT car I would of course expect a lot of comfort, and this car sure delivers.
With a luxurious interior, no cheap materials, and 2 seats, clearly a personal high speed GT car.
There’s also a surprising amount of luggage capacity for such a small sporty body.
ACTIVE & PASSIVE SAFETY:
The car has ventilated disc brakes all around, emergency stops from 60 MPH resulted in no more than 96 feet to stop with no heat issues.
The interior is full of padding and airbags and is incredibly safe thanks to the chassis and steel body all around.
RUNNING COSTS:
The car is of high quality and doesn’t suffer from any build or material issues.
The car gets an average MPG of 19 and runs on regular octane fuel, a number that was not surprising considering how the engine is set up.
COST:
The car has a price of 39,000 $ which can clearly be justified, but you can also get faster cars for cheaper, it’s a good compromise if you want a very comfortable car but don’t want to spend all your money on a luxury car.
PROS:
Drivability
Comfort
Fuel Efficiency
Build Quality
Safety
Braking
CONS:
Design Choices
Handling
Price (For Performance)
FINAL RATING:
7,5 / 10
Some more pictures.
Just as I expected - I was aiming for a good all-around car, rather than something that leaned too heavily towards sportiness or comfort at the expense of the other. What I did not expect was for the Halberd to have competitive performance for something so heavy.
INTRODUCTION:
The 2000 ‘‘Nohda Bop!’’ Kei car, a stylish two door hatchback only sold in Japan.
ROADABILITY & PERFORMANCE:
Yet again we have a tiny hatchback, this time a Kei car all the way from Asia, with a FWD drive, a tiny size, and low power means it’s very easy to control and drive. 11’ 1’’ long and a curb weight of 2006 pounds.
The car lacks any driver aids besides your typical power steering and ABS system, clearly to save money and production time, and how often do you need anything more with a tiny city car like this?
The car almost looks like it has tyres that came straight from a scooter (135/50R15 all around), they do not offer a lot of grip, which is not a big surprise as they are very slim and pretty cheap tyres.
Now comes the biggest head scratcher, the engine.
The Bop is powered by a 40 CI OHC Straight 6 engine that produces just 48 HP, but it runs on premium fuel, I can’t see any reason why this car would need 6 cylinders instead of the (Usually) regular 4 and to run on premium fuel as it completely ruins the point of this car and would make it less useful in the places that need it the most, the poorer places with worse fuel and little money.
The car has a 5 speed manual gearbox with a ton of overdrive to maximize efficiency, but the gearbox isn’t tuned at all for the car, both of these things in the end work against the car.
The overdrive works against the speed and acceleration and the gearbox works against the overdrive by potentially limiting fuel efficiency.
I won’t even get started on the speed of the car but let’s say that the gearbox really affects this, a better final drive could potentially cut down the already slow acceleration and the 1/4 by almost 2 seconds each, not lose any efficiency, and actually gain driving pleasure thanks to the increased speed of the little car.
COMFORT & PRACTICALITY:
The car is actually very comfortable for such a cheap and simple car, the interior is pretty nice and the engine (Despite it’s flaws) is super smooth and quiet.
4 seats and a luggage capacity equivalent to your suitcase, alright it’s not that bad but it’s certainly not very practical with a cramped boot, but at least the decently sized interior for passengers is good.
ACTIVE & PASSIVE SAFETY:
The car has justified drums all around, and the car comes to a complete stop from 60 in 117 feet with no heat issues despite the drums, not bad but the distance could be improved by having more grip especially in the front.
The interior has surprising amount of safety features, and the good chassis and full steel body means it holds up alright despite it’s tiny size.
RUNNING COSTS:
The car is all good and very reliable because of the simplicity of everything but the engine is using cheap materials and therefore has some minor stress on it on higher revs, but it’s still reliable at the end of the day.
The Bop gets an average MPG of 51 and runs of premium octane fuel like I mentioned above.
COST:
The car has a measly cost of 8300 $ (No markup mind you), obviously a pretty good deal if you need a little hatch to transport people in the city (But the thing is that with running on premium fuel in 2000 the car becomes literally unsellable in Archana which if I’m not wrong is supposed to be Asia, I just thought I should mention that for game reasons).
PROS:
Drivability
Comfort
Fuel Efficiency
Price
Looks
CONS:
Design Choices
Practicality
Gearbox
FINAL RATING:
5 / 10
I would like to say that in Europe and Japan, 95 octane is the standard fuel, but I can see your concern.
Also Archana isnt supposed to be Asia, you can kinda treat the standard regions in automation as their own separate things compared to IRL because no way is Japan even close to Archana in terms of what they want.
Other than that, nice review
Open for submissions again, a new review will be up sometime later today.
I might also open up for UE4 cars sometime in the near future when there’s more bodies and I’ve gotten used to it.
INTRODUCTION:
The 2003 Assoluto Silvio, an early turn of the century and controversial hypercar built to celebrate Silvio Assoluto’s 110th birthday (The legendary founder of Assoluto Automobili).
ROADABILITY & PERFORMANCE:
For a mid engined car with a huge engine, even with a weight distribution of around 29F/71R, it’s surprisingly easy to drive and stable. It is of course one of the most technologically advanced cars of the time with a handful of driver aids, and a very fine tuned handling.
The Silvio has enormous high speed performance tyres with huge rims (295/20R21 in the front and 355/15R21 in the rear) that, despite the already wide width of the car, still look hilariously wide on the car.
The Silvio handles amazingly well with it’s RWD combined with the aerodynamics, the downforce, and the heavy weight over the already gripping rear tyres means it really sticks to the road and goes at breakneck speed. It’s also a small (14’ 11’’) and light car weighing in at 2645 pounds, the car is made out of carbon fiber and this results in a low weight. All of this make for an insane performance with partial thanks to the monster of an engine.
The engine is a big DOHC 385 CI V12 that produces a very impressive and genuine, but controllable, 761 HP with some exotic and very race car-esque parts and materials. The engine has potential for just over 900 HP with stock parts, a more aggressive cam, and a richer mix.
The HP number combined with a 6 speed sequential manual gearbox brings the Silvio up to a top speed of 217 MPH with a 1/4 time of 9,66 @ 151 MPH, now this is a RWD car that can really humiliate AWD cars (It also does the standing km faster than the majority of regular road cars at the time could do the 1/4).
We also decided to test the claimed track times to see if they were accurate and the results were a low 7:03 on the Green Hell, which turned out to actually be 5 seconds faster than Assoluto’s official times, a very pleasant surprise.
COMFORT & PRACTICALITY:
The car may look like and seem like a race car but it has a very comfortable interior, and despite the very race car like engine it’s just loud enough to enjoy, well mannered, smooth, and nice to drive thanks to the way the suspension is done up.
The Silvio has 2 seats with a really big interior, I was shocked at how much room there was, even if you are abnormally tall you would be able to drive this thing comfortably.
Luggage capacity is of course terrible but what did you expect? Your best bet would be to put the luggage in the passenger seat.
You would think that a car like this would have really stiff suspension that would be impossible to drive for more than 30 minutes without killing your back but it doesn’t. The car isn’t slammed down to the ground either like most of these modern sporty cars seem to be, and it’s very much drivable on imperfect terrain and for long trips.
ACTIVE & PASSIVE SAFETY:
The car has ventilated disc brakes all around and comes to a complete stop from 60 in just 88 feet, and I don’t think I need to tell you that this thing has no issue with heating or any brake defects.
Despite not having super advanced safety features or a size advantage the before mentioned carbon fiber makes it really tough and resistant.
RUNNING COSTS:
The car is made with great care and quality, like you would expect, the engine is low maintenance and reliable since it isn’t stressed for power.
The car gets a very surprising and good combined MPG of 15, and it runs of super fuel.
The octane level itself is very high for a road car like this but if you can afford this thing you can most likely afford the fuel.
COST:
The car cost 600,000 $ when it came out and was limited to 450 units.
A lot of the steep price is just brand image, but then again how often do you get the chance to own one of these legends?
PROS:
Drivability
Performance
Handling
Comfort
Safety
Braking
Reliability
Fuel Efficiency (For Performance Like This)
Looks
CONS:
Practicality (Obviously)
Price (A Lot Of It Is Brand Image)
Running Cost (Fuel Type)
FINAL RATING:
9 / 10
Really great to see how much your writing style is improving, I particularly like how you break down your reviews into sections. Very WhatCar?/Autocar 
Thank you, I’ve never really been good at creative writing (I would struggle like crazy with writing in high school) so I usually go for the game spec approach when I review.
Having the cars in my game also means I can see them from a different angle, like how the V12 in the Silvio was actually down on a lot of potential power to make it a better (but slower) road car.
That’s actually a good thing to be honest, creative writing isn’t everyone’s strong point but if you can give a review of something in a clear manor, that doesn’t really matter anyway.
Plus, you’re adding your own opinion on it, and that’s the most important bit. More opinions on here, more persepctives etc, makes it way more interesting
INTRODUCTION:
The 1968 Maine Motors Scorpio, a classic and cheap convertible pony car with a lot of lost potential.
ROADABILITY & PERFORMANCE:
The Scorpio isn’t terrible to drive, even by cheaper modern car standards, but it does have some major drawbacks.
The car only has power steering because that’s what was available back then, but you don’t always need more than that, a lot of modern cars are just so bloated with unnecessary technology to baby you around and distract, you end up not knowing if you’re driving the car or it’s the car driving you.
The basic suspension isn’t very good, the front springs are too soft and sometimes bottoms out in the front despite the pretty even weight distribution of 51F/49R. The rear sway bar is also too soft resulting in a worse handling combined with the tyres.
With slim tyres even for the time (175/70R17 in the front and 185/65R17 in the rear), the Scorpio results in having an obvious lack of grip, the rims are just too big for the tyre technology at the time whilst not offering any advantage over wide tyres.
It has a decent amount of wheelspin, despite the relatively underwhelming power rating, that could’ve been tamed with a different final gearing.
Speaking of power, the car is powered by a 342 CI OHV V8 with a 4 barrel that produces an alright 250 HP and a pretty good torque number at 330 ft-lb and runs on super leaded fuel. The engine just loses so much thanks to the way it’s tuned, an engine with this displacement and compression should have the potential to make almost 300 with the same components.
Those 250 horses coupled with a standard 4 speed manual gearbox from the time pushes the Scorpio through the 1/4 with a final time of 15,30 @ 98 and up to a final top speed of 148 MPH. Neither of these are slow for the time but also not particularly fast, especially thanks to the terrible grip during acceleration and added weight of the convertible top.
The convertible top’s added weight results in a curb weight of 3360 pounds and slowing the car down more and increasing the price…This is not really optimal when your car is already not very powerful, and the lower weight of the small body (15’ 1’’) becomes less relevant and useful.
COMFORT & PRACTICALITY:
Comfort is nothing to write home about for 1968, with a standard interior and despite the very basic suspension isn’t uncomfortable.
The Scorpio is pretty practical, like you would expect from most old pony and muscle cars.
With 4 seats, a lot of interior room, and a decent amount of luggage capacity despite the small looking rear.
ACTIVE & PASSIVE SAFETY:
The car actually has solid discs all around and stops from 60 MPH in 123 feet which isn’t that bad for the time, but they aren’t very well fit for the car and don’t breathe properly which results in a lot of fading.
The car also lacks grip under heavy braking, sometimes more grip on the road is better than bigger brakes and this is one of those cases.
The car has your normal safety from the time, no airbags and simple seat belts, but the body is pretty tough and the Scorpio has a safe chassis even with the convertible top reducing overall stiffness and safety.
RUNNING COSTS:
Both the car and the engine are reliable and low stress, with even some pretty high quality parts here and there. The chassis has zinc coated steel which helps combat rust and increases the lifespan of the car.
The car gets a combined MPG of 14 and runs on super leaded fuel, which is pretty average for the time but alright for a car like this.
COST:
The Scorpio could be yours for 11,900 $ (No markup) back in 1968, which actually is a pretty good deal for a decently fast little convertible.
PROS:
Drivability
Price
Reliability
Practicality
CONS:
Lacking Tuning
Engine
Brake Fading
Grip (Lack Off)
Handling
FINAL RATING:
5 / 10
Although this review might have been a bit rough because I’m used to making these kind of old cars and more critical of them as a result, and that convertible top literally just decreases every stat a lot (I’m serious).
INTRODUCTION:
The 1996 Impakt Super, a fun but questionable luxury car trim of a regular sedan made in Europe with a real ‘‘in your face’’ name.
The Impakt is a very versatile model, with everything from base models, track and performance variants, service variants, and the luxury variant reviewed below.
ROADABILITY & PERFORMANCE:
The first thing you’re gonna notice when driving the Impakt Super is the feel of oversteer you get at almost all times thanks to the suspension and tyre set up.
Despite being tuned for handling the luxury car barely goes faster through corners than a milder more comfortable set up would, resulting in lost comfort and security when driving.
The Impakt has above average body roll despite having pretty stiff suspension especially in the front, and it has your typical driver aids including traction control, and even a little bit of downforce to hold onto the road better.
I was actually surprised at how small the car is for a luxury car standing at just 14’ 10’’ and weighing in at 3290 pounds, the size is that of your average European car from the time which makes sense since it’s built on a regular sedan.
The engine is a DOHC 183 CI Straight 6 that produces a decent 217 HP and 215 ft-lbs of torque.
A big surprise to see was that the car has a 6 speed manual instead of an automatic like most luxury cars have, the gearing could be shorter though which would result in quicker acceleration and an overall better driving feel.
The RWD Impakt gets through the 1/4 in 14,94 @ 97 and if you keep accelerating you will reach an impressive top speed of 161 mph, not bad at all for a 6 cylinder luxury car from the 90’s.
COMFORT & PRACTICALITY:
No surprises here, the Impakt is very comfortable with a high quality cushy interior, a quiet and smooth engine, and a lot of room inside despite the ‘‘European size’’.
With 5 seats, four doors, and a decent amount of luggage capacity you get a very practical car.
ACTIVE & PASSIVE SAFETY:
The car has ventilated disc brakes all around and stops from 60 in 102 feet with no fading.
The brakes could afford to be smaller and therefore saving weight.
The car is very safe with a strong chassis, a lot of airbags, and safety options ahead of it’s time.
RUNNING COSTS:
The car is high quality with a lot of time put into it, both the car and engine are reliable.
The car gets a good combined MPG of 24 and runs on premium fuel, the overdrive gearing helps the fuel efficiency a lot.
COST:
The car had a price of 26,700 $ (No markup) in 1996, certainly a low price for something like this even if it surely is expensive to build despite skimping out on some features.
PROS:
Performance (Context)
Comfort
Practicality
Braking
Safety
Reliability
CONS:
Handling (Overly Aggressive And Body Roll)
Tuning (Brakes, Gearbox, Suspension, Engine To Some Extent)
Skimps Out On Certain Features
Cheaper Trims Are Lacking
FINAL RATING:
7 / 10
My two cents:
First off, it’s just Impakt. No IMP for this one. Impakt already includes the IMP and is positioned like a subbrand.
Secondly a Manual transmission was a common thing on any German car of the 1990s, so an automatic would have been an option. On topic I like my overdrives as they lower engine RPM and therefore noise at cruising speeds.
Also I am surprised that you found the suspension to be too agressive. Ride height and spring rates are balanced just so the car wouldn’t bottom out, and on my calculations the car was mostly neutral with understeer beyond the limit of adhesion.
And finally, NO SHIT a base model has both less engine and equipment available. We germans have the habit of equipping our cars with only what we deem necessary, which is why we usually offer 10+ powertrain options and innumerable individual options. Theoretically you could equip a base model 200D with all the options of the Super and have 95% of the car for almost the same money but with way less power.
What I meant by ‘‘lacking’’ is not equipment, I meant tune and score / how they are made.
As far as I saw it the suspension could be tuned for close to if not more than 10 drive by reducing G’s and oversteer and the car only lost 1 or so seconds on the Automation Track which is a far better option considering what kind of car it is.
You may have a point, for the aggressive suspension tune on the trim submitted was more suited to a high-performance variant than a mid-range one.
Anyway, you have delivered yet another honest and intriguing review. Keep it up!
At its core though the Impakt (and this generation in particular) is a sports sedan. A well stuffed interior is not going to change that. The Super is more of a plush sports sedan rather than a true luxury car.
Maybe a 1999 Impakt SSW II is more of what you expected. I actually built this shortly after submitting before the review was up, and gave it all the goodies one would expect from a luxury machine, such as air suspension, an Automatic transmission and All-wheel-drive
Also a six-cylinder diesel engine.
At the end of the day I’d still consider a score of 7/10 to be excellent especially for a car that by nature cannot truly excel at any one thing. However I did not expect practicality to be one of its strong suits.
When will you start accepting new submissions again for review purposes, if you choose to do so? I have at least one more car ready…
School and my personal life is currently in the way, the holidays and finals are pretty stressful right now and I’ve been terribly sick lately which doesn’t help the situation.
Everything will be up and running again soon, still no UE4 reviews though as UE4 just crashes for me for some reason.
