Step 3: Bruno goes for testdrives
Now we are finally looking at the cars that Bruno would consider. His wife is a bit angry at him for using public transport with the kids, so his Primus keys have been taken by her and he needs to ride the train. Thank god we are still in 2001, when the German Train wasn´t a disaster as it is today. But: He wants his car back and needs to get the second one!
Not far away from his workplace is the Ozoku dealer. Not an impressive design, but not bad either. It is a bit smaller than others, practicality is a bit lower than desired. On the other hand, the Oshidori is reliable - as most Japanese vehicles. In the tradition of Japanese vehicles for the German market, the comfort extras are mostly included in the base price. Semi-active sway bars? Unexpected fancy stuff in this car. The handling was alright, the 3 liter V6 with AWD drivetrain was more than adequate for this vehicle, but the test drive revealed a thirst beyond all expectations.
All in all, this is the typical family car: Not impresses in any way, but also did not reveal any major fault. But Bruno decides to look for a car that might stand out a bit.
RANK 9: OZOKU OSHIDORI by @Calja-05
To the entrant: Solid car, the design might be a bit generic and has medium detail level, but what´s there is cleanly done and well-fit. Most engineering makes perfect sense, although semi-active sway bars while having an all-iron engine and plain steel panels without rust protection (not judged) is a bit of an awkward move in terms of realism. Nevertheless: It´s a car where I say “well done!”
Directly next to the Ozoku dealership was the Durendal one, and there was definitely a car that does stand out visually, but propably not in a way it pleased Bruno. But: A wild sport panel van with premium family interior? That´s tempting to check. The Durendal is reported to be absolutely immune to rust and even more reliable than the Ozoku, pleasing Bruno. The thirst is even worse, but, considering the aerodynamics of such a box, that is less of a surprise than the Ozoku needing just a liter less despite the massive size difference. The FWD chassis is well-tuned, giving it a better handling than expected, since the power of the massive B6 engine made Bruno doubt the simple suspension could handle it, but it can!
In the end, Bruno was pleasantly surprised, but thought about preferring something better looking.
RANK 8: Durendal B30-A by @GassTiresandOil
to the entrant: The engineering is excellent. Two things killed this car. The first is a low practicality and I don´t know why, since WHAT ON EARTH WOULD BE MORE PRACTICAL THAN A MINIBUS??? But I have to stick to the numbers the game provides me. The fixture placement is well done and even detail work is there like the taillights including the tailgate seam, as seen in the pictures. But it´s just horribly bland despite all the visible effort, in fact, it´s very hard to make a van like this look fancy. It is a shame and I am a bit sorry for you that your body choice lowered the score in two ways - a low practicality I don´t know where it is from and the design that fails to keep up with the top-choices here that just look better while being at least equal on paper. So: Nice try with an unique concept that actually impressed me that it worked as good as it did.
The next dealer on the list was IP. Their Turnpike Star is another older model… oh, it was introduced in 97, but looks a bit older, at least from the front. Yes, the front is a bit weird, the rest is totally fine. As usual for an IP, the reliability is fairly ok, although not the best from all competitors, the same is valid for the comfort. The six-cylinder needs a bit less than expected, moving the large and practical minivan with sufficient effort, but the old-fashioned four-speed automatic is a bit of a drawback in this price range. The solid rear axle hampers the ride comfort, but this car can bear heavy loads, so with all rear seats removed, hauling stuff would be no problem at all. But what is a problem is the handling. Although not that bad in cornering, it feels nervous and needs more attention from the driver. Maneuvering in tight spaces, long highway trips, driving in the snow in alpine holidays… that´s where his wife wouldnt really like it. Not that the handling is bad, it´s just that most other competitors are better. The rear drum brakes do not feel adequate for such a large and powerful vehicle, too, and started to fade in the spirited test drive. Again - nowhere near to an annoying amout, but others can do better.
Rank 7: IP Turnpike Star 3500 GLX by @Knugcab
To the entrant: A typical huge rice bowl where overbuilt hightech does meet some cheap stuff, it is not unrealistic at all. In no area the car could shine, it is mostly perfectly in the middle but the drivability disappoints. Good realism, visible effort in the car was made, but it`s no contender for the victory.
The next day, Bruno took the Merit to work, his kids were suddenly sick and therefore not at school and kindergarten. Now he was able to drive freely through the rather far-out industrial areas of Frankfurt. Here was the Aitlan dealer. “Another boring huge rice bowl” thought Bruno, but even if the styling wasn´t exciting, it was well-executed. Not offensive, nowhere ugly. just clean and unobtrusive. Despite being smaller and as practical as the IP, it was very economical, service cost was also a bit less. But the car also revealed serious drawbacks. The reliability was reported to be low, and the gearing was awkward. The four-speed automatic had a very long gearing, so the focus on economy seems really the main goal here. The rear drums have less fade than in the IP, but could use less force, the rear becomes a bit unstable in emergency stops.
Rank 6: Aitlan ACT-1 by @Hilbert
To the entrant: Many things done right, if fuel economy was a higher priority, it could have ranked higher, but the low reliability ruins it all. The design scored higher than it should for being so … well,… unobtrusive, but it was propably the most real-life looking car here and that had to be honoured, finally putting it in front of the IP, but only by a very small margin
Bruno headed towards the LVC dealer. Here he reserved a dark red LV680 - a car reported to have already won a magazine test. Reliability records are also positive. Ernst, the salesman, showed Bruno all the standard features. “ESC, six airbags…”
“SIX?”, asked a surprised Bruno. Ernst laughed. “Yes, our car is the safest in its class and price range. But please don´t see this as invitation to drive reckless on the test drive, you`re not Frank Batimus, eh?”
Indeed: The car´s handling allowed to drive above the speed limit, it was good. Very good, thanks to rear multi-link suspension and careful fine-tuning. Even with a rather sparse interior, the ride comfort was good. A more premium trim would propably be the holy grail of family haulers. It needed some fuel, yes, but the bigger financial issue was the service cost. Not astronomically, but it´s more than average. By looking at the car in the sunset, Bruno feels nothing. The car isn´t ugly. But it is soulless. Bruno sold a damn Zephorus, he wants to feel some connection for the car. With the LVC, he doesn´t.
Rank 5: LVC LV680 by @abg7
to the entrant: This car could have won. It is a solid allrounder, highly drivable, enough comfort, by far the safest which was top-priority. Another top priority was the design. And while I can´t say its ugly or has misplaced and unfitting item, it is one of the most soulless cars I ever reviewed. And with that said by the designer of f…cking PRIMUS (!), you know it´s serious. I have seen many other cars from you that were not really fancy or exciting but had at least some personality, like your 90s supercar, a Ventnor, or the Starecrow. I know its extra hard on MPVs, but I think a longer time in the oven in terms of design creativity could have brought it at least on rank 2.
In this Area were still the Dealers of Arlington and Mara. By coincidence, both offer exactly the same concept of vehicle: A large wagon with third row seats in the trunk. Bruno is very sceptical about this concept, but as these two seats would be rarely needed and if, at least not for his own kids, he was determined to get both the Mara and Arlington for a test drive.
The Kavaler looks a bit outdated, but its a 1995 model and one of the older on the market. In addition, a Mara was never meant to be fashionable. For DM 18.800, the Mara offers a complete comfort interior. The UKE-7 even adds variable steering, medium compound tires and rear disc brakes and a great Boom&Olaffson CD stereo system. Model age was visible when looking at the gearbox, being only a four-speed, and the sparse airbag count, having only two of them.
But the Mara shines again when looking at the numbers. The Mara is cheap to service and very reliable, just as expected from the brand.
The Arlington not only looks sportier - it is! For DM 19.600 it even provides a huge V6 - and the suspension is firm and allows for good cornering considering how large the car is. When checking out the rear and trunk seats, Bruno noticed a hint more passenger space than in the Mara. Four airbags were standard in every Arlington, and the built quality equals the mara, both wagons are absolutely reliable models. So, it´s the Arlington then? Bruno still doubts. The Arlington also has a fancy CD system from Major Electric, but the rest of the interior comfort does not impress him. It´s not premium but standard, with many hard plastics, no leather, no heated seats, although the design of the interior is nice. An Arlington with a better trim level, that would be great, but also too expensive.
Rank 4: Mara Kavaler 2.3 UKE-7 by @AndiD
to the entrant: It´s not more exciting than the LVC getting a slap for its un-creativeness, but somehow you manage to use ancient and overly simple design as your brand legacy and it really works out. The car is consistent in every detail, so the visual score is a lot better than the LVC. I can´t really grab it, but your car has a bit “soul”.
Rank 3: Arlington Antares Estate by @Texaslav
to the entrant: Also hardly an innovative design, but it goes well with what this should be, with effort in detailing. Not as much soul as the Mara, but still consistent in itself, so ranking slightly above the Kavaler in terms of design. The car excells at sportiness and is clearly the drivers choice of the bunch, so your advert did NOT lie at all. The biggest issue was the comfort of a wooden stool, despite premium CD radio, which is a weird choice together with a standard interior. The LVC almost had double the comfort with all-standard interior (24 to 40). All in all, the bronze medal is deserved, not to forget the effort in the interior which looks great, but the second place was too far away to have any advantage of the interior, and it would have beaten the Mara anyway.
