"Minivans Are Cool" MPV Challenge [Final Results Finally Posted]

[desperatedonut5]

2020 Taimania Bellstorm

DSR

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GLORIOUS DESIGNING

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Taimania brings a fresh new face to their DSR lineup with the Bellstorm DSR, a “quick” nimble giant ready to take you anywhere your heart desires…unless its rock climbing. The Bellstorm features the latest in Taimania’s designing catalog with the large chrome strips, a small side (fake) vent, and our recently updated badge featuring the red accent that is prominent in DSR and RSi models.

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ENTHUSIASTIC PERFORMANCE

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The Bellstorm features a 2.5L Turbocharged I4 from the ST-Series producing 242hp and 245lb-ft rushing the Bellstorm through mountains and valleys with its 7-speed DCT transmission and a sophisticated AWD system to take you on and sometimes offroad.

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You can own a Bellstorm DSR for £28,131.00 ($39,200)

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Taimania Motor CO. ®

[GassTiresandOil]

The Armor Motors AM-VAN…

BANGED YOUR MOM.

The one-and-only Muscle Van. V8, AWD, 7 seats, and attitude.

[AndiD]

2018 Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8

The latest incarnation of Mara’s long-running Reyndzher* SUV nameplate is also available in a much softened MPV version. In stock form it is RWD only, powered by a mundane I4 and without any offroading gimmicks, but with a foldable bench as third seating row (hence the trim name ‘Kolektyv’).

Since the Reyndzher’s regular SUV version on the same platform is still also available with Mara’s venerable 4l V8, it was easy for their performance division AMM to come up with a concept 8-seater MPV that is powered by their tuned version 4.6l version of that V8 - which is normally to be found in the performance version of the large Kavaler sedan - and further enhanced with the necessary improvements in tyres, brakes and the likes. Initially, MPV8 was just the AMM engineers’ internal nickname for the project, but the name made it into the information material and thus stuck.

To AMM’s surprise, there was some immediate market interest in the MPV8. The concept car, for instance, was quickly snapped up by the Yanagrad racetrack to ferry VIPs from and to the Krongrad airport at speed. Therefore, the Reyndzher MPV8 became a regular entry in AMM’s product catalogue.

* Just try to pronounce it normally, it will make sense. And yes, it is actually a real word!

[Edsel]

Tomorrow is the last day for submissions.
They will close at exactly 0:00 on Saturday, June 26 UTC. Here’s a time converter.

So far, I have submissions from:
@Madrias
@nightwave
@fasmukji
@desperatedonut5
@AndiD

I have noticed a few people who have expressed interest, but haven’t sent anything yet; If you would like to participate but don’t think you’ll be able to finish by tomorrow night, please let me know. I may consider a universal 1-day extension if enough people ask, since we can never have too many van friends. (:

[TheYugo45GV]

I have a really good van that’s in progress but its not finished yet.

[S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T]

2020 Hinode Aries RS

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428hp. 7 speeds. 7 seats.

The Aries is quick, as any car bearing “RS” in its name should be. The 428hp comes from a buttery-smooth turbocharged 3.0l inline 6, which sends power to all four wheels via a 7-speed DCT and a sophisticated AWD system that sends most of the power to the rear for a sportier driving experience. This propels the Aries to 100km/h from zero in just 4.5 seconds. The best part is that you can enjoy this driving experience with six family members/friends and their cargo.

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The 2020 Aries RS. Buy yours now for $55,800 (49,500 AMU)

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2020 Hinode Motor Corporation

[Edsel]

I notice @desperatedonut5’s Taimania Bellstorm and @S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T 's Hinode Aries look really similar.

Ya’ll know/coordinate with each other, or is that just a really cool coincidence? :D

[desperatedonut5]

No, it’s most likely a coincidence. The Alphard body is hard to make a non-Alphard design on due to the big lack of morphing options among other things

[Edsel]

Less than 6 hours remain!

Again, If you would like to participate but can’t finish it in the next 5.5 hours, please let me know; but do it before the deadline.

[the-chowi]

2020 Asteria MoVe GTS
With a 2.5 litre inline-5 making 405 horsepower, this people mover blurs the line between practicality and fun.
0-100 comes in at 5.6 seconds and the top speed is a blistering 280 km/h.
It is available with seating for 8 people or an Executive configuration with captain chairs for the second row.

[Edsel]

And submissions are now closed!

This leaves the current lineup of participants at:
@AndiD
@desperatedonut5
@fasmukji
@GassTiresandOil
@Madrias
@nightwave
@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T
@the-chowi

Thank you all for participating! I can’t wait to compare these entries, because there are so many really good designs here; It looks like a very balanced group of submissions!

Disclaimer: Results may take a while to come out from this point; literally, it could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, just because of personal circumstances. They will come, though.

[Edsel]

Scoring time! Scoring took way less time than I expected, so let’s start!

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Category 1: Prettiness. A huge part of being cool is looking the part.

Before we start, let’s be clear here: there are no losers in this round. All the cars look great, and would probably be the best looking and coolest thing around if any of them actually got made. But this segment isn’t necessarily about looking “good,” it’s about looking “cool.” So between these 8, who managed to be the coolest?

1st place: Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (30pts)

It was a very close choice between this and the MoVe. But this is the one that fits the definition of “cool” best. It’s over the top and crazy, with a tall wing, and excessively huge lights, and covers over the rear wheels. But that doesn’t mean it’s cartoonish; All the parts have been placed with care, and they end up streamlining together in a way that makes it seem realistic, even sensible. It’s crazy enough excite a crowd of children, and sensible enough to be owned by one of their parents. And it looks awesome enough to star as the main character’s/villain’s car in a movie, even if said movie is trying to take itself seriously.
(@Madrias)

2nd place: Asteria MoVe GTS (25pts)

This design threatens to be ugly so many times, yet never follows through. Its hood is low and long, like the squashed snout of a duck; but the rest of the body extends this shape and flows with it surprisingly well. The black trim and clearance around the wheels almost make it look like an SUV, yet they also manage to make its low, wide profile look more posed and strong. It has the finest detail, looks the fastest, and while many parts of it just shouldn’t work, it does.
(@the-chowi)

3rd place: Airman Vandenberg GT8 (20pts)

This car definitely stands out. That wide stance, and all those sharp accents and molding, give this thing the impression of a warrior, rather than a sports car; it looks ready to kick butt, and do it swiftly and brutally. Though all that molding might look more hectic/cluttered than exciting to some, and it’s shape does make it look a bit like an SUV squatting.
(@nightwave)

4th place: Hinode Aries RS (15pts)

The Aries and the Bellstorm are visually very similar…but they aren’t the same. The Aries projects a bit more simplicity, more of a plain innocence; a more youthful, playful little style, with it’s simple white paint and its NISMO-esque accents. The Aries is the one that came for the racetrack, and looks more ready to have fun.
@S_U_C_C_U_L_E_N_T

5th place: Taimania Bellstorm DSR (12pts)

The Bellstorm has its own advantages over the Aries, however; its reflective, flakey paint, with it’s molding and decorated vents, offer a sense of luxury, of class, that no other van here comes close to. It looks refined and poised, and appears to have a sense of elegance to it. The Aries looks a bit more fun, but the Bellstorm seems to know what it’s doing.
@desperatedonut5

6th place: Armor AM-Van (10pts)

This one is clearly inspired by the Dodge Challenger, which is one of the coolest cars ever made. But while the AM-Van definately stands out in its own way, the Challenger’s coolness just doesn’t stretch very well over a body shaped like a shipping container. As well, it is dancing dangerously close to SUV territory with that clearance. Still, it has its audience.
@GassTiresandOil

7th place: Tiffosi Famic CRe (8pts)

It’s quite good looking, but I’m afraid to say, it’s not exactly that cool. It doesn’t appear exciting, or sporty, or particularly awesome in any way, it just seems like…a very good car. It looks like something I would actually want in my driveway, but it wouldn’t work on a poster.
@fasmukji

8th place: Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (6pts)

There’s something…forgettable about this one. Nothing’s wrong with it, but it just looks too plain; it doesn’t stand out compared to the others, even despite the unique Bronze paint. Plus, it does resemble some modern SUVs with that clearance and body shape.
@AndiD

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And with that, we’ve seen who’s got the loudest bark. Up next, we’ll see which of these cars can actually bite.

[Madrias]

Okay, was not expecting the Hot Wheels inspiration to pay off in this one. I took the idea of “What if Hot Wheels tried to make a cool minivan” into my head and, well, tried a little harder than usual to make it work.

[DuceTheTruth100]

You definitely got a cool design going there

[Edsel]

Category 2: Sportiness.

This is a sport minivan competition, so I would hope that the entrants would have some pedigree here; and as it happens, they’re all pretty quick.
But measuring them relative to each other, it seems some vans put more of their cards into speed than others. And here’s how the scoring played out:

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Fastest Lap Time (Top Gear Test Track): 1:22.00 - Hinode Aries RS (15pts)

2nd: 1:22.35 - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (12pts)
3rd: 1:23.27 - Armor AM-Van (10pts)
4th: 1:27.50 - Asteria MoVe GTS (9pts)
5th: 1:28.51 - Airman Vandenberg GT8 (8pts)
6th: 1:31.72 - Tiffosi Famic CRe (7pts)
7th: 1:33.14 - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (6pts)
8th: 1:34.81 - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (5pts)

Fastest 1/4 mile Time: 12.31 seconds - Armor AM-Van (10pts)

2nd: 12.90s - Hinode Aries RS (7pts)
3rd: 13.39s - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (5pts)
4th: 13.98s - Asteria MoVe GTS (3pts)
5th: 14.23s - Airman Vandenberg GT8 (2pts)
6th: 15.19s - Tiffosi Famic CRe AND Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (1pt)

Note: A real life 2020 Chrysler Pacifica should be able to achieve a 1/4 mile time of 15.4s; This is faster than the Bellstorm at 16.02s. Unlike the Bellstorm, however, A Pacifica probably wouldn’t be built to handle that kind of rough driving regularly. Source: https://www.automobile-catalog.com/

Shortest 100km/0 Braking Distance: 33.2 meters - Hinode Aries RS (10pts)

2nd: 34.6m - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (7pts)
3rd: 35.8m - Armor AM-Van (5pts)
4th: 36.3m - Asteria MoVe GTS (3pts)
5th: 37.7m - Airman Vandenberg GT8 (2pts)
6th: 37.9m - Tiffosi Famic CRe (1pts)

Highest Average Cornering g's: 1.1g - Hinode Aries RS (10pts)

2nd: 1.035g - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (7pts)
3rd: 0.9810g - Airman Vandenberg GT8 AND Asteria MoVe GTS (5pts)
4th: 0.9753g - Armor AM-Van (3pts)
5th: 0.9505g - Tiffosi Famic CRe (2pts)
6th: 0.9145g - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (1pts)

Highest Top Speed: 187mph - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (5pts)

2nd: 174mph - Asteria MoVe GTS (4pts)
3rd: 170mph - Armor AM-Van (3pts)
4th: 169mph - Hinode Aries RS (2pts)
5th: 160mph - Tiffosi Famic CRe (1pts)

Note: The Mara Reyndzher and the Airman Vandenberg tied for 6th, with a top speed of 149mph.

Note 2: A real life 2019 Honda Odyssey could achieve a theoretical top speed of 143mph; This is faster than the bellstorm at 141mph. The Odyssey would have a speed limiter, however, and probably wouldn’t be designed with much more than highway speeds in mind. Source: https://www.automobile-catalog.com/

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Total Sportiness Rankings:

1st: 44pts - Hinode Aries RS
2nd: 36pts - Sinistra Thunder THR V10
3rd: 31pts - Armor AM-Van
4th: 24pts - Asteria MoVe
5th: 17pts - Airman Vandenberg GT8
6th:12pts - Tiffosi Famic CRe
7th: 7pts - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8
8th: 6pts - Taimania Bellstorm DSR

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So the Hinode Aries is unilaterally fastest van here, cleaning out the top positions of nearly every event, and with the Sinistra Thunder almost always one step behind it. The Am-Van also did remarkably well, proving to have excellent handling despite its muscle-car origins (and size). Conversely, the Mara Reyndzher and Taimania Bellstorm struggled to place at all, and the Tiffosi Famic just barely held on to the bottom of every scoreboard.

There’s no doubt, however, that all these cars would probably kick a real-life minivan’s butt in a track race. But it’s clear that some of these entries put more focus on sportiness than others did. Next round, we’ll find out what the top performers may have lost in pursuit of speed.

[GassTiresandOil]

Nice to see the AM-Van took the quarter-mile trophy! I can’t wait to see what you have to say about it’s fuel economy lol. That miserable stat was even after I tried to improve it.

[Madrias]

You know, I’ll take second place gladly on this section. Considering that 500+ HP through the front wheels is not conducive to great performance, the Sinistra Thunder exceeded my expectations here… I was expecting 4th or 5th place, behind all the AWD vans.

[Edsel]

Category 3: “Usefulness”

This asesses the factors that determine who here is really a minivan. This isn’t a sport “funny-shaped-coupe” competition, after all; we want these minivans to actually be able to minivan.
And it seems like every van here had something to give. The scoring in this round is very evenly spread out throughout the field, and it looks like everyone hit the nail on the head- though some people did hit it more directly…

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Best Practicality: 78.7 - Tiffosi Famic CRe (10pts)

2nd: 75.2 - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (7pts)
3rd: 69.7 - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (5pts)
4th: 61.7 - Hinode Aries RS (3pts)
5th: 61.1 - Airman Vandenberg GT8 (2pts)
6th: 60.9 - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (1pts)

Note: Despite being the biggest, the Armor AM-Van managed a practicality score of 16.0. Over 40 points less than the nearest competition! I think it’s extremely low score has something to do with it’s clearance or size, but for the most part I’m pretty lost as to why it’s so much worse than everyone else.

Best Safety: 83.1 - Asteria MoVe GTS (10pts)

2nd: 81.8 - Armor AM-Van (7pts)
3rd: 73.8 - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (5pts)
4th: 67.5 - Airman Vandenberg GT8 (3pts)
5th: 64.2 - Hinode Aries RS (2pts)
6th: 55.9 - Tiffosi Famic CRe (1pts)

Best Utility: 48.0 - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (10pts)

2nd: 40.7 - Asteria MoVe GTS (7pts)
3rd: 39.8 - Armor AM-Van (5pts)
4th: 37.0 - Airman Vandenberg GT8 (3pts)
5th: 30.9 - Hinode Aries RS (2pts)
6th: 25.8 - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (1pts)

Best Fuel Economy: 37.2mpg(US) - Without Contest, the Tiffosi Famic CRe (10pts)

2nd: 26.0mpg - Hinode Aries RS (7pts)
3rd: 24.5mpg - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (5pts)
4th: 20.4mpg - Asteria MoVe GTS (3pts)
5th: 19.8mpg - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (2pts)
6th: 19.2mpg - Sinistra Thunder THR V10 (1pts)

Note: The Tiffosi Famic’s high fuel economy may make everyone else’s figures seem pretty…pathetic by comparison. But for reference, a real life 2020 Kia Sedona has a combined fuel economy of 21mpg (18 city/24 highway), and a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica does 23.5mpg (19/28). This shows the Aries and Bellstorm are actually ahead of the curve too, and most of the rest aren’t very far behind. Still, it is impressive just how far ahead of everyone the Famic is. Source: https://www.automobile-catalog.com/

Best Reliability: 71.8 - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (5pts)

2nd: 71.4 - Armor AM-Van (4pts)
3rd: 69.8 - Asteria MoVe GTS (3pts)
4th: 69.2 - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (2pts)
5th: 69.0 - Tiffosi Famic CRe (1pts)

Lowest Cost: $29,800 - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8 (5pts)

2nd: $37,600 - Tiffosi Famic CRe (4pts)
3rd: $39,200 - Taimania Bellstorm DSR (3pts)
4th: $48,400 - Armor AM-Van (2pts)
5th: $48,700 - Asteria MoVe GTS (1pts)

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Total Usefulness Ranking:

1st: 29pts - Mara Reyndzher Kolektyv AMM MPV8
2nd: 26pts - Tiffosi Famic CRe
3rd: 24pts - Asteria MoVe GTS
4th: 18pts - Armor AM-Van
5th: 14pts - Hinode Aries RS
6th: 11pts - Taimania Bellstorm DSR
7th: 8pts - Airman Vandenberg GT8
8th: 7pts - Sinistra Thunder THR V10

Unsurprisingly, those who did poorly last round, for the most part did well this round. The Reyndzher and Famic, last category’s faliures, stand at the top of this scoreboard, and the Thunder, one of last round’s champions, came last this time. But it wasn’t a complete reversal; The AM-Van and Aries, some of last round’s best, still did pretty decently this time, and last round’s worst, the Bellstorm, struggled to get very many points this round either.

Unlike last round, however, there was no one car that proved so extremely dominant over the others. Yes the Reyndzher was the best overall, but it’s safety is terrible compared to everyone else. Yes the Bellstorm did rather poorly, but it’s also dramatically cheaper than most of its peers, and achieves impressive fuel economy, too. Even the otherwise-horrible thunder can claim some of the best practicality, and even the otherwise-remarkable Famic has the poorest utility.

TDLR: There was no overwhelming win in Usefulness that there was with the Aries and Thunder in Sportiness. But there was enough of a boost to some lower-performers that it’s still an open field in the last round. Whose car is the most pleasant to live with? And will they be pleasant enough to arrive at on top overall?

[Madrias]

Expected that result. I aimed for “Fast but lore friendly” instead of “Practical but quick.”

3rd place in practicality, well, I used one of the largest modern minivan bodies for a reason.

Safety, not surprised that I’m either 7th or 8th. I was running out of money and making something work.

Utility, at 6th place, I expected that. FWD with Torsion Beam rear axle is not great at being a hauling monster. Even less so with 500 horsepower.

Fuel Efficiency, also not a big surprise. 500 horsepower out of a modernized 1987 V10 exceeding 7 liters of displacement, even with 4 valves per cylinder, is not going to be efficient. I’ll gladly take that 6th place in that, knowing full well that people intending on buying the highest trim with the most power probably don’t care if it’s fuel efficient. (I mean, seriously, otherwise the Dodge Hellcats wouldn’t do as well as they do, right?)

Reliability, well, I also expected that to be low. See the aforementioned age of the engine and do the math: It’s high-strung and has old bones. Like a sports car, it lives fast and dies young. It also helps that, in lore, the Sidewinder engines have oil starvation issues that, while mitigated in the lore of this design, can still affect it if someone is really throwing it around the track.

Price was one I knew I was going to lose hard. I spent damn near every penny I could on the THR V10. Sacrifices were made to keep in budget.

Overall, taking “last place” in the Usefulness category was somewhat expected. I aimed for fighter-jet-fast in a minivan with an old engine from my lore, then adapted all of the rest of the van together to make it ‘useful’ in the barest sense of the word. It has four wheels, an engine, lots of seats, and the ability to win a few stop-light drag races despite the front wheels pulling all the hard work.

[AndiD]

@Edsel

Yes the Reyndzher was the best overall, but it’s safety is terrible compared to everyone else.

In Archana, car crash survives you.