The 2015 Rusa Flores. With 3.7L/100km of fuel efficiency, hassle-free reliability, comfortable ride, and compact yet practical size, it's the perfect city car for commutes to work, weekly grocery trips, or dropping your kids off at school. Rethink mobility.
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Less than 24 hours left now, i have entries downloaded from:
@Happyhungryhippo
@06DPA
@AndiD
@DuceTheTruth100
@fabiremi999
@Hilbert
@karhgath
@LennoxV10
@Oreology
@nvisionluminous
@VanZandt_Breda
if i have forgot you, let me know.
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Entries are closed now, just waiting on one more ad
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2015 Cordelia Horizon CS
Introducing the “CitySport” trim of our beloved Horizon
The rear hatchback design makes the overall shape more compact, without sacrificing the stable handling of a longer wheelbase.
Thanks to optimized aerodynamics and an efficient engine you can sleep easy at night, knowing your carbon footprint is minimal.
Thanks to a chassis treated for longevity and smart airbags, the frustration of other commuters is not your problem.
£19.000
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Oh I guess I forgot about this, as I didn’t get a ping 
First impression and opinions
Sarah sits down at her laptop to look at the cars which the local garages have sent to her. Impressions are everything when trying to showcase a car to her best friendso hopefully a few entries here will stand out.
Primus Publica 1.2 Select @Happyhungryhippo
The first email is from the Primus dealer, with their Publica 1.2. It is a small five door hatchback in a compact crossover style. The shape is thoroughly modern, but the front end does remind Sarah of an owl with the beak style grille. The front intakes do seem huge for the size of car too.
At the rear there is a lot of grey plastic, i guess that is “the style” these days but it does seem pretty plain being a huge trapezoid. The D pillars are also huge and may block visibility, we will see how that pans out in the test drives.
Looking at the information for the engine and gearbox of the Publica Sarah sees it is a pretty basic economy 1.2 triple, which should bode well for reliability. There isn’t a massive amount of torque but it does appear very flat which should at least mean you don’t need to change down for light acceleration, overtaking will no doubt be a different story. Change down you will have to as well since Primus have elected to show a five speed manual car which does seem strange, however maybe it’s a very nice manual so all could be forgiven.
Overall first impressions: She does wish the Primus rep had sent a slightly better equipped car, the body design does seem sparse on the sides and the steel wheels and manual gearbox hint at a more mid-range model.
Mess 11-15 @06DPA
“The Mess?” Sarah thought “very odd name for a car, what are they trying to suggest?” There appeared to be no reason behind the 11-15 naming scheme as well. The Mess is a truly tiny car and somehow manages to squeeze five seats into the less than 3.5m total length.
The front end design is quite unusual but does fit the shape of the car well, the small grille and wide set lights make the car almost look like an ev itself
The rear design is probably not as well executed, the teardrop tail lights seem very small and nothing really fills up the back. There are some sporting designs on show with the massive side stickers, roof spoiler and twin exhausts in the bumper.
An oddity Sarah noticed in the promotional material was the 11-15 apparently uses a separate rear subframe for the body, quite unusual for a brand new car in 2015 to be built like that.
When it came to reading about the engine it did appear to be the opposite of an economy engine being a 1.7l flat four making actually quite a low amount of power at only 106.6bhp. Torque is quite good, but it does tend to fall away quite dramatically so gearbox tuning will be key here.
Mara Zora 1.2 KE @AndiD
Sarah’s first impression was “what a strange blob, the side profile almost looks like a London taxi.” The Zora is no looker i’m afraid to say. The tiny wheels and very tall body give it very strange proportions, the interior space however is no doubt huge
The lights both front and rear are very small, the wheels are apparently alloy but the design does look almost like a steel wheel.
Like the Publica this also has a 1.2 three cylinder engine, it does make a slight bit less power and torque, but this is a lightweight car for it’s size so hopefully it won’t be too slow to drive.
Axxus Sorolla Eco @DuceTheTruth100
Next is the Sorolla Eco from Axxus, after the Zora this is definitely more of a normal looking car. The design is nice and coherent and the colour works well too.
The clean and modern exterior is let down by Axxus’ choice for interior however with a very basic affair with rubber carpets, hard seats with very limited adjustment and a tiny very out of date infotainment screen.
For this “Eco” model Axxus has decided to fit a turbocharged two litre engine with a quite monstrous 174bhp. For the size this is no doubt a very economical engine but perhaps Axxus could have sent a model with a smaller variant for this test.
Accurate CC160 @fabiremi999
The CC160 from Accurate is the fifth car for Sarah to read up on. This looks thoroughly modern and actually quite similar to an ev already.
The construction was rather space age too with a fully aluminium floorpan and much of the panels being aluminium too.
The interior, like the Sorolla is sadly less space age with a very low rent setup of no carpets and uncomrtable seats.
The engine is a quite large turbocharged and direct injection 1.6 four cylinder with 151bhp and a very substantial 315nm of torque which manages to stay around for almost the entire rev range.
Yangwoo TiGo - 1.0 Expression (CVT) @Hilbert
The Tigo is a cute little car that would look right at home driving around the city. It has a massive glass area and small overhangs meaning there should be no issues driving.
The interior is a nice enough place to be, the large windows making it seem very airy. The in car entertainment is very advanced for this small city car with a massive screen to control all of the interior and a heads up display meaning you don’t even need to look at the instruments
The engine here is a buzzy little 1l three cylinder that really needs to be worked to get the most from it, this might make the choice of a cvt transmission quite loud when out on the open road.
Régal Lutin 1.5L @karhgath
An interesting almost kei looking car this time. The front design is a little strange with the headlights being mounted so high up, conversely the rear lights are mounted about as low as they could possibly be.
The interior like a few of the other cars here is very spartan with rubberised floors and basic seats with no backrest adjustment making it hard to find a comfortable position.
The engine is a 1.5 litre four cylinder making a reasonable 100bhp and a very strong 173nm of torque for such a small car.
Uanoi Damilia Eco v1 @LennoxV10
The Damilia Eco looks almost like an estate car for a hatch so would be rather a roomy choice. The front end design is extremely low giving quite a strange look to the overall shape. The wheels look very small giving a tall look too.
The engine is a turbocharged 1.2 litre three cylinder making 100bhp but the torque is very high for the size at 224nm, the downside to this engine setup is the extremely low revs, which at least mean it isnt very intrusive. The turbo however doesn’t really come in until 3000rpm, and the redline is at a diesel rivalling 3800rpm.
Rusa Flores @Oreology
The Flores could easily pass as an EV or hybrid car with it’s sharp looks and small air intakes. It has a tall and square look of an mpv in a small hatchback.
It has a plush interior with leather seats and nice electric controls with a nice sounding head unit, that sadly isn’t quite as nice as the rest of the interior.
The engine is 1.4 three cylinder with a small easy to spool turbocharger. The power does tend to end up pretty flat, but the torque comes in very strong but then does tail away rapidly as the revs increase. Lets hope the gearbox can accomodate this.
Arima CalendulaX GS @nvisionluminous
Arima have sent the only crossover submitted, though it’s definitely of the compact and not actually offroad variety. The car is smaller than it appears at less than four metres in length.
Overall design is quite pleasing to look at with the car looking quite rugged and modern. Interior wise the CalendulaX is nice if not spectacular, the height does at least make this view out of the car very good.
The engine is a powerful 1.3l inline three with 155bhp making the CalendulaX the second most powerful car here. The turbo is rather large meaning torque comes in quite late.
Van Zandt Avant @VanZandt_Breda
As another one off, this is the only saloon car sent here. The shape does have quite an “eco” look about it with the low front and tall rear deck.
The front end has a lack of air intakes also helping the car look more economy focused. some of the black decals look a bit haphazard in their locations but they aren’t exactly a deal breaker.
Like the Accurate the Avant has a fully alumium floorpan and semi aluminium panels.
The engine is a 1.4 four cylinder with no turbo meaning it’s no powerhouse but at least the torque curve is on the flat side.
Cordelia Horizon CS @Ananas
The Horizon has more of a “classic” design to the body shape, with modern fixtures and fittings applied to it. For a five door hatchback it does have the shape of a sports coupe.
The interior is very nice with a high end touchscreen controlling the climate control and radio.
The engine is a rather large 1.5l turbo unit which manages to be on the rather low side for outright power, but the torque is luckily much better. This is also the only car with an actual automatic gearbox and not a cvt.
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Yes i know turbo start spoon at very close to redline rpm, but with CVT transmission, that will less problematic.
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I expected this. With Primus being a premium brand, that what is there is good, but there isnt a lot for the price on the other hand.
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what happened to Zephorus???
look like forget to submission
God damn it, I would have loved to see the review of the Zephorus. It looked damn promising!! 
yeah too me
I guess I can share stats since I didn’t even get in 
ah well, I had fun making it anyway, I’m sure it’d have done well.
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The drivability omg. Nice reliability.
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Is this challenge over?
Oh no, still road tests of every vehicle. Been overly busy this week, but I’m off for two weeks now so I’ll get this sorted. I felt it would be better to wait till I had time instead of rushing everything in the hour a night I had spare
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Real life is a bitch sometimes, take your time.
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You have a cool writing style, Ive read this back a few times already.
Road Tests Part One
Road tests for Primus Publica 1.2 select, Mess 11-15 and Mara Zora 1.2KE
@Happyhungryhippo , @06DPA , @AndiD
The first car that Sarah chooses to drive is the Publica 1.2 select from Primus
Stepping into the Publica and the first thing to notice is the height for a B segment car, body dimensions and ground clearance make it similar to a compact crossover in spirit if not design.
The interior is fine if nothing spectacular, there are five seats that feel pretty firm on first inspection and a cd head unit with Bluetooth streaming but no real fancy gadgets to speak of.
Starting up the 1.2 three cylinder engine and overall it’s quite pleasant, the engine is rather smooth for a triple, giving the throttle a blip and it smoothly revs up cleanly. The exhaust note is noticeable however, it’s nice in that three cylinder way but still obviously there compared to the silence of an electric motor.
The Publica is the only manual 'box here on the list, and straight away this does put it at both an advantage bearing in mind it clearly wins the battle of manuals and a disadvantage as it has an uphill climb to overcome the ease of an auto. Now as it happens on the drive it’s really not a bad gearbox, but it does have a short final drive meaning it just revs a bit higher than you would want at constant speed, which combined with the loud exhaust is a bit of a drag. A usual benefit of a manual is sprightly performance however the Publica is low on power and high on weight so from the get to it takes a while to get up to speed.
Getting from speed back down again is again on the middling ground, not bad brakes but also not the best. The fronts get very toasty with a hard press from speed, the weight is very front biased so the choice of drums at the rear is of no concern really they do the job they need to.
Giving the numbers a look over after the drive Sarah sees the Publica is very reasonably priced at 16400 and the yearly service costs 644.8 put it firmly towards the cheaper end.
There is quite a lot to like about the Publica, the 1.2 select variant however is probably a compromise too far. A higher power model with an auto box of some kind would no doubt still be reasonably priced but also a lot easier to recommend.
The Mess 11-15 is next up.
Sarah still can’t get to grips with the naming of this car, the Mess is just plain bad for first impressions.
The 11-15 is the smallest car on the test and it has a tall and stunted look to it, it’s no doubt great for interior room but it gives an unusual look.
Inside there is technically five seats, but luckily Carla will only really need the fronts anyway so the rear squeeze isn’t the end of the day. The seats and steering wheel have plenty of adjustability and the build of the interior isn’t bad for what the car costs, but then that cost is basically nothing anyway.
Under the tiny bonnet is an oversized 1.6 litre flat four engine, which is so smooth on startup you could barely tell it was running from inside the car. Luckily the exhaust note is quiet too as the built in car stereo is on the basic and tinny side.
The 11-15 is the first of many CVT transmission cars, and here it likes to keep the car on lower revs which does take advantage of the torque of the engine.
Braking is the better side of average, the brakes themselves are powerful but the narrow 165 section tyres don’t offer that much in the way of grip even with the higher end rubber used.
For the size of car the fuel computer wasn’t giving a great economy reading, with an average of 6 l/100km. The choice of a rear separate frame makes it a lot heavier than it should be for the size, this no doubt not helping economy. Another issue is the over-fuelling at cruising rpm, but then at the top end of the rev range the engine ends up pinking and losing power.
The 11-15 is the joint cheapest option at only 15,000 and at this price it has some compelling features. It’s a shame Mess didn’t tune the engine a bit better and probably choice a better construction method for the car.
The final car here is the Mara Zora 1.2KE
The Zora isn’t actually as big as the unusual shape would lead you to believe, it does give you at least plenty of top hat room for front and rear passengers. The interior is quite comfortable, the seats themselves aren’t amazing on their own but the massive greenhouse of the Zora gives you lots of shoulder room and makes it appear more open.
Mara have fitted a 1.2L three cylinder engine which is the lowest power engine in the group at only 78bhp however for the type of engine it is on the smoother side, if only the exhaust note was quieter as it can drone at speed.
The gearing on the CVT keeps the engine at it’s peak torque rather well, this helps overcome the actual lack of torque from the engine even if it isn’t the best method for overall fuel economy. In gear acceleration is a lot better than you might think from the power level, it’s nowhere near fast but it does only have 78 horsepower and you would think it was more.
Construction wise the Zora is a lot more modern than it’s design would lead you to believe and it is actually quite light for the size of the car. This aids both fuel economy and brake performance. The brakes themselves are very small but performance is quite admirable, tyres are economy but size is large enough to offer plenty of grip
The Zora shares the 15,000 price with the Mess 11-15 but does beat it and every other car bar one for service costs. This does lead to low cost of ownership overall once you include the fuel costs.
The Mara definitely has strange looks and a puny engine, but it does have plenty going for it in other stakes.
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