Yeah sorry about the lack of updates here, been a bit short staffed at work so I’ve been working some.extra nights and haven’t had much time to sit down and finish this off. It will definitely be done by the end of the weekend. Sorry it’s taking a bit longer
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Sorry it’s a bit late but here is the results and rankings
QFC18 - Results
Rand 211AP EUspec @Ludvig
Amazing driveability and very good comfort. mpg is simply incredible bearing in mind the ohv V8 used. HLL tyres not helping off road score. One of only two awd entries, still uses a standard manual locking diff however.
Bazard Ontario @Edsel
four seats seems a bit odd, also solid discs all round? sport interior doesn’t make too much sense either tbh. Stats pretty good, middle of the pack for most things.
TSC scout @?
naming scheme wrong for starters.plenty of techpool but then negative quality on majority of the car. This manages to pretty much cheese good stats but artificially reduce the price of the car.
MAHG Gamma 4x4 @S31
highest off road but second lowest driveability. loads of overdrive and weirdly low revving engine making max power at 3600rpm. Looks rather ungainly too.
Mara Kanyon Mk2 2.3 KL @AndiD
Another large car with only four seats. Only car without any kind of locking diff, this kills offroad. comfort is pretty good though. Most reliable and cheapest car by a margin.
SVM Caracal 3.2 4x4 @abg7
One of the few cars with no solid axles, lowest off road because of this. safest car with second highest driveability.
Ibishu Pioneer ZXT-4 Turbodiesel 3.0i 4wd (7AT 5-seat EUDM) @Restomod
one hell of a long name. Giant four cylinder that barely revs, and not that powerful bearing in mind the turbo. High end of service and purchase price. The seven speed auto might be a bit too far for a vehicle of this age. On a styling note the wheel arches don’t quite line up and the bodywork on the front just kinda stick out above the front wheel.
Hanasenko FK60 @noid5454
Only entry with a crossover wagon style, so certainly a stand out because of this. Super offroad tyres and manual locking 4x4 kinda don’t fit the kind of vehicle though. fuel economy is good, but reliability is really quite poor.
FMC Cormorant @Lanson
insanely high comfort, fully independent suspension gives great driveability but middling off road. Front and rear styling alright, but sides a bit bare.
IP Terrex @Knugcab
While it doesn’t affect scoring the Terrex has a nicely done interior, even down to the interior light and sun shades. Very heavy car, but still pretty quick to 100, fuel economy takes quite the hit though. driveability is on the mid/high end as is offroad. nice low purchase and service costs.
Bastille Molitor 2.5 20v @Fayeding_Spray
Quite the chunky beast this one, tremendously powerful and fast for it’s size and the class too tbh. driveability significantly lower than anyone else and comfort pretty low too. The purchase price is very low but the service is the second highest. Weirdly seems to have two rear registration plates, if the tyre carrier was factory wouldn’t it be integrated better?
Wells Storm Raider @DuceTheTruth100
At the opposite power end the storm makes quite literally no power from a large three litre engine. The looks are very much on the sporty side so you would expect a sportier setup but not only is it slow the use of solid axles front and rear doesn’t really fit the style. Driveability and comfort are actually pretty good considering the suspension choice, ride height a tad on the very high side. Purchase and service costs competitive.
ABAC Mammon @doot
Why does this have drums all round? tbh if i was doing bins this would be in them for this reason alone. It’s 2005 not 1955. Driveability is very good, but the hydropneumatic suspension ruins any fuel economy you might get. I’m not really a fan of all the black plastic on the front either, makes the car look a bit like it’s had a crash.
Canmo Osprey SE V8 @crwpitman1
A face only a mother could love, the headlight design is quite unusual. One of only two cars with manual gearboxes. Manual however isn’t ideal for off road use especially for novice drivers, it’s one more thing to have to think about plus you lose the low speed control a torque converter gives. The gearbox could have given the benefit of better economy, but the hige V8 completely cancels that out.
BMA Citadelle Gobi-X @Bbestdu28
The other manual car, also a six speed box. However the Citadelle uses awd and rather expensively an electric differential. Design isn’t massively exciting but it does fit the body well enough. The best fuel economy of any entry, but then the highest service costs buy over $100.
Puck Krieger Dakar @the-chowi
Really nicely designed entry, even if it is a bit too on the nose with the body choice. Right on the top of the purchase cost, but the service cost is on the low side. Fuel economy isn’t great however, air suspension probably causing this. The only entry to use air suspension. Second safest car in the challenge, and by only 0.8 points. very strong off road score.
Rankings
five. @Lanson
four. @noid5454
three. @abg7
two. @the-chowi
one. @Ludvig
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Ehhh, I only see rankings from 5 to 9, did something go wrong?
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oh what went on here, hang on let me fix this. nine is supposed to be one. this looks right on the post before i submit… i dont know whats happening
Great writeups! Makes sense that the Fowler Rand won, it’s a great build from what I’ve seen before.
I do want to ask, you mentioned all-solid discs as something “odd” with my car, but I thought this would’ve easily been standard by the 2000’s? (not contesting the result or anything, just hoping to learn a bit).
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Thanks for the review. I knew the solid axles would be a weird choice for the style, but I was looking at it as a Jeep Wrangler in a sports suit type of vehicle. I probably shouldve wrote that in the ad. Also, what type of power figures would be acceptable for that engine? (2.9L i6)
This is generally quite heavy cars so they would probably have been running vented up front by the mid 00s (can’t speak for every SUV of the era though), even my 1985 Nissan King cab has vented discs up front, so…
I thought all SUVs had drum brakes for some reason xD
Thanks for the review! I wasn’t expecting my estate to reach the top 5 hah.
I was going for a more extreme variant of an AWD Subaru-Volvo XC70 amalgamation, hence the 4x4 and chunky tyres.
If it isn’t too much of a bother, could you provide an average of the reliability score for the other winners?
Thanks in advance.
I never thought a unibody SUV without live axles (as I had made) would even get close to the podium (or at least the top 5), but that’s exactly what happened here. Anyway, congratulations to anyone who entered!
And if neither of the top two entrants can host the next round, I will gladly accept hosting duties.
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By my Deeds I honor Him, V8
Considering my schedule the second half of the month (and the subsequent judging for AGC26 - Wild Rescue 300 [Open] ) I’d be setting myself up for failure by hosting, so passing it on to @the-chowi
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Four wheel drums largely went away in the mid 70’s. While rear drum brakes were still used on lightweight subcompact cars well into the 2010s, from what I can tell most crossover and SUVs would have had four wheel discs.
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With that in mind, please give me some time (24-48 hours) to come up with an idea for the next round.
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Yeah, now that I look back it was kinda a mess, oh well.
Well, creating a diesel in a game that does not allow for it is always a gamble I guess
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Fun “fact”: The next-step-down engine for the Rand is a turboless 3L i4. Literally half a V8, it does have 16 valves, over 300 nm of torque, and a 4500 rpm redline. A sensible choice for those who wish to trade their soul and sanity for 1000$ and 6 mpg. In other words well suited for a minivan, but I’m glad I stuck with the V8 here.
(The bottom rung is a 1.7L, 75 hp pushrod i4 for “emerging markets”)
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