QFC61 - Little Trek
Kent, England, February 2011
25-year old Ella Thorsen and her fiance, David, are newly engaged and child free, and they’re looking for a compact that can go somewhat off the beaten path, as both Ella and David are the outdoors-y type, and neither of their current vehicles are particularly well suited to taking the road less traveled. They want something that’s easy to drive, maneuverable, but that can still go where they need it to, but they also want something stylish to boot.
Rules
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Only entries made on the stable version of the game will be accepted. Any entries made on the open alpha will be binned.
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Trim/Variant Year - 2011.
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$25,000 autobucks maximum.
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5-door hatchback, SUV and wagon bodies only.
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Wheelbase between 2.4 to 2.7m, standard rounding rules apply. A total length under 4.5m is preferred, but not required.
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5 full (2 front, 3 rear only) seats required.
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At least standard 00s safety. ESC is required.
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Radial tires are required, and must end in 5. Race tires (including semi-slicks) are not allowed.
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a 3-way catalytic converter (either kind) and at least one muffler is required.
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95 RON/91 AKI fuel maximum. You may use a lower grade fuel, though it offers no benefit.
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No V16s, no race parts.
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Faux diesels are not allowed.
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Your car must achieve WES 10 or better.
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Interiors are not required, and will not be judged.
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Advanced trim settings are allowed- however, you are not allowed to make the car look like something that it isn’t using them.
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Legacy car bodies (it should say “Legacy Car Bodies” in the mod name) are not allowed.
Techpool
All entrants are allowed 40M in total techpool budget. This is the sum of the total car and engine techpool values, as shown in the above screenshot.
If you’ve had trouble with techpool exporting incorrectly in the past, you may include a screenshot of your techpool values in the same DM as your submission- I will then compare the in-game numbers to the numbers listed in the screenshot, and will edit them if necessary. However, if you do not send a screenshot of your techpool values and they end up incorrect- or if the values in your included screenshot are also wrong, you will be binned.
Negative techpool is not allowed.
Priorities
Design
This car is both Ella and David’s first completely new car, and they both agree that they want something that isn’t too humdrum or basic visually. If it doesn’t meet their standards, they won’t bother looking at it any further.
Realism
OOC- I’m looking for a car that could feasibly exist and that meets basic road legality (think third brake lights, functional front and rear lighting, etc). Some cheesefest entry with a little tiny engine that’s designed to focus only on one or two key stats at the expense of all the others will not be considered will be binned, and furthermore, I reserve the right to decline any entry that is clearly and obviously off-brief without looking at the file or considering it. All results are final.
Drivability
Both Ella and David are good drivers, with both knowing how to drive manual and automatic, and neither has any real preference - but they do a decent amount of highway driving, in addition to stop and go traffic, which could make certain gearbox options less favorable. They’re also looking for something with good maneuverability, as they live in a more urban area, where a larger, less maneuverable car could be problematic.
Reliability
David has agreed to hang on to his car as it’s newer for a backup, but neither Ella nor David want their new car to be in and out of the shop on a regular basis, nor do they want a car they couldn’t trust on longer trips.
Service Costs
Both Ella and David work decent jobs and have some expendable income, but neither one wants a car that costs an arm and a leg to service every time it goes to the shop, even for minor repairs.
Fuel Economy
While neither Ella or David have particularly long commutes, they do frequently go on longer drives across the country, and a car that can go further between fill-ups is a big plus for both of them.
Comfort
Ella and David don’t need luxury car levels of comfort and equipment, but they don’t want something that feels like you’re riding on stones either.
Offroad
Ella and David like to explore the outdoors, and occasionally that means taking some less than ideal roads, so a car that could handle these environments is a plus.
OOC - to be clear, I am not looking for some hardcore offroader - when I say “less than ideal roads”, I mean dirt roads that get muddy when it rains, grassy knolls, etc. You do not have to do anything too insane here, please keep that in mind.
Practicality
Ella and David will be primarily using the car as their friends have vehicles of their own as well, but they occasionally might need to make room for 1 or 2 extra people (in addition to their dog), so a car with space for such activities is a good bonus.
OOC - I will be judging practicality holistically - ie the raw stat number will only be one piece of how I judge practicality, particularly as larger cars face an undue penalty in the raw metric. To counteract that, figures like passenger and cargo capacity, the physical size of the vehicle, etc will all influence my judgement in this area.
Safety
Both Ella and David are capable and safe drivers, but a car that feels well made and protected from the world outside is still important to them.
Value
Ella and David are each putting up half of the money for their car, and neither one of them have any issue spending it all, but if they come across two cars that offer a similarly enticing package, but one is cheaper, they’ll lean towards the cheaper option, as any money leftover can be put towards bigger things in their respective lives.
Environmental Resistance
Ella and David want a car that isn’t going to rust and fall apart because of their lifestyle, so something with good protection from the elements is greatly preferred.
Inspirations
Skoda Yeti
Suzuki SX4 (and by extension, the Fiat Sedici)
Fiat Panda Cross
Nissan Qashqai
Subaru Forester
Dacia Duster
Honda CR-V
Toyota RAV4
Submissions
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Submissions will open on Friday, July 18th, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
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Submissions will then close exactly 10 days later, on Monday, July 28th, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
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The naming scheme is QFC61- (your username here) for the car model and engine family boxes. Trim and variant are free.
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To submit, please post at least one picture of your car here in the challenge thread, then DM your .car file and optionally a screenshot of your techpool distribution to me (@vero94773) over the forums only. Submissions over Discord will not be accepted. Ads in the thread may be posted up to 12 hours after submissions close.
Changelog
- Reordered some of the challenge priorities, emphasized that practicality will be judged holistically to lessen the penalty larger cars face in that metric.
