Your car used generous amounts of quality so I wanted to point that out somehow. And your car didn’t really miss the brief, it just overshot it a little.
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Congrats to the finalists!
Yeah, I was kind of thinking that the small dimensions would cause a bin (the Meteor is a D-segment car, not full-sized like many of the others), but I’m glad to hear that the performance and handling was excellent, so I’m counting that as a small victory regardless 
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July 1996 Issue - Sports Wagon Battle!
Narrator:
More space than a sedan and as fast as a sports car. That is the definition of “sports wagon”. We have gathered high-performance models from the likes of Yamada, Nanahoshi, Homura, and Kozukumi. Today, these cars will be put to the test to see…
Which is the best sports wagon!?!
When talking about family cars, the Yamada name always comes to mind. The Fusion is their latest entry into the wagon/MPV market, but the Fusion-R Premica-R Vitesse brings spice to the normally tame car.
The Fusion-R features a technologically advanced turbocharged 2.5 litre V6 that produces 280PS which makes it the most powerful car in today’s programme. Combined with the qually advanced 5-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, the Yamada serves as a look into the future of motoring. Yes my dark!
Coming from among the stars, the Cenfaur TourerX Limited is Nanahoshi’s premier sports wagon. Aesthetically it is business like, only hinting at what it is capable of as a sports wagon.
Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 2.5 litre flat-four producing 240PS. Like the Yamada, it features an advanced all-wheel drive system that improves traction and performance when the roads are less than ideal.
Next up from Homura, we have the humble and dignified ST3000VSX. With its low price and muscular yet restrained look, the ST3000VSX is certain to win over many.
The engine is a naturally aspirated 3.0 litre inline 6 producing 244PS. It is the longest and widest of all the cars today. Not much to report in the tech department but that doesn’t mean that this car is a goner.
Last but not least is the Ryuta IV - Valliore Edition. Out of the four cars today, the Ryuta IV - Valliore Edition is certainly the sportiest, with its very aggresive and bold styling.
The engine is also the largest in today’s roster, with a naturally aspirated inline-six displacing 3.3 litres producing 274PS. Tax liabilities are certainly much higher than most other cars, but that is the price to pay for naturally aspirated driving pleasure.
Now, let us get to Tsuchida Kenichi and hear his thoughts on how these cars handle on the open road. First, he will drive the Fusion-R.
Tsuchida Kenichi:
The Fusion-R Premica-R Vitesse… is certainly a very plush vehicle. These leather seats are very comfortable, coming close to many premium sedans out there in the market. The wood trim also adds to the premium feel of this cabin.
And what a cabin this interior is. Compared to the other cars, it is very spacious. There is no centre console either, which isn’t something you’d normally find in a wagon but it does allow for easy access to the rear. As such, this car also has a column shifter. Not very conventional either, but if anyone has seen the arrangement of the doors they shouldn’t be surprised. Either way, this has to be one of the best interiors I’ve ever been in. Everything is well-laid out and controls are where they should be. And in fact, I think that this is what interiors ought to be.
This might be an episode about sports wagons, but I’m really not sure where this lies between wagon and MPV. It has the best of both worlds, I suppose. The space of an MPV combined with the driving characteristics of a wagon.
And now in terms of driving characteristics, this car feels more like it was built for cruising than for spirited driving, though it is certainly capable of doing so. Thanks to its AWD system and suspension tuning, the car feels stable throughout corners with handling that tends towards understeer. I don’t think it’s a bad thing though, considering nature of this car. I honestly expected the car to roll quite a bit especially given its height and comfy ride, but it stays quite level on corners. This could be due to the semi active dampers and sway bars but regardless, this car is impressively engineered.
Thanks to all the technology, sliding door, very large interior and cargo space, and interior comforts, however, this thing is definitely heavy. It’s the heaviest car I’ll be driving today, I’ve been told. Thus, it’s quite a handful to throw into a corner but before anyone talks about this car being lazy, let me remind you that this car isn’t some boat, and that it produces 280PS. Take it out onto the expressway, and the Yamada will make you happy regardless of its flaws. It’s a great car.
And now, the Cenfaur Tourer X Limited. One big advantage this car has, handling-wise, is its low centre of gravity. The boxer engine may not be the most practical out there, but it certainly makes the Cenfaur hug the corners very tightly. This seriously feels great.
Now, while it feels great to drive, I’m not exactly a big fan of the interior. Don’t get me wrong, it is nice and firm with good road feel. However, as you can see the dashboard design looks rather dated, like it came from a car made ten years ago especially with these chunky consoles where the stalks would usually be. The seats are supportive, but the combination of brown and black around this interior isn’t a very good one. The contrast is just too jarring. Shame really, because I want to have a nice place to sit in while driving this otherwise superb car.
Now, the way it drives. Like I said, it has low centre of gravity but that’s not all. It also has AWD like the Yamada, which helps make the car feel stable in all conditions. But because this has a 4-speed instead of the Yamada’s five, it does feel a little sluggish at times. That’s not too much of a problem though, since the turbo spools at just 2200rpm. The engine is remarkably quiet, too although I wish it made more power, seeing that it packs some very expensive ITBs which are normally reserved for sports cars. I should also mention that this car doesn’t come with traction control, though I suppose that traction wouldn’tbe too much of a problem since this has AWD. Still, a car at this price point should have TCS. It’s always good to be safe, after all.
The ST3000VX might have the lowest purchase price of the bunch, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that this is an inferior car. The engine is powerful and very smooth. Handling is great and the ride is very comfortable, on par if not slightly better than the Yamada.
Comfortable as it may be, however, the interior feels somewhat lacking. I personally like black in my interiors, but the Homura looks rather dull in this respect. The materials do feel good and everything is well built, but don’t exactly look the part. There’s wood on the steering wheel, but not on the rest of this cabin which I find strange. This could very well be the reason why the Homura has a lower price than the others. That is not to say that it’s all bad, though. There is a lot of room for both passengers and cargo and, again, it’s very comfortable in here.
Though I suppose that there is a drawback to the comfy ride. Though this is certainly no slouch on the corners, it is certainly quite wallowy, especially compared to other cars. This might be no problem for daily driving but it would certainly hinder your confidence at high speed. Overcome that fear, however, and you have yourself a very capable sports wagon.
The Ryuta IV - Valliore Edition is undoubtedly the most European car of the bunch. It has a 3.3 litre engine, which not ideal for tax reasons but a number of domestic manufacturers do make engines with “odd” displacements these days, maybe to appeal to overseas markets.
Still, this engine is nothing short of wonderful. Powerful, smooth, and reliable, this diamond truly is unbreakable. And it really does move this aggresive-looking car. Out of all the cars today, this car feels the lightest and so it feels very nice to throw around in corners and exit speeds are always high thanks to its ample supply of power. The ride is firm, but that’s the price to pay for this level of driving engagement. And that is a price I am willing to pay.
The interior of this vehicle sure does feature some unusual things. The gear lever, for example, looks like a gated H shifter. I’m not sure why Kozukumi decided to do that but there it is. There’s also the praking brake situation. As you can see, there is a handbrake. However, there is also another pedal on the footwell that serves the same purpose. Why? Ask Kozukumi. Or Valliore. It’s like the car is supposed to be a manual or something.
That aside, this interior looks and feels superb. It is well-built and positively futuristic. Easily one of my favourite interior designs if it wasn’t for the gimmicky shifter and parking brake situation.
Narrator:
Now, with Tsuchida-san’s subjective opinions out of the way, it’s time to test to test the performance of these family rockets. First up, the 0-400m test!
And off they go! The Ryuta races ahead of the rest while the ST3000VSX and Cenfaur are neck and neck! 0-100kmh times are:
1. Kozukumi: 6.78
2. Yamada: 6.91
3. Homura: 7.03
4. Nanahoshi: 7.03
The Ryuta wins!
And now the test goes on. The Yamada was slightly behind at the start but look! It’s closing up to the Kozukumi… And across the line! The Homura and Nanahoshi remained neck and neck all the way to the end. The quarter mile times are:
1. Kozukumi: 14.94
2. Yamada: 14.94
3. Homura: 15.31
4. Nanahoshi: 15.31
The Fusion-R and Ryuta wins!
Next up, the slalom test!
Tsuchida-san will drive these cars around the tight-knit line of cones and see just how well these cars respond to them. First, the Nanahoshi! Start!
and the time is… 17.62 seconds!
Now, time for the Homura! Start!
and the time is… 18.36 seconds!
Next up, the Kozukumi! Start!
and the time is… 18.41 seconds!
And last but not least, the Yamada! Start!
and the time is… 17.71 seconds!
1. Nanahoshi Cenfaur TourerX Limited - 17.62
2. Yamada Fusion-R Premica-R Vitesse - 17.71
3. Homura ST3000VSX - 18.36
4. Kozukumi Ryuta IV - Valliore Edition - 18.41
The Nanahoshi wins!
As this test shows, there is quite a gap between the cornering abilities of RWD and AWD cars, with AWD cars leaving its rear-driven bretheren in the dust. Such technology even made the heavy Yamada outmanouver the lightweight Kozukumi, which looks and certainly feels the sportiest according to Tsuchida-san, at least. What a turn of events!
And now for the final test, the circuit stage! The ultimate sports wagon Tsukuba battle!
The Homura will be driven by Tsuchida Kenichi, the Nanahoshi by Orido MIN, the Yamada by the tall Laminus, and the Kozukumi by Albert Hoy.
The four sports wagons will race around Tsukuba for five laps. The starting grid will be determined by the car’s power-to-weight ratio. As such, these are the starting positions:
STARTING GRID
1. Homura ST3000VSX - (Tsuchida)
2. Nanahoshi Cenfaur TourerX Limited - (Orido)
3. Yamada Fusion-R Premica-R Vitesse - (Laminus)
4. Kozukumi Ryuta IV - Valliore Edition - (Hoy)
And now to see how well they will do against each other on the track… Start!
Now at the final lap and the final corner, the Hoy in the Kozukumi leads the race! There’s nothing the others can do at this point…
…aaand the Kozukumi wins!
BATTLE RESULT AND BEST LAP
1. Kozukumi Ryuta IV - Valliore Edition - (Hoy) - 1’11"88
2. Nanahoshi Cenfaur TourerX Limited - (Orido) - 1’13"29
3. Yamada Fusion-R Premica-R Vitesse - (Laminus) - 1’14"51
4. Homura ST3000VSX - (Tsuchida) - 1’15"06
Even though it was the slowest in the slalom, the Ryuta ended up being the fastest car on the track. What an amazing comeback!
Now that we have evaluated the cars’ performance and daily driving characteristics, it is finally time to decide which sports wagon is the best. Hoy, Laminus, Orido, and Tsuhida will share their thoughts with us and give us the verdict.
Hoy:
For starters… the Kozukumi was truly on another level. It was so powerful and light, it felt like it could kill me at any second, but at the same time it’s always under control, just the way I like it.
Orido:
Sou desune… But then again, it’s not the most practical out of the cars here today… that would have to go to the Yamada with its cavernous cabin and cargo area. You could even conceive a child in there!
Hoy:
But with all that technology including the transmission, turbo, stereo and whatnot, I don’t really trust it… Feels like it could break on me at any moment. Not to mention my experience with Yamadas back in Ireland. Those things rusted faster than a Concorde flying across the Atlantic. Things might be better now but I still have that concern.
Laminus:
You’re just old-fashined, Hoy. Technology like that clearly is the way of the future. Though speaking of old-fashioned, the Homura sure does strike the balance between old-school naturally aspirated performance with modern trends. It truly makes the best of its equipment. And at a lower price, too. There’s decent room for cargo too though of course, nothing rivals the Yamada.
Tsuchida:
Yeah, except those minivans the Yamada tries to be. Talking about fuel economy, figures from the JAF show that the two turbocharged cars here, the Yamada and the Nanahoshi, are much thirstier than the naturally aspirated Homura and Kozukumi. I really liked the Nanahoshi. It may have its flaws, but it felt great to drive and it looks handsome too.
Hoy:
Well, it’s really been tough to choose from these cars. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses and ultimately, it’s up to you, the consumer, to decide which flavour of sports wagon you want. But for us, there can only be one.
And that car is...
The Homura ST3000VSX
Congratulations to @donutsnail and the Homura! With its superb combination of value, comfort, performance, reliability, and economy, the Homura shows that, according to the Go Go Drive! staff, it is the best sports wagon in the market. It might not be the sportiest, but it handles everyday chores very well while still capable of giving its driver the time of their life when the time calls for it. It might have a big engine, reliability, service costs, and fuel economy are all very good which make up for the higher tax obligation. A solid all-rounder!
2nd. @variationofvariables (Yamada Fusion-R PREMICA-R Vitesse Turbo V6-2500)
3rd. @debonair0806 / @vero94773 (Kozukumi Ryuta VI - Engineered by Valliore)
4th. @Xepy (Nanahoshi Cenfaur TourerX Limited)
5th. @66mazda (Kaizen FCE25)
Thank you all for participating. It was a pleasure to host this round of TMCC, and I will be looking forward to the next round.
Thank you for watching this month’s issue. See you next month, and as always,
Go Go Drive!
Copyright Houshou Studios 1996
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Great write up, an enjoyable read! Thank you for hosting.
I will pass down hosting the next round, as I have been not particularly interested in playing Automation lately.
The floor is yours @variationofvariables
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I’ve got a couple of ideas stirring around in my head, not sure if i have the time to do so but it’s almost spring break so I could in theory do something.
give me 24h to come up with something and reevaluate my schedule, if nothing comes up i’m tossing it to debonair/vero
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That was a dope write up!!
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after a small discussion on discord, yuri passed hosting on to myself and @debonair0806, which we’re gonna take. expect a new round up in a day or so.
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new round is up!
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