1241Penguin's Car Reviews (Currently On a Break)

[1241Penguin]

Welcome to my car review thread! This is one of the places for you to check into if you are looking for information on whatever car you should purchase. Or you can just settle here if you’re looking to relax a little. ​

There are four things that I look for when I drive a car: fun, speed, handling, and easiness to drive. These things will be looked for as the cars are put to test around the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Then, they will be timed as they go around the smaller, Nurburgring GP/F.

I’ll try to post up a new review/comparison every second week.

Depending on the car I’m driving, I will use either the paddle shifters or the H-shifter + clutch on my wheel. The paddle shifters will also be used on any cars with a sequential manual gearbox.

These are done for fun!

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2012 Articles

Welcome to the 2012 reviews! Unlike the 2011 reviews, these reviews will be done offline, and as a result, there will be a new leaderboard.

Articles

Mitsubishi Evo X vs Subaru WRX STI Sedan

Nurburgring GP/F Leaderboard

1. (2:25.387) Subaru Impreza WRX STI '10
2. (2:25.402) Mitsubishi Evolution X GSR '07


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2011 Archives​

Reviews
Nissan GT-R '07
Japan’s Newest Sports Car: The Toyota 86 GT ’12

Comparisons
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 vs Ferrari 458 Italia
Camaro vs Challenger vs Mustang
Nissan GT-R Xanavi Nismo Super GT '08 vs Nissan GT-R N24 Shulze Motor Sport '11


Nurburgring GP/F Lap Times
1. 2:05.142 - Nissan GT-R Xanavi Nismo Super GT '08
2. 2:07.172 - Nissan GT-R N24 Shulze Motor Sport '11
3. 2:16.139 - Nissan GT-R '07
4. 2:17.963 - Ferrari 458 Italia '09
5. 2:18.665 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 '09
6. 2:25.696 - Chevrolet Camaro SS '10
7. 2:26.805 - Dodge Challenger SRT-8 '08
8. 2:36.211 - Toyota 86 GT '12
9. 2:38.576 - Ford Mustang GT Premium '07

 

[1241Penguin]

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 vs Ferrari 458 Italia

The Corvette ZR1. It is America’s remaining sports car that can stand up to the sports cars of Europe and Japan. Powered by a 6.2L V8 that produces 638 HP, it is quite possibly the most powerful car Chevrolet ever made. In fact, it is quite possibly the most powerful car GM ever made. And, at a price of only Cr. 184,000, it’s also one of the cheapest high-performance cars you can buy.

The interior of the ZR1 isn’t very appealing, to be honest. The visibility is pretty decent. One thing that I love though is the heads-up display showing your speed. It’s quite a nice touch. It would be even nicer though if I could change it from mp/h to km/h. The bland interior is not a bad thing, because you’re going to need your full attention on driving this thing. On the other hand, the exterior of the ZR1 is very striking. Those alloys will make any driver intimidated.

Blasting the ZR1 down straightaways is the funnest thing you can do. In contrast, blasting the ZR1 around corners is the perfect way to scare yourself. As with most 500+ HP rear-wheel drive cars, you’ll have a super hard time getting around corners. And that, is the ZR1’s biggest downfall. It may have a lot of power, but it’s no good if it can’t put the power into good use. So if I wanted a car that’s fast in a straight line AND around corners, I would consider the Ferrari 458 Italia.

​

The Ferrari 458 Italia is one of the best road cars Ferrari ever made. It’s got a 4.5L V8 engine that produces 562 HP. Although that is 76 less horsepower than the ZR1, it seems to be able to accelerate just as quickly. I theorize that this is mostly because of the 458’s 7-speed double clutch transmission. Since it’s got an extra gear, each of the individual gears can be shorter, thus allowing it to accelerate quicker. Plus, the dual-clutch transmission shifts seamlessly. The quick acceleration is also due to the weight; at just 1485 kg, it’s 23 kg lighter than the ZR1.

Inside the 458, you are immediately attracted to that huge odometer that’s extremely clear and concise. Unlike the ZR1, no money was saved by downgrading the interior quality. It would be better if the speedometer could be a little bit bigger and clearer, though. Outside, the car is equally attractive. In fact, it is probably the best looking car Ferrari ever made!

​

Around the GP/F track, I found the ZR1 to be one of the most tail-happy cars ever. When you decide to stop clowning around, you’ll find that all the oversteer is there just to hide the understeer of the car. It understeered. Seriously. Not a lot, but enough for you to get impatient and just floor it. In contrast, the 458 was extremely agile. It flew around corners extremely accurately. The brakes were excellent as well. It had excellent brakes, as demonstrated when I kept on braking too early for every single corner. However, like the ZR1, it suffers from one problem: too much horsepower. Plus, the DSG gearbox doesn’t make the car any funner to drive. Still, it posted a lap time of 2:17.963, over half a second quicker than the ZR1, which posted a lap time of 2:18.665.

So, which car is better? Well, if I were in a race and I wanted to win I’d choose the Ferrari. But if I were on a budget and desperately needed a fast AND fun car I’d choose the ZR1, which, I forgot to mention, is nearly Cr. 100,000 cheaper than the Ferrari! So the decision is simple. If I were to have one of these cars for free, I’d choose the Ferrari. That way, I’ll still have enough money to buy myself a ZR1.

​

 

[Mac K]

Nice review, keep it up, I look forward to more reviews from you!

 

[Crumpet]

Great review! Hope to see more.

 

[trk29]

Good job and nice pictures to boot!

 

[finnracer]

Fantastic pics!! 👍 and a very good review, can't wait to see what your reviewing next, how about some everyday cars?

 

[1241Penguin]

Thanks for all the positive responses! 👍

Fantastic pics!! 👍 and a very good review, can't wait to see what your reviewing next, how about some everyday cars?

I think I'll let people make requests on what I should review/compare.

 

[599GT]

👍

I agree with your choice.
ZR1 can stay on pace with 458 + it's 100k cheaper, it deserves to win.

 

[saidaouita]

Well done. Good stuff!

 

[Aaronrray]

How about the hyper-cars: McLaren f1, Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti veyron.

Or the modern British lightweights: TVR Tuscan speed 6 and lotus Elise 111R (both stock and RM)

Or track cars: Pagani Zonda R and Mazda Furai

 

[MOTORTRENDmitch]

wow, that was a GREAT review. keep it up!! You should deffinatly do some of the suggestions givin above! those would be great. also, Camaro Challenger BMW M3 comparison would be a fun read as well! but i think a review we ALL want, is the IS-F M5 and C63 AMG to be compared. Good job! 👍

 

[1241Penguin]

👍

I agree with your choice.
ZR1 can stay on pace with 458 + it's 100k cheaper, it deserves to win.

Actually, I didn't say that the ZR1 was the better car. All I said was that it's nice to own both cars.

wow, that was a GREAT review. keep it up!! You should deffinatly do some of the suggestions givin above! those would be great. also, Camaro Challenger BMW M3 comparison would be a fun read as well! but i think a review we ALL want, is the IS-F M5 and C63 AMG to be compared. Good job! 👍

I will review/compare cars that people requested. However, I won't tell you guys what it is. You'll just have to find out when the next review/comparison comes up!

 

[Aaronrray]

I like how you test on multiple tracks, it can help bring out the pros and cons of the car.. I also like the fact that you used the 'ring because everyone knows how good a lap time is and you can sort of categorize the times by performance.

 

[1241Penguin]

Camaro vs Challenger vs Mustang​

Recently, America’s Big Three automakers have brought back some muscle cars of the past. Let’s find out how they fare in today’s world!

The Mustang is possibly one of the most recognized names when it comes to muscle cars. For better or worse, this latest generation Mustang is a great representation of muscle cars of the past. It’s retro styling isn’t exactly good but it is definitely striking. It handled like a muscle car of the past too. Though it was pretty decent in the straight lines, it wasn’t as good in the corners. In fact, it was appalling. This car had understeered more than any car I can remember. Furthermore, don’t think that this car can catch it’s opponents on the straights either, because it only has a 4.6L V8 that produces a modest 300 HP (the least of the three). The slow acceleration is mostly because of a dreadful 5-speed automatic transmission and it’s super-wide gear ratios. Better gear ratios can be a cure, but a manual transmission is best suited for this type of car.

​

On the other end of town, Dodge had announced the revival of the Challenger. This car’s got a much larger 6.1L V8 that produces 425 HP. The styling, like the Mustang, is based off of their respective first generation models. Retro styling really doesn’t work, because it’s not a pretty car either. But again, like the Mustang, it’s striking. Interestingly, despite all that horsepower, the acceleration didn’t feel that great, possibly due to it’s weight of 1878 kg, the heaviest of the three. In the corners, it was rather extreme. You either understeered wide, or you oversteered. So, the handling for the Challenger isn’t that great. Still, at least it had a proper 6-speed manual, unlike the Mustang.

​

Chevrolet had decided to bring an old muscle car back too, the Camaro. To make a long story short, the Camaro is easily the best car of the three. Thanks to a clever suspension unit, it was undoubtedly the best handling of the three. With a 6.2L V8 that produces 426 HP, it also felt very quick. It was also the best looking car of the three, possibly since it’s design had no influences from the design of the first generation Camaro. In the interest of being fair, however, I do have one thing to say. Like the Corvette ZR1 that I reviewed in the first article, the Camaro has too much power. It had a tendency to oversteer every corner if you don’t be careful, as shown in the picture below:

​

When you take the three cars around the track, you’ll notice that all of them have something annoying regarding the interior. The Mustang had some rather confusing and unclear gauges. The windscreen in the Challenger is too narrow, and it’s gauges were pretty decent. The Camaro had super-small gauge needles, so while you can see the odometer and speedometer clearly, you can’t actually see how much the engine is revving, or how fast you’re going.

The GP/F track really showed each car’s flaws. I found both the Mustang and the Challenger to be boring cars. They just aren’t designed to go around tracks that have turns in them. Still, after persevering a little, I got both cars around the track. The Mustang went around in 2:38.576, while the Challenger went around in 2:26.805. The Camaro is the real star here, which went around in 2:25.696, with the excessive power being it’s only flaw.

So how would I rank each car? The Mustang, being the slowest and the most expensive, came in 3rd. The Challenger is ranked 2nd. The only problems being that it’s slow and has bad handling. The Camaro is the obvious winner. It’s the cheapest and it’s got great handling, but it is slightly made worse by it’s excessive power. The Camaro then, is the best modern muscle car!

 

[kngofrandomspam]

Nice Review, however what GT5 needs to do is add the new much superior Mustang GT 5.0 with 412 horsepower, and the Boss 302 with 440.
Also, GT5 is missing the updated Challenger with the new interior as well as a larger engine with a better suspension

 

[1241Penguin]

Nice Review, however what GT5 needs to do is add the new much superior Mustang GT 5.0 with 412 horsepower, and the Boss 302 with 440.
Also, GT5 is missing the updated Challenger with the new interior as well as a larger engine with a better suspension

Thanks! I agree, it would be cool to see the Boss 302 and the new Challenger in.

 

[1241Penguin]

Nissan GT-R '07​

Nissan shocked many enthusiasts when they announced that the Nissan Skyline GT-R will cease production. Not too long after, Nissan shocked many enthusiasts again when they announced the revival of the GT-R name.

The Nissan GT-R, like it’s predecessor, the Skyline GT-R, has a six-cylinder engine, albeit in a V-configuration instead of an inline-configuration. Like it’s predecessor, it has all wheel drive. Like it’s predecessor, it has a 2 door saloon body style, and like it’s predecessor, it’s immensely fast. Powered by a 3.8L twin-turbo V6, the car develops 473 HP that is sent to all wheels through a 6-speed dual clutch transmission. This car has one of the quickest acceleration capabilities from any four-seater saloon car.

This car is also one of the fastest four-seaters around the corners. Interestingly, you can make it go sideways very easily, so you will occasionally slide around the corners. However, the accuracy from this car is uncanny. The understeer is very easy to correct as is the oversteer, making the GT-R one of the best handling four-seater cars. Another point of interest is that the car weighs 1740 kg, which, to put that into perspective, is 232 kg heavier than the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and 255 kg heavier than the Ferrari 458 Italia. Despite all this, the car is extremely agile.

The interior of the GT-R is a luxurious blend of technology and plain old simplicity. There’s two main gauges in the dash, the speedometer and odometer, with the odometer being directly in front of you. There’s also a blue circular screen that tells you what gear you’re in. When you’re driving, you don’t have to move your eyes to look at the gauges; you can look straight ahead and still see your speed and what gear you’re in. In the center console is an iPad like screen that shows how much you’re pressing the accelerator, though it can be changed to display other things like g-force.

The exterior of the car is very attractive. Though it is quite literally shaped by science, I think it is one of the best looking cars that Nissan ever made. It’s not that subtle, but it’s not overly dramatic either - a good blend of attractiveness and striking looks. I will however, complain about that blacked out grille piece. It reminds me of those dogs with a black nose. If only they can make it body coloured, then I think it would look absolutely exquisite.

The GP/F track did intensify what I said about it’s handling; how it oversteered and understeered. But it also proved my point that the GT-R is an extremely agile and fast car, setting a lap time of 2:16.139 seconds, over 1.5 seconds quicker than the much lighter and much more powerful Ferrari 458 Italia.

The Nissan GT-R is quite simply one of the best cars to ever come out of Japan. At just Cr. 77,700, it’s quite possibly one of the cheapest supercars you can buy today. It’s also quite possibly the most practical supercar that you can buy. To sum it up, the GT-R is a car that can match or even surpass other, more expensive, supercars.

 

[MOTORTRENDmitch]

another really good review.. the GT-R is a more then amazing car, in terms of, performance, price, and everyday useablitly.

 

[shirakawaa]

produces a modest 300 HP (the least of the three). The slow acceleration is mostly because of a dreadful 5-speed automatic transmission and it’s super-wide gear ratios. Better gear ratios can be a cure, but a manual transmission is best suited for this type of car.

The Mustang in GT5 behaves exactly like a manual

 

[1241Penguin]

The Mustang in GT5 behaves exactly like a manual

See, the problem is that the driver doesn't move his hands to change gear, so I was (and still am) confused as to what transmission the Mustang has.

 

[1241Penguin]

Nissan GT-R Xanavi Nismo Super GT '08 vs Nissan GT-R N24 Shulze Motor Sport '11​

The Xanavi Nismo GT-R participated in the 2008 Super GT championship. Umm... yeah. I’m not a fan of Super GT. I’ve never watched it on television, so I can’t tell you how this car did in the Super GT championship. However, I can tell you how great this thing drives.

It’s powered by a front-mounted naturally aspirated 4.5L V8 engine that produces 493 HP. The power is fed to the rear wheels though a 6-speed sequential manual transmission. It’s an extremely grippy and accurate race car. Taking it around a track is extremely good fun, because if you do well, you’re going to be proud of yourself.

Unlike the stock GT-R, this racer has rear-wheel drive, so by default, it has less grip than the normal car. However, the massive rear-wing and the racing hard tires make up for this. Unfortunately, the rear-wing and grippy racing tires make this car feel somewhat heavy. On paper, this car weighs only 1100kg, which is an astonishing 640kg lighter than the normal car, but when you take it around a high speed corner, you will often get some moderate, but tamable, understeer which makes the car feel as if it weighs 2000kg. In other words, this car is accurate only if you put in a bit more effort into driving it, hence why you’re going to be proud of yourself if you take it around a track quickly.

Despite this, I think that the Xanavi is a great car. You will get some occasional low-speed oversteer, and then some understeer, but once you’ve completed a lap which you deem to be good, then you will feel proud! Plus, as I’ve said before, this car is very fun. It’s like a Corvette ZR1, you know you can do a fast lap if you tried, but you would rather do a slower lap going sideways, and the Xanavi does just that.

Happily, if going sideways isn’t you thing, there’s an alternative to the Xanavi Nismo.

The N24 GT-R participated in the 2011 Nurburgring 24 Hour race, and placed 1st in class, and 36th overall. Not that it’s a surprise, considering how fast this car is.

It has the same 3.8L twin turbo V6 as the normal car, as well as the same 6 speed dual clutch transmission. It even has all-wheel drive, just like the normal car. However, it now produces 20 more horsepower, at 493 HP, and it’s lighter by 235kg, at 1505kg. As a result, this car is very grippy, just like the Xanavi Nismo, but not as quick, due to the greater weight. That’s a small price to pay, considering the fact that there is no oversteer at all, and very easy to correct understeer. It’s very nimble as well, turning into corners exactly the way you would want it to.

The interior looks almost the same as the normal car. The first thing you’ll notice is that the speedo is replaced by a digital screen that tells your speed and what gear you’re in. Unlike the Xanavi Nismo, you can tell, from only looking at the interior, that this car is based on a Nissan GT-R. Aside from that, and the normal race car bits, I can’t see what’s different about it compared to the normal GT-R. That’s a good thing, because as I’ve said in the review of the Nissan GT-R ’07, the view from the inside is close to being perfect.

Around the GP/F track, the Xanavi did what I just said about it; understeering and oversteering, but it made up for that with raw speed. The N24 on the other hand felt more like a normal GT-R, grippy, but with some occasional understeer. It has to be said that you can make the N24 oversteer if you want. The N24 went around the track in 2:07.172. I thought that that was a good time, until it was run over by the Xanavi, which did it in 2:05.142. I’ll assume that the lap time difference is only because the N24 uses sports soft tires whereas the Xanavi uses racing hard tires.

From these results, you’ll probably think that the Xanavi is the better car. Might I just point out that it costs Cr. 950,000, nearly twice as much as the N24, at Cr. 500,000. I think that the prices speak for themselves. Both are similar cars, but one costs nearly 2 times the price. The choice is yours, but to be honest, I personally like the N24 more.

 

[MOTORTRENDmitch]

nice review! N24 is deffinatly the better car at that price!

 

[1241Penguin]

Japan’s Newest Sports Car: The Toyota 86 GT ’12

Ever since the concept car, the Toyota FT-86, was unveiled back in October 2009, I’ve been dying to find out whether or not it’s going to be a worthy successor to one of the best Toyotas ever made, the AE86. For a kickoff, the new 86 is not 100% Toyota, not a good start, but then you find that the 86 was built by Toyota in collaboration with Subaru, one of the most reputable car manufactures for sports cars. Specifically, Toyota designed the car while Subaru engineered it, which is pretty much 80% of the work.

It's powered by a naturally-aspirated Subaru 2.0L Flat-4 engine that develops a modest 192 HP. While that might not sound much, the car only weighs only 1180 kg, which is over 300 kg lighter than the current Subaru WRX STI. The 192 HP is fed to the rear wheels via either a 6-speed automatic, or a 6-speed manual.

The interior of this car is extremely good. Thanks to it’s lowly mounted engine, you get to sit low as well. Everything you need to see is right there out the window. In addition, the gauges are also very clear, though they can make the colours of the gauges and needles a bit more contrasting. Otherwise, this car has the best interior views of any car that I’ve driven. No question about it.

The outside of this car resembles no current Toyota or Subaru whatsoever, and that is a good thing, because truthfully, Toyota and Subaru aren’t making good looking cars at the moment. The 86 not exactly discreet, especially with those headlights. You will have a second look at it if you ever see one on the streets. I think that this is even better looking than the old AE86, or even the 22B STI.

Anybody who loves cars must give the 86 a go. The engine is mounted so low that there is limitless grip. Try throwing it around a corner, it won’t slide, trust me. You have purposely make it slide. This car doesn’t have a tendency to drift through every corner, which is weird considering that it’s spiritual predecessor, the AE86 Corolla, has quite a bit of a reputation in drifting competitions. If you do slide however, it is just so easy to control.

Another advantage of the boxer engine is that the car is very well balanced. All you have to do is turn the steering wheel, and there you are, around the corner. If driven properly, this car will exhibit absolutely no understeer whatsoever. Even if you do make a mistake, all you have to do is press the brakes a little. The brakes are unbelievable. When I drove the Ferrari 458 Italia, I kept on stopping too soon because I underestimated the performance of the brakes. The brakes on the 86 is even better than that. It is, without a doubt, one of the best handling cars that I’ve ever driven.

Unfortunately, there is one small letdown: the engine. I feel as if it desperately needs a power boost. Starting from fifth gear, the engine just sort of stops revving. Likewise, going uphill in fourth, the engine just sort of dies. This problem translated to a rather slow lap time of 2:36.221 around the Nurburgring GP/F track. Actually, it’s not that slow compared to the Ford Mustang, which went around over 2 seconds slower despite having over 100 horsepower more than the 86. Not to mention the fact that it’s the least powerful car that has been featured in my reviews.

That little problem aside, I think I have a new favourite car. It looks good, it's easy to drive, it’s amazing fun, and at just Cr. 30,000, relatively cheap as well. It's nice to see Toyota making sports cars again! I recommend that you use this car if you are trying to learn your way around an unfamiliar track. It's a worth successor. Everybody get an 86 NOW!

I absolutely love this car!

 

[asdfg11]

Hello sir could you mention which upgrades are avaiable for the gt86 ?

Thanks

 

[Snake55wildcat]

Hello sir could you mention which upgrades are avaiable for the gt86 ?

Thanks

two front bodykit options, 1 rear option and 2 spoilers avaliable, performance tuning is the same as most cars

 

[asdfg11]

I hoped super charger

 

[Snake55wildcat]

I hoped super charger

Oh, its strangely, a NA car, no Turbo or Supercharger can be applied, but still really good power output when tuned (high 360-380ish) and grips amazingly, regardless of tires

 

[1241Penguin]

Let's see if GTP tuners can make it even better!

 

[MOTORTRENDmitch]

Let's see if GTP tuners can make it even better!

No question there.. aha They are going to have this car running on rails given time..