C-ZETA's car reviews - C-ZETA Awards 2012 - 21/12/12

[N05TALG1A]

No, you are not new, look above you. Strange how you share the same place and PSN ID, huh?

:3 yea.... I lied. Sorry mods.

 

[Furinkazen]

No, you are not new, look above you. Strange how you share the same place and PSN ID, huh?

Very...

Any idea where C-Zeta has got to lately?

 

[Korza]

:3 yea.... I lied. Sorry mods.

If you're going to make a new account after you get banned, try using a different location and PSN. And don't broadcast the fact in your signature...

And the banhammer strikes again!

 

[daan]

Carry on. Nothing to see here.

 

[Onboy123]

Very...

Any idea where C-Zeta has got to lately?

C-ZETA? Anime land, most likely. He's pretty much dropped out of GT5, from what I know. But then again, it's not like I'm extremely familiar with his life and such.

 

[axletramp]

And the banhammer strikes again!

I guess some things are never meant to be.

C-ZETA? ...

Hope he does get back into it as they were always worth a look.

 

[C-ZETA]

Hope he does get back into it as they were always worth a look.

C-ZETA? Anime land, most likely. He's pretty much dropped out of GT5, from what I know. But then again, it's not like I'm extremely familiar with his life and such.

Yes, I have been getting into other stuff (check avvy). Plus, I'm on holiday right now and will be till the 21st I believe. I'm managing GT5 in a different way now that involves much money, but with the way it works I can hardly actually play it.

 

[C-ZETA]

Honda Weider Honda Racing HSV-010 #1 '11

Another no-brainer here. This is the Super GT champion of 2010, and did so in its first year. And knowing how affectionate PD is towards Super GT...why not, PD?

This HSV-010, when it managed to win the Super GT season in its first year in service of replacing the late and great NSX, got its way into my heart well, dethroning the previous champion, the Petronas Tom's SC430. Plus, the sound is basically super awesome too. Sounds like an F1 car rev-limited, but still kept loud. And judging by the way it did win the '10 season so delightfully, I would imagine it to be very fast among Super GTs in this game. As a note, this year's champion, the S Road MOLA GT-R, should also be put in the game, no questions asked.

Now, PD, this would be an actually relevant DLC to your personal interests. Go. And. Do. It.

Honda weider HSV-010 (SUPER GT) ’11 ($.99) €0.99/£0.79

Next is the Honda Weider HSV-010 (SUPER GT) ’11, a racecar that competed in the GT500 class of Japan’s Super GT series.
The HSV-010 debuted in 2010 as heir to the Honda NSX-GT. The car is a front engine rear wheel drive vehicle powered by a 3.4 litre V8 based on an engine designed for Formula Nippon. The car achieved a team and driver double title-win in its debut year, and this 2011 model utilises side radiators to optimise weight distribution, further improving its cornering performance. Add this high performance Honda Racing machine to your virtual garage.

PD is awesome.

Full review will be coming for this at the first possible INSTANT.

 

[Theace37]

I will be anticipating your review!

 

[C-ZETA]

Hot Hatch Battle​

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Warning: hot hatch nerdiness approaching​

This is a test being done on one track, a Toscana Tarmac track, standing at smack bang on the 5 mile mark. The course in question is a big and twisty one for the most part, with mainly mid-size corners and a couple of nasty blind uphill to downhill ones too. But at the end lies a big, up-'n'-down straight with two kinks and a tiny jump at the end of the second one, designed to get the vibes of speed going. Overall I think it's a good track, which is why I'm using it myself in this test. The test to find which of the 4 hot hatches we have here is the best.

Hot hatches are an important class in any case. They give you everyday cars turned up to big levels, while still being everyday cars. In real life, they can give you the perfect blend of just about everything, from power to speed to practicality to good running costs to quality. Which is why I think of it as my general favourite car class around today. I love and know my hot hatches. I know which ones are truly authentic, and which aren't. I can tell which ones don't spring a damn thing for me, and ones which light my fire like a match to an oil spill.

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One hot hatch in this game is the Volvo C30 R-Design. In real life, this thing really isn't very good. It's just a Swedish, alternative Focus ST, which is now 5 years old. However, this is a game, and so it can still be definitely accepted as a contender. This one has a nice shape overall - a curvy shape which generally excites from a lot of angles. Weighing 1430kg and with the Focus ST's 2.5 inline 4 making 226bhp, it does have some decent figures to be sure.

This matches it up closely with this - the Megane Renault Sport. It is still the wrong Megane, but I do highly rate this thing regardless. While the modern version trails towards a full coupe though, this is a proper 5-door hatch, with a 220bhp engine on board.

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The other two cars here - the Volkswagen Golf V GTI and Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione - are in slightly different leagues to the other two in general. The Golf here is a now old model, even if the current model is merely the result of a facelift of the Mark V. However, of the lot, it is the cheapest to buy in GT Mode. Despite the lesser power of 197bhp, it is a mere 32,750 Cr. to buy. The Volvo comes in at 42,000, the Megane 41,000 and the Delta at a far higher 54,000 Cr. So the Golf can save you a total of more than 8 grand.

But do all of them actually live up to the price they go for? Well, for the most part, yes. They will all do the job asked of them for the price you pay, to be honest.

But now we take to the test track. This is a strong place to test such hot hatches. The corners will tell which ones can hold it together, and which ones will get unstuck. The long straight at the end will give a nice idea of power. Indeed, with the way the system for starting works in GT5, it was good actually to get two values, one of speed from initial starting point and one from the full charge down the straight.

So let's find out what they can do. They're all up for the fight, so let's get them dancing.

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The Volvo's looks are definitely pretty decent, but I'm not entirely sure the performance lives up to them. It is the heaviest of the cars here, at 1430kg. The Megane is merely 30kg lighter, but it really does show when you take it out for a drive.

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The Megane seems a lot more positive to drive overall. Compared to the Volvo, the handling feels just so much better. It feels a bit smaller than other stuff here, and I'm not entirely sure the steering itself is the best of the lot. But the chassis just seems to be sorted best on this one, and it's the easiest to fling about from what I feel. It definitely feels the most fun if I'm honest.

​

The Delta is the oddball among these lot obviously, not just because it's from the 90's but because it has 4WD too. Of course this was a homologation for the Delta rally cars that is rubbish in this game to be honest but in real life made everything else seem little more than a cup car, such was its power and dominance then. Here though, in this road form, it's not as good. It weighs 1350kg, putting it just barely behind the Golf, and 207bhp, slotting it roughly between the Golf and Megane.

But to actually drive it, it's really not great. Neither the steering or chassis is good and the car just seems to want to drive off the road a lot, despite 4WD. Which is probably why it wants to drive off the road. That said, the 4WD does give it an advantage, probably in acceleration but also in corner speed. I found that while it wasn't really able to get round most corners, the ones it did get round seemed to be done at quicker speed than the other three.

​

Back to the Volvo though. It has the most power, at 226bhp, but doesn't really feel quite as good as the Megane. It's certainly not bad, but the pretty body seems to have something of an effect on the handling if I'm honest. It doesn't steer as well and it isn't set up as well as the Megane or Golf. That said, it will smoke the tyres out of a corner with acceleration, which is nice.

​

What about the Golf then? Well it's definitely not too bad. The philosophy behind the Golf is the inverse to the Megane - whereas the Megane's chassis is its main party piece, the Golf concentrates more on general steering. However, because of this, the Golf doesn't feel as nice as the Megane. It certainly gets round the corners the best, but even despite lower weight the bigger body means it doesn't feel as good to get them around. It isn't as nimble as the Megane, merely more accurate. Which isn't quite good enough here.

So then, what is the final order?

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Well, don't get me wrong, the C30 is not that bad. It has some good looks, and obviously with the most power it's a nice thing to have down the straights. But not much else is that good with this thing, with high weight and monotonous cornering. So that gives it last. 3rd goes to the Delta here. While it isn't great to drive at all, it has the soul, and is certainly probably the favourite of the 4 around here. But it really isn't fast enough around a track.

​

The Golf has a good name behind it, a historic one, and the V carried it on well - or in a way revived it with the way the IV went. It certainly drives well enough, but it lacks just a little bit of fun. Which is where the Megane trumps it. The Megane is set up in a way that gives it the best feel to drive, and it makes it truly great to drive. Which is why I give it my number 1 in this test. The fun gives it the top spot.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

Anything else you might want to consider?
Some other FF hatchbacks, with varying ranges of hotness, you might want to consider​

Mini Cooper S '11

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Definitely a very good choice, nearly on the level of the Megane. Huge fun to drive hard, very similar to the Megane in that the feel of the car itself seems to get it round corners, rather than the cornering itself. Hugely nimble, wields a huge aerial, certainly one to get or try out.

Toyota Yaris RS Turbo '02

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Somewhat of a lesser chosen car, this Yaris is a hugely underrated machine. It provides good speed, and handles similarly to the Golf, with good handling overall, if with a not as good setup. And look at it. Hunkered to the ground, with a great looking grille amongst other things, the Yaris is transformed in terms of looks here. Don't miss out on this one.

Mini Cooper 1.3i '98

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Not that hot, but still a classic that is worth putting down here nonetheless. And it's still pretty lively, cheap to get and it can be modified up to make a truly superb drive. I modded one of these up to 450PP once, it was damn worth it. Does it blow the doors off? ...Yes 💡

Clueless Tunes' Honda Today G

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Not a normal car here, but a tune. One good enough to be included here, that's for sure. Again, one of the only cars I've driven that manages to be fun without as much pace. Which in a way, is the point of some hot hatches. It handles well, with a good steering and chassis overall. I wouldn't pass up this tune.

Mazda 323F '93/Mazda Lantis Coupe 2000 Type R '93

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This is one I love. The normal 323F/Lantis is a pretty good car to drive on its own, with good speed and Megane-type handling, with the set up allowing you to throw it about and get through a corner at any speed you wish. But the real thing this car provides is a superb tuning base. I have some 5 tunes on ZedTunes for the two cars, with the Lance of Lantis being the poster boy of the entire garage. You'd expect it when the thing drives with monstrously good handling, although instead of the chassis being the main handling component, it's the steering itself, but it does it so well you can forgive the relative downgrading of the chassis. The full modded Lantis I have, the 'RM/Flantis Scarlet' model is also a great one, providing a mix of good setup and steering, giving you the best of both worlds and in cases really feeling like a damn racing car. I've lost count of how many of these I own: I must have 8 or 9 by now. They're like cats in my ~480+ strong garage of cars; I can't stop buying them. If you haven't bought one yet, do it. Do with it what you will.

What about cars not in GT...that would be good to have?
Obviously GT has missed an absolutely ridiculous number of the top hot hatches. Here's some of them.​

Chrysler/Talbot Sunbeam Ti & Talbot-Lotus Sunbeam

The Sunbeam Ti is a decent shout, with a 1.6-litre 100bhp engine and with a cool bodykit. But what I'm really interested in is the Lotus Sunbeam. This had a 2.2-litre engine, which was upped to 150bhp, giving it a 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds. In 1979, when this car came out, that was damn good. What's most intriguing though is that this pair are actually FR, meaning they're a good bit different to other hot hatches even in this game. With the power the Lotus Sunbeam holds, and also the rallying pedigree, I think it would be a real ball to drive in GT5 terms.

Mini Cooper Mk II 1275 S

The quintessential fun old Mini, and one of the quintessential fun without speed cars. The old Mini we currently have is one from 1998, which is hardly 'old' at this point. So why not give us a true old one? Go on.

Fiat Strada 130 TC Abarth

Certainly a good candidate for a nice Italian hot hatch. Upped to 130bhp, this does 0-60 in 7.8 seconds and looks pretty stylish as well, if I do say so myself. As would be expected of the Italians, really.

Volkswagen Polo G40, Volkswagen Golf G60, Volkswagen Golf GTI V6 4Motion and Volkswagen Golf Country

Four pretty significant Volkswagen hatches. The G40 and G60 were two of the first hot hatches to be supercharged, whilst the V6 4Motion GTI would be a lot, lot better than the Mark 4 normal, meh GTI we have in the game at present. The Golf Country should tag along just for the ride as well personally. I like almost all of the current Premium Veedubs in some way, so why not introduce some more?

MG Metro 6R4

An MG Metro, built to compete in Group B. Still one of the most insane ideas ever for sure, and I'd like to see such an idea represented in GT5. I mean, why not celebrate car history like GT5 generally does with something like this? It would also add a much needed Group B catalyst into the game in addition to the need for the great Lancia 037.

Nissan Pulsar GTi-R

This is one the game needs, badly.

The ideal hot hatch for PD to be sure, a 4WD, Skyline type that goes very fast and is usually modified stupidly in such a way that there are next to none left stock, I swear. This really, really should be in the game, without much question. If they can find an unmodded one, anyway. Even if it's badged as a Sunny. Though I won't be very happy if they do that. That's an embarrassment of a car badge.

Renault Megane Renaultsport 265

Seeing as PD answered my calls for the HSV-010, it would seem this is now my top most wanted for GT5.

This is still the best modern hot hatch currently on sale, regardless if the new Focus ST, Astra GTC or Golf GTI are close or not. It was right there for the taking to put it in...then they put in the previous gen instead! Seriously PD. I know it's a good drive, and it's still of some worth, but come on. This has to be in GT6 at least for sure. Along with all the other hot hatches here.

Mazda Familia GT-R

This is also one that should definitely get in for GT6. I mean, it's another GT-R!

Seriously though, this Familia GT-R is awesome. It is to Mazda what the Pulsar GTi-R is to Nissan, a rally homologation with a high 210bhp and 4WD. This was in GT2, as was the Pulsar GTi-R...can we have a return to times like those, please?

(Some) pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[Dragonthing]

C-Zeta! I am bored and demand entertainment, so I propose to you a challenge! An optional challenge ofcourse, but still...I'd like to see if you can manage to drive my McLaren MP4-LM tune, because I sure as hell can't any more! It tried to kill me and succeeded... what say you sir?

 

[C-ZETA]

Ehh, I'll see. Really, I'm just waiting for the three new DLCs at this point.

Also, I was a complete idiot and put most of the images towards the end in URL tags, not IMGs. I've fixed that now, sorry

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Ehh, I'll see. Really, I'm just waiting for the three new DLCs at this point.

Also, I was a complete idiot and put most of the images towards the end in URL tags, not IMGs. I've fixed that now, sorry

I bet that Weider HSV is going to be the main event of the (future) DLC reviews, and rightfully so, mind you. Is PD actually seeing your thread and catering to your wishes?

Also, I'd like to add my own 5 cents to the hothatch wishlist and say I'd wish to see the Nissan Pulsar VZ-R in there as well. Along with being a car with previous GT experience (in GT2, actually), it's also one of the very few cars to attempt the use of a different kind of VTEC system (that NEOVVL engine). And the N1 version, which has a power-to-weight ratio that was only surpassed when the Honda S2K came about...

 

[C-ZETA]

Oh, of course, the VZR N1. I liked that thing a lot too. Think that revved very damn high for sure...

 

[C-ZETA]

Quickie:
DLC Car "Pack" 4

So then, what have PD got for us in this latest offering of DLC? Well, there's another GT-R, another 86 and another Super GT! Oh how original! Let's not review this, I mean, they're just the same as every other form in the game, so why not just drive them instead. I'm not spending 79p on each of these cars, when I can just drive them in different 'guises'. Oh, and did I mention, 79p is a ridiculous price for the three of them separately anyway. I have to wonder what PD was thinking on that regard.

...Not really.

Nissan GT-R N24 GT Academy '12

This GT-R has been accused of being exactly the same as the '11 Schulze Motorsport model from last year's Spec II update. The people who say this couldn't be any more wrong. This model has a good deal more power, but also has been on the Burger King and Domino's considerably as well with way more weight. Not that the '11 was light anyway...the car has also a less racy looking body, and less upgraded parts generally...but comes on better tyres than the Schulze GT-R. Make of that what you will.

There's a good reason for the general 'lightening' of the car's spec per se in general. The '11 is a more customized GT-R, where as this is based off the current Track Pack model. So there is a justifiable reason for buying this.

Unfortunately, that reason probably won't be for the driving ability of this thing. Indeed, this is one of the most bizarre cars I've driven in this game. It's pretty unique actually, but not in a good way. Some of the time, this GT-R will get round a corner no sweat. Sometimes it'll get through dead perfect, sometimes with a little bit of understeer, but still getting round the corner. Other times it will swing out the rear in an instant if you even so much nudge the wheel, especially if you're still braking. The problem is it does this almost completely on a 50/50 basis, so one corner you could be getting around fine, and the next it's swiveling like no tomorrow. This general unpredictable behaviour isn't necessarily for the GT-R's benefit, and while it can behave through the corners, you have to consider the risk of trying to do so a reward with this thing. It is notable that this also doesn't have an aerodynamics option at all, so it should be a decently good drag racer, even with all the weight it has. But on a track, you should stick with the '11 GT-R.

Subaru BRZ S '12​

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Oh no! A Subaru!

But thankfully, this one is not so bad, seeing as it is basically a Toyota. Which means I can just drive that instead. But whatever, this one is here, let's take this one instead.

The Subaru is somewhat notable for having some differences to the 86 it is based on, chiefly in suspension. In this game, the sound is also different, which is stupid because the series is meant to have the same engine.

The good thing is that PD, for me, do seem to have changed up the BRZ's feel next to the 86. It might be a placebo effect, but I dunno. Unfortunately, said change is not for the beneficiary. While the 86 and FR-S before it were generally lovely things to slide around, this doesn't really seem to be able to do that. It just feels too unorthodox for something that is based on something that was supposed to do such. The new sound is not a good one either I'm afraid, as to me it just sounds bad in general, and not good on the ear. I'd have preferred the sound the 86 and FR-S have now, if I'm honest.

So while this is on the face of it the same as the Toyota based models, it is a somewhat different one actually. But unfortunately, it is not for the good of the BRZ and honestly, I would much prefer an FR-S in a pretty "semi"-dark red or an 86 in any of orange, silver or red. And I'm not saying that just because of the badge either. Which is a problem anyway, because honestly, someone like me shouldn't be touching anything with a Subaru badge in sight anywhere. (The WR Blue Mica on the BRZ also seems to be off from the real thing on the BRZ.)

Honda Weider HSV-010 to be reviewed separately.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

Honda Weider HSV-010 (Super GT) '11
Welcome to the big gun, the super star, the champion, the new breed...the Honda HSV-010.

Gran Turismo 5 came out on November 24, 2010. Exactly a month prior to its release, at the Twin Ring Motegi, Weider Honda Racing had become the Super GT champions. The car they used was the newest chapter in GT500 car history, the replacement to the legacy that had been held by the powerful Honda NSX. This car was the HSV-010.

In a tight season where every race in the Super GT provided a different winner for each race, the leading HSV-010 was able to pull out a close victory overall over the previous year's champion, the Petronas Tom's SC430. Driven by Takashi Kogure and Frenchman Loic Duval, they gave the HSV-010 a superb debut championship win.

This is the car they would be using for the following year, 2011. Marked #1, showing their championship status, they would get a further 2 wins, including one in the lengthiest round of them all at Suzuka...yet managed just 3rd. Indeed, even the 2nd placed overall car, Nissan's Motul Autech GT-R, managed 3 wins over the season yet wasn't the winner. Instead, Masataka Yanagida and Italian Ronnie Quintarelli's S Road MOLA GT-R took the overall season win with consistency winning over general results this time around.

Indeed, they are also leading the current season as well, recovering from a shaky start to take 3 podiums in a row including one race win in the big daddy of Super GT - the Suzuka 1000km. The Weider HSV-010 hasn't been as successful, lying just 7th, yet it does have a race win from Sepang, where it won in 2011 as well. As it is though, it hasn't finished higher than 7th in any other race yet.

But enough of current Super GT affairs. This is GT5, and this is something that the game has needed.

The Gran Turismo series is, of course, based in Japan. So you would certainly expect such a series to have a good love affair with the Super GT. And it sure does.

The great Super GT link with PD can be traced back to the original game, albeit with just the one car in the form of the Toyota Castrol Supra GT. When the game was released in 1997, this was the JGTC (as the series was known as) champion. Alas, this particular Supra was rather 'superimposed' into GT1 like most real life racers, given extra pump. However this particular Supra can still be seen today, in full replica form, in today's GT5 as a premium - the Castrol Tom's Supra, the only Premium from the old JGTC in the game.

GT2 obviously extended further into the JGTC series, introducing a plethora of the NSXs, Skylines and Supras from the series into the game, as well as adding in some GT300 cars. Even a JGTC Viper showed up in GT2, just for kicks. This trend continued into GT3, also including, in Japan only, the Nomad Diablo you can drive now, which was removed from further releases following Lamborghini's complaints against it. GT4 also added the newer generations of the cars in their '03 forms as well as the Nissan Motul Pitwork Z '04, possibly the fastest one could well get in any form available.

In GT5, the Super GT series was extended into this by putting a good majority of the '06 and '08 rosters into the equation including Nissan's new GT-R and Lexus' new SC430, as well as adding in the last generation of Supra from '05 and bringing back all the JGTC racers from before, including the Diablo this time, following their acquisition of a Lambo license. But there had been nothing else newer than '08 from a Super GT series in the game, even following a series of DLCs. Until now.

Now, I love Super GT, personally. All over the field, close racing is the norm in both classes. GT500 is obviously a big title to hold, and while GT300 is a slightly lesser thing to have to credit, the racing there seems to be a lot looser than the big, powerful, purpose-built GT500s.

The HSV-010's addition finally means we have something modern from Super GT in this game. As you know, I had been crying out for this for a long while. I just wanted something from a current Super GT time, no matter what the class to be honest. But the HSV-010 was the most significant want. It is of course a big change for Honda having moved on from the NSX, and surely PD couldn't have gone wrong by just putting it in. The Weider version, following its championship victory, was a no-brainer to put into the game. And they've put the perfect example of the HSV-010 in...the one bearing that all-important #1 badge, to show the status and legend it has in the series, even after just a year in the game.

So, what is there to like about this thing? Well, of course, firstly, there's the way the thing looks, if the pictures above didn't give you an idea to start with. It's a delicate little thing, and looks good from very many angles. The front gives a gorgeous look, while the sides look more aggressive and threatening, with the rear seemingly combining the best of both worlds. It really is a very, very good eye candy, this thing.

There's also the sound of the car. Of course, this is a hard thing to carry over to a game, especially for PD where sounds are not clearly much of a priority at all. The HSV-010 gives a good example of such. Let's have a comparison.

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Yeah...really not much justice done at all for the thing. And understandably, the community is furious at this terrible botching of the sound. And why not? I mean, when you expect something to sound like a screaming devil but actually ends up sounding like a Citroen GT Race Car, there's much reason to get angry.

However, much of the community here is wrong. The thing is, people were actually expecting PD to get the sound right. Let me just go on a quick rant here.

Do you guys know nothing? Why would you expect PD to get a sound right at all at this point in time? I mean, the HSV-010's sound would be damn hard to get right in the first place at all, and surely if you were one to complain about the HSV-010's sound, then surely you would know that PD would completely wreck it to hell? Why was there ever any hype? I mean, I'd be able to count on both of my hands the number of cars PD have managed to build that sound realistic. Did you seriously expect them to nail something like the HSV-010? Get real.

Right...enough of that...and as we can see, the HSV-010 does already look like it has some potential. However, why don't we actually drive it and see how it does there?

Well, I do have to say the Honda does score marks, and big, in this regard. I have to say, I was probably expecting just a bit more in terms of driveability, even seeing as it's now an FR compared to the previous MR NSXs, but regardless, it's still a great drive. It's not the driving itself that's the best part of it though - even though that is still a big part of the HSV-010, with quick steering assisted by the Racing Hard tyres and high downforce. That's not the best part of the driving. The best part is how easy it is to just link up with and get a feel for.

I drove it on the Nurburgring for my first drive, and on my first lap, pulled off a 6:48.487. And my lap was next to flawless, short of one minor cock-up at Steilstrecke where the HSV-010 kinda understeered and I was forced to hit the brakes, then throttled it too hard and got the rear end kicking out. But everywhere else, I was able to read the HSV-010's every move. I was able to respond to what it was doing at the time on the road and do what was best for it, with such ease that I've never really encountered before. Unlike some cars where you can just floor it and sheer willpower will get you through the corners, or cars you have to tame from understeering or oversteering off the road, this HSV-010 almost syncs itself with you, giving you every feeling it brings. And yet it gives you so much time to respond to those feelings and drive accordingly. And I absolutely love such a drive like that.

It means that you can really get every idea to what the car is doing, yet almost instantly respond to anything it does. It's a great sensation, and a car that feels completely in your control is one that really gives me a good feeling. It's like someone you've managed to bond with for your entire life: you've known each other since birth, been mates at school, gone to secondary together, and further beyond. That's what the HSV-010 feels like. Although with the looks, it might well be a female variant.

There are, of course, a few drawbacks. These mainly somehow seem to come from the sound, and it's not just the sound itself. Obviously the sound itself is probably closer to a mouse than the real thing but it's not a bad sound by any means. You even seem to get used to it after a little while, or at least I did. What seems to be worrying me though, is how close said sound is to the GT by Citroen Race Car's sound. And weirdly, those two are both very similar in their ways. Both in good and bad ways.

For instance, the onboard view. The GT by Citroen Race Car is the undisputed king of bad onboard views, with a bad wheel to start with made even worse by the HUD. The HSV-010 isn't as bad overall, but when you consider that there is a huge metal pole blocking your view in onboard, you can't ever really say it 'isn't as bad' as anything. How did this win the 2010 championship with an onboard view like that, exactly?

Something else that links with the Citroen in a bad way is the feel of speed. The Citroen is a speed machine, with great power and a 7-speed that makes it a rocket overall. Unfortunately, it makes me want similar speed from the HSV-010...and it doesn't have it. So somehow, it actually ends up feeling rather slow. But if you look at some stuff, speed really isn't everything...of course though, there are some good things the HSV-010 shares overall with the GT, chief among which are the looks.

So there you have it. The Honda Weider HSV-010. A great addition to the game with the Super GT love that PD has, and also a great drive even if it weren't associated as such. A great looker, a superb thing to drive, if not a flawless car, but seriously, if you're passing up this DLC...you really don't know what you're even missing.

Final Score: 17/20

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[Tilemaxx]

Great review. I bought it and it looks gorgeous. Shame that it's about 2 seconds slower than Xanavi Z and GTR. (Tested in various tracks with all 3 cars having the same settings).

 

[axletramp]

Nice write-up. Keep 'em coming. 👍

 

[mrkevans]

On trial mountain at 600pp this car is around 2 seconds a lap slower than my fto super touring car, however its got so much potential I think with a good tune (hopefully some will start being posted on gtplanet soon) it will faster than my fto

 

[Felix]

Really great report there dude!

I got the Honda and the BRZ from the new DLC , I'm yet to drive them but I have been looking forward to trying the Honda out once there is a tune posted for it.

In some of the pics you have posted , the attention to detail by PD has left me in complete awe. This has always been one of the things I have loved about the GT games and I'm glad they have kept up a good attention to detail with this car.

 

[C-ZETA]

NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN A MACHINE
WHOSE TIME HAS COME​

My gathering of knowledge into the anime world this year has been excellent.

This year, I have discovered many great Japanese shows, filled with superb, dumb, terrible or eye-catching features. These include the characters, filled with personality, humour, good looks, and often for the females, more than that.

And similarly, my gathering of football knowledge this year has been incredible. Mainly thanks to the FIFA series of games, I have discovered many footballers, and seen some incredible ones. Some real hidden gems with a redeeming quality that makes them superb.

So what am I doing to celebrate this? Well, we're having a lookback at my year in GT5, instead.

This end of year analysis will show some of the best of my year of reviewing in GT5. Everything I reviewed at some point will be considered for these awards, and the best will be posted separately, below this.

I've reviewed some proper lookers, proper shockers, proper quality, proper craziness and some proper tunes. Here, we will see some proper award winners.

However, unlike a normal award show, this has a twist. Rather than a best of the year of all I have reviewed, this award show does the complete opposite, completely. Not only is the final award actually for the worst car of the year, but it is also a car that has not been featured even slightly in this review thread. So you will want to stick around till the end.

And with that, I suppose we had better get this one under way.

Tuners of the Year
Looker of the Year
Appliances of the Year
An Apology
DLC Car of the Year
Tune of the Year
Worst Car of the Year
Bonus

 

[C-ZETA]

I have bad news to report: Top Gear Test Track has a virus.

In Spec I, the HKS CT230R was, according to my review, a bloody good car, with one flaw: crippling understeer. However, by the time I had driven it for Spec II, it had seemingly lost this factor. But here I am driving it on this track, and without so much as a huge physics change, the understeer plague has returned.

With this in mind, there is only one conclusion we can deter from this: it wasn't the car's fault at all that it had understeer of any kind. It was the track's.

So why does the HKS not have the same problem on other tracks that are still tarmac? Simple. It's just the way the TGTT is set up as.

In real life, there are many different varying states of tarmac. PD have obviously gone and tried to implement this between different tracks, and evidently, from what we can see here, the tarmac on TGTT is not suited to HKS CT230Rs in the slightest.

So let's go somewhere where it's a little more in its climate zone.

Great onboard footage here!​

Special Stage Route X is a place where the HKS is far more comfortable. Not least when you consider how well it does in a straight line. Sure there aren't many corners here, but that's not the point.

With 4WD, horsepower figures nearing 600 and a big Evo 7 body fitted with aerodynamics of crazy sorts, the CT230R is absolutely unassailable over a standing 1/4 mile. Very few can shake it. If you give it a proper full tune, you will do 0-100 in under 5 seconds, and cover a 1/4 mile in under 10.

The HKS then, is very much the tuner of choice for those who prefer to travel in straight lines. And there's other things as well that make this into the best tuner of them all.

The cornering in stock form, on the right track is certainly more than good enough. When tuned right, it can be improved even further. Even the flaw of low top speed it consistently suffers from doesn't even stop it from being an utter monster, as you will already be a couple of light years ahead of your opponent from the sheer acceleration of the thing. And there's the looks as well.

The gunmetal gray wheels look shockingly good. The chrome HKS logo shines brightly on the car's side panels and bonnet, and the big bumpers and wheel-arches emphasize the work gone into this Time Attack racer. But the bit I feel is the best on this car is the bonnet, or one feature of it anyway.

Who said you couldn't see engine parts on GT5?!!​

I will now steal a quick quote from Top Gear's review of the Mitsubishi Evo X FQ400 (the ultimate Evo and most likely my personal dream car), which uses a similar technique in terms of its bonnet.

The bodywork (inspired by the now-legendary Makkinen-edition Evo VI) features a wildly scooped and vented bonnet that leaves bejewelled bits of engine hanging out like proud cleavage.

On that basis, if the FQ400 has this much showing, we can safely say the CT230R has lots of cleavage on show. It's probably why I love it so much, knowing me.

But when all is said and done, the CT230R leaves every other tuner car standing. But I had a compelling reason to test some others: my extensive "All Tuners Tested" posts.

With this, I tested a full 38 tuner cars, evaluating their overall speed and feel. Not surprisingly, the CT230R came out on top as the best of the tuners. But what about the best of the rest. What tuners did I feel were similarly impressive that could challenge the CT230R as a top tuner? That's what this first section of the awards is about: the tuner cars I found that did me, and it, proud. Let's see them.

And we start off first and foremost with the fastest tuner of them all, the Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R V-spec N1 base '00.

Back in GT4, I used to hate this thing. It only ever showed up as an opponent on Arcade Mode, but my god, was it an awful thing to come up against. No matter what car seemed to face it, it just seemed to be a hopeless mission to beat it. Nothing could keep up with it, including myself. I suppose you could say it was the Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo of the last game.

But I had good cause to test the Premium cousin of this thing, in GT5 Prologue. And it was certainly a lovely thing. This put me on good terms with Mine's again, and meant I had good spirits in testing this thing when it came around on All Tuners Tested.

Given the Premium Mine's speed, in every single league of speed from the 0-60 times all the way up to the track, I was expecting the Standard to largely follow suit. But while the Premium was excellent, this was nigh on insane.

The Premium did 0-60 in 2.9. This did it in 2.7 - and beat the HKS CT230R in the process. At that point, I realized straight away one thing - I was in command of a total demon.

It stayed very strong throughout the rest of the acceleration test, with only the Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo really kicking it back afterwards. But everything really blew up once I got to the top speed test got into play.

The Premium had laid a marker down of 203.3mph - a certainly high speed to be sure. The Standard kicked that to the kerb with barely a slight bead of sweat - 208.3mph being the fastest top speed any tuner reached. The Art Morrison Corvette and Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo which had previously been at the top were left standing. This was the fastest tuner in a straight line of them all, no question.

Unfortunately, things changed a little when the track showed up: as the Premium set a breakneck time of 1:57.4 around Grand Valley Speedway, this managed a less speedy 1:59.8. But the positions it had gathered on SSRX were enough to make it the top tuner on speed terms in the game.

There was good cause for it to be so, compared to the Premium - one not entirely in my control. In the state it was in under testing, it had a full 17bhp more than the Premium in testing. This was because the Premium was at 0 miles and had no more than an oil change, while the Standard was fully broken in and restored. Alas, at the time, the Standard was not obtainable with 0 miles, so I had to buy it from the UCD. It's not known how much it would have helped it, but there were certainly other factors that will have helped it regardless.

The aerodynamics on the Standard are lower than the Premium's, which made for big differences in a straight line in the Standard's favour - and on the track for the Premium's. But the extra top speed would not have been possible without the extra ratio changes the Standard has, which allowed it to get that extra 5mph that the Premium couldn't get on top of the lower aerodynamics. The combination of it all meant that the Mine's Skyline BNR34 Skyline V-spec N1 base '00 was crowned the fastest tuner of them all - ahead of even the Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo which had supposedly replaced it as tuner troll of the game.

And to be honest, it is a pretty brilliant car, even given that it is one of the older tuner cars on the game. In spite of the lower speed compared to the Premium Mine's, it does provide a bloody good drive on the track. And when you take away the numerous disagreements I have had with it in GT4, it is the perfect tuner Skyline at heart. The body isn't changed a great deal, and you'd still recognize it as a Skyline every day of the week. And we know that the tuning limits of an R34 are...limitless, really. And of course, when you get to a straight line, you really are home and dry with it.

Well this is one way to tell the Standard and Premium apart. Ouch.

So that's the first of the tuners done. And here's another one - or three to be precise. Three Art Morrison Corvettes, coming the way of this post now.

In the All Tuners Tested special, three predominant classic American cars would be going head to head - the Buick Special, the 1970 Ford Mustang Trans-Cammer, and this, the Art Morrison Corvette.

It was always going to be close. Three SEMA winners, selected to be in the game by Kazunori Yamauchi himself. Three tuners with great power, and weight, and with the basics behind them, three of the slightly more oddball tuners around in the game. Which was going to win?

The Buick didn't do a particularly good job on any accounts, struggling in many different ways. The Mustang proved to be a far better proposition, but the Vette would kick the pair of them to the curb on all accounts in the speed test, with its overall balance beating its two rivals out on acceleration. Then there was its top speed.

Nothing matched this for a long while. 207.7mph tops was matched only by the top ranked Mine's Skyline, and with slipstream, the big 548bhp American would go further still. That said, it didn't make an awfully big splash on the track - the high weight making it slower than the Mustang, which despite even higher weight was more inherently balanced for corners. But not too much beats this thing in a straight line in terms of tuners.

The looks of the C1 Corvette this streamlined speed freak is based on is still there to see largely from the original. But it's been changed completely from the basis of a normal C1. Yet it's just the fact this thing has some stupendous All-American-ness that makes it soulful. I wouldn't mind having something like this in real life.

With that, let's move on.

It's the RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7.

The All Tuners Tested special was the first instance of me really touching upon this car in any real form at all. I didn't really know what it sounded like, what performance it would really give, anything. But I came out of my first real drive with it a far better man.

Compared to most tuners, it's not exactly fast. The higher up the speed chain you get, the more the bad torque of its 1.3 litre 2-rotor engine comes into play. This is largely negated on a track, where it does provide some great speed. What you really need to drive this car for is the fun and soul it provides.

The RE Amemiya RX-7 drives like every RX-7 you know, but sped up greatly. And that can only be good. Sure enough, this is what every quintessential tuned FD should really be like. It's tuned to the right level, and the level of slide is more than enough. But the sound is a big part of it as well.

It really does sound like a properly fired-up rotary. It's one of the sounds that PD really did seem to get right and it's all the better for it. It's part of what makes it so bloody soulful - the main part.

I've never given too much of a damn for the FD, but this RX-7 does deserve plenty of mention. I can certainly recommend it.

Moving swiftly on...

We have an Opera S2000.

When I drove this car for the first time, it was a real bloody surprise. The ability it had to just slide when you damn well wanted it to meant I really liked it a lot. And it continued to deliver strongly in the All Tuners Tested by putting in some decent times on the speed test, and by doing a superb job on the meters by ranking in the top 2 on two of them. Which really emphasizes what a car this is.

It is just a really damn fun car to give a good chuck about. If you want to get sliding action, just hit the throttle pedal hard enough and Bob's your uncle. But the great thing is that the Opera is also able to not do this. If you don't want to slide, if you merely want to get the best lap time, the 930kg lightweight does this superbly too. You can keep it within driveable limits easily as well as keeping it sliding easily.

And for an S2000, it also manages to be bloody soulful. It might go over the typical S2000 tuner level, but it still has all the things we like in the S2k within. All that's really different are the stats, the roof, the spoiler, and the speed.

And to cap this off, you might as well have another S2k.

The Amuse S2000 Street Version.

This was another first timer for me in the All Tuners Tested special, but my relationships with the other Amuse S2000s weren't so great. The R1 was all too disappointing, with not enough life for an S2k. Certainly, Spoon's effort kicked it right to the floor in terms of providing any level of fun. The GT1 was nice, but not anything too special. And I really, really don't like the S2k Turbo.

On first impressions, I thought this was just gonna be an S2k that wasn't fast enough, and not different enough from the norm of the Honda roadster. I would then go on to find out that it was way, way, way more than that.

Obviously, given its implications as an S2k, it was never going to be the fastest. It has a healthy 263bhp, but other S2k's pump out more and have more speed as a result, the rather comically slow Mugen S2k not withstanding. But in terms of fun, you can hardly get closer.

This thing does one thing: slide, slide, slide. It is a simply spectacular thing to drive when you aren't concerning lap time at all. You can just fling it into a corner at a million mph, and you will come out of it at a 90 degree angle with smoke pouring out like it's on 25 cigarettes a day. And then you simply put it back in its place, and build up for the next corner. It is, quite frankly, a brilliant feeling.

Obviously, in stock form, it is useless for going for an actual lap time. But a quick tune can fix that with no trouble. Sure enough, I took up the task myself and stuck some extras on to make the Stardust Reverie, which in addition to giving it extra speed, made it able to both get it sideways and keep it stable - it's basically at Opera level with the tune. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed.

And of course, the entire base of the S2k is still there at large. Indeed, with the Moon Rock Metallic paint shown here, the S2000 Street Version really does look like something from the stars. It is a frankly brilliant colour. And I wouldn't be surprised if other colours looked just as good on it as well.

So with that, that's the pick of the tuners for this year. I'm not sure which ones I'm going to be reviewing next year...

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

Looker of the Year​

​

It's the GT by Citroen Race Car.

This was the first car I reviewed all year, and I went on at length about the general look of it. Which means, quite obviously, I had to give it this award. Because the general look of it is really something spectacular.

In fact, the general look of it was so damn good, I went ahead and put it in a review twice. The second instance put it against the Mazda Furai Concept, which ran it close in the looks department while providing better, if more difficult, performance.

But I really like this thing more. Because the flaw in the Furai is that one bit there I mentioned - the 'difficult' performance of it. It's not an easy thing to drive. This Citroen, by contrast, is a much, much easier job. This means you can concentrate on its looks while still being able to drive it well.

Of course, like a typical French thing, there are a number of flaws. It has an onboard view that can't be used in any situation, at all. It isn't quite on par with the speed of some of the higher level racers. And the top speed is maybe a bit too damn low.

But really, as a car, it's still something I'd want to own. It'd cost me 5.6 million Cr., sure, but then it seems like something you'd want to pay 5.6 million Cr. for anyway. Especially in that bloody lovely red metallic that makes it all better.

PD made a good call in turning the road car based Citroen into a racer. To be honest, the Road Car isn't all that spectacular, merely looking relatively average: not bad at all, but not really the best.

And I have to respect the designer of the Citroen for what he managed to do. The hugely aggressive look, with all the aerodynamic parts that all look like separate bit-parts of a complete monster, makes this Citroen a truly special one. There really is not much they have done like this.

You just wish they'd bothered to incorporate some ability to actually see out of the bloody thing. But I'm not overly bothered about that.

So the simply superb GT by Citroen Race Car gets my Looker of the Year award. I'm hoping there are several candidates who will come along in the next year.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

Washing Machine of the Year

It's the Chaparral 2J Race Car.

The game's very own personal Game Breaker. This 2J was seen to do some frankly absolutely ridiculous things. It completely messed up any and all opposition in the world famous seasonal B-Spec challenge on Le Mans, where you had to do 10 laps of the track in variable weather conditions that were fixed. Doing it in a normal car was nigh on impossible, but this 2J had one trick up its sleeve, that being the ability to simply slip on Sports Soft tyres, go the whole race without pitting...and take the race win. It was frankly brilliant.

Even now the 2J remains a game breaker. Anything involving unlimited 600PP races gets destroyed by the 2J - the fastest car of them all at the level. But how does it do this?

Well, it's pretty simple really...it uses a whole ton of downforce to propel itself...not to mention some big power and low weight.

Pumping out 684bhp with a weight of just 821kg, the washing machine has some stupendous weight. But the game does not list it as having any aerodynamics...because the fan that makes the lot is absolutely nonadjustable.

This is where the idea of the fan for the Red Bull X racers came from, in case you didn't notice previously. And you can kinda see why, because the downforce the two fans on the back makes is pretty considerable...and that's basically the entire reason why the Chaparral is so fast.

This was a car built for the Can-Am. The fan system of the car was a world first. The fans were driven by an air-cooled 2-cycle snowmobile engine in addition to its 7.3 litre engine. Technically, it was nicknamed the Vacuum Cleaner, but then it would sound like the 330P4 if it actually was one. And it sort of doesn't. And it looks more like a washing machine anyway, so that's why it wins Washing Machine of the Year.

It tore the previously dominant McLaren a new one in Can-Am, threatening the dominance that had lasted from them since 1967. With complaints coming in for the all-new system, it would be outlawed before the next season in 1971.

The weirdness of the Chaparral goes further. Indeed, not only is its weight balance remarkably good given that there is a lot in the back, from the two engines, to the drive, to the fan system, but its weird gear system doesn't even seem to hinder it too much. Indeed, you would think given the written rule of more gears being a better recipe for success in this game, you would think 3 gears would be a major minus with this thing, but it damn well isn't.

But in terms of driving it, despite all the big stats suggesting it might be a really good thing to drive, it really...doesn't feel that good as a car.

It feels awfully uncertain at many points. It doesn't really behave how I ever want it to when I drive it. But to be honest, it's the general craziness that wins the award for me. There's just too much behind this Chaparral to not give it recognition.

Oh, and as a final note, it is one of the Standards with onboard view courtesy of the open cockpit. Nice touch.

But we now move onto a different appliance entirely...

Freezer of the Year

This here, the Hotpoint Freezer was introduced as the pinnacle of my Cool Wall upon its original implementation. But it stored only one car in it...which was cooler than anything else around in the game...and therefore really the only thing worthy of being placed in such a cool place.

Cool Car of the Year

It is the Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car...#00.

However, when it comes to this car, there is a small problem, at least in the date of me reviewing it. You see, I did put the RX-7 LM #00 into the Hotpoint Freezer in April, when the Cool Wall first came about. But I reviewed the RX-7 LM itself before 2011 was up. However, I had reviewed it after I had done the Awards for 2011. The question is...should it count?

In actual fact, I have a similar problem in another case. Because the current cover girl I have as my avatar and prof pic (hint hint!) was first seen by me before the new year had begun...but I watched her show after it had started. So...would it be legitimate to call her an 'of the year'?

Well, to be fair, she's so good, I would. And this is so cool, I would give this one as well.

The RX-7 LM has a very light weight of 1080kg to drive around. Instead of it being powered by the familiar two-rotor 13B turbo engine though, the car has had a 20B 3-rotor turbo from the Eunos Cosmo slotted in, and turned up to an insane level. 493bhp says a lot really, doesn't it?

Indeed, while I said before that the Furai and the RX-7 LM have a very similar engine, this probably isn't actually the case. The Furai of course is real, but this isn't.

But this might as well be, given the history it holds in the GT series. It is the only LM series to stay in the series and keep its name the entire time. While the FTO series was definitely in GT1, that has had a name change...this hasn't.

So what makes this so cool then? Well, actually, just about every RX-7 LM, no matter what type there is, is damn cool. Sub-zero. There are a total of 8 colours available for an RX-7 LM. These include a rather cool blue #7 - with the number imprinted in orange, a similarly cool green #93, a beast silver #37 - the first iteration of the RX-7 LM I set eyes on in GT4, the bonkers orange #26 I reviewed, a lovely red #30, an awesome white #202 designed to replicate the Mazda 787B that didn't win Le Mans, and the excellent yellow #10. All of these are bloody cool, but the black #00 beats them all.

This mainly has something to do with the number. The #00 is always a sign of general coolness if it's fitted on a car. And the black border combined with the white roof and spoiler gives it an idea of mystery. Certainly an unbelievably cool thing, but if you think it's cool here, it is nothing compared to what #00 actually looked like in GT4:

This is a little hard to make out, but that is a decal-less, matte black RX-7 LM, no question. This also emphasizes some of the differences between the actual looks of Standards here and the same cars in GT4.

The body kit also makes it cooler on an extra level. Most LM cars get this extra awesome treatment.

In terms of driving, the RX-7 LM is kinda weird. I mean, in terms of actual driving feel, the car is absolutely brilliant. The slick tyres mean it is stuck to the road and whatever part of it you're heading for, it turns in well and the sound is another very genuinely rotary-sounding one. But the issue I have with it, is speed.

The actual speed of the car is in no doubt - it is bloody fast. But I'm not talking general speed...I'm talking in comparison to its opponents. And I feel that the speed of this car next to opposition is... schizophrenic. If there's a better word for it, I don't know it.

At times, the RX-7 LM can feel inspired in a race. It will take the race to its opponents heartily, maybe even feeling the need to take on opponents higher than itself. And sometimes succeeding.

But other times, it seems to struggle an awful lot against even the lowest opponents. It is the weirdest thing, but somehow it doesn't seem to have the capacity to hang with the top all the time and will fall down. This is in no doubt on high speed tracks, which is understandable given the rotary power leaves less torque.

But for the most part, the RX-7 LM tends to be OK. It never concerns itself too much with the speed against opponents, but the inconsistency can be something of a worry. Still...that's not what it's won this for. It's won Cool Car of the Year for coolness.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

An Apology​

​

I do feel pretty bad for slagging this one off, honestly.

When I reviewed the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car, saying the looks of the car were completely ousted out by the horrible driving. The MR drivetrain, combined with the high power, low weight and low rate tyres, meant the car was not just undriveable on dirt and snow, but too hard on tarmac.

Trying to drive it for fun was too hard because the over-the-top stats meant it was all too easy to spin out. But driving it normally was too hard because you would always get into tail-slides you didn't want. And trying to keep it stable meant you had to use next to no throttle, meaning it wasn't even remotely fast.

If I'm honest, this driving principle still stands. But I think I hit it a little too hard.

I drive the Maxi Turbo now and, while I know that it is difficult to drive, there's something else about it that doesn't actually make it that bad.

The first thing is the new sound that it received from the sound update. Previously, it had a low pitched version of the constant god-awful fart can sound that plagues every racing exhaust in the game almost. But it was replaced with an identical sound to the lovely CT230R soundtrack, just lower pitched. But still lovely. It made it better, for sure.

I discovered the Maxi Turbo's potential further when doing a drift trial though. One on Monza, an unlimited one, and as usual, in everything else, I was struggling. No surprise there - I can't do drifts in that sense. But I chose the 5 Maxi Turbo, pretty reluctantly I admit. But on my initial try, I knew this would be a good choice.

After much fighting through, I eventually got the gold trophy and the 1 million Cr. prize from the trial. I hate all Drift Trials, but this is one of the cars that seems to be able to really do them for me. Not the offroad ones, obviously, but still...

So as it turns out the Renault can do the drifty stuff if you get it right. But it is hard.

It's not like the YellowBird in any way though. That is another hard car, but I was actually able to keep that in the right direction for one whole lap of the Nurburgring. I haven't tried in this yet, but I would have to use much different tactics, for sure.

The Renault, sans its crazy looks, even has some more soul behind it.

The original 5 was of course an FF. This has the engine stuffed in the place where the rear seats once were. But the engine is a 1.5 straight-4...making 350bhp. Not even Mitsu have been that close with bhp/litre...

The car itself would be fighting against far more technological 4WDs, but it would still be competitive. Then Group B was outlawed.

Like I said at the start, I did the Renault injustice. I concentrated all too much on the flaws on its driving style. Which, no doubt, are still around, but...there was more I didn't concentrate on. So with that, I can only, to any fans of the car, and Renault themselves, apologize. Sorry.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

DLC Car of the Year​

​

It's the Honda Weider HSV-010.

I came back from dinner on September 20 to find my Google Chrome GTPlanet app saying this:

Three new cars, including Honda’s HSV-010 Super GT car, are coming next week in GT5′s latest software update.

When I saw the HSV-010, I clicked on the link, and had what basically amounted to a heart attack.

The HSV-010 had been something I had demanded for an awfully long time. After all, it won the Super GT soon after GT5 was released. And it was coming to the game in the guise it won it in - the Weider HSV-010. The one I wanted most of all.

It's no secret PD love Super GT. It's obviously the most easily accessible race series to them, so obviously they've included a good majority of it in this game. And they've done so in the past games when it was known as JGTC. This was the sequel to the NSX, so it was a no-brainer to include it into the game at some point.

But when it was released, on September 25, along with the Subaru BRZ and Nissan GT-R N24, there was a problem. Because while the car was all fine and dandy, many set out to note that the sound...wasn't.

The real life HSV-010 was a screaming bastard of the highest order. In GT5, it wasn't. It took a sound-byte almost identical to that of the GT by Citroen Race Car, and with it, people started kicking and screaming like mad that PD had once again failed us.

I, of course, wasn't deterred by it, and continued to drive it as normal. And I found that it was really rather spectacular. It was so easy to realise what it was doing and to adapt to it as such. It felt in sync with me. Even if it felt rather slower than it should with the sound. And the onboard view was terrible.

And it also looks charming. A flowing body all-around with a nice rear end to contemplate it.

With the sound complaints ever-present, and the onboard view also an issue, PD called in for changes to the HSV-010 in the next update. By the time it was out, the Super GT champion was wielding a new sound much closer to the real thing, if still a bit out, and the onboard view was changed so that you could actually see out of it.

The new sound is...alright. It's not particularly great still though...it just sounds like an F1 car with a sickness bug. It's also worth noting that the revs on the car were increased, but even still it doesn't affect the sound too much. However, I will say that onboard, the car sounds very, very close to what it does in real life. The sound onboard is completely different both in game and in real life to the outside noise, and here it sounds very similar to the sound I know all about personally. And with the new onboard view the HSV-010 becomes a whole lot better to drive from such a place.

So then, the awesome Honda Weider HSV-010. If you haven't bought it yet, do PD a favour. Because there won't be much else new coming to the game, if what's said is to be believed.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

Tune of the Year

Take a real bow here, Krenkme of Clueless Tunes.

The normal Honda Today G is one of the cheapest cars you can buy in the game. And one of the least powerful...and one of the lightest. Pumping out 32bhp, and weighing just 550kg, the Today was one of the original kei cars before the 90s boom.

Krenkme, meanwhile, is a man who came on to the tuning scene firstly just before August, starting his tuning career with...a Honda Beat. He would also join the RVR Shootout with an Opel Speedster Turbo, and managed 17th out of 19th. He's come a fair way since then. As of this post, his Clueless Tunes garage has gained two main new tuners and is now ranked 4th in terms of posts for garages. He has become one of the bigger figures of tuning here on GTP, and is always known as being a fun guy, not afraid to go for something completely left-field and make it a worthwhile tune.

This is one such example of his tuning ideas - a Honda Today pumped up to a good 80bhp and weighing only 507kg, coming in at a smidge under 400PP.

Obviously, the low power means the Today is not going to be entirely fast. So one has to try and make it fun in some way other than speed.

Now, normally, cars that are in real life slow but still fun, don't translate as such here. This problem comes up mainly with hot hatches, particularly the Volkswagen Golf I GTI. That was meant to be a pocket rocket back in the day, but here, it...sort of isn't. And many other hot hatches suffer from similar degrees of the problem, primarily for one reason I believe: their drivetrain. The FF drivetrain is not supported entirely well for fun on a majority of cars, even despite a few exceptions (Mini Cooper S '11, Mazda Lantis etc.). This Today is similarly FF, and so the same problem was bound to be an issue in tuning this thing.

With krenkme's experience behind cars of this type, he made it fun without even a hint of difficulty. And the result was really a revelation.

It might not be powerful, but it has very little weight, and it also has some Sports Hard tyres to help it along. With the tuning settings it has, it is a stupendously good car to drive.

So good in fact, it's not particularly easy to describe how it does drive. But it gets through corners not only well, but with an incredible feeling as well. The new exhaust also helps as well, providing a soundtrack that makes you feel like you really are going that much faster.

Honestly, it is a lot easier to explain if you drive it yourself. It is not too short of perfect as a driver's car.

A possible Car of the Year? It might be. And it's all thanks to krenkme. To the tuning community: keep it coming. That said though, that does include myself, as I am effectively a member of the tuning community.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[C-ZETA]

Worst Car of the Year​

So then, it's time for the basic finale of this awards show. And remember, this is the worst car of the year, not the best, and I have not shown it in this review thread before. What's it gonna be?

But first, a 1km drag race.

What we have are two completely identical stock Nissan Skyline R32s. So, let's race them.

And they're off!

And look at this! The gunmetal gray R32 has pulled into the lead!

But what's this? The black R32 has fallen well behind...

It's a comprehensive victory for the gray one.

So, why did this black one lose out so badly? Well, there's one clear, ultimate reason.

The gray R32 you saw there is the original, the ultimate, R32: the Skyline GT-R R32 '89. This is the first example of the series in the game, and therefore the best example of the breed.

But what about the black one? Well, to quote Jeremy Kyle (what an idiot!), the black one is a "horrible, horrible liar". It's actually a fake Skyline R32. A hopeless facsimile of the top drawer one. It is...the utterly cheapskate...Nissan Skyline...GTS-t Type M...'91. And it is my Worst Car of the Year.

Nissan made the GTS as a cheap Skyline for those that couldn't afford the GT-R. And really, that's the only reason you'd ever want to buy one. Except it was completely unrepresentative, because this Skyline was nothing like the GT-R at all.

For a starter, while the GT-R made the standard credible 276bhp of Japanese horses, this wouldn't even quite crack 200. The engine is a 2.0 I6 as opposed to the GT-R's 2.6 RB26DETT. And then there's the drivetrain.

The Skyline GT-R is 4WD. This is an FR. That means you cannot even call this the same car in any real sense of the way. Changing drivetrain from 4WD down to FR in this sense is like changing from a clean new Windows 8 device to an old MS-DOS computer. It completely defeats the object of what it is meant to be to be honest. The GT-R at the time showcased a brilliant 4WD system that would lead the way for it to be adopted on other cars of its type - notably, it was one of the first 4WDs at the time that wasn't really built for rallying. The GTS showcases nothing but how to not make a cheap edition of the full monty. Oh sure, there was the GTS4 which did have 4WD, but that's not in the game, and even then there was still everything else to it that didn't make it close to a GT-R. Not even the lights are the full GT-R circles - they're just weak, tiny, dead versions of the traditional Skyline taillights.

PD states in the description for the GTS that 'the standard R32 model was a highly refined car that could quite possible be the best FR car of its day'. To which I say 'Ask my arse'.

In terms of driving it, it feels...strange. Because, while it is FR, it seems to want to slide and to not want to slide at the same time. It gets caught up in two minds and in the end you never really do one or the other. You just sort of float through the corner in a boring method of boringness.

And it definitely is not fast. I think I measured 0-60 at only around the 7 second mark. Which is basically walking pace, if you think about it hard enough. I mean, I could get from 0-60 faster, with a jet-pack anyway.

Of course, members of the drifting forum reading this will be jumping up and down stating that because it is FR, it is a lot better when fully tuned at their hobby than that crappy 4WD, GT-R.

Ah, yes! That well-known and trusted place called the drifting forum. ...Yeah.

I don't want you to think I am hitting on the Skyline name in anyway at all. I do in fact love a good Skyline. In fact, I went into an awful lot of detail about them in one post in one thread, stating my favourites and what made them the best. And I listed a lot of them. The pacy Amuse Carbonara, the incredibly fast Mine's Skylines, the majority of the 90's GT-Rs, nearly all of the pre 80's Skylines - the KPGC110 being the absolute cream of the crop, the R30, even the previous GTS-R R31 that was the actual top model of Skyline back when it was out. You'll notice the statement I make about the GTS R32s, and this is what I was saving the information for.

So with this all in mind, let's see how the GT-R and the GTS compare on the Top Gear Test Track.

First up, the GT-R.

In my hands, the GT-R managed a very respectable 1:24.9. Which goes to show as well how it can still live up to modern cars today.

So what about the GTS?

Ooh, this was definitely not so good. The GTS managed only a 1:35.1. Much slower than the GT-R.

So, what are we gonna do with it then?

Well, the problem is, I actually have...a brace of the plodders to deal with.

So, why don't we do a top speed test with the pair of them? Both of them will be put at opposite ends of the Top Gear Test Track's straight.

Let's do this.

And they're off! Building up speed...well, trying to, anyway.

Coming up to about 75 here...took a fair while, that's for sure.

Here they come, on the crossover!

Oops.

So there we have it. To the Nissan Skyline GTS R32, I say, good riddance. It is the Worst Car of the Year. Have a Merry Christmas, and remember: the end of the world isn't coming any time soon. Judging by what happened recently.

Pictures and writing by C-ZETA

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Now that is what I call a golden note to end the year with. Fantastic job as always, C, although I'm a bit shocked you've picked the "Poor man's GT-R" to win the Worst Car of the year award. Yes, it is underpowered and it does not have 4WD, but I don't see it as a bad car. On the other hand, I firmly believe that the Scoobie Impreza WRX STI '07 should be the holder of that award. Ugly, heavy, and full of understeer. And its not even that fast. A car that that isn't deserving of the Impreza name at all. But then again, it is my opinion... Cheers on a job well done, and a great 2013 for ya! 👍