Car of the Week | Week 54: 4 France's Sake (Renault 4 GTL '85)

Das hot lap:



YT review: "For the very first time in any GT, this is one of those "quircky" additions to the series. I mean yeah, this car DOES have cultural significance. How does it drive? Like a 33HP car on CH tyres from 1985 lol. The cornering speeds are shockingly bad and yeah, it's slow."

Verdict: quircky Beater :P
 
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This might be the first time in a long time that I'm refusing to drive a car in VR. This car does not have a tachometer in it, meaning that I have to shift by ear.

And I don't think I need to remind anyone on why that doesn't work for me. IMO the custom gauges from GT6 need to come back ASAP.
 
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I've shared this video in our PS chat group before, but I feel is worth sharing again here now that the R4 is the Car of the Week...

Most of us here already have a good idea of what a regular Renault 4 drives like thanks to Gran Turismo, but did you know that there's a small company in France that does electric conversions for classic Renaults, officially endorsed by Renault?

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Because French laws for conversions are reportedly very strict, the car can't stress out its original components, so it doesn't have super overkill power like modern EVs, and to help the small motor out, the car even retains its manual gearbox!

I don't know why, but the electric R4 and R5 has such a personality and charm that I just don't feel in modern cars. I love the small size. I love the simplicity. Maybe modern cars all feel too pretentious and gimmicky, but I really want to experience these EV classic converts!
 
Quick thoughts on the R4:

Not a fan of it. To elaborate on my initial post:

I play almost exclusively on GT7VR when I do play GT, so I am very used to relying on the information provided by the car instead of info provided by the game.

So imagine my frustration when I found out that the Renault 4 doesn't have a tachometer. I, a deaf driver, cannot drive without a tachometer or some other visual indicator because my ears lack the working parts needed in order to shift by hearing. Even with my hearing aids in and my speakers cranked (and engine at max gain), I can't hear the redline about 70% of the time.

It's a decent car in flatscreen mode, but my race just grinds to a halt when I go into VR. I'm not the only one with the issue, as our long term member McD apparently can't shift by ear very well either. Instrumentation is important, and I wish PD retained the custom gauges from GT6 as a feature.
 

The Renault 4 is slow—but only in a straight line.

In the corners, this thing has cornering speeds that are closely comparable to a modern day hatchback, like the Honda Fit, and that's all down to the R4's lightness instead of anything fancy or sophisticated. But, because it's such a barebones simple car, the cornering experience with it is so raw and engaging, demanding proper car control and cornering technique to get the most of its good cornering speeds, inadvertently becoming sporty because of that.

I've had a lot of fun—and even unexpected laughs!—with this 33HP classic FF hatch. About the only complaint I can levy against it is that it doesn't have a tachometer. It's a sleeper in my book :)

And here's a hint as to what next week's car is: it has a tachometer :lol:
 

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