Car Reviewing

[WizzyThaMan]

come on everyone stealing our ideas at AutomationHub! We were going to implement these kind of things on a weekly basis you know!

Good idea I must say, of course, I had this idea myself!

[8bs]

Maybe when we have enough, we could make roundups or group comparos?

Nice idea. And what about an short "presentation" of certain models? No need to test, just 2 photos and the basic specs of the car to ease up things! And later, when more similar cars arrive, make the test or group comparos, with the help of Cheeseman of course.

And what about separated threads for each decade?

[vmo]

Would definitely be fun to do group comparisons. Car expos would be a great idea too! I'd be willing to setup something every month/few months where new cars could be sent in, some allowed to be driven, and others not.

For the comparison, use better the Urban 2014 (the new).

[Cheeseman]

2014 COTTAM VECTOR
The Cottam Vector is a high speed luxury saloon with a 500+ bhp V8 engine to contend with the likes of the BMW M5, Jaguar XFR and Mercedes E63 AMG made in a little island known for its love of speed, the Isle of Man. Does its origin mean a great performing car?

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Cottam Vector-2.png (680.51 KiB) Viewed 4245 times

Performance
The Cottam Vector uses a high performance 4.1-litre naturally aspirated V8 that produces 509 bhp @ 8000 rpm and 343 lb-ft @ 7200 rpm. This does sound as if all the mind blowing performance comes at the top end of the engine's range but that is far from true. The torque curve is almost completely flat on this car meaning that the performance is hard from the word go. You put your foot to the floor from a standstill and in just 4.1 seconds you are travelling at 62 mph and it keeps on pulling hard until you reach the gear limited top speed of 180 mph. It is quite unfortunate that the gears prevent the car from going any further than this because it is probably capable of 200 mph+. Still, 180 mph isn't exactly what you call slow. The engine is extremely responsive. You put your foot on the accelerator and instantaneously you are where you were just looking just as you began to press the pedal. It is also a very smooth performer which adds to the fun. In summary, a truely wonderful engine!

Ride Comfort
Although the suspension on the Cottam Vector is set up more for going around corners, it manages to ride very well. The suspension at low speeds is just as expected from a car like this. Bumps and imperfections in the road surface at this speed can be felt and the car does fidget around somewhat. As speeds go up things get a lot better. The suspension at higher speeds is more than capable enough of soaking up all bar the largest of bumps in the road and it becomes an exceptionally comfortable long distance cruiser. When going over a large bump at these speeds the car manages to soak up the bump and then carry on its way without bouncing about or getting out of shape. Cornering, as expected, is done reasonably flat.

Handling
The Vector goes around a bend as well as it does in a straight line. The 509 bhp engine does sound intimidating, but unlike most rivals it comes with AWD as standard making it sound a bit less like a monster that is going to bite your head off each time you even attempt to put your foot down around a corner. The addition of traction aids also help to keep the car glued into position around a corner and prevents it from getting tail happy. If you do want to get the rear end out, simply switch off some traction aids and you are off. The amount of grip there is from the tyres is immense. Fire the car into a corner at some silly speeds and it will just grip almost without fuss and send you around the corner and face destroying speeds. The steering adds to the gripping (ha!) drive, doing everything you want it to do. If I were to complain at all about the way the car drives, it would have to be the body roll. Although it doesn't act like most large, heavy cars do when going around a bend, it doesn't feel exactly sports saloon like. It is only a very small niggle though.

Refinement
This is one of the Vector's few weak points. The V8 engine in this car is an absolute gem when it comes to performance, but when it comes to noise it makes almost all the cars on the road sound like whining puppies. Foot down in this thing and the V8 engine roars to life filling the area with one of the most beautiful notes ever heard from the motoring industry. The issue is that it doesn't quite shut up enough when you are travelling along at high cruising speeds and over long distances it could get annoying, but one way to prevent that is it to hit the accelerator every now and again. The other issue is the considerable amount of road and wind noise that also begins to develop at these speeds, because not only does it destroy the calm when it is wanted, but it blocks out the engine note when you want to really get a move on.

Equipment
You can tell the Cottam Vector is a luxury car simply by looking in the interior. You sit inside and in front of you is a few buttons and switches and a massive screen controlling every single gadget in a car known to mankind. Sat-nav, Bluetooth, leather seats, reversing sensors and camera (or it will park itself if you want) etc. There hasn't been a single thing left out that you would want and then there is the rest of the stuff just to make spectators gaze in awe even more than what they would just seeing and hearing it.

Quality
This is yet another area where this car shines very brightly. Not only does the interior come packed to the brim with every single imaginable gadget, but it is also covered in some truly wonderful materials. The dashboard is covered in wonderful, soft-touch and smooth leather. The centre console is covered in leathers, metals and woods and if you close enough some carbon fibre to add some sportiness to the interior. The roof lining feels like it was made from something very expensive. Even in the low down and less visible areas you will find some nice materials, and where there are plastics they are some very nice, expensive feeling and rigid plastics. The back of the car hasn't been left out either where everything is covered in the same array of materials seen in the front of the car.

Reliability
Even though this is a roaring sports saloon with all the gadgets, the car is extremely reliable. Under extreme testing in extreme conditions it didn't fail once and not even in the slightest. The engine has gone through extensive testing and is capable of in excess of 45000 miles without even needing any servicing or replacement parts. The numerous gadgets are all brand new and were developed very recently, which hopefully means that nothing with go wrong. If things do go wrong though, we expect that they won't be cheap at all.

Running Costs
This is one area when it comes to cars like this that will never get a good rating. You must also consider the fact that people who can afford to buy cars like these know that they can also afford to run the gas guzzler. The 509 bhp engine in this car isn't exactly going to be impressing any environmentalist, but for a car like this it isn't all that bad. Official claims for fuel economy are 23.5 mpg and it emits a reasonably low 279 grams of carbon dioxide every kilometer, baring in mind that low means low for this category. As mentioned before, should something go wrong you will be facing large repair bills, which is reflected in the cost to insure the car and also to service the car.

Safety
As well as having all the tech, the Cottam Vector also has all the safety features you need in order to keep yourself safe on the roads and to prevent you from injury in the event of a coming together. There are numerous traction aids to keep you handling this powerful monster if you do decide to push it to its limits and also in the event of an emergency maneuver. If the unfortunate event of having a crash does occur though, there are more than enough airbags and other injury limiting things to keep you nice and safe and able to walk out of the crash unscathed. There are some things that are becoming seen more often in luxury saloons that aren't in this car, but it makes hardly any difference.

OVERALL [BEST BUY]
For: Everything that matters: performance, handling, noise etc
Against: Mediocre refinement... umm.

A truly amazing car that could very well be the best of the class. The BMW M5 had better be worried, because this thing is going to be chasing it down.




THE BIT THAT ISN'T A REVIEW
I would just like to add something please. I don't mind having all these suggestions coming in but please remember that I have only just started this and I am very backed up at the moment with the reviews that have been sent in (I have a grand total of 18 to do at the moment). These suggestions can be made as often as you like, but don't expect to be seeing them any time soon and on top of this, as WizzyThaMan pointed out, all of these things are more than likely to be appearing on the upcoming WIP AutomationHub.

@utopian201 - That magazine cover looks really cool! I might be contacting you if I ever need someone to do something funky to a screenshot of a car to make it look more appealing if it is needed (if you look on page 3 there is a clue). The group comparison thing is something that is at the top of the list of things that I might do, but seeing that it will be on AutomationHub it may not happen. This also goes out to @8bs & @vmo.

@KielEire - What?

Also, thanks to those who have wished me well

[Pleb]

Brilliant review! As someone said earlier (not sure who and too lazy to check ) it's so cool if you read the review in a Jeremy Clarkson voice-over style .

Also thanks for the 5-star rating! I love that last sentence too, and I like how you mentioned the Isle of Man!

[WizzyThaMan]

@utopian201 - That magazine cover looks really cool! I might be contacting you if I ever need someone to do something funky to a screenshot of a car to make it look more appealing if it is needed (if you look on page 3 there is a clue). The group comparison thing is something that is at the top of the list of things that I might do, but seeing that it will be on AutomationHub it may not happen. This also goes out to @8bs & @vmo.

Please dont let AutomationHub hold you back. It might be still 3-6 months before we have such kind of things implemented. By the time we are done, you might have done 20 of these already.

[Cheeseman]

Hello there members of Automation!

The time has come! I am constantly incredibly busy and it is impossible for me to keep up with the demand so I need some volunteers to help out with the thread. All you need to do is write the review, all the scores and images will be done by me and I will send you all the information.

So how do I apply?
Just send a PM saying you want to volunteer! I will decide if you are good for the job. For now I am only going to add two people to the team so try to persuade me as much as you possibly can If you don't get accepted, don't worry, things might get madder on this thread.

How much work do I have to do, boss?
As long as you send me a few completed reviews a week I will be happy. If you are busy at some point, just let me know

If you have any questions just let me know when you send your PM in. Thanks to those who apply

[Camshaft91]

Cheesman that's an AWESOME IDEA!

I'd love it if some way shape or form when we develop a car and release it before release it goes away to be reviewed but say 5 "independent" car reviewers and then the result out of 10. Could look like this

Motion Magazine: 7: Great sportiness, strong engine but lacks entertainment & high fuel use

The daily driver: 7: Good car! Recommend if in market for cheap sports budget car

etc....

Even not to that extend just be nice to say have our cars "Reviewed" and score by "independent" car reviewers

[vmo]

This post is dead?

[strop]

I don't think so, people can get busy for periods of time. I'm sure it'll pick up later.

[Pleb]

Well, considering his last visit was this morning, he definitely hasn't disappeared off the face of the earth. He might be busy writing some of the reviews, judging from the long list of pending entries. Also I understand Cheeseman is still in school, and I know how time-consuming school can be, especially during exam times (I am also sitting GCSE exams). I'm sure there will be an update on the situation soon enough.

[Cheeseman]

Hello there Automation! Very sorry about no reviews but as strop said, I am busy, and as pleb said, I am busy studying for exams. Today I will send personal messages to those who I am going to add to the reviewing team so they can do some of the work for me. You won't see much from me at all on this thread apart from the occasion when a special review or something else is done.

[USDMFTW]

*suspense builds*

[UltimateBMWfan]

1966 FMU Cacique

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Cacique 490-1.png (1009.1 KiB) Viewed 4038 times

Performance
The FMU Cacique uses a beautifully styled 331 Horsepower and 319 ft-lb of torque V8 Crossplane, hitting power and torque peaks at around 5600 and 5300 RPM respectively. The engine itself lets you go to a throaty roar limit of 6000 RPM's. Interestingly, the engine itself doesn't have any mufflers, so expect complaints from your sleepy neighbors to say the least. The V8 has enough power to comfortably propel the Cacique to a comfortable cruising speed relatively easily. The acceleration is average, at around 7.1 seconds from 0-100 km/h. Top speed is around 239 km/h.

Ride Comfort
The FMU Cacique does an okay job of absorbing the bumps on the road. The suspension is set up softly, giving a relatively nice ride. However, bumps will definitely be felt whilst driving, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The ride height isn't too low, but you will run into some trouble when going over bigger bumps on the road. Overall, a decent ride, but definitely one that could be honed in to be either more comfortable, or more sporty.

Handling
When going for 0-60 times, the Cacique does need lots of throttle control. There are two ways to drive it, either floor it, in which case you'll have to correct with big swoops of your arms, which is especially hard since there isn't much power steering, or feather the throttle until you get to second gear. That way, you'll be able to put the power down more easily. Through the corners, the car understeers quite noticeably. Be careful with the throttle though, as touching it at the wrong moment makes for a bad day. Get everything right though, and it's immense fun. Sure you won't get the best lap times with this car, but who cares? They aren't having this much fun sliding around a corner. (Unless you're going around it backwards)

Refinement
Overall, the Cacique seems to be of good quality. The materials used to make the interior are of good quality and will hold up to some abuse. There's also surprisingly little noise that penetrates into the cabin, although dropping the Cacique down a gear and flooring it does tend to force the engine's tune through that insulation. Frankly, I don't mind, as that engine sounds pretty great. The soft suspension also allows for some bump absorbing. The brakes do let the Cacique down though, as it uses quite rough brake pads. Braking does feel quite jittery and sudden, which is an interesting feature, as none of the car feels as sporty as these brake pads. The pads also grip surprisingly well, which makes for a nerve racking ride if you stomp on the brake pedals, as you can easily lock the brakes up.

Equipment
The Cacique has lots of equipment to boast about. Fully functioning A/C, Cassette player, Radio, and many cool flippy switches for changing settings. Obviously not much else that can be put on a car, but the Cacique covers almost all of the equipment gaps.

Quality
The Cacique does very well here too, the car comes with a high quality corrosion resistant steel chassis, along with steel body panels. The materials, as I've said already, are also of good quality. The leather feels rich, and the wooden steering wheel feels very nice too. The Cacique seems to use high quality materials all around, netting it 5 well deserved stars in this category.

Reliability
The Cacique gets slightly let down here. The engine lasts for around 42 thousand kilometers. Not bad, but not too good either. It also requires the use of quite a high Octane fuel, which could be a pain if your local gas station doesn't have 98 Octane fuel lying around. That said, the body is still of good quality, but the drivetrain and engine don't help the reliability a whole lot.

Running Costs
The Cacique is quite the gas guzzler, as a result of only doing 12 miles to the gallon. This, coupled with the 98 Octane fuel, makes for one expensive gas trip every few days. This is quite a downfall, as daily users might not have the money to fill the tank of the Cacique. Considering it's horsepower, efficiency could definitely be improved. Other than that, the only other problem is the engine, with a recommended service interval of 42 thousand kms, you'll have to keep your fingers crossed that nothing has broken on that engine, or else it'll be a hefty repair bill.

Safety
The Cacique's biggest fault is it's safety. It has seatbelts, Headlights, and Taillights, but that's about all. No crumple zones, no strengthened pillars, it's not the safest machine out there. Coupled with the iffy handling of the Cacique, it could be quite the killer. However, it does feel safer than some of the other cars out on the market.

OVERALL
For: Grinning at tiresmoke, Luxurious interior, Comfortable suspension.
Against: Sensitive brakes, Lack of Safety, Fuel efficiency.

Overall, the Cacique has been an entertaining car to drive. The handling is quite interesting, and the combination of that and the lack of safety does make for an interesting ride, but you'll forget it once you go around a corner whilst destroying your tires. It's also a story maker, as going around a corner backwards is a pretty interesting perspective. Sure, fuel efficiency could be a problem for the average driver, but how can you resist that V8 in the front?

[nialloftara]

Reading this review reminded me of Clarkson testing the SLS AMG in America, slow but with a huge grin.