Okay guys, i decided to give you the firsts results here. I''ll update this post here as i review the cars. I do the reviews as i go so i have no winner yet. I know the shopping round has to be quick, but i felt that i needed to do the cars justice and its taking a bit more time as i initially planned. Also i apologize for any grammar errors you might find, English is not my first language, and i am not the best and fastest when i come to written things
, if there are any major issues PM me.
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Okay, the time has come: I need a new car, now. But this time I want to make sure I get the best for for my money, so I am going to take look at a variety of different manufactures. I was actually surprised that a lot of cars fit in the category of car that i am looking for, so its not going to be easy to decide.
1. Storm Prince
You see it and you instantly know, yep that's a Storm. I have seen Storms in a lot of magazines and car shows in the us, therefore I was pretty excited after they announced the Storm Price for the German market. The price and the concept seems to fit into what I am looking for, so I called the Storm dealer and made an appointment for a test drive. The first time I approach the Price, what immediately caught my eye - besides the very familiar Storm light design - was the how much the front wheels were mounted inside the body, and oh, those are some skinny tires. I wonder how those will affect the driving experience. But overall I like the serious and understated looks of the Price. Continuing on the inside, I found a premium interior with a lot of tech: satellite nav, 64 SSD for my music, bluetooth connectivity, USB power outlets. Definitely a big plus. Finally I took the Price for a drive, and despite those wheel-cart-skinny 175 tires, there were NO traction issues. The AWD certainly does its job perfectly here and made the car also very easy to drive. I was also super impressed by the fuel economy 5L/100km, for a AWD - 2.8L 6 Cyl? Very Impressive. But the skinny tires also have significant downsides. A stopping distance over 38meters from 100km/h, the car did not feel planted in the corners, and while there were no traction issues on acceleration, I am pretty sure that would change drastically under bad weather conditions. I asked the dealer if I could fit wider tires, but it seams the maximum width at the rear is 185. Bummer. The price is right, it has decent looks and interior, a nice engine coupled to an impressive AWD, but sadly handicapped by those skinny tires.
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2. Shromet Radiant
I was talking to a friend of about my old Ibiza and he suggested me I should take a look at the Radiant, he suggested that it may have a similar fun character without some of the faults of the Ibiza. My plan was to step up a class, but maybe it can convince me and I could spare myself some money, since it retails at $21k. So I gave the nearby Shromet dealer a visit. I like the very clean looks of the Radiant, nothing fancy here except those funky door handles. I think those give the car a less serious look, which is fine for a compact a fun hatchback. I took a seat inside the Radiant look at the interior of the radiant and what should I say? It is what you expect for Hatchback that retails at $21k, its fine for the price but not really what I am looking for. Compared to the Storm Price, there was a lot more plastic inside, and the infotainment was pretty much standard stuff. A CD-Player and an AUX port. I asked the dealer if I could take it for a spin, and he was happy to give me the keys. I started the engine, and I expected some 4 cylinder rumble, but to my surprise I only heard a smooth engine sound from the front. I asked the dealer about the engine, and he told me its a turbocharged 1.9L inline 6. A traverse mounted inline 6? You won't see that often. So how did the turbocharged dual overhead cam 16V VVLT 1.9 inline 6 perform? Well its super smooth, but otherwise a bit underwhelming considering the setup, I have to say. It was tuned heavily for economy. And since I am looking for an automatic transmission I did not like the fact that it was a manual where I had to shift an additional seventh gear. Thanks to its weight it was fun to drive tough, but there were the same issues as with my old car. There was a lot of wheel spin even in the dry, and it understeered pretty early. I wonder why they fitted 4 piston breaks on a car with 185 tires. The Radiant reminded me a lot of my old car, its a fine car for its price, that's for sure, but it did not improve on the points I was looking for.
3. SpearMan Ravine 
Next one. The SpearMan Ravine Touring. Wow, that's an interesting design for sure. The more I looked at the Ravine the more the looks grew on me, and its the first car with appropriate tires for the size and power. I like the intricate headlights and grill design, you can see they have spend some time on the looks of the car. I was pretty excited to look what the Ravine offers underneath its skin. Sadly, the interior did not deliver what I was hoping for. An Interior on par with the Radiant and even more basic infotainment system. All it got was a basic radio. Where is all the advertised stuff? In terms of equipment the car pretty much empty. Nonetheless I thought I still give the car a chance and took for drive. While I was reading specs of the Ravine, I noticed a 0-60 of 7.5, while that's decently quick, I was surprised that it achieved that only with 150hp. Well, while the DCT is a pretty sweet, its geared very short, like super short. The Ravine passes 100kmh with the 4th gear at around 6000rpm, and it hits the redline pretty hard at 6 gear at 207km/h, the engine could have pulled another 20km/h easily if the gearing would have been longer. That's some extra speed I could have used on the German autobahn. The engine was also revving over 4000rpm at my usual cruise speed at 130km/h, I could imagine that the noise would become annoying after a while, considering it has also a sports exhaust. I am sad, because I enjoy the unique looks of the Ravine but it did not deliver underneath.
4. Solo Beaver SSM 
I read the advertisement of the Solo Beaver SSM and it immediately gave me the right vibes. A performance oriented, premium hatchback? Me like. The Solo Beaver definitively delivers its promise on the outside, it looks understated but also has a sporty side to it from the front, where as the back means business with a huge rear diffuser and quad exhausts. Design wise, even as a hatchback, it ticks all the right boxes for me personally. 10/10. I took a seat in the inside of the car, and this time I wasn't disappointed. As advertised, it had a premium interior, and all the gadgetry I would need. If you looked closely some interior bits were not on par with the Storm Price, but fine nonetheless. I pressed the start button and a 2.0L turbo inline 4 came to live. This time featuring 255hp and over 320nm, and while the other cars were decently quick, I was really excited to drive the Beaver. I creeped from the dealer lot and as soon I was on the road I floored the Beaver hard
. For one short moment nothing happened but than the turbo started spooling at around 3250rpm and pressed me hard into the seat. Wow, this thing moves. This engine is some old-school turbo engine, while that maybe fun at first, there are downsides to it: First, there is nothing happening under 3250rpm, but the lag was not so apparent as you might think thanks to the the single clutch automatic transmission, and the advertised fuel consumption is only achieved if you don't wake up that turbo really. Mixed feelings about the drivetrain. Another surprised came to me as soon as I approached the first corner, the Beaver SSM felt similar to the Storm Price. Not in a good way. It is heavy, it weights over 1.6 tonnes AND again skinny 185 tires on a performance oriented car. Why?! It was ruining the driving experience. The ABS was kicking in constantly and understeered pretty early. Again another good car fell flat because of its tire choice. After I went home I googled about the issue, and found out that if you fit the car with some decent 225 wide tires, braking distance drops to 34 from 38 meters, feels much better in the corners, and improves its green hell time by a LOT. But I don't want to buy a new car and spend extra cash on wheels. A shame really.
5. Bogliq Coyote RS
I have seen many Bogliq and I always wanted to drive a one. Being the first coupe that I am going to test, the Bogliq Coyote RS looks like a proper muscle car. I read the specs-sheet, and yes it has a V8, but its a 3.0L producing around 190hp. I have to admit, I expected more, at least what the looks suggested to me. What I can confirm tho is that it's gonna sound amazing. I like the muscle car look of the Coyote, even tho it looks a bit dated I have to say. I stepped inside, and was pleasantly surprised of the premium interior and infotainment system. Everything looks and feels quality here inside. The Coyote looks like it was made to drive enthusiastically, so I asked for the keys, and started the engine: Ah, sweet V8 burble. It's a manual but I think it fits the character of this RWD coupe very well. I put in the first gear and off we go. The Coyote get from 0-100km/h in 6.3s and best bit is that it feels amazing in the corners. Very well balanced and nimble on it's feet. The Engine has plenty of torque and just sound amazing. Thanks to direct injection it didn't use a lot a fuel either, around 7L/100km/h. For 3.0L V8? That's more than decent. Of course the coupe body is going to bring some downsides in terms of practically, the room behind the front sides is not what you call spacious. As of right now, I am very much liking the Coyote, but, and by that I mean pretty huge BUT, my soon-to-be-wife, V, is not liking the exterior of the coyote. I have to try convincing her but it is going to be difficult.
6. Edriv Blin Klashnik
After I had to move on from the Bogliq because V was not liking the looks at all, she pointed at the ad of the Edrive Blind Klashnik and said, "Hey look, this is what a modern muscle car should look like, you should check it out. Maybe you'll like it as much as the Bogliq.", and while I can't say it looks like a muscle car and I have to agree with her that the Edrive looks pretty nice. It has some sporty elements and also some elegance to it, which I like a lot. I think that's a result of the streched low profile of the car. I wonder though how much it is going to hurt the visibility forwards, taking also into account that Blin Klashnik is big car. While the Edriv exterior has a premium look to it, sadly the interior does not live up to that, a standard cloth interior, a CD-Player, a USB-AUX port is what you get for your entertainment. Clearly not on par with the Bogliq, but maybe it can convince me of its driving dynamics. The Edriv features a sweet turbo charged 3Liter inline 6 producing 231hp and 350nm. I was curious if its going to rival the Solo Beaver in terms of acceleration, and yes its was fast, 5.5 sec to 100km/h to be exact. I really liked the engine characteristics though, turbo kicked in early at 2000rpm and revved up 7500rpm. A very sweet engine, but I think it was a bit too silent for my liking. The first bend was coming up, I hit the brake pedal, but not nothing much is happing. I thought maybe I have to press the brake pedal really hard but nope, I was never even close to provoking the ABS system, I got out of the car and checked whats going on: Those must be the smallest brake disks ever fitted to a car. On a 230hp 1.6 ton car that has to be dangerous. I also noticed as I was pushing the car, power seemed to fade away sometimes as it got warmer. Well, maybe because the Edriv has no Intercooler. Why? I can't image a reason why they would leave out an intercooler on a turbo. The gearing on the Edriv was also way to short, could have gone easily to 266 km/h, but is limited by the 7th gear at 230km/h. What a waste of potential. Also fuel economy was not on paar with the rest, I guess that must be again the result of not having a intercooler. The Edriv Blin Klashnik impressed with its exterior, but sadly did not live up the impressions it gave me from the outside.
7. Bell Lexarion 1.8 LXT
After me and V could not agree about the last coupes we tested, I decided to take a look at a sedans again. That's when I stumbled upon the Bell Lexarion 1.8 LXT, I did not find any spec sheet, but the price seemed to be right. The looks were also spot on, me and V agreed here too, the Lexarion is a very good looking sedan. It has a very executive look to it, and while some people may have problem with that, I don't care if driven by slimy bankers car or seen as a womens car, as long it appeals to me. I never heard of Lexarion before, therefore I was eager to see what Lexarion is going to offer. As usual I arranged a test drive with a Lexarion dealer nearby, and have to say the dealer was pretty quick to arrange me an appointment. So, I really do like the front of this car, it looks business and also elegant. I would say the car has a similar theme to the Edriv going on. Featuring a wheelbase of 2.8m its also a big car. Now, how about the interior? Premium interior, 5 seats, everything pretty well build but not many buttons I could play with, a standard infotainment, again similar to the Edriv. Okay, what is it like to drive? Well, its not what you would call quick. My old little Ibiza felt and was certainly faster than the Lexarion. While I think the 1.8 turbocharged inline 4 is a decent engine, producing 153hp and 230NM at 2100rpm, it is not powerful enough for the 1.7 tons that the Lexarion brings on the scale. I complained last time about very weak brakes of the Edriv, little did I know there are cars with even weaker brakes! The Lexarion stops from 100km/h to 0, in 43 meters and fade really bad. That is just not acceptable for a modern car. Putting the brake problem aside, what I did like about the Lexarion was, that it was very comfortable thanks to the hydropneumatic suspension, but it also meant it wasn't suited for spirited driving at all. The Lexarion is probably the car my dad would buy, serious looks, comfortable ride, quality interior and not much tech to fiddle in the inside, but not something i am looking for currently. Those brakes need to be fixed tho.
8. Erin Merna
Any ad that contains the green hell is going to get my attention. So I just had to take a look at the new Erin Merna XEco. The first time I saw the Merna, I thought: is it a hatchback or a like a compressed sedan? I think its somewhere between. V actually likes the way the Merna looks, and I also thought the front looked very pointed and purposeful, while the back features some very interesting taillight design. Overall me and V we think the car looks very well. Knowing that the car is also offered in cheaper trims, and considering the fact, that it is retailing for around $24,000, I wasn't expecting any super premium interior, and that was the case. Tho I think its one of the better standard interiors, comparing it to other hatchbacks in the price range. But the ad did not mention a luxury interior, I did mention the green hell tough, so I was eager to put that to the test. I got the keys, turned on the engine, and to life came the turbo charged 2.4 inline 4. It produces 195hp and 290Nm from 2000rpm, a very pleasant engine characteristic. While most of the cars I checked out till now had AWD, the Merna sends the Power through the front wheels, and thanks to the geared LSD it manages to find traction pretty well. Wheel spin is only present if you floor it violently in the first gear. The Merna feels also very nimble on its feet, but sometimes it cannot hide the fact that it's pretty front heavy. The ride was definitely on the stiff side, but thanks to the semi active dampers the impact has been minimized. Fuel economy is also very good considering the performance it offers. We like the looks of the Merna, it has well engineered drivetrain, very practical, while the interior is just a standard interior, it has not really any major weakness, you basically get what you pay for. The Merna is definitely a serious candidate, and we'll come back to it after we checked some of the next cars.
9. Boss Manager
The next car was another from the united states, and even though I am not very familiar with Boss cars, the back of this sedan was as American as it can get, at least in my opinion. Nothing very fancy about the looks, the side looks especially clean, almost a bit empty, but what I was not so sure about was the headlights. If you kneel down and look at from the front, it is a look that I would expect from a hatchback, I guess its because the front grill is relatively small compared to the big headlights. It does not look what it is named after, a Manager. Maybe I am getting a bit nitpicky here. Something that impressed me was the huge trunk, this car has quite a long rear end. American cars aren't very famous for the interiors, but I can report this is probably the most quality interior inside I have encountered until now, even a bit better than the one in Storm Prince. Though it did not match the Storms infotainment, it was okay, nothing special. After me and V checked the interior, time came to take Manager for a ride. Underneath sits a pretty sweet 3.7L V6, producing 232hp with probably the most linear torque delivery I have ever felt. But what surprise me the most was the handling of the Manager, considering that it weights almost 1.8 tonnes. It felt agile and pointed. Though not on the level of the Erin, or the Bogliq. Luckily the Boss has the tires to back up the power and weight. Almost fade free brakes and a stopping distance under 35m were certainly impressive. Before I returned the car the dealer, I stopped at a gas station to refuel the car, and can confirm that its not a drinker with around 7.8L/100km, but I did noticed something strange on the fuel cap: The car runs on 89 octane ROZ fuel, which is not bad, but a missed opportunity, since the lowest grade fuel we have in Germany is 95 ROZ. After I went home as usual I googled after some other experiences about the Manager, and most report that the Manager is very reliable. To sum up the Boss Manager, its a well rounded sedan, no real weaknesses but it doesn't excite me somehow. It's the most well engineered and thought out sedan till now.
10. Smooth Storm Exec V6
The Smooth Storm has to be one of the most "corporate" looking small sedan I ever seen, and that theme is present on any angle of the car. It certainly looks good. Both the front and the rear look clean and laid out carefully. The only complaint I could find that it it looks almost too serious. I opened the door of the Smooth Storm and was pleasantly surprised by the premium interior and modern infotainment system. Satnav, Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, and other small goodies that I really welcomed. It's RWD, yet features a 5th seat. As same the Boss Manager, the Smooth Storm features a V6, but this time 2.6 liter. The difference in terms of performance between the Smooth and the Boss, was not so big as I excepted it to be, because the Smooth is over 300kg lighter. The torque curve was also super smooth as in the Boss engine, though after around 130km/h the acceleration started to drop since the 2.6L V6 produces "only" 182hp. I did not miss a locking diff and the DCT did its job pretty well. The Storm has probably the most comfortable suspension setup I have tested until now, and after showing the Storm Exec some corners, I noticed that it rolled quite a lot to the side. Even setting the Adaptive dampers to sport did not improve the cornering experience. The brakes were simply excellent tho. Now considering the power and weight I think the fuel economy is decent with 7L/100km/h, but there are more powerful with better efficiency. After some driving I wished for some more power though, but what what concerned me the most was, that a friend of mine told me the Smooth Storms have some small reliability issues. The Smooth Storm looks good, has a premium interior, I only wished it would have been a bit more sporty in the way it drives and feels.
11. Horus Heliodor ATD
Now speaking about a lack of sportiness, the ATD is the complete opposite of that. I have never seen bigger wheel arches. You might think that you have seen wheel arches on racing cars, you have not seen the Heliodor. The car is so wide, it makes the car almost seem square. I wonder if those arches are going to hinder practically. I will find out that later. V does not like the looks of the Heliodor. She said it's the type of car you would see immature guys revving at stop lights. Yep, that image also came to my mind. If you discard the wheel arches, the Heliodor looks actually pretty decent and sporty, but those arches just put it over the top. Now on the inside, I found a premium interior and premium infotainment system, which surprised me, because I thought I was going to find some bucket seats and more bare bone interior based on the outside. Tho if you looked closely it was not on par with other premium interiors, some touch elements feel weak and brittle. A bit underwhelming to be honest. I though, maybe the Heliodor is going to blow me away on the straights and the corners. The engine is a 1.8 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder producing 210hp and 273NM of torque, those are respectable numbers especially for a 1.8. But the turbo lag on this thing was even more violent than on the Solo Beaver SSM, nothing, nothing, than BAM at about 3200 rpm and revved hard until the redline. But despite the powerful engine specs, the beaver did not feel as fast the Solo Beaver, nowhere near actually. Because it weights as much as a Boss Manager, 1750kg! And what about the handling you might ask? The hardest ride I have ever experienced. It corned super flat of course, but even the smallest bump made car feel nervous in corners and the bump was send without any filtering directly to your spine. I have to say though, when I did find some smooth surface, this thing cornered almost 1.2G! Unbelievable. The Heliodor is truly a crazy hatchback. But its just too much on some areas. After the Heliodor me and V headed to a near massage place. We needed that.
12. Daiki Falcon
I have seen some Daikis before and what they all have in common is the sporty aggresive look and that Daiki blue color. I think that's the only color the ad department ever uses. I read the ad - 5.0 V12 and a 1300 kg curb weight - and I knew, okay, this is going to be an existing test drive at least, but lets start with the outside first. It has a similar shape to the Bogliq Coyote, but does not look as dated, even though V - again - did not like the racing looks. While I usually don't care about the opinion of others about my car, I have to admit that wing is going to be slightly embarrassing. Otherwise it looks sporty, but I wouldn't call it a beauty. But I have the feeling that's not what the Daiki is about. Now I stepped inside, and well, the Interior was a standard cloth interior and infotainment was pretty much a basic radio, nothing else. I expected more from a V12 coupe to be honest, I guess the V12 took all the budget. Also, the Daiki had only 2 airbags installed and the lowest safety rating of the cars I tested, not good for car with that much power. I got the keys from the friendly salesman, and my hands started to get sweaty as prepared myself to turn the ignition. 12 Pistons stared compressing the air fuel mixture, and produced a lovely sound. I put the transmission into D, and went on the road. The car was seriously fast, on the autobahn I was passing everybody with ease, and top speed of over 270kmh was super impressive. Inside it was pretty noisy though. I did also notice though that the Daiki was pretty nervous on higher speeds. It always felt like the rear end is going to slip away. I tried the brakes, and OMG it did hurt. The Daiki has probably the best brakes I ever tested, with a stopping distance under 32m. Now what about corning and ride quality? Comfortable actually, but in the corners I did notice quite some roll in the corners. We stopped to refuel the car, and I can report it only used 8L/100km, thats impressive for a almost 300hp v12. I think the is a good package for someone looking for serious sportscar, and doesn't care about anything else. But as a daily driver? I am not so sure. I mean my heart would love a V12 coupe, but V and my brain are thinking that the Daiki is not so suitable and interior was pretty low rent.
13. Yamato Nami FSC
After I looked at over 12 cars, the Yamato Nami FSC is the first car with a color that is not a shade of gray, or blue. Its red, and its a damn sexy rear end design. The front was pretty too, but as I looked at it more from the side profile, I noticed that the rear end is pretty long, and it doesn't fit the proportions of the car at all. A bit shorter would have made this car looked MUCH better. I guess they wanted to appeal to customers that need a large trunk. V did actually like the looks of the Nami. The Yamato Nami has 4 seats, but it is a small car. I don't think anything more that a 10 year old can fit in the back. Inside I found a premium interior and very modern premium infotainment system, with all the features that I would want in a car. The Yamato features a powerful 3.5L inline 6, producing around 280hp. While the engine was idling, I started playing with the throttle, and this engine is super responsive to driver inputs and just loves to rev. I put the DCT into drive, and floored the gas, and there was a lot of wheel spin in the first gear! I thought, I maybe turned the traction control off or something, but no, the Yamato has no traction control. Since the Yamato is rear wheel driven, driving the it in bad weather conditions will require a sensitive foot, especially with the aggresive engine. Not a problem for me, but I have my concerns about V. On top of that it only features 195mm wide tires, I think the traction control think is going to be a real issue. The engine though is so sweet, super smooth, responsive and pulls hard into the rev limiter. I was not so sure about the cornering abilties of the Yamato Nami. The suspension was too soft, and there was some body roll in the corners. I think it had way to soft springs. While it might be comfortable, it was not so impressive in the corners. I also did notice that after 200km/h the Yamato struggled to get forward, considering the 280hp it has available. Fuel economy was also on par with the Daiki at around 7.8L/100km/h. Man, the Yamato looks good, has very sweet engine, but just has some fault, like the missing TC, the way to soft springs, that i don't if i can look past them. Will have to think about that.
14. Mott Works CS
A friend of mine proposed me too take a look at new Mott Works CS, and I saw the pictures and I think the looks are a clear case of love it hate it, and while it looks modern and clean, I have to admit we were not on the "love" side. We were more looking for a car with a more smooth profile, and the CS looks like a box on wheels, like literally a box on wheels. But as I said in the beginning I wanted to take my time and check all sorts of cars. I read the specs of the Mott Works CS, and 200hp, DCT box, combined with a weight of 1232kg should provide a lot fun actually. While I am not a fan of the exterior, I am most definitely a big fan of the interior of the CS. A futuristic styled premium interior, and I think the most advanced infotainment system I have encountered until now. I was very impressed by that. What also caught my eye was the tachometer with the redline at 9000rpm. After that I could wait to drive the CS. The Mott Works does not feature launch control, therefore I just stomped the gas from idle at 750rpm, and nothing much happend until 3500rpm, then the turbo kicked in and so did the traction control light on the dash, even in the second gear you could feel the tires scrubbing on the tarmac. 9000rpm and it required 3rd gear to reach 100km/h, so its geared pretty short in the first gears. The DCT was also on the better ones, smooth and very fast. Even with the a impressive redline of 9000rpm, I was not liking the engine. I am not a fan of downsized turbo engines, 1.3 Liter producing 200hp, that's gonna take its toll on reliability. Also I had to stay above 3700rpm, because the of the very small displacement: no turbo - no go. The suspension of the CS felt right, but had some body roll present, though what annoyed me the most of was that you in was very easy to spin the tires in the corners under throttle. The CS had no locking diff, and given that its FWD, I think that should have been a must. Now to sum up the Mott Works CS, while I am sure the looks might appeal to some, I did not to us sadly. Interior was the best I have seen, but I did not like the small displacement engine. It is a recipe for reliability issues.
15. Mewa
Now, the Mewa looks like a proper modern interpretation of muscle car. Long bonnet, big intake vents, and wide shoulders. I really liked the looks, and it is an interesting design. V was not so sure about the vent on the bonnet, another wise she was also liking the looks. While the Bell Lexarion was more restrained and elegant, this looked very muscular and manly. Thats why I was even more surprised when I read the technical specification, I would have expected at least some RWD V6, but no, a 2.2 liter inline turbo 4 powers the front wheels only. What is very muscle car in fact is its weight, 1720kg is quite lot for inline 4 producing 200hp. The Interior though, met my expectation completely. Premium interior and a way better infotainment system than the Lexarion. So how does this FWD inline 4 muscle car drive? Lets start with what I liked. The suspension and ride quality was very, very good. It corned super flat, and while it was stiff, it did not feel uncomfortable at all. A very compliant ride. Brakes were excellent too. The Mewa has a very trick electronic diff, and despite being FWD it had absolutely no problems putting the power down. The turbocharged inline 4 picked up pretty early at 2000rpm, and kept revving willingly until 6700 rpm. Also for a car with 200hp, the top speed of over 260km/h is pretty impressive, I don't know how they achieved that. Now what I did not like: It did not feel faster than my old ibiza, achieving 8.0s from 0 to 100km/h. While the inline 4 sounded nice for a inline 4, it was still a weird sound coming from such a big and muscular looking car. Its a sound I relate to a sporty hatchback, not a big premium coupe. While I think its an excellent engine, I don't think it belongs into this car. Otherwise, I have no complaints about the car, it's very pretty, a very well sorted and engineered car. All it would have need is two more cylinders, and RWD - instant buy. As it is offered, I have to think about that.
16. FASE Cefiro LS
It was time to decide what car I am going to buy, since everybody of friend and family got board of me analysing and complaining about cars, but when I saw the FASE Cefiro LS I just had to try this one also. The ad got me pretty exited. The proportions of the Cefiro look just right, and its a very beautiful sedan in my opinion. This time I was alone at the dealer, but I think V would agree here with me. The only critique or two I have is, while the rear end looks very composed and well aligned, I only wished it would look a bit more sporty and aggressive, and the rear door handle seems to be not aligned properly. I know, I am nitpicking here. Inside the car I was greeted by a well build premium interior and a premium infotainment system with a lot of gadgetry. I was impressed how well everything was thought out and logical. I was also pleasantly surprised by power train of the Cefiro LS, 3.0Liter straight six, coupled to a dual clutch transmission that power the rear wheels. The engine felt very smooth, as you would expect from a straight 6. What I found a bit weird was the low redline of 5800rpm, where the engine produces its peak power of 235hp. I guess they did that for reliability, because on the internet I didn't have any reliability issues reported about the engine. Though I feel the engine could rev at least another 500rpm easily, and 300rpm without affecting reliability much. But that's the only issue I could find. The Cefiro accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds, and has almost no traction issues on the straight nor in the corners, thanks to geared locking differential. The handling was also pretty good, it felt pretty neutral and there was a plenty of grip available, though again the tires were on the slim side, 195 mm. But braking was good and fade-free at 36m from 100km/h. Also the ride was pretty comfortable, thanks to the adaptive suspension and a good setup. The Cefiro corned pretty flat. After I stopped at a fuel station I can confirm that the Cefiro only took about 6.8L on 100km/h. The Cefiro is a very solid sedan and looks very good. I am glad I took a look at it, I am going to have a final thought about it and the other cars and lets see.
17. Sofa 1100-TWhile I was looking for a car, I had to make a short business trip to Russia. So it was actually interesting to see what the Russian are driving, and what's popular here. A coworker of mine had this russian friend, who we would hang out on the evenings. I told him that I was looking for a car, and what are my favorites are the moment. He was like, ohhhh I have good car for you, come next day to me I show how we russians check for a good car. I met with him and he presented me what looked like a 60s/70s piece of history, but it seems they are actually still producing those. They sell very cheap and that's the only positive side of the Sofa 1100. I told him that it obviously would never register in Germany and it was not what I was looking for. And he was said: Oh yeah, you don't like it? Please move aside.....
Okay, it was a very very difficult decision. There were a lot of good cars, non that hit all the points. So I had to choose the one that I felt was the least compromise.
Finalists:
Yamato Nami FSC - Sweet looks, good engine, but missing TC and weak suspension setup.
Mewa - No faults really, but the FWD inline 4 muscle car did not win my heart.
Bogliq Coyote RS - Very thrilling to drive, but it looked old already before leaving the factory.
Boss Manager - Well engineered, but the looks did not appeal.
FASE Cefiro LS - Beautiful looks, quality interior, good engine, balanced suspension setup, good fuel economy.
Erin Merna XEco - Fun to drive, but in all other categories it was beaten by the FASE Cefiro.
Winner:
FASE Cefiro LSCongrats,
Sebesseg 
and thank you guys for participating.
P.S.
I want to apologize to Sillyducky, because I wasn't able import his car because of import errors, but I had to close this round since its already overdue and could wait any longer for the fixed export. 
Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:23 am 
