Like I said, I'm absolutely in love with most of the new cars. Probably the best 5€ I've spend on a DLC ever.
I've tested all of the street cars, so far, on the Nordschleife. Generally the track where I'm able to drive the most consistent.
Mazda MX5 Cup Car - As you can imagine, this car really isn't suited too well for the Nordschleife, but that didn't stop me from having an absolute blast on the track. The slicks on the car offer unreal amounts of grip (maybe I should up the simulation value
) and combined with the low weight of the car, it's really just a matter of how much speed you dare to take into the corners. But don't be fooled, the car will bite if you're reaching the limit of the grip, especially if the tyres are a little cold and/or the corner is too sharp, or your turn-in, but that depends. I probably never had more fun in the section from Hohe Acht to Pflanzgarten, going essentially full throttle all the way, all while the little engine screams it's heart out. Managed a 7:56 so far as my fastest lap. 8/10
Mazda MX5 ND - Same as the Cup Car, it's really just a matter of how much you're willing to push. Due to the low weight and available (read: lack of) power it never is going too quick for most of the corners on the Nordschleife, meaning that you can thrash this little thing around and you're usually okay in hitting all of the apex without overdriving it. Besides the GT86 and the 500 Essesse probably the best street car to learn tracks in and getting the most rewarding feeling out of if you perfectly nail all of the corners and braking points. Generally the car handles very neutral, maybe a little too neutral for my liking as a little rotation of the rear could potentially even improve the time a little bit, but nothing a few psi in the tyres couldn't fix. My best time so far with the car is a 8:18 which, again, isn't fast, but boy is it enjoyable. 8.5/10
Mazda RX-7 - I was VERY surprised at how well this car behaves. Due to the relatively tall gearing of the car, you won't need a whole lot of throttle control, not even in the slow corners at high RPM's. Maybe the 4-wheel steering helps a little? Anyways, overall a very enjoyable car that drives very similar to something like a BMW E92 or the Lotus Evora and offers a great starting platform for people who want to push themselves a little by going for a faster, more capable car without killing themselves. Managed a 7:41 on my very first lap, and there was certainly room for improvement. 9/10
Nissan 370Z Nismo - yes. Yes. YES!! This has to be my favorite sports coupé in the game right now. Everything about this car seems so incredibly right. The handling is nice and neutral, no matter how much you push. The torque curve is nice and linear, so it won't bite you in the backside as soon as you approach a more sharper turn. And the sound, so throatty, so grimey, so juvenille! I'm absolutely in love with this car right now, and there's nothing that will change that. Is it the quickest? Absolutely not. I managed a 7:37 after I finally managed a traffic-free lap in a multiplayer server, and I loved every bit of this lap. 11/10
Nissan Skyline R34 - I must say, I'm a little disappointed as I've said in my first thoughts. The car seems to have a weird deadspot in the steering, that generally requires much more steering input then all of the other cars. It's a weird oddity that certainly caught me off guard, but takes little time to getting used to, I just wish it wasn't there. The overall performance of the car is also there, as you might expect from 280+ hp, but I see myself short-shifting as the last 500RPM seem to have absolutely no benefit in propeling the car, another oddity. In terms of handling it was acceptable, you certainly feel the little extra weight, but again, I had no problems of adjusting my driving style to the car and it's (potential) flaws. Managed a 7:43 after a few laps, but I certainly don't feel comfortable enough in the car nor my abilities to push it further for now. 7/10
Toyota AE86 - I know, I will get a lot of hate for this, but it's probably my least favorite in the pack so far. It's probably due to the fact, that I'm used to driving on semi-slicks on just about every car in the game. The street tyres simply are a little too slippy for my taste in order to really hoon this car around the track and to manage a decent lap time, which ultimately I've never accomplished. Adding an option to use this car with semislicks would be absolutely awesome, but I think that won't happen, which is a shame really. Combining the overall power output and torque and the light weight, I can't see myself using this car on the big track like the Nordschleife ever again and rather stick to Hillclimb, as I can see them to be very enjoyable with this car. The rotating rear will certainly help there as well. But for now I'm afraid I have to give it a 6.5/10
Toyota Supra - This car takes the number two spot on the list. I certainly did not expect this car to be as good as it turned out to be. The power from the 2JZ is plenty, the overall torque is managable with a little bit of throttle control and the grip is surprising. Considering the increased weight of the car, you definitely have to adjust your braking points accordingly, and pushing too hard will result in overheating tyres and ultimately a little drift machine, but if you're able to pull it off, it'll reward you greatly! I managed a 7:42 in the very first lap, with the overheating tyres, which essentially put me into a drift from Brünnchen onwards to the Gantry, but in total it was a very well sorted and controlable driving behaviour. 9.5/10
Overall thoughts on the DLC - Probably the best DLC that came out since the DP1. All of the cars, and surprising enough, even the sounds are top notch and not what I would call artificial (looking at your Ford Escort). The optimizations that took place didn't alter the driving feel too much or at all from what I could tell, which is a good thing in my honest opinion. For 5€, you won't be able to get anything more even remotely close to that quality and quantity in another racing sim or video game, period. Everybody who likes/loves JDM cars should definitely invest into this DLC, and even if you don't like JDM cars, maybe consider it. It's 5€, it's this or two burgers at McBurger King, and I certainly chose right in that regard as I get much more enjoyment out of this DLC than Burgers anyways
8.5/10