Beater or Sleeper? FH3 Edition! Thanks for coming.

[Vic Reign93]

One of the 4 starter cars and the only one that's a Ute, It was only a matter of time before we reviewed one of them.

And speaking of time..

Given its power levels and the front biased weight balance, it's surprisingly well behaved in the turns.

Despite some understeer creeping in at corner entry, the rear is planted going through the Hairpin in 2nd gear.

It'll dance if you want it to, but overall it's a decent handling ride for the Vans & Utility class.

Verdict: Sleeper 👍

 

[ClydeYellow]

There's not much that needs to be said about the HSV Maloo. It comes only in outrageous colors and is the most Australian thing after the landing in Gallipoli. And it drives wonderfully... Perhaps it's not the fastest car in its class, but it handles like a M3 E92 that someone turned into a pick-up truck and then provided with a loud, flame-spitting LSA supercharged V8.

Definitely a sleeper.

 

[Populuxe]

I can't seem to do much better than this. I've never been a big fan of this figure-8 track. Maybe because it looks like it was designed to be a track instead of a road people need to travel on. Or maybe it's because I never seem to win on this track. But it's never been fun for me. The Maloo, on the other hand, is a different matter. It's a fun truck-ish car to drive. Locomotive-like power and surprisingly adept handling. I had good fun racing it in the demo and for this week's beater-or-sleeper subject. Before the economic meltdown of 2008, there were plans to turn the Holden Ute into a Pontiac (since they'd already done that with the Monaro and the Commodore to make the GTO and G8.) A Pontiac Ute would have been very cool. I would call the Maloo a sleeper. It more than lives up to my expectations.

 

[Obelisk]

Week 4's announcement will be tonight as I have an unusual shift today.

 

[Obelisk]

(Double post. Pardon me.)

In reflection of a passing comment this week's winner made, I need to clarify something. Winners are chosen at random every week so that everyone gets a fair chance - who'd want to keep putting up with @Vic Reign93's awful taste in cars every week?

That said, let's get the party rolling.

First up, the time trial!

Congrats, @Vic Reign93!

Spoiler: Results

Vic Reign93: 1:01.228

SlipZtrEm: 1:01.962

Casey: 1:02.529

ImaRobot: 1:02.596

ClydeYellow: 1:04.398

Overdrive003: 1:04.565

Popluxe Cowboy: 1:04.665

RMedia Obelisk: 1:07.334

Yeah, stop jeering at me. I'm not an alien.

Anyways, let's see who our snark target is...


Congrats, @SlipZtrEm!


*crickets chirping as Obelisk checks email and GTP*


[Message sent at 9AM notifying that he won.]

[9:08 PM: SlipZtrEm has replied to your conversation on GTPlanet.]

Sorry for the short delay, was trying to find a route to suit the car.

What were you doing, taking the car to a picnic? Forza isn't a car dating simulator.

It'll be the...

It's the 1991 BMW M3!

This week's time trial will be at the Coober Pedy Scramble in the Outback!

Now, our glorious winner requested this track and gave me a pretty good reason for it:

It'll be the E30 M3 @ Coober Pedy Scramble in the Outback. I went for another circuit so people can keep shaving their times, while it takes the short detour off-road to remind us that not only was the E30 a circuit warrior, it was a surprisingly adept rally machine too.

Have at it, folks!

 

[Digitdan7]

Week 2: Didn't have the cash for the F40.
Week 3: Haven't unlocked the event.
Now I can FINALLY post a time.

As for the M3, it drives very nicely stock and is incredibly fast in C class (still stock). Also does better offroad than I anticipated.
I can't class it as a sleeper, however, since it's expected to drive very well, like most BMW's. It's also a very famous car, being the original M3.
Final verdict? Neutral.

 

[Populuxe]

As you can see, my car is pretty well beat up. After about 8 laps of watching @SlipZtrEm's taillights, I was about ready to call it a night. After about 20 laps of watching the back of his car, I was ready to put a gun to my head because I was sucking so hard. It's the first part of the course. Those two left-handers and the water-crossing/S-curves. I could never get them right. But then I realized I could make up a lot of time on the two final left-handers on the west end of the course that take you back to the start-finish line. I kept thinking of them as turns 3 and 4 (even though they're more like 7 and 8. Blame too much NASCAR on ESPN in the 1990s.) If I really cut in close on turn 3 (and managed not to hit the wall on the exit) then I could take turn 4 flat out and suddenly, I wasn't losing by 12 car lengths but only 3 or 4. If I could manage to suck just a tiny bit less on the first half of the course, I could win it on the back half of the course. And that's exactly what happened. I managed to put together one Herculean effort of non-suckage and I won it. It took me about 28 or 29 laps but I finally beat SlipZtrEm.

Oh, the car? What's to say? It's the E30 M3. When the final history of the automobile is written, the first M3 will rank as one of the greatest cars ever. That's not even hyperbole. It's the truth. I drove it in a straight line from the Byron Bay hub to Coober Pedy, right through jungle, over mountains, through ravine and rivers and it just kept going like it was no more than a bumpy autobahn. I took it for a lap of the Goliath circuit, and it was probably the most serene trip around the map I've ever taken. Smooth yet sharp, powerful yet controllable. I don't think there is another car in the game that you can throw so many superlatives at and have them all stick. It's hardly a sleeper, as it is one of the most storied cars ever built and it lives up to the hype. It's definitely not a beater. Neutral? That sounds almost insulting. So what is it? It's the E30 M3.

 

[Obelisk]

@Populuxe Cowboy You're just a bit off my time, too.

Hey @SlipZtrEm is your time in the rivals official?

 

[SlipZtrEm]

@Populuxe Cowboy You're just a bit off my time, too.

Hey @SlipZtrEm is your time in the rivals official?

Nah, just a warm-up...

(Sorry @Populuxe Cowboy )

 

[Populuxe]

@Populuxe Cowboy You're just a bit off my time, too.

I saw that, but after all the effort it took me to beat SlipZtrEm, I was as spent as John Holmes after filming a marathon orgy scene. I had nothing left to give.

(Sorry @Populuxe Cowboy )

No you're not.

 

[Vic Reign93]

So the BMW M3, What more is there to say about it that hasn't been said already?

The car that was pretty much everywhere in Motorsports back in the Mid Eighties to the early Nineties, From DTM, BTCC, ATCC, WTCC, FTCC, ITCC, Endurance Racing and even rallying, it really was a Jack of all trades racer and was a very good one at that.

Even today, genuine E30 M3's go for big money and a quick look on Pistonheads confirms that.

The lowest one I saw was sold for just under £30k with 56k miles on it and a same model year Sports Evolution with similar mileage is priced at over £100k.

Does the E30 M3 hold up to the legacy it has created?

Oh hell yes, but you knew that already didn't you?

It holds up to its reputation and doesn't do anything more because at this point, What is there left to prove?

Verdict: Neutral (But it definitely deserves a spot in any enthusiasts garage.)

Oh and before I forget...

 

[Obelisk]

So the BMW M3, What more is there to say about it that hasn't been said already?

The car that was pretty much everywhere in Motorsports back in the Mid Eighties to the early Nineties, From DTM, BTCC, ATCC, WTCC, FTCC, ITCC, Endurance Racing and even rallying, it really was a Jack of all trades racer and was a very good one at that.

Even today, genuine E30 M3's go for big money and a quick look on Pistonheads confirms that.

The lowest one I saw was sold for just under £30k with 56k miles on it and a same model year Sports Evolution with similar mileage is priced at over £100k.

Does the E30 M3 hold up to the legacy it has created?

Oh hell yes, but you knew that already didn't you?

It holds up to its reputation and doesn't do anything more because at this point, What is there left to prove?

Verdict: Neutral (But it definitely deserves a spot in any enthusiasts garage.)

Oh and before I forget...

View attachment 605537

ragequit.jpg

 

[Ken]

ragequit.jpg

How do you think I feel?

The car is a neutral for me too. It doesn't make me feel anything either way. It's to good to be a beater, but it's not a sleeper either.

 

[Obelisk]

I have to agree with the majority here. The E30's reputation precedes the car itself, so it's expected to drive well. Neutral, I say.


Updating the OP with links to all of the previous cars now.

 

[Obelisk]

Our winner hasn't been on since Friday. I will give him until the end of the day tomorrow to make his choice before I override it.

 

[Obelisk]

Our winner has turned down his opportunity to pick a car. What a way to miss out! Maybe next time he'll have a better idea of what he wants.

Anyways - due to the circumstances, I'll have to pick the next car.

First things first, though! The weekly TT winner!

Congrats, @Vic Reign93! You need to leave some scraps for the rest of us!

Spoiler: Results

Vic Reign93: 52.719

RMedia Obelisk: 54.121

Popluxe Cowboy: 54.288

Ken: 58.458

Digidan7: 58.817

Again, our winner turned down his choice of a car for this week.

So now, The Second Intervention.

It's the 2015 Koenigsegg One:1!

Our time trial this week will be at the Highway Circuit in the Outback!

 

[Populuxe]

My effort this week will be half-hearted at best.

 

[Obelisk]

My effort this week will be half-hearted at best.

Do you not like the car, or is it a personal matter?

 

[Populuxe]

Do you not like the car, or is it a personal matter?

Mostly I just don't care for hypercars. They always feel like too much work for too little reward.

 

[Populuxe]

Figured I might as well get this out of the way. I recognize that the Koenigsegg One:1 is ferocious beast of a car. I just don't derive much enjoyment from driving it. Everything just happens too fast for me. It's probably a function of my own admitted suckiness at video games. I'm a terrible video gamer because my reflexes are just too slow. Same with this car. My reflexes are too slow to get the most out of it. I'll rate it neutral.

(My well-known antipathy towards hypercars notwithstanding, if someone else wants to nominate a hypercar when their turns comes up, please do so. Don't let my crabbiness get in the way of your fun.)

 

[Ken]

I've got to figure out how to return mine to stock. I'm lazy.

 

[Cowboy]

I'll try to get around to testing this week. That is, if I can get away from Project Cars

 

[Vic Reign93]

I've got to figure out how to return mine to stock. I'm lazy.

If you want to return a car to stock, go to custom upgrades and hit the pause button or back button, that should bring up the options of load setup, save setup and default to stock setup, pick and confirm the third option.

You can also do this with parts installed if you just want to default to the factory settings like with gearboxes and aero, but keep any parts you installed already, you do this from the tuning menu.

So in summary, Default from the tuning menu to reset the cars setup and default from the custom upgrades menu if you want reset the car back to completely stock. 👍

 

[Obelisk]

I'm gonna call the One:1 a beater. Too much power.

 

[VXR]

What I liked about the GT version is that often, it was more ordinary cars that were tested. I struggle to gather enthusiasm for hypercars or iconic models like the M3 and F40 whose status is far too elevated to be a sleeper and unlikely to be seen as a beater.

With so many cars in the game, it's a shame we're not getting more modest cars to run the rule over.

 

[Obelisk]

What I liked about the GT version is that often, it was more ordinary cars that were tested. I struggle to gather enthusiasm for hypercars or iconic models like the M3 and F40 whose status is far too elevated to be a sleeper and unlikely to be seen as a beater.

With so many cars in the game, it's a shame we're not getting more modest cars to run the rule over.

We all get a turn to pick a car. I'm sure the next winner will want a modest car.

 

[Populuxe]

With so many cars in the game, it's a shame we're not getting more modest cars to run the rule over.

As @Obelisk said, we'll all have a turn. I've got a quite modest (but not silly) car in mind already.

 

[VXR]

I didn't realise how they were chosen. Sorry.

 

[Obelisk]

In reflection of a passing comment this week's winner made, I need to clarify something. Winners are chosen at random every week so that everyone gets a fair chance.

I didn't realise how they were chosen. Sorry.

i've bolded the comment in question. This has already been explained, but no worries.

 

[Obelisk]

Not a lot of contributers this week. Did y'all take a turkey break early?!

Only one person posted a time.

So...

Congrats @Populuxe Cowboy!

[missing: rankings]

As for our car choice...

Congrats, @Populuxe Cowboy!

What do you want us to run, Ms. Rarity?

[sheesh, didn't get a lot of stuff to work with up here. Wise guy. I'll get you next time.]

It's the 2012 Infiniti IPL G Coupe!

This has been in Horizon since the first game and I think I've driven it maybe once.

Huh, what? It was in the previous Horizons? Why?

No one talks about it.

It's a Datsun.

No one brags on it.

It's a Datsun.

No one complains about it.

A Datsun by any other name...

It seems completely overlooked. So why not get everyone into one and test it out?

Because it's an Datsun Infiniti.

This week's time trial will be on the Tramline Sprint in Surfer's Paradise!

Don't miss the train, damn it!