Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

[WTFnews]

You on a DS3 or wheel?

Ususally on a wheel, today on DS3, because my wheel has been acting up, why do you ask?

 

[Obelisk]

Ususally on a wheel, today on DS3, because my wheel has been acting up, why do you ask?

I had a very different experience on a wheel. I'll expand on this in a review, but the car felt a lot like a racer.

 

[Fire Yoshi]

Catching up with a slight backlog in my reviews...



Oh, Kaz. It took you to the sixth iteration of Gran Turismo to finally include a single Firebird into the game, and the only GTOs to be found are the respective alpha and omega editions of the nameplate. Yet with so many of the legendary cars produced under the Pontiac badge omitted, somehow the Vibe was deemed inclusion to digital form in the annals of GT.

That gripe put aside, the Vibe actually was something of a pleasant surprise. (I'm focusing on the Pontiac here, because while the Toyota Voltz is essentially identical, the Vibe is simply better because "MORE POWER!") After the woeful handling of the Fiat Coupe, it was rather pleasant to discover that this "Crossover before crossovers were a thing" actually handled fairly decently. It showed what crossovers could have been before they became a hit with soccer moms and predictably became unnecessarily heavy and bloaty to satiate the masses that used to buy minivans.

The Vibe is no Beater then, but with the number of good cars available at its PP range (including the premium Mazda 6 or the more sporty 240Z), the best I can give it is a Neutral verdict.



Theme song for this week (since this will literally be the only time I get to use it):

*sticks my hand out the window of the 240Z, and waves high to the camera*

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

@JackRyanWMU is Under Investigation for conspiracy to commit murder of a great song...



You also owe me lunch after making me toss my cookies for listening to 14 seconds of that TERRIBLE version. Contracts have been put out on that Jackson guy too!

Cheers

 

[McClarenDesign]

@JackRyanWMU is Under Investigation for conspiracy to commit murder of a great song...



You also owe me lunch after making me toss my cookies for listening to 14 seconds of that TERRIBLE version. Contracts have been put out on that Jackson guy too!

Cheers

​

No further action will be taken.

 

[McClarenDesign]

First thing...

@Obelisk PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
​

And on with the rest of the show.

​

 

[Obelisk]

Hey MCD, I'm over it. However, you are under investigation for terrible driving.

But if you really want to make up for it, let's do a 1v1 Wangan battle later.

Anyways, time for my weekly review!

Obelisk's Review of the Week
#2: Mercury Cougar '67

I spent a week in the hospital because of an accident out on the Bayshore route. I was in the process of testing an RUF 3400S' top speed in the middle of the night with some other RUF fans. Unfortunately, one of them was a grandmother who, while brave, was still cautious. She went through one corner at about 120 MPH when the rest of us were running that turn at 160 MPH. Put two and two together, and you get the picture. The grandma survived with minor bruises, but neither RUF survived the wreck. On the day I was released, I got a call from the friend whose grandma was driving with us. "Hey, we have a new car to try out," he says, "you'll like this one." He just hung up after that without telling me where to go.

Oh, really? I liked the RUF but hated the driving dynamic at low speeds. Wonder what it is now? I hailed a rather shady-looking Prius taxi to drive me back to my home, and proceeded to get kicked out when the driver tried to scam me. But I got to the house!

Sitting in my driveway was a old car of some sort in pristine condition. I approached it, and saw it was a 1967 Mercury Cougar. An interesting choice, indeed. This is one of the cars that rose from the era of big engines and terrible gas mileage, and it was essentially a fancy Mustang.

Let's take it for a spin.

Some tidbits about the Mercury Cougar:
This Cougar XR7 came with a four barrel V8 engine producing 335 HP mated to a four-speed gearbox. Being a muscle car, it had a live axle and boat-like suspension. The thing is, it shipped at about 3100 pounds, so it was a lightweight compared to the giants in the industry like the Superbird, Charger, etc.

This was a pleasantly surprising car. The performance of the car is incredibly good for something from the era of bouncy cars and big steel blocks. It held on very well under heavy cornering, and accelerated quickly out of the turns. The only issue it had was if you tried to brake and snap from one turn to another, it would stop turning halfway through. In classic muscle car style, the top speed in 4th gear is 120 MPH. The straight line acceleration is a tad slow but can be very deadly asset, as the slight lack of acceleration lets the car get back on the gas earlier and stronger.

Overall, the XR7 is remarkably agile and quick for an old machine, and can be tuned to well over 800 HP. Because of its uniquely modern driving dynamic and potential output, I dub this Cougar a sleeper.

Now, to find a cougar for Brad to date...

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Oh Obelisk, just that whole "RUF grandma" story alone makes your short review worthwhile. It was worthy of a good laugh, too. That's one dangerous Wangan grandma...
But joke aside, a nice review, guess the handling dynamics of the Cougar are impressing many so far. 👍

 

[McClarenDesign]

Now, to find a cougar for Brad to date...

Way ahead of you. Liked it so much that I put a ring on it.

 

[Obelisk]

Way ahead of you. Liked it so much that I put a ring on it.

You must be serious SLS AMG, then.

 

[RobboGTAddict]

I'm going to drive that Cougar hard tonight. That old bird still knows a few tricks. I may need to bring some lubricant, just in case....

The jokes write themselves.

 

[McClarenDesign]

You must be serious SLS AMG, then.

Very, before I became a Super Best Friend Super Aguri. Good times.

I'm going to drive that Cougar hard tonight. That old bird still knows a few tricks. I may need to bring some lubricant, just in case....

The jokes write themselves.

And not one Courtney Cox reference... Shame on you all! (Cougar Town, anyone?)

 

[Niku Driver HC]

And not one Courtney Cox reference... Shame on you all! (Cougar Town, anyone?)

Well, that's why we leave the American pop culture references to you, isn't it? After all, cars are not the only thing where you can resort to a vast library of knowledge... And besides, the very first American Cougar cultural reference came from you and that cheerful Hagerty commercial, so that only proves my point further.

 

[Fire Yoshi]

Honestly, my favorite thing about this Cougar is the Burgundy paint chip you can get from it.

Tis a nice shade of red.

Edit: Yes, I know this is a GT4 screenshot.

 

[Vic Reign93]

Very, before I became a Super Best Friend Super Aguri. Good times.



And not one Courtney Cox reference... Shame on you all! (Cougar Town, anyone?)

Eh, it was too easy.

But since you mentioned a Cougar (a damn fine one at that. ) I might as well use it as a Segway into my review for the cars that some Cougars end up driving, the Toyota Voltz and Pontiac Vibe GT.

Cougars, Voltz and Vibes, the jokes and comedy writes itself here.

No Charge Needed

The Toyota Voltz S is the lesser of the two family run arounds here, both pack the same sized engine, a 1.8 litre non turbo 4 banger.

But where the Voltz gets its engine from a Corolla along with Toyotas 4 speed auto, the Pontiac Vibe gets its engine and gearbox from the top model Celica, near 190hp with a 6 speed manual gearbox.

Both are also remarkably light too, weighing in under 1300kg ( 1273 for the Vibe and 1250 for the Voltz) which means they are lighter than the Fiat Coupe Turbo.

Now admittedly the Fiat is more streamlined than the minivans and turbo'ed so it's faster in a straight line, but both are remarkablely better to drive through the turns.

The Voltz is let down by the 4 Speed gearbox, everywhere but SSR7 we never used 4th gear.
If the gearing was shorter or the engine was more gutsy, it wouldn't be as bad of a problem, but that's not the case here.

The Voltz is a Beater, not completely terrible as did have some handling capabilitys, but a Beater none the less. 👎

The Vibe GT has a much better gearbox and power to match its sportier pretensions, great handling and if properly set-up, could be a real ego buster in the right PP range.

So the Vibe GT is a sleeper, capable in stock form of being fun to drive and can go quite far for power due to the Celica drivetrain. 👍

So from the Soccer mom Cougars to the Mercury Cougar, this'll be a fun night. :tup:

 

[Obelisk]

I just love how some of these cars bring out the lewd jokes in all of us.

May be able to race Saturday.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Getting RUF with a Cougar...

Well, in the same picture anyways... . An unlikely pair, but with back to back picks for the COTW, it just made it easier to do. All joking aside, I am one of those guys who refers to cars as being female, so getting rides from an older girl just after a younger model is definitely a good thing. Sure they're different, but it's fun to compare them... because that's what we do here at COTW headquarters.

The previous week we tried out a model that screams "chick car". It might be a stereotype, but in my real life observations, I see only trophy wives driving around in the entry level Porsche version. Even in our local version of the RUF club, the president's wife is the sole driver of the 3400, but it's HER baby. And she's proud of it.

Porsches are quick to begin with... well tuned machines make for a piece of rolling artwork in a bunch of cases. To get a RUF rendition however, is about as close to orgasmic as a car can be. There's a reason why we say: "Drive her hard, drive her fast, she likes it RUF!" Picture your favourite model or actress in your head... that's a Porsche. Beautiful and sexy. Now picture the same woman with porn star abilities... that's a RUF. You know it's a Sleeper and a Keeper!

Ahhh the Cougar... described as the luxury pony car. It might be a bit more refined than the Mustang, but memories of my buddy's XR-7 don't include the word luxurious at all. Don't get me wrong, I was jealous that he had one, and he was basically the inspiration for buying my first Mustang. I've always loved looking at the ass end of this car, especially how the tail lights lit up. The first gen Cougars were by far the sexiest, at least in my mind.

I'm beyond happy we jumped on this one. Of the muscle cars here in GT6, it's number 2 on my list of faves. Sure muscle cars were limited in certain ways such as top speed with a stock gearbox, but they all were geared for get up and gone. Sprinters not marathon cars. Compared to how other heavier muscle cars handle, these were blessings in disguise. Another Sleeper and Keeper!

Cheers

 

[Draggon]

I really like this car. I am surprised at how good it really is. I spent literally hours comparing this to all the other muscle cars. The best is the GT350 R but it suffers from only 451pp in stock form. The two closest to the XR-7 in performance and handling are the Nova and Chevelle. Lowering the PP to match the Cougar reveals the only thing IMO that hampers the Cougar is that trans limiting it to 119 mph. I test a lot at Brands Hatch and Deep Forest, and lap times differ less than a half second between the three. The However the Cougar just "feels" lighter and a lot more nimble.

It was advertised by Mercury as having "untamed elegance" and it got me to thinking....old school american luxury muscle .....new school american luxury muscle.....enter the Tesla Model S Signature Performance! Getting the PP down to match the Cougar produced some amazing results. A hundred miles on both of them produced lap times almost identical, varying by less than a few hundreths of a second. The Tesla is better getting into the corner up to exit. The Cougar is better out of the turn and has better acceleration. Pushed to its limits the Cougar is a smidge faster, but the Tesla is a lot easier to drive.

Cougar, definitely a sleeper! Tesla is... well this is not a Tesla review.... or is it? We might have a Saturday surprise 👍

 

[Vic Reign93]

Crouching Cougar, Running Vic

I'm in love with a Cougar, a Mercury Cougar.

The idea behind the Cougar was to combine the lightness of the Ford Mustang with the luxury and quality of the Ford Thunderbird, unlike most ideas like this it actually has its cake and eats it too.

Coming from the factory with 319hp from a 6.4 V8 and weighing in at a remarkable 1,418kg which when compared to the Dodge Charger Super Bee is over 400Kg lighter.

In fact the only muscle cars that lighter are as follows,

Both Shelby GT350's
Both the Z28 and SS Camaro and the C2 Corvette and they are more expensive than the Cougar.

Speaking of Price, it's 47,280 price is only beaten by the Plymouth Superbird at 42,440 and whilst the Superbird is over 100hp higher, it's over 300kgs heavier than the Cougar.

Any close rivals statistically? Yes actually, the Pontiac Tempest Le Mans GTO, the original Muscle car.

Whilst the GTO loses on price at 52,600 and is 2kgs heavier and is 1pp down, it's got 325hp which is 6 more than the Cougar from similar sized V8 which makes roughly the same amount of torque at the same RPMs as the Cougar.

Might be worth looking at on Saturday should someone bring one.

Going by just the specs for other muscle cars, the Cougar is looking like quite the performance bargain. 👍

And it continues out on the track.

As already mentioned by @Baron Blitz Red the gearing is set for the sprint between the lights and/or the quarter mile runs and not the long straights at full throttle.

Of course my old friend the open differential makes an appearance so one tyre fires will be common place coming out of turns.

One thing which I did like is because of the short gearing and torquey engine, you never need to downshift as I demonstrated by after passing Rob on lap 1 at Sierra sticking it in 4th and left it there for the rest of the race.

It's handling is remarkable despite not being a track focused model, it lead to some great racing throughout the field.

It's easily a Sleeper and is so far my pick for Sleeper of the year, But the year is still young.

I can definitely see why people go for Cougars. 👍

 

[Obelisk]

May not be able to race tomorrow.

 

[McClarenDesign]

May not be able to race tomorrow.

Do what you must, then do what you can. There will always be more racing, and none of us are going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[RacingOtaku86]

Do what you must, then do what you can. There will always be more racing, and none of us are going anywhere anytime soon.

But we are going somewhere... Everyone is. I mean, we are moving in space.

 

[CaddyKOP]

Eminence Front

Who doesn't love muscle cars? Seriously, anyone who doesn't have at least a tiny respect for the old-fashioned, big block, American muscle boats of the 1960s, really doesn't know how to have fun. Yeah, they don't corner very well, and yeah, they only go up to about 120 mph in fourth gear. But stomp on that gas pedal, rip that Hurst t-bar into first, and I swear a smile will end up on your face after a few seconds. Muscle cars are the epitome of a bare-bones, rip-snorting good time, and that's why they never really died throughout years of opposition from the Emissions group in Washington.

So, with all that in mind, I beg the question...what good is there in making a luxurious muscle car?

​

That's pretty much what most people were thinking when Mercury rolled out the Cougar in the mid 1960s. For those who don't know what Mercury was, let me put it this way. Say, you were interested in buying a Ford. For example's sakes, let's say it's a Taurus. You've specified what you want on your Taurus. You want all the luxury features you can get without banging the buck. But, your salesman politely interjects, you can't get the power seats without opting for leather seating. Now, your aging rear couldn't stand to deal with the rapid temperature changing leather upholstery, so what do you do? Never fear, that's what the Mercury Sable was for. Mercury pretty much added an air of luxury to the most basic of Ford models. They weren't quite as prestigious as a Lincoln, but they still made most buyers feel like they bought a more upscale machine.

​

That's exactly what the Cougar was. It was a touted-up first generation Mustang (well, for the first generation), that debuted in 1967, sporting some quite striking and extremely different styling. The XR-7 was the most luxurious Cougar model, featuring some nice leather seats as an option, as well as faux-wood trim and other amenities. People who bought Cougars carried themselves with a different air than Mustang owners. And, boy, did it sell. The Cougar name lasted up until 2002, and over the years, it had its fair share of platform changes, from Mustangs, to Torinos, to Thunderbirds, all the way up to the Ford Puma.

​

So, what's this this leather-coated Mustang really like? Let's find out as we head over to the test track...which is, luckily, open this week, unlike last week when I had to drive that bloody Boxster.

​

Uh, well...it certainly does drive.

Listen, there's no sugar-coating this. This thing handles like total ****. Coast it around a tight corner and the tires will beg to mercy while the wall gets closer and greets you with a warm smile and a metal-lined grave. It's better to just let off the gas when you're in a corner and just try to get out of there as soon as possible. Plus, I do have to mention that the body roll is absolutely atrocious. I suggest hiring a co-pilot that's good at catching you before you find your head rolling down the pavement on the passenger side.

​

On a broad and longer bend, however, it's much more manageable. It really kind of turns into a NASCAR stock car. The engine bellows and you just...eeeeasseeee around the bend. Nice, smooth, Mustang-like. If you have long enough hands, I'd imagine the average owner could easily adjust the air conditioning while going around a bend at Talladega, easily.

​

But seriously, if you survived taking the Cougar around a kink or a tight bend that's any shorter than the first turn at Daytona without absolutely blowing chunks, you'll be rewarded by what this Cougar does best: straights. I'm not saying it's a super-fast machine...in fact, you can maintain around 115 mph in fourth gear before the engine would probably blow, but, you feel like a king. The way that this thing cruises, matched with the feeling of the poorly formed leather buckets and the glare of the faux wood shining on your sunglasses. Turn up the Bob Seger and let your troubles melt into a cool bottle of Coke as this baby blue Mercury covets you into the Florida sunset. Look at me, writing song lyrics over here.

So, with a time of 3:24.351, two seconds faster than the Nova from a few months ago, what I can say is that to truly enjoy this car, find the straightest road in America, and keep it in third. You won't regret it. But first, let's see how the Cougar does against the competitors of the era.

​

Long story short, it's pretty good. It fits right in with most of the muscle cars on the track, all while emitting this feeling of class. It was no big feat to conquer the Chevies and Mopars. In fact, I'm willing to bet that this car handled the best out of the bunch...well, except for that GT40.

​

And yeah, that GT40 was too much to catch up to...but hey, I got third place. Not bad, ol girl, not bad.

​

The Verdict

As much as I try to want to rip on the Cougar, something about it just keeps me from it. Is it its lust for a Panama City Miracle Strip run. Is it its hospitality and it's innocence, knowing it's just a product of a bad badge-engineering trip. I think it's a combination of everything. This thing is horrible to attempt to drive on a professional circuit, but everything else just works so much in its favor. The Cougar XR-7 gets a sleeper with which it will live on in my garage to be used upon another day.

Edit: Don't know why my pictures aren't coming up. I'll tend to it tomorrow.

 

[JackRyanWMU]

Let's talk about the Boxster. The best thing this car had going for it was....well, it didn't need to be a 911. Because Porsche didn't need to worry about the throngs of its fanbase yelling, "Don't you dare change the styling, put the engine in the right place, and make it not try to kill me with snap-oversteer every corner; or IT WON'T BE A 911 ANYMOAR!", they could make the car as they saw fit.

While the front end did end up mimicking the contemporary 911 including the rather ugly headlights of the time ("Because, BRAND IDENTITY, YO!"), the rear of the car came away with lines so smooth and attractive that the car might have looked better if they had took off the body, turned it 180 degrees, and put it back on the frame so the back became the front. And because you had the engine actually in the car instead of dangling 5 feet out the back and acting like a pendulum, the car actually handles properly. Turn-in is quick and its very easy to maintain course and heading when navigating a turn. Only the most severe of steering and throttle inputs will cause the rear tires to fall out of lock-step with your commands.



Of course, the Boxster had to receive a weaker engine from the factory so as not to humiliate its VW Beetle-blooded brethren. Thankfully for us, RUF stepped in and gave us an engine with plentiful power that this capable chassis deserved. The end result is a car capable of running with anything in its PP range, and maybe even cars a dozen points higher or so.

This car is without doubt, a Sleeper. Even Porsche faithful would be quite likely to completely overlook this car either because it's listed as a Ruf, or because they're dashing headlong towards their favorite 911. Which is a shame, because they would be missing the best car in the dealership.

 

[JackRyanWMU]

On the day that horses and big cats face off in the big game, how appropriate to be reviewing the Mustang-derived Mercury Cougar.

It's the muscle car formula that we all know (and many of us love). Big engine, lots of power, plenty of tire shredding in the corners at will. What I like about the Cougar is that while it aims to be upscale, it doesn't make any compromises in its performance. Underneath the leather and wood trim is still that wild and raucous V-8 powered beast it started life as.



Even when pitted against its hardcore sports car cousin, the Shelby GT350, the Mercury has no problem matching it stride for stride even with extra weight to haul around. The only difference I could discern was that the Shelby had higher top end speed, which brings us to the Cougar's biggest shortcoming, the transmission that limits the car to 115 mph in spite of the engine having more power to give.

The Cougar is a sleeper, but given the choice I would rather have the GT350. With its premium treatment and higher top speed, I'll take the horse over the big cat.



Speaking of which, Go Denver Broncos!

 

[McClarenDesign]

I'm going to drive that Cougar hard tonight. That old bird still knows a few tricks. I may need to bring some lubricant, just in case....

The jokes write themselves.

Congratulations RobboGTAddict! Your obvious observation, and keen insight into the obvious, have earned you the coveted opportunity to select this week's car! That, and I need a few moments of silence, so anything to get you away from those drums...

OK. I think the BRZ/FRS debate would be a good one. But, I'm choosing the...

It's the 1996 Honda Prelude Type S!

If there wasn't record snowfall in the winter of 95/96, I would of purchased this car, instead of the Jeep Wrangler I did buy.

Can't we just go back and select the FR-S? WTF is wrong with you?!

Fine, the front-wheel drive pseudo fast without furious will have to do.

Once again, @Vic Reign93 topped the Time Trial time sheets with a 2:09.728. I don't know why we bother anymore. This week's chance and failure is at Thixton, courtesy of R1600Turbo, and it's available now.

 

[Obelisk]

I guess this is a prelude to the Kingdom of @Vic Reign93 and what it harbors for all of us.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

It's either an upscale Integra, or an downgraded NSX without the part in the contract which reads "MR"; the Prelude sits in a strange place within Honda's range, but it doesn't exist without merit. I did tune two in GT5's golden days, with a Type S that focused on educated personality but a better edge to it...

Would it be better than a Wrangler in terms of real life? Well, it doesn't feature an interior built with discarded action figures, and reliability is actually kind enough to keep your life serene for more than a full month. Snow could pose somewhat of an issue, however, and it doesn't shrug bullets quite as well...

If anything, it won't flop like the Coupe. More fun for the whole family!

 

[Draggon]

I guess this is a prelude to the Kingdom of @Vic Reign93 and what it harbors for all of us.

I just ignore Vic's times and see where I place with the rest of the "losers". I'm painting my Prelude "Vic Purple" this week. He gave me some good luck last night!

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

I just ignore Vic's times and see where I place with the rest of the "losers". I'm painting my Prelude "Vic Purple" this week. He gave me some good luck last night!

Don't you mean "Purple Reign"???

Cheers