- 2,456
- South Auckland, New Zealand
- Nismonath5
Jacked-up GT-R or junkyard jalopy?
The FX45 Concept...
"This ain't a Skyline..."
The thing about @CORRUPTEDDISC's way of reviewing cars on GT6 is that he reviews the cars fully tuned. This means that although his view on the FX45 is very good, it might not be worthy of such high praise in stock form. (By the way that wasn't a criticism CD, just a noteworthy point.)
At $55,000 you get quite a bit for your money. Nissan's VK45 engine, the same motor that powers their Super GT cars, is the heart of this monster, though it's power output is a bit less than a Super GT!
350bhp is the magic number, and that power has to push 1500kgs worth of car around. For an SUV that's actually not a bad figure. It's lighter than some sports cars we've previously reviewed, like the Maserati GT, Cizeta V16T, and more recently, the Jag XKR-S.
The differences between concept and reality are few and far between. The concept lacks some details like indicators and roof racks, but most details like the rims, position of the fog lights, the way the front bumper kinda sticks out that little bit made their way into the production model.
I will admit, while driving this thing I was initially quite underwhelmed. It had a pretty average driving feel to it, average pace, average cornering, etc. But after a few races I realised that this "average feel" was in an SUV, not a car. The FX45 is a lot heavier, bulkier and higher off the ground than, say, an Integra Type R or Elise. But when I drove it, It didn't feel heavy and sluggish, like you might expect from any other SUV. Like @CaddyKOP said, it's not exactly light on it's feet, but it certainly doesn't feel like it weighs a tonne and a half!
Don't forget it's an SUV, so some grass won't hurt it!
As hinted in that photo, I found while driving the FX45 that if you were unfortunate enough to dip a wheel or two into the dirt, or maybe you were pushed out wide onto the soft stuff, you wouldn't lose as much speed as you'd expect. You'd lose grip, no doubt, and most likely go sliding into a barrier anyway, but if it was just a simple two-wheel dip in the dirt, it wouldn't hurt your chances at victory too badly.
I found it quite difficult to race in a group, because although the FX45 handles the corners quite well, it's not as great at maneuvering around a tight battle pack without hitting anyone. This made for some pretty bad race results on my part, as I would choose not hitting anyone over battling for the lead. I never actually drove it off road, so I'm not sure how it would do as a rally car. But it's lively enough to be safe from being called a beater. However, personally I don't like it enough to call it a sleeper. I'm on the fence with this one. 👎👍
The FX45 Concept...
"This ain't a Skyline..."
The thing about @CORRUPTEDDISC's way of reviewing cars on GT6 is that he reviews the cars fully tuned. This means that although his view on the FX45 is very good, it might not be worthy of such high praise in stock form. (By the way that wasn't a criticism CD, just a noteworthy point.)
At $55,000 you get quite a bit for your money. Nissan's VK45 engine, the same motor that powers their Super GT cars, is the heart of this monster, though it's power output is a bit less than a Super GT!
350bhp is the magic number, and that power has to push 1500kgs worth of car around. For an SUV that's actually not a bad figure. It's lighter than some sports cars we've previously reviewed, like the Maserati GT, Cizeta V16T, and more recently, the Jag XKR-S.
The differences between concept and reality are few and far between. The concept lacks some details like indicators and roof racks, but most details like the rims, position of the fog lights, the way the front bumper kinda sticks out that little bit made their way into the production model.
I will admit, while driving this thing I was initially quite underwhelmed. It had a pretty average driving feel to it, average pace, average cornering, etc. But after a few races I realised that this "average feel" was in an SUV, not a car. The FX45 is a lot heavier, bulkier and higher off the ground than, say, an Integra Type R or Elise. But when I drove it, It didn't feel heavy and sluggish, like you might expect from any other SUV. Like @CaddyKOP said, it's not exactly light on it's feet, but it certainly doesn't feel like it weighs a tonne and a half!
As hinted in that photo, I found while driving the FX45 that if you were unfortunate enough to dip a wheel or two into the dirt, or maybe you were pushed out wide onto the soft stuff, you wouldn't lose as much speed as you'd expect. You'd lose grip, no doubt, and most likely go sliding into a barrier anyway, but if it was just a simple two-wheel dip in the dirt, it wouldn't hurt your chances at victory too badly.
I found it quite difficult to race in a group, because although the FX45 handles the corners quite well, it's not as great at maneuvering around a tight battle pack without hitting anyone. This made for some pretty bad race results on my part, as I would choose not hitting anyone over battling for the lead. I never actually drove it off road, so I'm not sure how it would do as a rally car. But it's lively enough to be safe from being called a beater. However, personally I don't like it enough to call it a sleeper. I'm on the fence with this one. 👎👍