donk.'s Past Time Car Review Thread

[roastpuff]

K-swap it!

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

While my R53 has high miles, it has only had old car problems due to a combination of age, wear and tear, and/or previous owners' delay or neglect in maintenance. It hasn't actually had any of the issues experienced by everyone else here on the forum whose owned a Mini. Keep in mind, there are probably 50 different previous owners of the Mini I have so God knows what was (not) done to it.

You guys probably saw my laundry list of "problems" in a recent post but if you dig through them all, nothing catastrophically failed like exploding cooling systems or electrical problems. To be brutally honest, I don't even know if the supercharger works. And I don't care!

I want the car to die so I can do something fun with it (i.e. engine swap) but it won't die. It's starting to burn a quarter of oil every 1000KM or something so maybe it's a sign.

It'll keep working as long as you don't crack open the pandora's box. Once you crack something open everything will turn into dust.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

(Pro looking photos too)

Shot on iPhone 6s



We'll make you an Apple believer yet!!

[Badhobz]

DERAIL:

Yes, no disputing how good crapple phones are for photos. I tried 3 flagships last winter (pixel 7, galaxy s23, iphone 14pro) and still preferred the iphone shots to all of them.

Galaxy was too saturated and warm, even with tone adjustment it looked off. Its night mode also sucked major and the autofocus was a joke.

Pixel binning was too strong. Even though it had a lot of megapixels it binned it down to a small file and it it was also on the cool side. dynamic range sucked. The quality was also hit and miss with each shot.

Crapple was the most consistent overall and pro-raw 48megapixel actually works quite well. Considering how much i dislike crapple as a company, im still completely locked into their ecosystem now.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

K-swap it!

This is the idea but I'm reading and watching YouTube videos on the swap and 1. it's really expensive and 2. a lot of modifications are required

At that point, is it worth it? Given the economic situation, maybe not haha

Edit: RabitRat - did you use the stock photo app or another one?

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

RabitRat - did you use the stock photo app or another one?

Yep just the stock Camera app.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

DERAIL:

Yes, no disputing how good crapple phones are for photos. I tried 3 flagships last winter (pixel 7, galaxy s23, iphone 14pro) and still preferred the iphone shots to all of them.

Galaxy was too saturated and warm, even with tone adjustment it looked off. Its night mode also sucked major and the autofocus was a joke.

Pixel binning was too strong. Even though it had a lot of megapixels it binned it down to a small file and it it was also on the cool side. dynamic range sucked. The quality was also hit and miss with each shot.

Crapple was the most consistent overall and pro-raw 48megapixel actually works quite well. Considering how much i dislike crapple as a company, im still completely locked into their ecosystem now.

Nice! Ok now what'll it take to get you brainwashed on Porsche

[Badhobz]

one that doesnt look like a stinking ricer VW beetle !!!

[trollface]

I think you got taken for a ride on the clutch.

[roastpuff]

I'm going to start with the car that I have the most history with, and the one that I still miss to this day:

2010 VW GTI MK6, DSG

History
I was looking for my true "first car" that wasn't a hand me down from my parents (2000 Honda Civic EX, anyone?). Originally, I went to look at a 2009 Civic Si 4-door, but my lack of manual driving skills and the fact that no one else except my dad knew how to drive stick meant that my parents strongly hinted that I should buy an automatic car so that other family members could use it if needed. In order to sweeten the pot they agreed to kick in some money as DCT-equipped cars during that era were significantly more expensive. The Civic Si that I was looking at retailing at 23k for example, and the GTI and the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart (not the Evo, but the detuned version below it) were above 30k.

We went to the Mitsubishi dealer across from Richmond Costco, and they acted like their crap didn't smell, even though the showroom was dead and no one else were really looking. They wouldn't even budge a single dollar on MSRP. At Mitsubishi! My dad got extremely pissed off at the sales guy, and told me that we were going elsewhere. On the way home, we stopped by Clarksdale VW, which happened to have two GTIs in stock - a 2-door manual, and a 4-door DSG. Went to sit in the black 4-door DSG, with less than 100km on the odo, and it immediately felt like home. Everything felt natural and came to hand easily. That interior was such a delightful experience after coming from the hard plastic of the Lancer, and the hatch made it super practical.

The sales guy was a young dude not much older than I was at the time, and clearly another car enthusiast. We got talking, we took the GTI out for a test drive as it was already parked out front. When we came up to the stop light at Cambie & King Ed, he told me to turn off TC/ESP, put the gearbox in S, hold the brake hard, and smash the gas. Launch control when the light went green. I was hooked! This little hatch could pull!

Some negotiating later, I took delivery of that exact GTI one day before my birthday. It was a 2010 4-door GTI in Deep Black Pearl, DSG, with the leather package, and nothing else. Still loved it.

Day 1



I immediately broke it in by going to autocross right after I crossed 1500km on the odo.

Slush Jan 2010


Picked up a set of winter wheels and tires from TSS - and then went and did snow auto-x, as well as go to Whistler, Cypress etc.


When it was less snowy, I had a set of Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's that I got for the car. Those were some good looking wheels.


There was a Mission track day in there somewhere but I don't seem to have pictures.

I was once two hours late to a date because I was washing the car. True story.


I loved that car. It was super practical, had a surprising amount of space, rode really well, and was still incredibly fun to drive (if all that you were used to were Honda Civic, Accords, and Odysseys!). The DSG farts never got old to me, I loved hearing the car upshift. The interior was an incredibly nice place to spend time in. Definitely did not turn off any dates.

Of course, being young dumb and having disposable income, I modified the thing. First things first were the euro tail lights. I was in on the original, very first Mk6 tail light group buy direct from Germany. That came out to be about 650CAD for the tails landed. Still the best mod I ever made for that car.

Good old Pitt Meadows pad, I miss ye.


Tune, intake, exhaust, coils and big RSB got installed on the car eventually, and it kind of ruined the car a bit now that I look back at it. I would approach the modifications list differently now that I have more experience, but at the time I wanted to throw parts at that car lol.

Eventually, I got a job out of town near Prince George, and I felt that the GTI wouldn't do well up there in the snow and wilderness lol. I "sold" it to my brother, and got a Subaru Forester XT.

Years later, I came back to town, and my brother left Vancouver for NY. He no longer needed a car, and I was driving a Ram 1500 which is huge when you drive it around town here. I sold the Ram, regained ownership of the GTI, and drove it a couple years longer. It was like coming back to a childhood friend after years apart. You both had gained some mileage, wear and tear, creaks and noises, but you still meshed well with each other.

I started restoring the car a bit back to stock - my brother had questionable taste in wheels, for example, and doing some neglected maintenance.



Then, I got the crazy idea to do a TSD rally.


We both survived with no lasting damage, even with a couple of offs into a ditch.

Eventually, the GTI got traded in for the Audi, and I was kind of sad to see it go. But the wifey wanted something larger and comfortable for daily.


I still think about that GTI, and if I didn't have the S2000 I think I might've looked at picking another up. Or a Golf R from that era.

OK, back to the actual review part.


Review

Exterior: This car fixed the fat jellybean look of the MK5 GTI. It had a far more athletic look, with more defined body lines and less of a slab sided look which made the Mk5 look fat and shapeless. The Euro tail lights were a thing of beauty, looking closer to Audi tail lights compared to what North America got, which was bland and uninspired. The headlights were also beautiful, with detailing in the lenses that made the active cornering lights look alive, and of course, the original "Detroit" wheels (which I didn't have) were very striking and bold in their design for the era. The paint quality was superb, and there were lots of nice little touches everywhere a step above most other cars in the class. To be fair, it was more expensive than the others as well such as the Mazdaspeed 3, the Civic Si, and the Cobalt SS. The Mini CS JCW was more expensive, and the WRX was priced the same.

Overall it was very understated and blended in if you didn't know to look for the dual exhaust and the red GTI stripe.

Interior: Very German. Very utilitarian. But it was built very well, and aged very well. I think it's an almost timeless simple design that wasn't busy or overcomplicated. The build quality in the Mk6 was leaps and bounds ahead of the Mk5, which got criticized for the poor interior, and VW responded. The seats are still some of the most comfortable for me, and the flat bottomed steering wheel (rare for the time) aped the Audi R8.

At 12 years old and 160+ KM, my GTI's interior held up well to use and sometimes abuse. The seats had some creases and my butt caused stretch marks but don't we all have lines as we age? I updated the head unit with a Chinese VW OEM unit that had Android Auto and Carplay, took all of 10 minutes and no coding. Brought the car back up into the 2020s, steering wheel controls worked perfectly.

The hatch and the relatively square body shape does amazing things with the cargo space. I managed to fit so much crap in that car that I thought wouldn't fit. I used it to go to the dump when renovating our place, and the people there were amazed at how much we had in the back piled to the ceiling. IKEA runs were no challenge, and four people + ski gear + suitcase fit just fine on trips.



Reliability: It's a German car. You have to keep up with the maintenance. It's never left me stranded, and I never had problems because I was on top of everything. However, my brother wasn't as on the ball as I was. He had a misfire issue, false neutral DSG drop issue, and intake manifold flapper issue.

Misfire was solved by getting new plugs and coils, which it needed as it was due for a plug change anyways.

False neutral DSG issue was solved with DSG service. Also he managed to crack the trans pan going to a cabin somehow.

Intake manifold was replaced (known problem) and issue disappeared. Did walnut blast and other related services during this time but that's the direct injection life.

Other than a slight oil burn (1L per 5000KM which is nothing by VW standards, really) this EA888 was rock solid. Just needed regular maintenance.

Performance: It wasn't fast stock but it wasn't slow either. 200hp/200lb-ft is still plenty, and since it didn't have a LSD the GTI had problems putting down the power sometimes if you launched hard. It wasn't until I stuck RE-71R tires on the car that it could launch reliably without spinning out badly. On the highway it pulled hard, and same on the track. It was eager to turn but ended up in terminal understeer when you hit 8/10ths or higher, especially on track. The brakes were pretty decent. The pads lasted much longer than I expected - well over 80,000km with over 2 dozen auto-x events, a track day or two, and lots of daily driving.

Once you put a tune on it, you unleashed easily another 50hp or so. Stage 2 was good for 270hp and 280lbft with a lot more room under the table, and approached the limits of the stock DSG and FWD traction without adding in aftermarket LSDs. A big rear sway cured some of the understeer but also ruined the ride a little bit as it got quite stiff.

Was it the fastest thing out there? No. Was it the rawest thing out there? Also no. But man the GTI was a great compromise car, and it had some personality to it.

I miss my GTI.

[Badhobz]

ah yes. makes total sense with the Audi now. Its basically just a grown-up version of your GTI.

P.s. i like your bro's wheel choices, nothing wrong with dem in my eyes.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

ah yes. makes total sense with the Audi now. Its basically just a grown-up version of your GTI.

P.s. i like your bro's wheel choices, nothing wrong with dem in my eyes.

Yeah, the Audi is a bigger, softer, more grown up GTI.

Also, those pictures are all wheels that I put on. This is what he had on it. Curb rashed to hell and back by him and his gf/fiancee/wife.

[Badhobz]

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

Yeah, the Audi is a bigger, softer, more grown up GTI.

Also, those pictures are all wheels that I put on. This is what he had on it. Curb rashed to hell and back by him and his gf/fiancee/wife.

It could be worse....

[radeonboy]

This one was on its way out since this thread started, but I waited until the car was gone to make a post.



2022 Kia Soul EV Premium

Picked this one up in March 2022 after I determined it was cheaper to daily this than to pump gas into the V8 Camry. Now that both vehicles are no longer with me, I can conclude my math indeed worked out.

Performance:
This Soul EV is not exactly soul-less like its gasoline counterpart. Horsepower on this base-spec is low at 134hp (the more expensive trim has 201hp), but torque at 291 lb-ft is more than a base Model 3 / Model Y (EDIT: this is not true, I had my facts wrong), base EV6, and even the base EV9 (which I call the Soul XL). The combination of horsepower and torque feels adequate for city driving, but it loses steam on the highway - something that the 201hp model makes up for.

Handling is decent in normal driving conditions but falls apart when pushed. The chassis doesn't know what to do with the extra body weight and torque when driven with vigor, and the eco-friendly Nexen tires are easily overwhelmed when they detect any sign of performance driving. The car would benefit greatly from a set of Pilot Sport 5 tires from a handling perspective, but I understand range and efficiency are what sell for an EV. Despite all these criticisms, the mismatched powertrain/chassis specs give the Soul a ton of character that translates to a chaotic but fun driving experience - an attribute missing from most EVs that come well-calibrated from the factory.



Range / Charging:
It's officially rated at 238km, but the range guess-o-meter shows 282km in summer and 220km in winter at 90% charge. This estimated range is pretty accurate based on my consumption - I average around 13.5kWh / 100km in the summer, and 18kWh / 100km in the winter with just myself behind the wheel. Like the Niro EV, fast charging caps out at 77kW, but I never tested the limits since I charge at home. A 110V outlet + charger is sufficient to recoup my 40km daily commute with hours to spare overnight.



Exterior:
I was drawn to its mini bread van shape - this is the only small and boxy EV at its price point. It's practical, unassuming, and doesn't draw attention to itself. People seem polarized about its inoffensive design anyway, but I love how it looks. Great visibility is a bonus as well!



Interior:
The interior has lots of hard plastic, but the areas that matter are soft to the touch. It doesn't feel like a penalty to be inside the vehicle - the cloth seats are somehow more comfortable than my lolvo seats, and the boxy shape with a high roofline helps make the space feel airy. The heated seats get up to temperature super fast and I have to turn them off within 5 minutes 90% of the time. The standard heated steering wheel and driver assistance systems are nice touches as well - I wasn't expecting a car with economy roots to include these features as standard equipment.

Who It's For:
Anecdotally, I find seniors behind the wheel of these most of the time. They're everywhere in South Delta and I can see how the car's technical limitations are non-issues for this demo that drive short distances and charge at home. The footprint and seating height are perfect for these empty nesters, and the low operating costs make this a very appealing package. Overall, the vehicle is very approachable and easy to live with - all the switchgear is where you expect them to be so there's no confusion where things are when behind the wheel.



Final Thoughts:
The Soul EV is the second cheapest vehicle I've owned, but easily the one I miss the most. It's an NPC car in appearance but hides a quirky personality with an interesting driving signature. It was sad to see the car go, and I got even sadder when the new owner told me that 2023 is the final year for the model. I went into this car simply as a rational decision, and now I'm left feeling slightly emptier with its departure.

[RabidRat]

What're you replacing the Soul EV with?

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

What're you replacing the Soul EV with?

Nothing can replace the missing Soul in my heart

But to answer your question, it's actually nothing because I wanted to downsize.

[Badhobz]

Radeon is quite the extraordinary gentlemen. I dont know anyone who goes from a V8 Camry (his GS-F, if i recall it was quite recent model year too.. like 2021 or something) to this KIA EV ratmobile and then flip a 180 and get a manual WRX in black.

I tip my hat to you sir!

[tegra7]

Not sure where you got your numbers from, but the Model 3 base torque is slightly over 300.

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by tegra7

Not sure where you got your numbers from, but the Model 3 base torque is slightly over 300.

I don't know where I got that impression from, but thanks for pointing that out! Edited my original post.

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Radeon is quite the extraordinary gentlemen. I dont know anyone who goes from a V8 Camry (his GS-F, if i recall it was quite recent model year too.. like 2021 or something) to this KIA EV ratmobile and then flip a 180 and get a manual WRX in black.

I tip my hat to you sir!

The V8 Camry stopped after MY2020, and mine was a few years older than that haha. Think my biggest jump was from a 230i to a Honda Odyssey. I'll write those up another time.

[trollface]

EA888 STONKS

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by trollface

EA888 STONKS

Cool review. Where's the rest of it?!

[Badhobz]

This is LONG, so ignore if you dont give a shit about a ratrolla



2022 LC 500 Convertible (aka ratrolla)

So with the demise of my beautiful GranTurismo i was pretty heartbroken. I dont even know why i sold it... Honestly i think i was smoking some heavy crack that day.

i kept telling myself i was going to go buy that Ferrari Roma or a used 458/488 and just get that damn F car off the list. Seems like a logical step. I was going to trade in the GT at my ferrari dealer and hopefully they would have given me good equity give the service history and low kms.

Now in 2019 the Roma was announced and i thought i could get in for a 2020 model. Those fuckers at Ferrari Maserati Vancouver told me 3 year waitlist and i wasnt able to get on it. Im like DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY IVE SPENT WITH YOU !?!!? and they just laughed me out of the building like i was a head taxed chinamen building the Canadian Pacific Railroad.

They also only offered me 45k on my maserati. i was livid. To be honest that horrible experience put me off Ferrari's (although Dark told me i would have been able to get an allocation for the Roma today easily with my spending history, but at that time it was different).

So i was left with no "fun" car but some lousy cash in my pockets. Thus i went shopping. I tried AM vantage v8, the SLS, the SLR, Bentley Conti, you name it, ive probably tried it. Even that horrible 991.2 POS 911 that i talked about before, thats when i gave it another go.

But nothing felt like my maserati, nothing sounded like it. Turbo chargers all sound like hairdryers and not in a good way. If i wanted a good sounding turbo, id spring for a RB28 GTR or something. Hell i even tried American Muscle. Challenger, mustang, Vette (z06 too) and some fast caddies. I honestly liked the vette but it wasnt GT enough, too much of a sportscar.

I honestly wanted to say just fuck it, and buy a RR wraith (lightly used) as it wasnt that much $$$ for a used one. But i drove it and it was horrid. I dont think im that old yet.

While i was bombing around the city trying these different cars i got passed by this guy in a LC500 coupe. I almost forgot this thing existed. I was at the launch event back in 2018 but then it just disappeared from memory.
There were hardly any in the city and i dont think people wanted to pay 120k for this lexus when you could get an GS-F or a RC-F with the same engine for 40k less


Also buying it in 2022 wasnt easy due to the global car shortage as there was absolutely none around. I had a deadline of buying something before sep 2022 as thats when the additional 5% gst would kick in. Didnt feel like sponsoring anymore of trudeau's scandals so i elected to just buy whatever was avalible new or used.

I searched every dealer in vancouver and nobody had one. used ones were selling for more than new. Also the convertible was just released in 2021 (fall) so 2022 was the first actual year the convertible was on sale. The waitlist was 1 year+ according to most of the dealers i talked to.

Luck would have it, i was shopping around burrard and 4th looking at Tesla's of all things and i decided to pop into Regency Lexus for fun. I saw this red on red LC500 convertible but it had ropes around it and a sold sign on it. I asked the sales guy he told me the guy ordered it in 2021 and it finally just arrived. im like wow thats a gorgeous car.

I gave him my card and said if he has allocation for another one or if this guy falls through let me know. And you know what? he dude who ordered it couldnt pass the financing. So i got a call a few days later and BOOM, cheque in hand i went to pick up the car. I didnt drive it, i didnt even sit in it. 11kms on the dial when it rolled out of regency


So apparently a few days afterwards the guy who ordered this was able to sell some assets and give the financing another shot, but they told him too bad its already gone. To this day i wonder how this dude must have felt. I would have been pretty sad about it.

Oh shit, this is suppose to be a car review....

Performance: The NA v8 is wonderful, about as close to my departed Maz as you can probably get nowadays. It revs high (7300rpm redline) and snarls / bangs pops off the rev limiter. The vavled exhaust do a good job and transmitting the sounds and because its a vert, you get the full auditory experience. The exhaust and engine sounds very technical, race car ish but not farty like an AMG, or a german product.

The chassis and handling is sporty but for sure a GT car (exactly how i like it). Its a bit dead on center but it handles it huge mass very well around corners. I took it up to whistler and it felt very much like my Maz before it. You can easily get it to rotate if you wanted to and the tail comes around progressively with a lot of warning. Dynamically i have no complaints. its comfortable when you want it to be, its sport enough for this old man without breaking my back

Interior: Ive been inside some expensive cars and honestly this is on par with a bentley or a high end mercedes. The AM vantage is garbage inside compared to this as its mostly all cheapy plastic bits. Only downsides are the lack of storage and a usable backseat. Its basically a 2 seater and the other 2 seats are just parcel shelves. The trunk can barely fit a 28inch roller bag

Exterior: loved the look of it since concept and basically they just made the concept car real. Being a huge fan of the SC430, this was right up my alley. The only thing i didnt like about the outside was the lack of some bright colors. I was initally going to order the convertible in yellow but they couldnt do yellow exterior with a red interior or a tan interior. They forced you to go black interior and even if you paid bespoke order, it wasnt possible. So red on red was my second choice anyways and it worked out.

The only reason i wrapped it afterwards was because the same time my buddy's sister bought a mazda 3 in soul red and she said "hey look we have the same car!!!"
Im hoping all these mazda 3's in soul red will die off and then i can take off my wrap.

I still miss my maz, this is a good facsimile but it doesnt replace it. Everything about the car is good/great but its missing that character, that soul that the maz has. Maybe because it starts up every time, or maybe because its not abusive and you dont need to pray to heathen gods that the check engine light turns off. Or maybe its just so damn competent that its lacking the magic and mystique of a true exotic and thus delegated to the realm of your average toyota.

I dont know, i love it, but im not in love with it. Id probably kill you if you tried to take it though. 7000kms so far and im still not 100% sure if ill keep it for 10 years like i did my previous GT. Its a bit too predictable. I miss the abuse.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

I miss the abuse.

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

I dont know, i love it, but im not in love with it.

This pretty much sums up my experience with the V8 Camry. I don't miss the car, but seeing a black one the other day made me nostalgic.

Also, I found this gem in my album (presume that's you):