RE: PH 2013: Biggest disappointments

[Zumbruk]

Petrolhead95 said:

Biggest disappointment for me - and lots of others - is the price of car insurance for young and new drivers.

Nothing new there, I'm afraid. I remember being offered a Mk2 Jag for next to no money (I can't recall how much it was, but I could afford it as an impecunious student) in 1973. The insurance was the show-stopper, though. My (increasingly deficient) memory says they wanted around £700 - about 30% of the average annual national wage at the time.

[jl34]

Yep Gran Turismo 6 , what a pile of dross. The handling is beyond a joke on most cars, and i've owned quite a few of them on there. The engine sounds are from the 1980's arcade games and the graphics look like they are out of a comic book. Nearly all the cars suffer drastic under steer that is massively over exaggerated. i was driving the mustang gt500 this morning and got screaming tyres at a paltry 17 mph when doing a slow turn , 17mph , really !??

First time ever im taking the game back this afternoon for an exchange.... oh dear

[Allaloneatron]

jl34 said:

Yep Gran Turismo 6 , what a pile of dross. The handling is beyond a joke on most cars, and i've owned quite a few of them on there. The engine sounds are from the 1980's arcade games and the graphics look like they are out of a comic book. Nearly all the cars suffer drastic under steer that is massively over exaggerated. i was driving the mustang gt500 this morning and got screaming tyres at a paltry 17 mph when doing a slow turn , 17mph , really !??

First time ever im taking the game back this afternoon for an exchange.... oh dear

Whereas (some blocky cars and some naff sounds apart) I'm really enjoying it. It's great for keeping me inside and not spending any money while I prepare for a house move. It's much better than GT5 as well, with lots more to come from Kaz and the team.

[sparks_E39]

The graphics are mostly fine. Some standard cars and older tracks let it down a tad. I maintain it has awesome handling. Maybe not super realistic and some sounds are naff but I don't really mind, it feels really good.

[Janesy B]

jl34 said:

Yep Gran Turismo 6 , what a pile of dross. The handling is beyond a joke on most cars, and i've owned quite a few of them on there. The engine sounds are from the 1980's arcade games and the graphics look like they are out of a comic book. Nearly all the cars suffer drastic under steer that is massively over exaggerated. i was driving the mustang gt500 this morning and got screaming tyres at a paltry 17 mph when doing a slow turn , 17mph , really !??

First time ever im taking the game back this afternoon for an exchange.... oh dear

Can't say I've noticed that much after the initial boring few races, cars with sports/racing tyres are much more responsive and you can dial out the understeer, you just have to set the car up. Maybe Grid 2 is more up your street?

[cullenster]

I agree with Dan P. WRC was a non-event this year. I've spent more time watching old rally clips on Youtube than I have any of this year's action.

I'm not disappointed by GT6 however. I think the driving dynamics are remarkably different and I think the real revolution that Matt is looking for will come with GT7 for the PS4. I don't think we'll have to wait anywhere near as long for GT7 either, mark my words.

And don't forget, there will be a lot more downloadable content on GT6 than there was on the predecessor. New tracks, new cars (including a Lotus 97T to join your Ayrton Senna avatar) and a lot more events will be accessible over 2014.

My biggest disappointment of 2013 though was Formula 1. I just gave up. Having watched every GP from 1993, I opted out of a few in 2011/12 but I missed more than I watched this year. No excitement, no drama and really dull announcing. I know there'll be nobody like Murray Walker, but surely someone with a more distinctive voice than Martin 'Call Centre' Brundle should be bringing us the action.

[cullenster]

Evil.soup said:

I came close to buying GT6 today but now i have been put off a little. I dont mind too much about the poor quality rendering of the non premium cars but i cannot forgive them if they have still not managed to record and use real engine sounds. Some cars are really distinct in the real world but in all GT games they all sound very simular. Always found the sound of the Impreza really disapointing and very annoying as its one of the most distinct japanese engines in production. If they cant get that right there is no hope!

I was disappointed by some engine sounds, particularly the Audi Quattro S1 and Pikes Peak S1. Those cars sound like thunder. On this they sound like a kid making a revving noise playing with a dinky.

[Matt Bird]

cullenster said:

I agree with Dan P. WRC was a non-event this year. I've spent more time watching old rally clips on Youtube than I have any of this year's action.

I'm not disappointed by GT6 however. I think the driving dynamics are remarkably different and I think the real revolution that Matt is looking for will come with GT7 for the PS4. I don't think we'll have to wait anywhere near as long for GT7 either, mark my words.

And don't forget, there will be a lot more downloadable content on GT6 than there was on the predecessor. New tracks, new cars (including a Lotus 97T to join your Ayrton Senna avatar) and a lot more events will be accessible over 2014.

My biggest disappointment of 2013 though was Formula 1. I just gave up. Having watched every GP from 1993, I opted out of a few in 2011/12 but I missed more than I watched this year. No excitement, no drama and really dull announcing. I know there'll be nobody like Murray Walker, but surely someone with a more distinctive voice than Martin 'Call Centre' Brundle should be bringing us the action.

Hello!

I should probably qualify my choice with having only experienced GT6 on the launch. We wanted to be left alone to play the game and there's was always something else on the schedule to do! It was disappointing from first impressions is probably the best way to put it.


Matt

[V8RX7]

Dan Trent said:

But I'll be there a few years down the line, hunting them down in the classifieds.

Me too !

[GRBF430F1]

Porsches diabolical handling of 991 GT3 allocations. Shambolic communications on build dates, delays and smoke and mirrors on depositors dates and order in the 250 car pecking list. Disgraceful and with apparently 7 orders for every car available a lot of unhappy never to buy a Porsche again customers

[Shadow R1]

Lets not forget that dlc for gt6 is to be payed for.
Its just become a cash cow, o look another skyline, but this ones in a different sponsor scheme......

The sales figures suggest other people are staying away from it, still remembering the disappointment of gt5, I wont buy it.

[smilo996]

Biggest disappointment is finding the motorsport magazine podcast then listening to the journo's bang on about how they need to attract a younger readership but then trying to get Patrese, Frank Williams and others to agree that the old days were better.
Back in the 60's and 70's F1 was a village sport. It was often pretty dull even back then. Fortunately Frank Williams made it clear that the only way F1 will be popular will be because all involved want to race no matter what and win, like him.
As for the article, three pedals good.
Biggest disappointmment of 2013, that there are even more cameras on roads in the UK.

[berlintaxi]

Petrolhead95 said:

Biggest disappointment for me - and lots of others - is the price of car insurance for young and new drivers.

Shop around and be willing to work with the insurers, my lad passed his test on 23rd December, 07 1.2 Micra fully comp including breakdown cover £1420, with a black box fitted, yes its not cheap, but ain't prohibitive.

[white_goodman]

MadDog1962 said:

On the manual vs auto thing, it seems to me that an awful lot of sporty cars are not actually bought by people with any driving ability. Increasingly the people with the cash to buy these things new are mainly wealthier folks in Asia who very often have them bought for them by their parents or husbands or sugar daddies. An excellent example is Malaysia and Singapore where a depressing number of Ferraris, Lambos etc etc are trashed within months of being sold by spoilt brats and idiots. I've not been to the Middle East, but I imagine it's a similar story there. Another thing to remember is that the car business is business, and the manufacturers answer to shareholders and financiers who care more about the bottom line than anything else. If not enough new car buyers want a manual they simply won't make them anymore.

I just bought a new GT-86 (Scion FRS). The salesman told me he'd have the manual car I wanted within 10 days, but that the big demand was for autos. The omens are not good for us traditionalists

How are you liking the GT86? Can you get an FRS through a Toyota dealer (my nearest Scion dealer is 3 hours away)? Did you also try a Hyundai Genesis Coupe? If so, any good?

[cyman]

as far as the wrc is concerned there were 2 disappointments this year firstly the loss of Solberg in a top car, but mainly the lack of decent tv coverage in the uk. for this sport to build and grow they need a decent nightly update show not a highlights show several days after the rally has finished. there is no way to avoid rally details of winners etc when you frequent the car websites. this year I stopped following the wrc which was the first time since it was the Lombard rac all those years ago.

heres hoping to meeke showing a bit of the good old mcrae flare that he has in bucket loads and that we can actually follow it every night with a decent tv program.

[chj]

172bhp at wheels on dyno run on my 420SEAC (now sold!)

[Axionknight]

I know the V40 pictured is the T5 AWD, but for the record I have a D3 R-Design on a 13 plate as a company car and it is brilliant, it's economical, pokey enough, looks great, is comfortable and roomy enough for most (though the boot is hardly cavernous). As a work horse it ticked all the boxes for me, I found it to be better than all of its rivals, from the cheaper Focus to the dearer A3 and 1 Series.

Disappointment of the year for me, the new Clio Sport, I drove one recently, along with a Fiesta ST - my girlfriend wants a replacement for her Swift Sport and has been out for a nosey at what is available. The Clio didn't do it for me at all, it seemed to be trying too hard to be grown up and a bigger car that it actually is, compared to it's predecessor (which I own) and it looks crap, porky as f**k too, the ST did it all and even her indoors preferred it, I was a bit skeptical of all the praise heaped on the ST in the reviews ETC, but boy is it good.

[DT398]

GRBF430F1 said:

Porsches diabolical handling of 991 GT3 allocations. Shambolic communications on build dates, delays and smoke and mirrors on depositors dates and order in the 250 car pecking list. Disgraceful and with apparently 7 orders for every car available a lot of unhappy never to buy a Porsche again customers

Apparently according to whom? No way it's 7 times oversold. There are two physical cars sitting unsold in the UK at £15-£20k over list. They'd be sold in a heartbeat if the " 7 times over sold " hype and spin were actually true.

[DP33]

We'll miss the manual when its gone and it will be sooner than we all imagine at the performance end of the market if we continue down the route of DCT / PDK / DSG always winning out when it comes to the speccing of Press cars and dealer demos.

The stupid thing is we all know that manual versions of previous gen cars are already worth more (think E46 M3 manual vrs SMG) on the used car market because they are more reliable, cheaper to fix and just plain better and more rewarding.

At the lower end of the market I just hope that Renault see's sense and re-engineers the Clio as a manual variant.

My advice? Find a manual E92M before they all end up in the hands of wrong 'uns!

[Wills2]

csmith319 said:

Wills2 said:

Regarding Porsche they do know, as more people choose PDK on the 911 than manual just like BMW with the DCT M3 much more popular when it was released vs manual.

I bought a manual 911 because the short shift box was so good, but most manuals I've driven aren't very good including my manual M3 that's why I got DCT this time round.

I'll get another 911 this coming year and it will be manual but that is based on how good that box is not just for the sake of having a manual.

Don't agree - they've had autos on the 911 for longer than I can remember. The PDK on the standard models increased take up - but these are not the same as the GT3 in terms of target market or indeed how they carved out a following in comparison to other cars aimed at the enthusiast market, e.g. Ferrari Scud etc.

The M3 again is not a good comparison - it's an everyday car, designed to be as useful as a normal 3 series - not surprised there is a big takeup of the DCT, just like most high end 3 series. Hasn't stopped them offering a manual on the new M3 / M4 has it?

The Turbo being auto only makes sense - its been tried and tested with the 997 and its not a car focussed on involvement.

With the GT3 a choice would have been nice, even if just to say - 'you know what, SOME people find it more fun - so lets at least give the option'.

Again - I'm not saying don't provide an auto option, just saying that a manual option would be nice to have.

Not sure what you're not agreeing with, semi auto/dual clutch boxes are fitted to the majority of new performance/supercars and where there is a choice the auto box option is ticked more than not.

That's what people want therefore that's what they put in them.

You may not like it but that's just down to personal opinion/taste rather than an objective fact you can disagree with.