The Crew 2 - The Rising Sun Strikes Back Again, Part 2

Another round in this Live Summit, but I take on three events, a street race with a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, some drifting action in a  Mazda RX-7 and a few drag passes in a Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34).

The Crew 2 - The Rising Sun Strikes Back Again, Part 1

This week in The Crew 2, I decide to take on a Japanese themed Live Summit, buy a vehicle bundle and try out two events. One was a surprising win, the other was a rude eye opener.

Forza Horizon 4 - Porsche Macan, On And Off Road

Although I used a Porsche Macan as a benchmark for my new-to-me, real life vehicle, I never test drove one.

Much to my surprise, The Crew 2 doesn't feature any SUV/Crossovers in the Street Performance category (unlike the original, which had a decent selection), sticking them in "off road" oriented events. So, the alternative was to try out the Macan across the Forza Horizon 4 terrain....  

Behind The Wheel, The Drive North

With the current COVID-19 pandemic, I am not fond of flying in the tight, enclosed and uses-recirculated-air-for-the-passengers-to-breath aircraft. The only other alternative I have to travel northwards to my job is to drive.

So, I mounted the camera inverted and pushed record as I passed through a few towns in British Columbia, namely West Bank/West Kelowna, Merritt, Cache Creek, 100 Mile House, Quesnel and running out of battery power (I only have the one for now) at a random spot in the Pine Pass.

Yes, I did make it to Fort St. John a few hours later.

Behind The Wheel, Ride-A-Long-Rant!

What started out as camera and mounting test, turned into me talking to myself like there was somebody sitting and listening in the back seat. Watch if you want to come along for the ride (I cover quite a few random topics)?

Shift 2 Unleashed - Modern D Is Done

I must say, the Volkswagen Golf GTI in Shift 2 Unleashed wasn't nearly as bad as I first thought it would be.

A stock, front wheel drive car in hard, competitive driving sounded like the start of tragic suffering of immeasurable proportions. However, the car not only survived surprisingly well, but also delivered in the performance department when it was really needed (there was a time or two that victory eluded me, that was more my driving and not the Golf).

Granted, this was a virtual car, but I can't help and wonder if the real one would have held up just as well....

Long Distance Travel Advice

Maybe I should have shaved, waited for a cloudy day, got help from a friend, bought a much better camera, etc....

I fully admit I am an amateur film maker and there is a lot more learning for me to do. However, the very concept of what I was trying to achieve was realized in this video, despite making a few errors, being unscripted and my partner in the production was a collapsible tripod.

Forza Horizon 4 - Top Gearing With The Stig

Some say that he can see the road two corners ahead of where he is and his favorite comfort music is made with only a metronome. All we know is he’s called The Stig.

Top Gear introduced the character that would known as The Stig  when the program was relaunched on the BBC with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe (later replaced with James May) in 2002. Originally donned in a black racing helmet, black racing suit....all black accessories, this anonymous and silent racing driver would set the benchmark speed times by racing cars around the Top Gear Test Track at Dunsfold Aerodrome at Dunsfold, England.

The Black Stig (revealed to be Grand Prix driver Perry McCarthy) would only be around for first the first two seasons ("killed off" during an aircraft carrier/Jaguar stunt), to be replaced with the first White Stig (which turned out to be stunt/racing/test driver Ben Collins) and a second White Stig (identity is currently unknown) in 2010.

Other versions of Top Gear (like Top Gear USA, Top Gear Australia, for instance) had their own Stigs and he has made a few, very noticeable appearances in racing themed games, such as Gran Turismo and Forza. Speaking of Forza, I managed to find the Top Gear event where I get to be The Stig in this first outing in Horizon 4. However, my driving skills might cause him to facepalm....

The Crew 2 - Two Years Later

It was nearly two years ago when I played the Open Beta version of The Crew 2.

At the time, I found the release price to be a little steep for me to consider picking up a copy and without any cross platform capability (like the original The Crew), I turned my eyes to other games where I and my son could play with/against each other (even the wife has been known to get in a few games with us).

With the COVID-19 pandemic now entering into it's second month ( March 11, 2020 marks the first day of the World Health Organization to declare the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic ), more and more "stay at home" options are popping up, like deep discounts on games. Enter The Crew 2.

The last time all three of us sat down and played a racing game together was with Need for Speed World, which was shut down five years ago. Although we found an offline version, it felt like running around an empty house full of nothing but memories (in reality, getting it to work were all of us could play ended in failure, due to coding issues, technical difficulties and such).

I recall getting my son a copy of The Crew 2 for his birthday last year (don't remember the price), while the wife and I passed on getting for ourselves. This past weekend (Easter), my son used all of his pestering skills and sweetened the deal by telling us about an irresistible sale. For just over half of regular retail price, the wife and I broke down and secured our own copies.

Although I say a year has past since I played this last, it was in actuality two years. Five days after getting the full, deeply discounted game, this is what I got going on....

Real Racing 3 - No Mclaren For Me

One of the main staples of Real Racing 3 are the "earn a car" events.

A recent example of this was Pinnacle of Performance, where if a player managed to complete the series and spend a lot of banked up Gold, would have parked a virtual McLaren Senna GTR in their garage.

The real Senna GTR is powered by the M840TR 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 engine, putting out an impressive 814 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, through a seven-speed, dual-clutch race transmission.

Weighing in at 2,619 lbs (or 1187.96 kgs, either way, just a little more than a fully equipped Mazda MX-5), the track exclusive GTR is just slightly lighter, wider and lower than the street legal Senna and nearly option-less, save for air conditioning.

With only 75 built and sold out immediately well over a year ago now, one might have to wait for sometime for a pre-owned Senna GTR to show up in the pages of AutoTrader.

As for the Real Racing 3 version, I took out the loaner for one lap around Circuit des 24 Heures, calculated the expenditures for Gold upgrades and looked at the returns for collecting the car. Needless to say, the whole venture was "too rich for my blood" and passed over the event.

Rationalizing The Reality

This picture sums up what I was wanting out of my next vehicle, the versatility from a CUV/SUV and a higher level of performance from a small displacement, turbo charged engine. Sadly, both this particular Range Rover and Porsche were not options to consider (I doubt the owners wouldn't have been interested in selling me either one at what I was willing to pay for them).

As I have mentioned before (and if you are new here, I will cover it again), the benchmark for my 2015 Mitsubishi RVR replacement was going to be a Porsche Macan. Short of just buying the vehicle (and all the extra expenses that come along with the purchase, ownership, etc), I wanted to do it on a more conservative budget, especially during these uncertain times. Perhaps, I might get a Macan in the future....

....but the Kia Sportage will be the vehicle for the foreseeable present.

Based on all my research, which involved watching a lot of YouTube videos, reading articles and the one-and-only test drive that turned into a deal, the Sportage appeared to be the "budget alternative" I was looking for. Even some select specs were very comparable....

252 hp - 273 lb-ft torque Macan 2.0 litre Turbo  237 hp - 260 lb-ft torque Sportage Turbo

Length: 184.90in Macan 176.40in Sportage

Width: 76.20in Macan 73.00in Sportage

Height: 63.90in Macan 65.20in Sportage

Ground Clearance: 7.80in Macan 6.80in Sportage

Wheel Base: 110.50in Macan 105.10in Sportage

MPG: 19 City/23 Highway Macan 20 City/24 Highway Sportage

However, numbers and pictures can only go so far and I wanted if the whole package sized up against each other. It's a good thing there is a Porsche dealer where I live.  

I am not too sure why this particular Macan was on the lot, but due to a lack of any window stickers or a sales hanger, I am guessing this was a customer car that came in for a service or repair. Judging by the amount of dust and dirt on the exterior, it has been here for some time (the dealer was closed at this early COVID-19 point).

Starting the comparison from the front, I could see some shared styling cues and was able get a good look at the ground clearance between the two. Both the Macan and Sportage are very "clean" underneath, meaning nothing is unnecessarily hanging down, like parts of the AWD system or the exhaust.

Through my eyes, both vehicles have very curvaceous exterior, a trait that lends itself to fuel economy in motion and stationary curb appeal.

From the back, the sporty, wraparound styling continues, completing the package very nicely for the Porsche and the Kia.

The image on the left shows off the interior of the Porsche Macan, bathed in way too buttons. On the right, the Kia Sportage is no less premium with options and features, but much more simplistic.

I think it's safe to say I did alright with the Kia Sportage and as days/months go by, time will confirm or deny this conclusion.

Real Racing 3 - Road To Le Mans, Stage 3

Another round of events with the Porsche Carrera GT and this series is by far the longest yet.

A White H For A Black K

Now, to continue from from here.

With my barely-a-day-owned Kia Sportage already in the shop at the dealer, I was given a brand new Hyundai Kona as a loaner, until my new purchase was fixed.

I had looked at the Kona while I was shopping around online, comparing all the specs versus the Mitsubishi RVR I still had at the time. I liked the exterior styling, it was a nice blend of a Honda HR-V and Jeep Cherokee. Upon closer examination of one in reality, I was really disappointed with the black trim around the wheels. It had the touch and durability on par with a recycled plastic planter pot (of the same color). Other than that, I noticed the exterior fit-and-finsh was good and I really liked the rims.

Under the hood resides Hyundai's 2.0 litre, double overhead cam 4-cylinder putting out 147 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque. Despite having nearly the same performance (148 hp/145 lb-ft), this naturally aspirated Kona AWD Preferred felt under-powered, perhaps that was due to the Atkinson cycle engine (or the shock and awe factor of my new Turbo Sportage was clouding my experience). I couldn't even blame the let down on a CVT, since it came with a decently shifting 6-speed automatic transmission.

I never got to test out the AWD system off-road and since it was a loaner vehicle, I didn't think that would be the "mature" thing to do.

The interior was another chapter in the disappointing novel.

I don't like the look of the "tablet style" infotainment screen, the dashboard flexed a little too much under slight pressure when pressed with a finger, the door panels were hard, cheap touch plastic and the cloth seats were too firm (okay, the last one is mostly because the vehicle was still new, the fabric hadn't been "broken in" yet).

One stand out thing I noticed was the skimpy sound deading material that was used, easily hearing the 215/55R17 Nexen tires (the same brand that were on my RVR, but in a 225/55R18 size) as I drove around at city speeds. While cruising at a highway tempo, the tread echo was becoming almost unbearable. On a positive note, the stereo didn't sound too bad (almost capable of drowning out the road noise) and the instruments were easy to read.

Overall the Kona wasn't a truly bad experience. For it's price point and if I all I wanted was a decently equipped, good on gas, brand new vehicle, the Kona would have been something to consider.

But, I wasn't interested in a Kona and once I went back to the dealer to see my Sportage out of the shop, I felt some relief that I had made a better (for me) purchase choice.

Forza 6 Apex - Huracán At Spa

The Lamborghini Huracán.

As a statement of personal preference, I like the looks of it over it's bigger brother, the Aventador, since the Huracán holds onto some of the styling cues from the car that brought Lamborghini into the 21st Century, the Murcielago. It may come as no surprise that I could never afford to buy one, let alone drive one in real life (a growth inhibited bank account and lower back issues to explain the reasons).

So I, along with millions of others around the world, have only one other alternative to have a Huracán experience and that's in the virtual world....