The early Gran Turismo games have revolutionised the racing game genre by including everyday, seemingly boring family cars in its roster, allowing players to not only experience driving these not–at–all–sporty cars at their limits, but also to transform these unassuming econoboxes into unlikely Swiss Army Knives, capable of sharing racetracks with sports, super, and even full fledged racecars. However, as the fidelity of game consoles began to increase, so too did the time and resources required to add a car into the games, and thus slowly but surely, those unassuming commuters one could realistically encounter in real life or even own themselves were trimmed out of the shrinking car lists in favour of established, fan–favourite, or historic cars, such as the 911s, Corvettes, and GT-Rs. Even the few relatively attainable cars in the game, like the Civics, Golfs, and pickup trucks, are all top of the line stuff with loads of sporty options bundled in. That is to say, the car list in Gran Turismo 7 reads almost like a hall of fame of the automotive industry, and most everything in it has some sporting credentials and intent.
#volvo #240 #se
And that is precisely what makes the 1993 Volvo 240 SE Estate such a standout addition to Gran Turismo 7; It has zero sporting intentions and capabilities, making it one of the very few "normal" cars from the 70s to 90s in the game. Its soft enough to not break your grannies' backs on their way to church, and it's fast enough to get your perishables from the market home before they spoil, no more. Not only is it woefully, agonisingly slow, but it feels properly clumsy when pushed in the corners. It's a long overdue, much needed taste of what a "normal" car feels like to drive, and it's only with this context that sports cars like Silvias and Supras can shine; otherwise, they'd just feel slow and clumsy themselves.
So, what's an everyman car of the mid seventies to early nineties like to drive at ten tenths? Surprisingly scary, actually! It pitches, it rolls, and yes, it yaws, both on braking and accelerating, making it not only scarier to drive fast than a 930 Turbo by my estimates, but it might also be the single lowest powered car that would benefit from Traction Control. Its soft suspension also makes it incredibly snappy when it does skid sideways, making it deceptively difficult to recover despite everything happening so slowly. That said, its soft suspension means that even the notorious sausage kerbs have a hard time discouraging a rampaging 240 to avert its course, and it's a very light car by modern standards—1,324kg (2,919lbs)—which means it also has a very contrasting sense of approachability to its danger, making it an excellent car to learn car control in.
I might not like driving the Volvo 240 SE Estate, but I opine nonetheless that it's one of the most important and standout additions to the game's roster, adding some much needed variety, context, and a bit of the soul of the Gran Turismo of old back into the car roster of GT7. What it really needs right now isn't racing suspension, slick tyres, and sick aero parts; it just needs more cars of its ilk to compare against, and a proper career mode that would justify their purchase, upgrades, and use.
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