GT7 W105: Peugeot 205 GTI '88

For those who have kept up with my ramblings for quite a while (thank you, by the way!), you'd know that I like my sports cars lightweight and simple, with power only sprinkled in sparingly as a necessary evil. And when it comes to hot hatches, that holds doubly true. The Peugeot 205 GTI '88 then, is perhaps the single best FF hot hatch in the game thus far, for the simple reason that it is just so... simple.

205 GTI MonteCarlo Edition by Tenki-33
#edition #montecarlo
Puegeot 205 Rallye by fargoneonone
#205 #rallye #replica

Yes, its skinny Comfort Medium tyres offer very little grip. Yes, it's got an open differential. But with only a naturally aspirated 128HP (96kW) and anemic 875kg (1,929lbs), you don't need all that much to keep the car under control. In fact, the 205 seemingly pares back on everything non–essential to give a stark, refreshing reminder of just what pure driving joy is all about. The whole package is just so straightforward and no–nonsense responsive, and it's just such a joy to wring out each gear and chuck it into corners with increasing recklessness, almost as if dared to by the car itself. And yet, it also demands—and richly rewards—proper driving techniques and car control from its driver at the same time. Its compact body not only looks great, but also lends itself to incredibly tight racing as well. Quite simply put, I struggle to find fault with the 205!

This may be a very short writeup by my standards, but that's not just because I have no complaints about the car; I also feel a short piece is apropos. A good hot hatch to me is very much just like good rice: its nigh indescribable good qualities stand out all the more the less there is to distract from it, so much so that something so seemingly plain can be enjoyed all on its own. But if I must do the writer thing of ending with a memorable bombshell, here goes: the 205 is one of the very few cars that I can see myself going back to drive just for the fun of it after I'm done with it on COTW.

GT7 W104: Renault Kangoo 1.4 '01

I'm here to echo what Obe and Jay have already written: that the 2001 Renault Kangoo is basically a hot hatch cosplaying as a utility vehicle.

Kangoo F1 by FabioVern
#kangoo #f1 #fv71
Ben and jerry's by hooseduck
#renault #kangoo #benandjerrys

The 74HP (55kW) that the 1.4L engine routes to the front wheels exclusively via a 4–speed automatic and an open differential might not make the Kangoo sound all that impressive, but what endears hot hatches, especially in the past, hasn't always been about their straight line shove. Rather, they tended to shine in their lightness and how they seemingly brought out the inner yobbo in their drivers, and that is precisely what the Kangoo in GT7 does. It's incredibly lightweight at a mere 1,080kg (2,381lbs), and if one ignores its accomodating height, it's also an extremely compact package. While the suspension is just a tad bit too soft for driving on the edge, what that supple setup translates to on a racetrack is a vehicle—a plaything, even—that really drills into drivers the importance of weight transfer and car control in a low risk environment, and it is even more of a momentum car than a Miata. It's sharp in corners, has hardly any understeer, and delivers on some incredibly tight racing as well!

That said, the Kangoo is saddled with three rather glaring flaws, two of which exclusive to the game. As mentioned earlier, the Kangoo we GT7 players got is the 4–speed automatic, and while the slushbox shifts quickly and smoothly, having only 4 forward gears mean that the gear ratios have to be wide apart, and that each gear has to be revved to its absolute limit to get the most spring in the its hops. The Kangoo then, very much demands to be driven in MT, because the game upshifts way too early if left to its own devices. Second, the Kangoo's PP rating seems to be a tad bit too high for the actual performance it has; it's rated at 294.72PP fresh from the Brand Central as of v1.58, and yet cars with lower PP and the same Comfort Medium compound tyres—like the Toyota Hiace and Daihatsu Copen—out–perform it handily. I opine that the Kangoo would have an easier time finding peers around the mid 280PP range. And lastly, just like the 411 Unimog, the Kangoo is a utility vehicle with an incredibly low performance ceiling that hasn't been given the option for an engine swap, meaning that it caps out at a mere 277HP and 885kg (1,951lbs), with only five forward gears to work with even when upgraded. The aforementioned Hiace in comparison has six forward gears bone stock, and gets the ludicrously stupid turbocharged LS7 V8 from the BRZ Drift Car to abuse it with. That package will even slot in under 600PP, meaning that the Hiace can be just as practical digitally as it is tangibly, acting as a money maker for the Tokyo WTC600 grind event, and as a cherry on top of the cake, Sophy 2.1 can drive a 1000HP RWD Hiace, but not a 74HP FF Kangoo as of yet. For as fun to drive as the Kangoo is bone stock, it's hard to find a use case for it outside of the odd One–Make race.

All told, the Kangoo is the very definition of a Sleeper: a car with performance and/or dynamics that completely belie its unassuming looks, and this Renault is a car that is so fun that I would never let someone else drive it on my behalf!