Every week when a celebrity guested on Top Gear, he or she laps around the Top Gear Test Track using a "Reasonably Priced Car". So what's a reasonably priced car? It's not somewhat powerful nor fire-spitting but they're a bit more of a city commuter with a pricing over the 10,000 Pound mark. Here at Forza Motorsport 4, they featured the "Reasonably Priced Car" from the past and the "Reasonably Priced Car" from today. First, let's start with a blast from the past.
 |
| Gambon Corner - The corner that nearly killed Dumbledore... |
This is the Suzuki Liana, the original Reasonably Priced Car of Top Gear when the show began in 2002, a year before James May debuted on Season 2 of the hit UK TV show. The Liana is known as the Suzuki Aerio. The Aerio was launched in Japan since January 2001 as a 5-door then later with a 4-door sedan in November 2001. The Liana name is just an acronym for "Life In A New Age". It served as the replacement to the Suzuki Esteem/Cultus (Chevrolet Cassia) and it sold in most parts of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia. Production of the Liana ended in 2006 because the SX4 replaced it but despite that, the Liana is still in production in China (Changhe-Suzuki) and Pakistan (Pak Suzuki Motor). The model featured was a 4-door sedan that was powered by a 1.6L engine that produces 104HP of power and 106lb-ft of torque. It has a curb weight of 2,557lbs.
Okay, where was I? Oh yeah. There are numerous celebs drove the Liana round the Top Gear Test Track from the first season to the seventh season, when the eighth season replaced the Liana with a Chevrolet compact sedan that I'm afraid I can't tell you due to search overloads. Names include Ellen MacArthur, Jimmy Carr, Ian Wright, Chris Evans, Rob Brydon, Justin Hawkins, Paul McKenna, Jodie Kidd, Jay Kay, Patrick Kielty, Trevor Eve, Neil Morrissey, Roger Daltrey, Sir Cliff Richard, Martin Clunes, Jamie Oliver, Patrick Stewart, Lionel Richie, Chef Gordon Ramsay, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Christian Slater, Stephen Fry, Ross Kemp, Geri Halliwell, Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies), Harry Enfield, and much more to list. Okay, there was the reason why the last corner of the Top Gear Test Track is called the "Gambon Corner" because of this...
Now you know. Just because the Suzuki Liana was replaced by a reasonably priced Chevy doesn't mean that the Liana's gone for good because it was reserved for a segment when the Formula One driver was guested on Top Gear.
Anyway, I once did my own Star in a Reasonably Priced Car with the Liana and I did it in 1:47.5, meaning that I was slotted between Ronnie O' Sullivan and Ian Wright but knowing is just half the story.
Now, let's take a look at the current Reasonably Priced Car...
 |
Am I faster than Mr. Bean? Oh wait, there's
someone faster than Mr. Bean! |
At the start of Top Gear's 15th season, the reasonably priced Chevy was dead because it was crushed under a demolished chimney and it was replaced by a reasonably priced Korean hatchback which is known as the Kia Cee'd. That's CEE-APOSTROPHE-D to you and me. This reasonably priced Korean hatchback marked as the second Kia ever to be featured on the video game and it was powered by a 1.6L engine that produces 123HP of power and 114lb-ft of torque. On Forza Motorsport 4, it's yours for just 14,000 CR. When the Kia Cee'd became the new Reasonably Priced Car, Top Gear invited back the celebs to try out the new Cee'd and their results are somewhat similar to the one they've set on the old reasonably priced Chevrolet. Now, most notable celebs drove the Cee'd round the track includes Alastair Campbell, Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter movies), Andy Garcia, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, Jeff Goldblum, John Bishop, Boris Becker, Jonathan Ross, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Amber Heard, John Prescott, Alice Cooper, Ross Noble, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Sir Bob Geldof, and Louis Walsh from The X Factor.
I once tried it round the test track and my record is 1:44.3 but that's different because mine is tuned to the Performance Index of F200. But on the bright side, I am bridged between Tom Cruise and Nick Frost.
Those reasonably priced cars gave me an idea for a real-life situation. Every time if someone has a party, all we do is playing some parlor games that we find out to be boring. But for a soon-to-be Top Gear presenter, you may want to add "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" as part of their Parlor Games list because you may want to find out which of your guests is the fastest. However, most of your guests don't know the controls, knowing where to accelerate or brake. Not for long because Forza Motorsport 4 works best in Kinect. I once play this game using Kinect but one thing, your chosen car automatically accelerates and brakes while you let your left and right hands do the steering. This is somewhat a good idea.
If you are a part of someone's birthday, tell them to add "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" in their games list because this beats more than karaoke, Trip To Jerusalem, Pinoy Henyo, and others that you would normally do on parties. Before initiate this, be sure to tell someone who hosted the party if he/she have HDTV because XBOX 360 works best in HDTV (HDMI Cable sold separately). If they have one, be sure to bring the XBOX 360 console, Kinect, and the Forza Motorsport 4 game. Oh, and be sure to bring some scratch paper if you want to record their lap times. Be sure that either the Suzuki Liana or the Kia Cee'd is the recommended car and the Top Gear Test Track (Full Circuit) is the best track. I repeat, use the Top Gear Test Track (Full Circuit) because this is the perfect venue. You're going to find out which of your guests is the fastest. Is it your Ate? Your Kuya? Your Mom? Your Dad? Your Lolo? Your Lola? Your Ninong? Your Ninang? Your Tito? Your Tita? Anyone around you?
This whole Star in a Reasonably Priced Car game could be the perfect parlor game not just for parties but on someone else's debut or a high school reunion.
This should be fun, perhaps Richard Hammond didn't mentioned it on his Top Gear Uncovered DVD.
