After I had done some oldtimers to learn the editor basics (special thanks to Jake_Blasted for some nice video tutorials), I spent a couple of months to recreate our old daily. It is quite under-powered so it is dedicated to players who like to drive ordinary cars on the limit.
Yeah, driving an old and beaten french car is punk and that bumper doubles the horses (or seahorses?). It is probably the second slowest vehicle in the galaxy with a shark-mouth painted over it, but the car frequently makes people smile (and laugh) so it was worth painting.
Once some poor daddy could not take his small child from the parked car. He had to pick the child up to the air and carry it away
Wow I had two Xsara 2L diesel. Reliable car and interesting to drive, precise with stable input otherwise the soft suspension would go mad. The rear axle was passively steering too.
What do You think about the feel of the default setup? Any suggestions?
I have tried to test the realism by an elk test. According to the Teknikens Värld, a fully loaded Xsara reached 70km/h. My current personal best (with cold tires) in the LFS is ~69km/h. It is pretty close but I still have a suspicion that the real car has more grip than the mod. Or it feels that way at least.
I did not try yet. I have seen the model picture and damn my Xsara ! how is it possible??? I had a 5 doors dark blue and 3 doors white same engine 90hp HDi. I have also tried the TDI gen 1 ànd passenger in the VTS or VTR...
What is an elk test? I did irl the young wild boar test 1500euros worth of repair, The truck tire test even worse (around 3k)...
I will give it a try soon.
Finally, after a little suspension and frame tweak, a stock and fully loaded Lemon Ara has passed the the test at 70km/h It is heavier and softer and thus a little slower on a racetrack now, but the way it floats over bumps while taking a sharp turn is surprisingly close to my real-life experiences.
It has been told many times, but the LFS has a really extraordinary physics! The force-feedback kicks just right, when balancing the car on the limit
However, some reviews from Xsara owners would be still much appreciated. I would like to keep the mod physics as realistic as possible.
The first drivable version of a 3-door coupe has been uploaded and is currently waiting for reviews. Let the fun begin Looking forward to this rally beast!
Nice! If you are interested, I can make a default white skin with baked shading for your car. My original model was quite low-poly and many details relied on the skin (for example geometry on bumpers and doors). Even metallic colors are possible with baked shading: https://www.lfs.net/attachment/372242.
I tested. The 3D model is great. I feel at home. Except the middle top screen which I don't know.
The handling with basic setup feels true to what I remember. I mean front heavy ok on stable turn and more twitchy when changing direction.
I really like it.
It is not a radio, it is an ancient ancestor of modern central displays. The space for the radio is under the display. Back in the day it was an optional equipment which showed info about fuel consumption, exterior temperature, some car settings and infamous antipollution faults It did not have a gear indicator, but it is helpful for sim players
Thank you very much for your testing and feedback I am glad you like the mod, it is a big honor from the Xsara owner. She took more than fifty hours of internet research, 3D modeling, texture painting and setup tuning. I was happy with the result, but as the author, I am kind of biassed. Now I am sure that it was really worth it. The interior was particularly difficult to create as no blueprints could be found.
Ohh now I remember the little screen. Yeah there was very little info on it like time temperature and radio stuff with the OEM radio that most people got changed me included. So yeah the radio without the front panel is also period correct.
By the way I tested in front of another Xsara owner, he freaked out, recognized it right away.
And damn the wheels!!! I had the same ones.
Thanks for your work!
The real car got fixed suspension recently, which changed its real-world physics. I have updated the both versions according to these changes and added more realistic scrub radius to fix the unwanted force-feedback jerk caused by potholes and grass (the steering got more realistic and much more suitable for rallying). I am satisfied with the physics now and have decided to allow public derivatives of the coupe version under the LFS Vehicle License
And by the way, I would like to express a big thanks to timdecnodder for his great work, because his rally version is perfect!
