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When players first begin their Gran Turismo 7 journey, they won't actually have a car with which to drive. In order to combat this, Sarah will take them over to the Used Car Dealership, where they'll be asked to choose between a trio of second-hand cars. All three of the Japanese compact cars are pretty similar at first glance, but end up being just different enough to make it seem like a pretty difficult choice.
When deciding which car to buy at the beginning of Gran Turismo 7's single player campaign, players will need to consider a variety of factors, including price, performance, and upgrade potential. Understanding how the game works and how new cars are unlocked is equally important, however, as, once players do so, players will soon realize that this decision isn't nearly as important as it first appears to be.
Honda Fit Hybrid '14 (328.06 PP)
The Honda Fit Hybrid is probably the worst looking of the three cars, but it does represent the best value for money thanks to its price to performance ratio of one Performance Point for every 39.62 Credits that it costs. For comparison, the Aqua S demands 40.94 credits per PP, while the Demio clocks in neatly between the two at a still reasonable 40.2. Price aside though, there are one or two major drawbacks to buying the Honda.
For starters, the Honda Fit has a slightly lower ceiling than either of the other two cars when it comes to tuning, on account of it being a hybrid. Initially, this won't be an issue, but it could become important a little later on. Of course, if players are just looking for a car to get them through the first few races, which is all the starter car really needs to do, then the lack of a clear upgrade path shouldn't be too much of an issue to prospective buyers.
Toyota Aqua S '11 (349.25 PP)
The Toyota Aqua S '11 is a little less boxy than the Honda Fit, making it a solid choice for those who care about what their car looks like. It's also red, which, according to statistics, is ever so slightly more popular than blue in the United States. With 349.25 PP, it's the most powerful of the three cars too, though this does come at a relatively high cost. The Aqua S clocks in at 10% more than the Honda Fit, and 1,800 Credits more than the Mazda Demio.
Like the Honda Fit, the Aqua S has been cursed with a hybrid engine, which again makes it a little more difficult to tune and upgrade. It's very much a short-term car in that respect, with smart players choosing to move on to something bigger and better rather than wasting Credits upgrading it for minimal gains. Again though, this probably won't be too much of a problem for most players.
Mazda Demio XD Touring '15 (310.94 PP)
The Mazda Demio is the cheapest of the three starter cars and arguably the best looking to boot. This comes at the expense of PP, however, with the Demio coming in dead last in the overall performance and max BHP categories. That said, it does have a few little tricks hidden up its sleeve that can really work in its favor a little later on (assuming, that is, that players are still using it by then).
Whereas the other two cars in the lineup are Hybrids, the Demio is packing a regular combustion engine under the hood. As well as sounding much better, this provides a far simpler upgrade path, meaning that tinkerers can push the car's PP up quite a bit higher than the others with just a little bit of tuning. Of course, even just a little bit of tuning can end up being very expensive, so players should think twice before committing to any upgrades.
The Final Verdict
For a number of different reasons, it doesn't really matter which car players choose. For starters, they'll soon begin to unlock races that require them to use a European car, meaning that they're going to have to switch to something new pretty quickly anyway. Just in case that wasn't enough to make the decision seem trivial, players will receive the other two cars as gift cars anyway almost immediately after making their choice.
With all this in mind, some might argue that it's best to go with the Mazda Demio, and this is probably the best choice due to it being the cheapest of the three. That said, once players really get going, they'll soon realize that 1,800 Credits are little more than a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things, as Credits are very easy to come by in Gran Turismo 7. As such, players shouldn't pay too much attention to how much the starter cars cost and instead buy the one that they like best.
Gran Turismo 7 is available now on PS4 and PS5.
