2014 COttam Vector
Performance - ★★★★★
The Cottam Vector uses a high performance 4.1-litre naturally aspirated V8 that produces 509 bhp @ 8000 rpm and 343 lb-ft @ 7200 rpm. This does sound as if all the mind blowing performance comes at the top end of the engine's range but that is far from true. The torque curve is almost completely flat on this car meaning that the performance is hard from the word go. You put your foot to the floor from a standstill and in just 4.1 seconds you are travelling at 62 mph and it keeps on pulling hard until you reach the gear limited top speed of 180 mph. It is quite unfortunate that the gears prevent the car from going any further than this because it is probably capable of 200 mph+. Still, 180 mph isn't exactly what you call slow. The engine is extremely responsive. You put your foot on the accelerator and instantaneously you are where you were just looking just as you began to press the pedal. It is also a very smooth performer which adds to the fun. In summary, a truely wonderful engine!
Ride Comfort - ★★★★
Although the suspension on the Cottam Vector is set up more for going around corners, it manages to ride very well. The suspension at low speeds is just as expected from a car like this. Bumps and imperfections in the road surface at this speed can be felt and the car does fidget around somewhat. As speeds go up things get a lot better. The suspension at higher speeds is more than capable enough of soaking up all bar the largest of bumps in the road and it becomes an exceptionally comfortable long distance cruiser. When going over a large bump at these speeds the car manages to soak up the bump and then carry on its way without bouncing about or getting out of shape. Cornering, as expected, is done reasonably flat.
Handling - ★★★★★
The Vector goes around a bend as well as it does in a straight line. The 509 bhp engine does sound intimidating, but unlike most rivals it comes with AWD as standard making it sound a bit less like a monster that is going to bite your head off each time you even attempt to put your foot down around a corner. The addition of traction aids also help to keep the car glued into position around a corner and prevents it from getting tail happy. If you do want to get the rear end out, simply switch off some traction aids and you are off. The amount of grip there is from the tyres is immense. Fire the car into a corner at some silly speeds and it will just grip almost without fuss and send you around the corner and face destroying speeds. The steering adds to the gripping (ha!) drive, doing everything you want it to do. If I were to complain at all about the way the car drives, it would have to be the body roll. Although it doesn't act like most large, heavy cars do when going around a bend, it doesn't feel exactly sports saloon like. It is only a very small niggle though.
Refinement - ★★★
This is one of the Vector's few weak points. The V8 engine in this car is an absolute gem when it comes to performance, but when it comes to noise it makes almost all the cars on the road sound like whining puppies. Foot down in this thing and the V8 engine roars to life filling the area with one of the most beautiful notes ever heard from the motoring industry. The issue is that it doesn't quite shut up enough when you are travelling along at high cruising speeds and over long distances it could get annoying, but one way to prevent that is it to hit the accelerator every now and again. The other issue is the considerable amount of road and wind noise that also begins to develop at these speeds, because not only does it destroy the calm when it is wanted, but it blocks out the engine note when you want to really get a move on.
Equipment - ★★★★★
You can tell the Cottam Vector is a luxury car simply by looking in the interior. You sit inside and in front of you is a few buttons and switches and a massive screen controlling every single gadget in a car known to mankind. Sat-nav, Bluetooth, leather seats, reversing sensors and camera (or it will park itself if you want) etc. There hasn't been a single thing left out that you would want and then there is the rest of the stuff just to make spectators gaze in awe even more than what they would just seeing and hearing it.
Quality - ★★★★★
This is yet another area where this car shines very brightly. Not only does the interior come packed to the brim with every single imaginable gadget, but it is also covered in some truly wonderful materials. The dashboard is covered in wonderful, soft-touch and smooth leather. The centre console is covered in leathers, metals and woods and if you close enough some carbon fibre to add some sportiness to the interior. The roof lining feels like it was made from something very expensive. Even in the low down and less visible areas you will find some nice materials, and where there are plastics they are some very nice, expensive feeling and rigid plastics. The back of the car hasn't been left out either where everything is covered in the same array of materials seen in the front of the car.
Reliability - ★★★★★
Even though this is a roaring sports saloon with all the gadgets, the car is extremely reliable. Under extreme testing in extreme conditions it didn't fail once and not even in the slightest. The engine has gone through extensive testing and is capable of in excess of 45000 miles without even needing any servicing or replacement parts. The numerous gadgets are all brand new and were developed very recently, which hopefully means that nothing with go wrong. If things do go wrong though, we expect that they won't be cheap at all.
Running Costs - ★★★
This is one area when it comes to cars like this that will never get a good rating. You must also consider the fact that people who can afford to buy cars like these know that they can also afford to run the gas guzzler. The 509 bhp engine in this car isn't exactly going to be impressing any environmentalist, but for a car like this it isn't all that bad. Official claims for fuel economy are 23.5 mpg and it emits a reasonably low 279 grams of carbon dioxide every kilometer, baring in mind that low means low for this category. As mentioned before, should something go wrong you will be facing large repair bills, which is reflected in the cost to insure the car and also to service the car.
Safety - ★★★★★
As well as having all the tech, the Cottam Vector also has all the safety features you need in order to keep yourself safe on the roads and to prevent you from injury in the event of a coming together. There are numerous traction aids to keep you handling this powerful monster if you do decide to push it to its limits and also in the event of an emergency maneuver. If the unfortunate event of having a crash does occur though, there are more than enough airbags and other injury limiting things to keep you nice and safe and able to walk out of the crash unscathed. There are some things that are becoming seen more often in luxury saloons that aren't in this car, but it makes hardly any difference.
OVERALL - ★★★★★ [BEST BUY]
For: Everything that matters: performance, handling, noise etc
Against: Mediocre refinement... umm.
The Cottam Vector uses a high performance 4.1-litre naturally aspirated V8 that produces 509 bhp @ 8000 rpm and 343 lb-ft @ 7200 rpm. This does sound as if all the mind blowing performance comes at the top end of the engine's range but that is far from true. The torque curve is almost completely flat on this car meaning that the performance is hard from the word go. You put your foot to the floor from a standstill and in just 4.1 seconds you are travelling at 62 mph and it keeps on pulling hard until you reach the gear limited top speed of 180 mph. It is quite unfortunate that the gears prevent the car from going any further than this because it is probably capable of 200 mph+. Still, 180 mph isn't exactly what you call slow. The engine is extremely responsive. You put your foot on the accelerator and instantaneously you are where you were just looking just as you began to press the pedal. It is also a very smooth performer which adds to the fun. In summary, a truely wonderful engine!
Ride Comfort - ★★★★
Although the suspension on the Cottam Vector is set up more for going around corners, it manages to ride very well. The suspension at low speeds is just as expected from a car like this. Bumps and imperfections in the road surface at this speed can be felt and the car does fidget around somewhat. As speeds go up things get a lot better. The suspension at higher speeds is more than capable enough of soaking up all bar the largest of bumps in the road and it becomes an exceptionally comfortable long distance cruiser. When going over a large bump at these speeds the car manages to soak up the bump and then carry on its way without bouncing about or getting out of shape. Cornering, as expected, is done reasonably flat.
Handling - ★★★★★
The Vector goes around a bend as well as it does in a straight line. The 509 bhp engine does sound intimidating, but unlike most rivals it comes with AWD as standard making it sound a bit less like a monster that is going to bite your head off each time you even attempt to put your foot down around a corner. The addition of traction aids also help to keep the car glued into position around a corner and prevents it from getting tail happy. If you do want to get the rear end out, simply switch off some traction aids and you are off. The amount of grip there is from the tyres is immense. Fire the car into a corner at some silly speeds and it will just grip almost without fuss and send you around the corner and face destroying speeds. The steering adds to the gripping (ha!) drive, doing everything you want it to do. If I were to complain at all about the way the car drives, it would have to be the body roll. Although it doesn't act like most large, heavy cars do when going around a bend, it doesn't feel exactly sports saloon like. It is only a very small niggle though.
Refinement - ★★★
This is one of the Vector's few weak points. The V8 engine in this car is an absolute gem when it comes to performance, but when it comes to noise it makes almost all the cars on the road sound like whining puppies. Foot down in this thing and the V8 engine roars to life filling the area with one of the most beautiful notes ever heard from the motoring industry. The issue is that it doesn't quite shut up enough when you are travelling along at high cruising speeds and over long distances it could get annoying, but one way to prevent that is it to hit the accelerator every now and again. The other issue is the considerable amount of road and wind noise that also begins to develop at these speeds, because not only does it destroy the calm when it is wanted, but it blocks out the engine note when you want to really get a move on.
Equipment - ★★★★★
You can tell the Cottam Vector is a luxury car simply by looking in the interior. You sit inside and in front of you is a few buttons and switches and a massive screen controlling every single gadget in a car known to mankind. Sat-nav, Bluetooth, leather seats, reversing sensors and camera (or it will park itself if you want) etc. There hasn't been a single thing left out that you would want and then there is the rest of the stuff just to make spectators gaze in awe even more than what they would just seeing and hearing it.
Quality - ★★★★★
This is yet another area where this car shines very brightly. Not only does the interior come packed to the brim with every single imaginable gadget, but it is also covered in some truly wonderful materials. The dashboard is covered in wonderful, soft-touch and smooth leather. The centre console is covered in leathers, metals and woods and if you close enough some carbon fibre to add some sportiness to the interior. The roof lining feels like it was made from something very expensive. Even in the low down and less visible areas you will find some nice materials, and where there are plastics they are some very nice, expensive feeling and rigid plastics. The back of the car hasn't been left out either where everything is covered in the same array of materials seen in the front of the car.
Reliability - ★★★★★
Even though this is a roaring sports saloon with all the gadgets, the car is extremely reliable. Under extreme testing in extreme conditions it didn't fail once and not even in the slightest. The engine has gone through extensive testing and is capable of in excess of 45000 miles without even needing any servicing or replacement parts. The numerous gadgets are all brand new and were developed very recently, which hopefully means that nothing with go wrong. If things do go wrong though, we expect that they won't be cheap at all.
Running Costs - ★★★
This is one area when it comes to cars like this that will never get a good rating. You must also consider the fact that people who can afford to buy cars like these know that they can also afford to run the gas guzzler. The 509 bhp engine in this car isn't exactly going to be impressing any environmentalist, but for a car like this it isn't all that bad. Official claims for fuel economy are 23.5 mpg and it emits a reasonably low 279 grams of carbon dioxide every kilometer, baring in mind that low means low for this category. As mentioned before, should something go wrong you will be facing large repair bills, which is reflected in the cost to insure the car and also to service the car.
Safety - ★★★★★
As well as having all the tech, the Cottam Vector also has all the safety features you need in order to keep yourself safe on the roads and to prevent you from injury in the event of a coming together. There are numerous traction aids to keep you handling this powerful monster if you do decide to push it to its limits and also in the event of an emergency maneuver. If the unfortunate event of having a crash does occur though, there are more than enough airbags and other injury limiting things to keep you nice and safe and able to walk out of the crash unscathed. There are some things that are becoming seen more often in luxury saloons that aren't in this car, but it makes hardly any difference.
OVERALL - ★★★★★ [BEST BUY]
For: Everything that matters: performance, handling, noise etc
Against: Mediocre refinement... umm.