Bucket, by [rOmituNed]

review by Dewstain


While fans may look the other way, you'll know you can definitely hang with the big boys.


Well, she was in bad shape, that’s for sure. The old Toyota Sprinter Trueno had definitely seen better days. I was really looking for something a little more eye catching and a lot more…modern…but the bottom line was that my budget was small, and this was my top end. I was skeptical of Romi’s claims that it had been “garage kept” and “only had highway miles” and I was most certain that the majority of the scratches would not simply “buff out”, but when push came to shove, it was all I could afford for my weekend racer. Even the relatively modest asking price of 100K Cr. seemed fairly steep for something that looked like it might not make it to the track, let alone around it. Strike three seemed inevitable, and sure enough, my Car Fax report brought up a salvage title.

The catcher must have dropped that third strike though, because Romi handed me the keys and I reluctantly got in. No roll cage…hmmm… I turned the key and all 147 horses roared to life with the blistering sound of someone humming into a tin can. I grabbed for first and set off around Romi’s neighborhood.

The acceleration was understandably slow; the car’s low horsepower numbers painfully evident as I made my way through first and second gear, nudging the car forward with all my might and wishing for a whole in the floor so I could add just a little bit of Fred Flinstone-esque pickup.

But then something happened as I shifted into third. A turn, and a glorious one at that. Suddenly the car came to life, gliding effortlessly through the corners as I slugged my way through the residential area and towards the nearest race track. One wrong turn brought us to a dead end, but that cul-de-sac proved to be no match as I flared the tires around the edge of the makeshift hairpin.




Was that scratch there before or did I get it while parking at Home Depot?


Soon we arrived at Suzuka, our first track of the day. The car felt great, but didn’t have the mustard to catch my relatively quick (for my standards) personal best. I flogged through the corners, discovering more and more grip each lap, but in the end, as soon as the back straight came up, I lost the lead. It really got me thinking though, and I hypothesized that this car would be excellent on short tracks with chains of sweeping turns.

Maple Valley proved to be much more manageable and showcased the cars ability to grip in increasing and decreasing corners alike. Even the corners that can typically cause any cars to over steer proved to be no match for the Bucket as it clawed its way to the top of the hill and around the corner without so much as a hint of drift. The turn-in is amazing, but the ability to hold the corner after that turn-in is truly magnificent. I set a personal best on Maple Valley in only two laps, and subsequently shaved off another 3 seconds in the 10 or so laps that followed.

I also was able to set new D-Class personal bests on Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta Short, and likely could on any track featuring a long 180 degree bend or two or more snake like turns strung back to back. The car inspired great confidence. It seemed that every lap I discovered more and more grip. I swear that even on the 10th or 15th lap it still felt better and better. As a lightweight RWD car with modest acceleration and amazing grip, it fills and interesting niche in a class completely dominated by FWD Hondas and RWD muscle.

The car was also able to take a couple of top two finishes in some online racing. I held my own on Sunset Infield against a much more powerful and definitely scary sounding Challenger (at least until we hit the last straight), and I dusted a Saab and Mazda Roadster on Road Atlanta Short.

After thoroughly enjoying my day with the car, I decided The Bucket was worthy of purchase. I handed over the 100K and drove it over to the DMV to apply for my plates.



When you pass the competition, they'll all get a view of the paint on your bumper from the light pole in the Target parking lot.


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