Forza Horizon 4: The first year of the rest of my life

My Forza Horizon 4 adventure in the United Kingdom has officially begun and life in a European country that is set to leave the EU soon can be very exciting and confused at the same time, but with all of the fast cars surrounding me, I have nothing to worry about as my life in the Horizon UK begins now.



At the start of the Horizon UK journey, players have been given a choice of three starter cars such as the 2015 Audi TTS Coupe, the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, and the 2017 Ford Focus RS. For me, I picked the Focus RS because it had became my go-to hot hatch since my Australia days and thanks to its 2.3L turbocharged engine, 4WD, and torque vectoring, its signature dynamics never really fails to impress me. It may look stodgy, it may look old, it went out of production, but this hot hatch never holds back on me.





This hatchback, it's like summoning an old friend after months of absence and having known this car for so long, I decided to take the first drive of Horizon UK in this car to see if there's more juice into this old timer.


The Focus RS may no longer be in showrooms but it still performs like what a super hot hatch should be and this car really wanted to do more for me but the call of the dirt brought me to the next venue and given to the choice of three cars that work really well in the dirt, I've picked the GDB-F Impreza WRX STi because of one reason; FARMKHANA.





Yes, it's the FARMKHANA car as seen in The Grand Tour and because this game fits perfectly as the ultimate country playground just like that, the GDB-F WRX STi fits the bill as a rally car that goes not just fast but anywhere, given that I'm not going to commit some sheep casualties. So much to try in the ultimate country playground with the FARMKHANA car, am I right?


As fall reaches, I switched cars to do some more work before joining getting through the Horizon roster and because of all the hard work I've done from past installments, I tried some of the prize cars I received from the producers.



First off, I tried out the new Ford F-150 Raptor to the same place the FARMKHANA car took but since the season's changed, I'd expect some differences in the track so there could be some more challenges in store for me.



Having getting the hang on the seasonal changes, my work to get my spot at the Horizon roster continues and with that, I try various races to make sure my spot is secured.





In my time, I've called one of my familiar cars from the Forza franchise, the new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio saloon and after spending months of tackling various race tracks worldwide, the Giulia finally takes some time off at the United Kingdom and under my hands, the Giulia QV wants to show the crowd that it's ready to take on a whole new challenge at the English countryside.



As winter arrives in a Game of Thrones kind of way, I tried a new car that fits the winter season perfectly but not what you think it is.



This is an Infiniti Q50 (a Nissan Skyline V37) but this is the Eau Rouge Concept. While Infiniti scrapped plans to create a GT-R powered Q50 saloon, I can always think of the Eau Rouge Concept is a heavily modified Skyline V37 with some GT-R bits and bobs on it and because being 4WD just like the R35 GT-R, the Q50 Eau Rouge treats winter like spring and that fits the bill perfectly.



After having a blast with the hyper-Q50 in a winter wonderland, I tried some cross country events for the first time and for this job, I'd picked the RR Sport SVR out of the three SUVs fit for cross country duty.



Any James Bond fan would tell that the goons from SPECTRE drove the Range Rover Sport SVR from the film aside from Defenders but as an SUV that possesses sportscar-like reflexes with legendary Range Rover capability to go everywhere, this Range Rover Sport makes it very special to me ever since I drove this car years ago and because me and the Range Rover Sport go all the way back, we put all our experiences in this new challenge here in Horizon UK.



As spring arrived, the whole United Kingdom never looked so lovely and in a place called Edinburgh, you can catch a glimpse of the cherry blossoms. Speaking of which, I had brought an old friend that fits the season perfectly.





Who could forget about the BMW M2 Coupe and its back-to-basics approach that makes it the best M car to own? Of course it's not the fastest but it's one of the coolest sportscars ever made and having known this car back a while ago, I have grown fond with the M2's unique characteristics that won my heart and like calling an old friend back for more fun, me and the M2 are having some more adventures in this new place called Britain.



After several activities later, I have completed my first year of Horizon UK and now that I secured my spot at the Horizon roster, my true journey begins and throughout the course of this game, I can explore new places, drive new cars, take on new races, and more.

There are so many things to do in my United Kingdom bucket list before Brexit and whatever lies ahead, I'm more than ready to check out what's new and what's hot in the English countryside. This is only the beginning and I'm looking forward to see what's going on in Horizon UK. See you...