Kuruma


 * "Sentinal" redirects here. For the other car, see Sentinel.

The Kuruma is a four-door sedan seen in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Design
The word "kuruma" means "automobile" in Japanese (車), which may suggest that the car is of Japanese origin. The car is depicted as a generic modern sedan, with styling reminiscent of a 2001-2004 Chrysler Sebring, though the rear lights are more reminiscent of a 1999-2004 Chrysler 300M. For GTA Liberty City Stories, the Kuruma has slight cosmetic changes to make it look like a generic Japanese sedan during the late 90's, such as the fifth generation Honda Civic. It comes with colored or uncolored (grey) bumpers and trims, a slightly improved variety in colors.

The Kuruma is the first car made available to the player in both GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories, in the missions "Give Me Liberty" and "Home Sweet Home", respectively, probably due to the fact that it handles relatively neutrally. When originally introduced in GTA III, the car is not seen driven on the streets of Portland Island, but is parked in various locations in the island; in GTA Liberty City Stories, the car is present in Portland traffic.

During development of GTA III, the Kuruma was originally known as the "Sentinal", not to be confused by the Sentinel, another sedan in the final version of the same game, in which it was previously known as the "Beamer" during development. Prior to the game's release, the Kuruma is presumed to have been renamed, while the "Sentinal" name found its way into the Beamer, resulting in the Beamer being renamed the "Sentinel".

Performance
The Kuruma is powered by a small, yet gutsy, engine, most likely a four-cylinder, channeled to the front wheels. Whilst the engine is powerful enough to propel the light Kuruma to high straight line speeds, the front wheel drive layout causes understeer. Players may therefore favour using the handbrake to swing round turns at high speed.

The Kuruma possesses almost identical handling properties to the GTA III rendition of the Taxi.

Variant

 * FBI Car

Trivia



 * The Kuruma has appeared as both a wreck and a working car in Manhunt and Manhunt 2, respectively (see also Kuruma article at Wikihunt).
 * The Kuruma is referenced in an episode of FX crime drama "NCIS" where Agent Mcgee describes a getaway car as a "Kuruma". And later explains to his confused superiors: "Kuruma is the name of a car in Grand Theft Auto Three. It’s a Chrysler Sebring sedan."

Locations

 * GTA III
 * Head Radio Studio, Hepburn Heights, Portland Island.
 * Greasy Joe's Café, Callahan Point, Portland Island.
 * Docks, Portland Harbor, Portland Island.
 * Momma's Restaurant, Saint Mark's, Portland Island.
 * Capital Autos, Harwood, Portland Island.
 * In a car park, near the apartments, in Wichita Gardens, Shoreside Vale.


 * GTA Liberty City Stories
 * Parked outside Vincenzo's warehouse in Atlantic Quays, Portland Island. The car is uniquely black.
 * In Saint Mark's, parked where you dropped off the drugs for Salvatore from the Cartel in the mission Contra-Banned.
 * Spawns regularly on all three islands.
 * Easy Credit Autos, Harwood, Portland Island.