Asterope

"Promoted by Karin as an "attainable luxury vehicle", the Asterope is the perfect car for the middle manager who knows deep down he'll never be a senior executive but can't quite bring himself to admit it yet."

- Southernsanandreassuperautos.com description.

The Karin Asterope is a compact luxury sedan featured exclusively in Grand Theft Auto V.

Design
The design of this car appears to be inspired by Japanese styling featured on the Toyota Aurion (XV40) at the front. The sides and rear are inspired by the XV40 Toyota Camry. The front end of the car features typical Japanese geometric formations. The dominant feature of the front bumper is a slatted, trapezium-shaped duct, occupying a third of the car's width. Either side of the duct are smaller, inset quadrilateral ducts which house circular foglamps. License plates are mounted centrally on the main bumper duct. A short distane above the main bumper duct, a sharp curve separates the bumper from the hood/bonnet. A short distance above the curve is the main grille. The grille is a large chrome-edged trapezium, with curved edges and horizontal chrome strips. A short distance away from the grille are headlamp units that are similar in height to the grille. The headlamp units house two clear circular lamps closer to the grille and a small amber turn indicator lamp further away. The headlamp unit's outline feature a small bump in the lower edge, contoured to the larger clear lamp. The manufacturer emblem is placed centrally just behind the grille. The car's hood/bonnet lacks any formations.

The sides of the car are fairly simple, lacking any extra formations. At about a fifth of the car's height there are chrome horizontal trim strips. The wheel arches feature light flaring. The door handles are also trimmed with chrome. The greenhouse area features windows with polymer-covered B pillars. The roof is an entirely curved element, with a long and fairly smooth C pillar. An antenna is mounted centrally just in front of the rear windscreen. The car has seven spoke wheels wrapped in medium profile tires.

At the rear, the rear Altezza lamp units are chrome-backed apart from an amber strip at their base. In between these there is an equally-tall, impressed license plate area. The area has a horizontal chrome strip at its top and side edges parallel to the nearest rear lamp unit. The rear bumper is slightly elevated and is flat, at its base there are two small circular exhaust tips, one towards either edge of the bumper.

Performance
The Asterope utilizes a 3.5-liter V6 and features rear wheel drive. Despite its soft suspension, handling is quite respectable for a vehicle of this size. The top speed is surprisingly good, and can keep up with more luxurious and expensive cars such as the Zion and Jackal. Acceleration is decent. Braking is fair.

Locations

 * Very common in East Vinewood and East Los Santos.
 * Spawns at Big House Storage Inc. on Autopia Parkway from the district of Los Santos International Airport.
 * GTA Online: As of title update 1.14, one will spawn near the player after they complete a job, although other cars may spawn instead.

Special variants

 * In the mission Cleaning out the Bureau, a unique Asterope with a blue and pink two-tone paint scheme can be seen leaving the parking complex. This paintjob is similar to those found on cars in TBoGT's Drug Wars. This unique example of the car cannot be obtained however.

Trivia

 * The name "Asterope" is also the name given to one of the stars of the Pleiades. The stars of the Pleiades are represented in the logo for Subaru, which is partly (16.1%) owned by Toyota.
 * This car effectively replaces the Dinka Chavos and Bravado Feroci from GTA IV.
 * Like the Chavos and Feroci, the Asterope also fills the entry-level luxury sedan role previously filled by the Sentinel and Admiral in 3D Universe.
 * The real-life Toyota Camry, which the Asterope is based on, is the most sold compact luxury car in the United States.
 * Its 3.5L V6 engine correctly resembles Toyota Camry's 3.5L V6 engine (2GR-FE), however, its RWD drivetrain is incorrect, as present day Toyota Camry is front wheel drive. The RWD drivetrain is likely to be derived from the Lexus GS, also sold as a nameplate variant in Japan as the Toyota Crown/Aristo/Celsior.
 * The Asterope appears to be the luxury counterpart of the Sultan, as they share the similar performance.
 * Although the Asterope's drivetrain is FWD, its wheels spin from the rear, instead of the front, and it behaves like an RWD vehicle when navigating through corners. This may be a developer oversight.
 * The default radio station of this car is Non Stop Pop 100.7.