Roman's Taxi
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Roman's Taxi is a taxi in Grand Theft Auto IV owned by Roman Bellic
Description
Design and performance
Roman's Taxi is based on the near-identical Albany Esperanto - due to the Albany badging, many people thought that it was actually called the Albany. Roman's Taxis are not driven on the streets by civilians, but by Roman's taxi drivers. The car is visually distinguishable from the Esperanto by its minor alterations -- red or yellow taxi emergency lights affixed to the front and back, taxi registration number on the trunk, advertising on the rear bumper and rear window, and a custom red interior. By default, Roman's Taxi is dark gray with a discolored gray driver's side front fender. It can be resprayed to other colors, and may be randomly resprayed back to its default appearance.
Performance and handling-wise, Roman's Taxi is heavier than the Esperanto (1700kg to the Esperanto's 1600kg), and has inferior acceleration, but has a significantly greater top speed (295km/h to the Esperanto's 218km/h); it also has slightly stronger braking and softer suspension. It is slightly less prone to deformation than the Esperanto, and can better withstand collisions.
Use as a taxi
Niko can call Roman to send a taxi to pick him up, after gaining his favour. The taxi driver is notoriously short-tempered, with the taxi rides peppered with insults hurled Niko's way for being a freeloader. After unlocking the Algonquin safehouse (at which point Roman's business appears to have become highly successful), Roman's taxis are replaced by a fleet of grey Cavalcades, with the same disgruntled driver as before. After this, the car is no longer available, unless the player has saved one at a safehouse.
Prominent appearances
Roman's Taxi is the first vehicle that the player drives in Grand Theft Auto IV, and was prominently featured in many pre-release materials, with the car initially featuring an all-black body color.
Gallery
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Rear quarter view of Roman's Taxi.
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