Taxi

Revision as of 16:37, 7 August 2009 by gtw>Samadriel (Wording, moved a detail to 'design')

File:Taxi (GTA3) (front).jpg
A Taxi in GTA III.

The Taxi is a four door sedan-based taxi featured, in some form or other, in nearly all of the games in the Grand Theft Auto series so far. The Taxi represents modern but generic taxis of their setting's era, and is often one of the most common vehicles on the road. Like other taxis from Grand Theft Auto III to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, the Taxi can be used to perform taxi side-missions. The Taxi does not appear in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

Appears in

Design

GTA 1 — GTA 2

For Grand Theft Auto 1 there are three versions of the Taxi; the Liberty City version is based on the Portsmouth, the San Andreas version is based on the Vulture, and the Vice City version is based on the Flamer. The Taxi in Grand Theft Auto 2 is similar to an elongated Fiat 500.

GTA III — GTA Vice City Stories

From GTA III onwards, the Taxi is usually based on the same model as the police car from the same game.

In GTA III, the Taxi resembles a cross between a late model [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Caprice Chevrolet Caprice] and [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Crown_Victoria Ford Crown Victoria], with a [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corsica Chevrolet Corsica] inspired grille and headlights. There are minor variants available, with darker bumpers, and different taxi lights. In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the Taxi is a [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_LTD_(North_America) Ford LTD] lookalike. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the Taxi is based on the Premier, which is an [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Caprice#1991-1996 early-nineties Chevrolet Caprice]. The taxis in Grand Theft Auto:Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto:Vice City Stories are largely identical to the GTA III and GTA Vice City renditions, respectively. The GTA Liberty City Stories rendition may appear with yellow, black or grey bumpers.

The Taxi in GTA Advance has little indication of which car it is based on, but is generally more boxy in design when compared to the game's Police.

GTA IV

There are two different taxi sedans in Grand Theft Auto IV; one built by Declasse, based on the Merit, and the other built by Vapid, influenced strongly by the Ford Crown Victoria P72. Vapid Taxis may have yellow, grey or black bumpers; some have rooftop advertisements for WTF, Conjoined Twins, and Banging Trash Can Lids For An Hour. The Vapid taxi shares a chassis with the Police and NOOSE Cruisers; this chassis is not used in any civilian car.

Performance

GTA 1 — GTA 2

Early renditions of the Taxi are generally undesirable due to their mediocre performance. While differing between cities and partially based on muscle vehicles, GTA1's taxis are generally slow, but compensate with good steering. In GTA 2 the opposite is the case, with moderate speed but sluggish controls, inferior to the Taxi Xpress. Both games' renditions have moderate crash endurance.

GTA III — GTA Vice City Stories

The appearance of the Taxi between GTA III and GTA Vice City Stories varies drastically, however the Taxi's performance in all the games of this era may be described as all-round average. With moderate speed, moderate acceleration, light construction, moderate endurance, capable steering and stable cornering (all traits which are helpful during Taxi Driver missions), the Taxi is generally an acceptable vehicle to drive. The vehicle is also front wheel drive, reducing the chances of tailspins when cornering and allowing the vehicle to perform 180-degree turns backwards or forwards with ease.

GTA IV

The Declasse Merit-based taxi in GTA IV is powered by a V6, coupled to a 5 speed gearbox in a RWD layout. Acceleration is very good, and the top speed is also good for a vehicle as common as this. The brakes have been upgraded over the civilian model, and requires a shorter stopping distance. The suspension has also had an upgrade, making this vehicle corner more effectively at speed. Crash deformation is acceptable, and the cab can survive a few frontal hits before failing.

The Vapid Police Cruiser-based Taxi is powered by a 4.6L V8, coupled to a 5 speed gearbox in a RWD layout. Acceleration is good, and the top speed is above average. Its braking and suspension are very good, identical to that of the Police Cruiser; ABS is standard, and the suspension makes quick work of cornering and the bumpy roads of Liberty City. Crash deformation is good, and the vehicle can sustain multiple frontal impacts before failing.

Hailing a cab

In GTA Vice City, and every subsequent game in the GTA III Era, if the player gets Busted or Wasted during a mission, a cab outside the police station or hospital can return them to the mission's starting point.

A new feature introduced in GTA IV is the ability to hail cabs. Niko can whistle for a cab, take a seat in the back, and be driven anywhere in the city for a fee. Upon entering the Taxi, the player can use a terminal within the vehicle to direct the driver to various preset landmarks (safehouses, mission starting locations, recreational facilities such as bowling alleys or the Helitours depot, etc); the player can also direct the driver to any waypoint they set, and during some missions, the player can take a taxi to (stationary) mission markers. The taxi fare is determined by distance, and whether the player used the 'hurry' option (which allows the driver to drive aggressively and ignore road rules) or 'trip-skip' option (where the journey is omitted entirely, the game resuming as the cab pulls up at its location).

In GTA IV, cabs that already have passengers won't normally stop when hailed, but if caught, they can still be used -- Niko will pull the passenger out of the back seat and hop in. Passengers do not retaliate, and there is no Wanted penalty or reaction from the driver.

Niko can get free cab rides from Roman Bellic after the player has earned his respect (Roman will call to inform Niko once the service is available). Selecting "Car Services" from Roman's address-book entry in the Cell Phone will initiate a call to Roman, and he will dispatch one of his cabs to Niko's location. In the beginning of the game, Roman's taxis are customised dark grey Esperantos (see Roman's Taxi), but as his fortunes rise, his company switches to using dark grey Cavalcades.

Taxi side mission

Main article: Taxi Driver

Locations

GTA IV

Trivia

  • In GTA Vice City, Taxis have white spots on the windshield due to an error in applying the vehicle's reflection map.
  • In GTA III and GTA Vice City, Taxis may spawn without their lights on top. In GTA IV, the taxi light can be broken off by impacts.
  • Taxi drivers tend to be vengeful, exiting their vehicle and assaulting the player if he or she damages their vehicle; they may pull the player out of their own vehicles, or throw punches if they meet the player on foot. In GTA IV, they may cling onto the player's car door while he or she attempts to escape, until the gaining speed forces them to let go.
  • The GTA IV Taxi originally had a black variant, as seen in the Vladimir Glebov trailer.

Variants

Modifications (GTA San Andreas)

Gallery

See also


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