suggestions for a new car

neil.woos

Next thing you know is that Toyotas, Fords and Vauxhalls are better engineered and better build quality than Rolls Royce, Bentley and Porsche

uncreative

We have had all sorts of cars in the past and Honda and Lexus are by far the best and most reliable. Merc & Audi needed £££££ spent on them once the miles racked up. Maybe we were unlucky.

2007 (07 plate) BMW 325 se touring was the most disappointing car I have ever had, cloth interior, single CD player, I can only describe it as 'minimalist' - my first and last BMW. The Audi A4 Avant 2.0 tdi I replaced it with was miles better in my view.

Samsonite1

neil.woos wrote: »

Next thing you know is that Toyotas, Fords and Vauxhalls are better engineered and better build quality than Rolls Royce, Bentley and Porsche

You cannot really compare some of these brands or generalise so much. E.g. Ford is much bigger than BMW and they make pick-up trucks, vans and a much wider variety of vehicles than BMW. Ford engines appear in many other brands recent and present such as Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin - to name a few. Ford used to build Rolls Royces in the UK at one point.

The point I am making really is that the "badge" is not always that important. We all know (hopefully that) VW make Skoda, Seat, Audi, Lamborghini and er VW. Anyone who claims that a VW is better engineered than a Skoda is just badly informed.

Having said that - BMWs are engineered for driving and I can vouch for BMWs being the ultimate driving machines if you care about how good a car feels to drive and how well engineered it is around this. This basically means that if you don't care how "nice" a car is to drive then you will probably not see many benefits in owning a BMW and that is why the other factors will look favourable for other brands.

neil.woos

uncreative wrote: »

2007 (07 plate) BMW 325 se touring was the most disappointing car I have ever had, cloth interior, single CD player, I can only describe it as 'minimalist' - my first and last BMW. The Audi A4 Avant 2.0 tdi I replaced it with was miles better in my view.

That isn't BMWs fault that YOU opted for a basic interior with no options. Usually, the bigger engines comes with a more luxury. Why complain about the interior of your BMW when you knew it was like that before buying

neil.woos

BMWs do generally have sharper handling than Fords/Vauxhalls/Toyotas/Hondas but also its rear wheel drive. Drive a BMW at 80 mph and a Toyota at 80mph and you'll notice the immediate difference.

The reality is that cheaper cars like Toyota/Honda/Fords and the like are not targeting cars like BMW/Merc/Audi to compete with. That is why you have brands like Lexus/Infiniti and the Honda luxury equivalent in the states, Acura. They are in direct competition and are priced accordingly.

In my personal opinion, I don't think Fords/Vauxhalls/Toyotas are better cars nor have better build quality than premium German brands like BMW/Mercs/Porches. However brands like Lexus/Infiniti are as good and in some cases better than premium German makes.

Samsonite1

I beg to differ - try driving a Ford Focus (2007 onwards) and you will find it handles very nicely. I am a BMW fan and would prefer to go back to one, but they lack practicality. I have never driven a Vauxhall other than a Corsa (was rubbish) so I cannot comment on how well most of them drive, but Fords are pretty good, hence taking 2 Fords after BMWs.

ChumLee

neil.woos wrote: »

BMW are usually class leading, especially in the handling department. Lexus, although good cars, usually come up short in most departments. And to compare a Toyota to BMW is stupid, of course the BMW should be better in every area, you're paying the extra price for it.

So why aren't you driving one?

neil.woos

Because they're expensive to buy and maintain. I have bigger priorities like getting on the property ladder.

That said, I will own a BMW at some point in the future.

ChumLee

neil.woos wrote: »

Because they're expensive to buy and maintain. I have bigger priorities like getting on the property ladder.

That said, I will own a BMW at some point in the future.

So you can't afford one and you live with........ your mum. :rotfl:

neil.woos

I live in London and only just graduated a couple of years ago. In case you didn't know, properties prices around here aren't cheap...