suggestions for a new car

ChumLee

neil.woos wrote: »

What are you talking about? I don't care whether other drivers are looking up to me or not in that E class Merc. I'm not even a Merc fan but I found it the best (and it should be it's twice the price of the other hire cars I had). It was very comfortable over long journeys (better seats), felt very balanced and stable at higher motorway speeds and sound isolation was excellent in the cabin. After a good 4 hours plus, I wanted to get out of all the other cars and felt tired after a long drive. In the Merc however I still felt fresh after a long drive. But this isn't a surprise THE CAR IS TWICE THE PRICE and has to meet twice the expectation!


I still find it absurd that people here believe Fords and Vauxhalls are better cars than BMWs and Mercs in build quality and so forth. Only on a MSE website will you find drivel like this, most of which coming from people who can't afford nice cars or get an entry spec and then moan and slate it. I can freely conceded that I cannot afford a BMW or Merc, but I won't have a chip on my shoulder and I'll give credit where credit is due. On ay other motoring forum; Merc, Subaru, Nissan, Pistonheads - more enthusiast forums where people are more knowledgeable on cars and are not fans of BMW will still generally agree that they're superior cars than Toyotas, Fords and Vauxhalls.

I beg to differ. Did you not post this?

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Good to see a fellow BMW comrade on MoneySavingExpert.com. Of course I wish to drive my M3 monster as much as I can for enjoyment, however I find it VERY frustrating to drive the M3 in stop/start heavy traffic, especially where roads are full of potholes and the car is just jerky. In such conditions I cannot truly explore the car, the clutch is heavy and the accelerator is very sensitive. I once recall an incident whilst having a coffee in the early morning traffic and I sneezed and accidentally pressed the accelerator and the car roared forward nearly ramming into the car ahead. Hence why I have my Yaris or soon to be a Lexus IS250, which would be very comfortable in such conditions.

I use my M3 on longer journeys on open roads (when there is no traffic) where I can enjoy the car, mostly in weekends. Half of the time I just go out for the sake of it to enjoy the driving experience, with no destination in mind. I absolutely love that thrill of revving it to 8000 rpm, bullying my way past cars. I feel like a god, it's a huge thrill, roaring past cars, overtaking them, taking sharp turns fast and letting that V8 scream. Rarely, when I'm in my Yaris, I'd see a fast 330i/335i/M3/M5 coming up behind me at an astonishing rate, with its angry, aggressive infamous BMW grilles (occasionally the xeons eyes are on) flying past with that typical BMW aural note. I have seen this throughout my life with the E36/E46 M3's and I knew that I needed to be a part of this.

Samsonite1

neil.woos wrote: »

In the right hands RWD does excel on the track but there is also another added benefit of RWD (and the reason why Merc/BMW/Lexus are generally RWD) which is the balanced feeling you get while driving due to the more even weight distribution. I have driven 2014/15 Merc E class/C class as hire cars for work and the there is definitely more of a balanced feeling than standard FWD car.

Yes, most standard FWD cars are not well balanced, but balanced cars are not a virtue of RWD, it is just that RWD is more common in performance cars which are also more likely to be finely balanced for driving pleasure - that is why you will find that most RWD cars drive better than FWD, but not all of the time - there are lots of poorly balanced RWD cars on the other side of the pond. I actually went the other way - as a BMW owner, I had a Ford Focus hire car for work once and could not believe how good it was to drive - there were not many cars I got into that compared to the BMW.

almillar

You did actually provide a link, Neil, showing the MPG of the Insignia and BMW. Well done. And it does indeed show that the Beemer has a better engine. It'll also cost more new or second hand, higher insurance group etc. Don't call things better engineered or people will just come on saying 'I know someone whose BMW broke'. It's a more complex engine, and it performs better. Simple.
A BMW vs a Toyota at 80? A 1-series diesel vs a Camry V6 petrol? The Toyota wins. You're too obsessed with brands, and one in particular.
You may have noticed that the OP (who never expressed an interest in RWD or 6-cyl engines) bought a Freelander. What are we still talking about?!

neil.woos

almillar wrote: »

You did actually provide a link, Neil, showing the MPG of the Insignia and BMW. Well done. And it does indeed show that the Beemer has a better engine. It'll also cost more new or second hand, higher insurance group etc. Don't call things better engineered or people will just come on saying 'I know someone whose BMW broke'. It's a more complex engine, and it performs better. Simple.
A BMW vs a Toyota at 80? A 1-series diesel vs a Camry V6 petrol? The Toyota wins. You're too obsessed with brands, and one in particular.
You may have noticed that the OP (who never expressed an interest in RWD or 6-cyl engines) bought a Freelander. What are we still talking about?!

Finally someone with common sense. I'm glad you pointed out that the BMW 325i has a better performing, more complex engine than the Insigia and by a wide margin. Substantially more powerful, more refined yet more efficient. That is what you call Engineering.


I'm not obsessed with BMWs. Right now one of the best cars I've driven is the new Peugeot 308 diesel automatic. Love that car.

WellKnownSid

neil.woos wrote: »

I still find it absurd that people here believe Fords and Vauxhalls are better cars than BMWs and Mercs in build quality and so forth. Only on a MSE website will you find drivel like this, most of which coming from people who can't afford nice cars or get an entry spec and then moan and slate it.

This 'drivel' comes from people who, both collectively and individual, have owned more brands than you could even identify, and driven millions of miles with their cars packed with everything from children, pushchairs, in-laws, tools and shopping to Ikea furniture, plants, dogs, cats, pigs and most probably chickens.

There's nothing 'nice' about a car if you can't change a nappy in the boot, or fit your strimmer in.

neil.woos

WellKnownSid wrote: »

This 'drivel' comes from people who, both collectively and individual, have owned more brands than you could even identify, and driven millions of miles with their cars packed with everything from children, pushchairs, in-laws, tools and shopping to Ikea furniture, plants, dogs, cats, pigs and most probably chickens.

There's nothing 'nice' about a car if you can't change a nappy in the boot, or fit your strimmer in.

Drivel comes from people who only seem to look for practicality and on a budget.

anotherbaldrick

Samsonite1 wrote: »

Yes, most standard FWD cars are not well balanced, but balanced cars are not a virtue of RWD, it is just that RWD is more common in performance cars which are also more likely to be finely balanced for driving pleasure - that is why you will find that most RWD cars drive better than FWD, but not all of the time - there are lots of poorly balanced RWD cars on the other side of the pond. I actually went the other way - as a BMW owner, I had a Ford Focus hire car for work once and could not believe how good it was to drive - there were not many cars I got into that compared to the BMW.

I have had a BMW , various models on the fleet for 20 or more years and really enjoy the way they drive , have recently added a Quattro to the line up and at the moment this is my favourite.

neil.woos

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

I have had a BMW , various models on the fleet for 20 or more years and really enjoy the way they drive , have recently added a Quattro to the line up and at the moment this is my favourite.

As fleet cars I presume you've mainly driven 4 cylinder diesel BMW's? An inline NA 6 cylinder BMW petrol will feel a little more nimble and balanced as they aren't as front heavy as the diesels.

People here just need get rid of that chip on their shoulder and admit the BMWs (and other premium Brands) are better than their fords/Vauxhall or whichever French car they drive

anotherbaldrick

neil.woos wrote: »

As fleet cars I presume you've mainly driven 4 cylinder diesel BMW's? An inline NA 6 cylinder BMW petrol will feel a little more nimble and balanced as they aren't as front heavy as the diesels.

People here just need get rid of that chip on their shoulder and admit the BMWs (and other premium Brands) are better than their fords/Vauxhall or whichever French car they drive

Actually the 2.0 petrols, albeit only 4 pot jobs . Nimble ? hell yes, couple of years ago a 3 series saloon endeared me to the marque by saving me from embedding in the side of a foreign registered car which seriously overshot the stop line at a T junction, right when I was on him. The vicious swerve around him would have put a lesser car into the scenery but the dear old beemer just executed a sweet circumvention without even a squeak from her wheels, seemed to just tuck in and waltz round like a prop forward avoiding a centre back and going for the line.

WellKnownSid

neil.woos wrote: »

Drivel comes from people who only seem to look for practicality and on a budget.

That's why I run four cars, and also why my Mercedes has six cylinders...