The major manufacturers have been in business now for many years and although cars have improved massively, every new model seems to be lacking in some respect. For example, the new Honda Civic is said to be rather noisy on motorways and the ride is not ideal. Rear vision is poor because of the futuristic design. Assuming that the comments are justified, why can't they get it right ? Other cars (at the bottom of the reliability tables) cannot even be relied on to stay in one piece (slight exageration). My Corolla rattles. Some makes are not comfortable. Others have a poor gearchange. The steering on our Jazz is heavy and the ride is poor. Even some of the top marques are not above crticism. Clarkson once mentioned a Bentley that rattled. Would it not be possible for a manufacturer to produce a car that combioned the best elements at a reasonable cost or am I expecting too much ?
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"Reasonable cost" is probably the most deciding factor as AFA most manufacturers are concerned (the above mentioned Bentley was probably an exception, rather than the norm). There are also factors outside the manufacturers control that can spoil a car, e.g. noise could be caused by poorly designed tyres and all things simply can not be had, e.g you can't have a soft comfortable ride AND sharp sporty handling without expensive adjustable suspension components.
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Cars of today are far better all rounders than they were 15 years ago. Back then you could identify a car for your specific needs, such as a Volvo for safety, Merc for quality, Lada for cheapness and so on.
While now we have cars which are competant at most things, they are often not excellent at everything - theres always a sacrifice, be it for safety ( weight increasing fuel consumption ) or comfort ( loss of sharp handling ).
There arent many cars the are very focussed on one thing anymore, so no car is exceptionally economical and the vast majority are now safe in accidents. The only real splits between cars now seem to be on quality, reliability and dealer service.
Cars are pretty good in most respects now, but we are reaching the point where we are perhaps starting to lean towards economy and green issues, so perhaps we will get cars which become more focussed on these things beyond the slight nod that has been given thus far.
If we didnt all demand sat-nav and aircon for instance ( according to what we are given apparently we must want it ), we could get cars which will give much better economy gains and C02 improvements. Imgine a Prius without all the kit it doesnt need? Mighty actually acheive something worthwhile economywise.
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Thought the perfect car had a badge on the back that said '530d'?
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Actually on this forum it's more likely to say TDCi at the bottom right corner of the bootlid.
Re: 530D though. Sure they are brilliant but they are also very expensive. Maybe the previous generation Focus 1.6 petrol 5dr hatch was perfect. It does maybe 90% of the things the BMW does very well indeed but at 33.3% of the cost; the difference being the BMW has attributes a perfect car doesn't technically need like luxury fittings, a mighty engine, oodles of technology.
I don't think you can have a perfect car because you can't take cost out of the equation. Maybe you could concoct a "most perfect car per £" rating though?
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Thought the perfect car had a badge on the back that said '530d'?
whilst i'd agree they are exceptionally good cars, they are in my opinion by no means perfection.....because
1, in RHD market the windscreen wipers go the wrong way.....which for the cost of the car is unforgiveable
2, unless you have the upmarket spec seats (with electric) it is nigh impossible to change the seat height whilst
you're sitting in it......you have to get out and pull it
3, with very heavy handed use the turbo hoses fall off
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Agree with you on (1), but as for (2) don't all 5'ers have electric height adjustment?? Have yet to experience (3)...but have had DSC fail 3 (yes three!!) times in a year/ 15k miles which is enough to knock it off my list. To have more electrical problems on a 1 year old BMW than our 2 year old Megane is inexcusable in my book!!
I'd put a B6 A4 Avant TDI Quattro on the top of my list I think
Peter
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1, in RHD market the windscreen wipers go the wrong way.....which for the cost of the car is unforgiveable
*Any* car with the windscreen wipers the wrong way is on an instant trip to the bin as far as I'm concerned -- its a safety issue, it's monumental laziness on the part of the manufacturer and it makes you wonder what other corners they've cut in the RHD conversion. A car maker who can't be bothered to convert UK cars to RHD properly isn't worth considering, regardless of the cost.
It's a pet-hate of mine all these RHD conversion faux-pas.
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*Any* car with the windscreen wipers the wrong way is on an instant trip to the bin as far as I'm concerned -- its a safety issue, it's monumental laziness on the part of the manufacturer and it makes you wonder what other corners they've cut in the RHD conversion. A car maker who can't be bothered to convert UK cars to RHD properly isn't worth considering, regardless of the cost.
I thoroughly agree....when you think how many markets need RHD, ( us, Oz & NZ, South Africa, Japan, India etc)they really are giving us 'two fingers' in my opinion
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A car maker who can't be bothered to convert UK cars to RHD properly isn't worth considering, regardless of the cost.
I take it you drive either a Japanese or French car then? As far as I'm aware, they're the only ones who put the indicator stalks the right way round for RHD. And for that matter, I'm not sure about the French.
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From another thread:
Mercedes S-Class.
I've driven pretty much everything and was astonished at the combination of abilities of this vehicle. Fast, comfortable, silent, toys that work intuitively, indescribable feelgood factor, handles well compared to any car and especially considering its bulk. It's so good I considered buying one even though it's miles bigger than I need. This has never happened to me with any car before (well not for a few years anyway).
Sure it's expensive but if you're after perfection this is it (in my opinion obviously).
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I don't think I would describe anything I've driven as perfect, including the black Ferrari 360 Spyder earlier this year.
Where's MTC gone - I would have expected him to be advocating the 300C by now...?
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"Where's MTC gone - I would have expected him to be advocating the 300C by now...?"
His enjoyable, infectous, enthusiastic love of his car was too much for some backroomers and they ribbed him until he stopped coming
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A real shame, it was nice to have someone that was a real enthusiast round here. Adam appears to have meant it when he said he was gone for good as well. Shame really.
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The perfect car would wash itself, do its own weekly checks, take itself to the garage, and come back having cost nothing for an oil change, new discs, pads, four tyres, exhaust and the cambelt changed.
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The perfect car
cambelt
Wrong answer! ;o)
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All cars are compromises to greater or lesser extents, so sadly there is no such thing as 'the perfect car'.
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"Where's MTC gone - I would have expected him to be advocating the 300C by now...?" His enjoyable, infectous, enthusiastic love of his car was too much for some backroomers and they ribbed him until he stopped coming
The problem that I had / have is that after a while of saying the same / similar things, it's quite hard to keep the banter going.
For the record, Arnie has now done 16500 miles and is really well and truly run in. He has no ratlles or squeeks, goes like stink, gives 35 mpg from each tank (40 mpg from a recent trip to Cardiff), STILL turns heads everywhere we travel and is giving me a huge grin every time I go out for a blast.
MTC
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Been thinking about this!
A car is rather like any other relationship, it can be great on the first drive though will it stand the test of time?
So where as a date with various attractive and sophisticated women would surely be most enjoyable so is a short drive in numerous attractive and sophisticated cars! Yes Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johansson or Jennifer Aniston might well be great company over dinner at The Ivy though would we really have the same sense of humour, taste and interests, would either of them prove to be a satisfying companion (I am not being smutty) over years rather than simply hours, would they prove to be reliable, would they look after the kids in adverse conditions, would they prove to be expensive to maintain and to keep in trim?
Therefore where as an Elise is heaven on a track, an M3 great fun for a weekend, an SL superb on a sunny afternoon, and a Grand Cherokee brilliant in the middle of a hurricane, would any prove to be truly satisfying over many years and hundred of thousands of miles?
No I am not being sexist here, I am not comparing Ms's Kidman, Theron et al with an Elise, M3 or SL - and certainly not with a Grand Cherokee!
And - lets be quite clear - nor am I comparing my good lady wife with a Mondeo or Clio! rather I am making an simple analogy from a heterosexual male's perspective, that a relationship that flourishes with time is ultimately more rewarding than lust at first sight!
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Interesting analogy. My M3 has been my daily transport for the last 2 1/2 years now and I've no plans to swap it for anything though an SL would figure highly on any wish list. We obviously have different tastes, in women and cars ;-)
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We obviously have different tastes, in women and cars ;-)
I didn't say I dont fancy an M3, rather I dont know how we would get on over a few years, likewise I am sure your wife/girlfriend is just as attractive as the M3 though I have not even met her so cannot comment ;-)
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No car is perfect (nor is any human being, come to that!). So the nearest we'll get to perfection is a car which
(1) satisfies an individual's driving style (a BMW fan wouldn't find an Audi ideal, and vice versa)
(2) has the amount of performance that the individual wants
(3) is reliable, and
(4) has no annoying niggles in the design.
Audis, BMWs, 6 or 8 cylinder Mercedes, and Porsches will probably come closest in most people's books. For smaller more affordable cars, if Backroomers' views are at all typical, Jazzes, Yarises, Clios and small Citroens seem to feature most often, with an honourable mention for a certain Polo and - going back a bit - the Peugeot 205 diesel.
Interesting how often, both in this and the 'what do you miss most?' thread, windscreen wipers feature. There is something peculiarly annoying about wipers set up for LHD, perhaps because of the penny-pinching arrogance of the manufactuers who do it; perhaps also because rain makes us more likely to grumble, though heaven knows we have needed it in the South of England this year.
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As a testiment to how much of a non-issue the BMW wiper thing is, I actually had to go outside to double check you guys were correct in saying the E39 wipers were the wrong way round.
'Cos I'd never actually noticed it before, so it can't be that much of a safety issue.
As for a Focus doing 90% of what a 530d does - don't think so, somehow. The Focus is an excellent car but it falls far short of the 530d in every area bar running costs.
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Pick one with super fast models in the range, then go for the smallest engine if it's been around for some years, the smallest wheels in the range. Then you get real value as the profit is all earned through the top enders, M5s and the like - like 1st class on BA. So a 318i, or A2 1.4 or even an S320.
But in my view, the best value on the market today is a VW Phaeton (a Bentley by any other name) 3.2, 3 years old, for around £20,000. It'll last longer than all of us!
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But in my view, the best value on the market today is a VW Phaeton (a Bentley by any other name) 3.2, 3 years old, for around £20,000. It'll last longer than all of us!
Maybe you could stretch to
bbs.5460.net/bbs/bbs/dispInfo1.jsp?id=1657776&bbsi...7
( a slow site)
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The Bentley in "The Fast Lady"
I can race Graham Hill and Stirling Moss, I can be passenger with James Robertson Justice in the driving seat. But most of all, I can get into a clinch with a young Julie Christie
Note to younger readers: JRJ would have been incandescent if he knew that Bentley was now owned by the Hun.
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