What Cars Do You Drive?

[jhm]

... [talking about high maintenance] ...

Ah! The well known 5 C's of Singapore, i.e. Cash, Car, Condominium, Credit card and Country club!

[phaleesy]

high performance cars are like: 'high maintenance' girls - gorgeous to 'drive',

...good to look at, nice to listen to, great for showing off, able to pull more high maintenance girls...

OT, some men exhibit such weird behaviour around their cars. A Lotus pulled up and parked behind my car while I was cleaning mine. The driver made a big deal about getting out of the car, lots of noise, huffing and puffing, taking ages to leave his car finally... I could see the car out of the corner of my eye but I refused to take the bait to turn my head to look at him. Eh. He might be as tall, dark and handsome as that SQ pilot! But since I'm the world's unluckiest girl, he is most likely some middle-aged balding pervey man!

Another incident. I saw a Ferrari parked along Park Lane. Walked up to it to admire it. Since the windows were dark, I didn't know someone was sitting in there. He turned the headlights on-and-off to blink at me. Extremely embarrassing so I quickly scurried away.

[KeithMEL]

Keith: Congrats, it's a great car, I'd test driven it for a day [but finally decided to place an order for an A170 at the time - of course there are 2 different cars altogether but with my state of mind, you know, anything goes...] The Beamer has hard suspension, a low VCG and a high GM (and please ask Captain to explain further ), not much space in the back, drives great (typical rwd) and above all it's a BM [though it makes Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear sick, but we don't care about that, do we?]

Pardon me, but most of the acronyms didn't make sense... I will go consult my best friend Google later. Ha! I do remember reading a Top Gear review of the car, saying it's totally uncool as it makes you look like you can't afford a 3 series. But a compact sports hatch is probably an appropriate sized car for my first car. At least it'd be relatively easy to park on the busiest shopping strips in between all the SUVs. I suspect Jeremy Clarkson has a bee in his bonnet of some sort.

Yeah the 1 series Beemer is rather tight at the back. I read that this is due to the rear wheel drive. Our 2 mates who accompanied us to test drives were all squished up at the back in the 118i. But the front legroom is fine and since it's only us 2 most of the time rear legroom wouldn't be an issue. So just beware if you're visiting and expecting me to chauffeur yous around - anyone at least 6 feet would have to be a contortionist to sit at the back.

So true about Japanese cars. They just don't feel the same, kinda plasticy. However for something cheap and cheerful Toyota is the way to go - they don't seem to break. They're also cheap to run and maintain, at least in Australia. They're not very exciting cars though. Honda is also nice but the newer models look rather weird - plus they have a certain kind of reputation in Australia that I'd rather not mention publicly. I was considering a Mazda 3 when I looked briefly at the generic car brands as they're also meant to be reliable and cheap to run yet come with a bit more style than Toyota. But they seemed to have a much higher frequency for servicing than a BMW and even with the hideously expensive cost per service of BMW taken into account, it costs much the same to run a BMW in the end.

I had heaps of fun and learnt a lot test driving and researching in the process of deciding between cars. I realised that as awesome for driving most BMWs are, the bigger versions do not have the nicest interiors or make the most comfy cars - when I'm eyeing a larger car or an SUV in future, Audi A6 or Q5 here I come. Unless I'm earning enough to afford the upcoming 5 series GT. [We discounted Mercedes completely as there's no way either of us will be seen driving one unless we're at least 50. Sorry Mercedes drivers! ]

I don't pick the car up for another week or so - gosh I want my car NOW!

[Kyo]

Lol - I also found the 318i's tight in the back - absolutely detest the side curvature when in the backseat!

In comparison, I did get to try the new E-class last week (taxi in Norway), and found that rather unexciting overall :/

S-class in FRA was awesome, though.

[flyguy]

the ulitmate driving machine - with at least 2.5 straight 6.

[up and away]

S-class in FRA was awesome, though.

yes, but try to squeeze that car into a parking lot

[N_Architect]

Keith, out of curiosity, what color did you choose (exterior)? and what extras did you select for the car? Leather interior perhaps, color?

[KeithMEL]

Keith, out of curiosity, what color did you choose (exterior)? and what extras did you select for the car? Leather interior perhaps, color?

The car will come with the 1 series executive package, which consists of leather seats, bluetooth, and rear parking sensors. Cruise control was listed as an option on the brochure but it was thrown in as a standard fitting. These were all included in the very good price we had which actually made the 118i a fair bit cheaper than the Golf 2.0 TSI (or was it TDI? can't recall) that we looked at if we'd fitted it with the same options. Floor mats are free (woo hoo lol... i thought this is a standard feature but it was listed as an option), and at an extra cost we'll have the windows tinted and paint protection.

We tried to book one with jet black exterior/beige interior however their systems were offline and they could not confirm availability till a day later. In the end it was unavailable, so we went with alpine white exterior/boston black interior. The alternative at the price quoted was a red car but we went with white as it's becoming rather trendy in Melbourne, and supposedly safer at night. We could have also paid extra to go for metallic grey but didn't see the point, metallic paint scratches more easily anyway.

[KeithMEL]

BTW has anyone checked out the new Audi Q5? It looks v nice and has v comfy interiors. They have one of these displayed at the entrance to the Qantas domestic lounges in MEL and SYD. Might be the way to go if you're into SUVs but have no intention of going off road (ie use it as a "Toorak tractor" - google the phrase if you're not from Melbourne) as it's rather compact and hence not too overwhelming for city driving. It certainly looks a lot cooler than the Q7 and the BMW SUVs. Priced rather decently too. I SO want it as my 2nd car in 2-3 years! Is it wrong to be thinking this when I'd just got my 1st car? Wasn't even interested in cars until I got my P plates lol.

[N_Architect]

S-class in FRA was awesome, though.

With cars, there are some fundamental rules (as with everything in life, I guess...). Car lovers know their existence, and respect every car manufacturer for what they have historically contributed to the evolution of the automobile.

Few of the rules relate to (who else?) Mercedes and BMW:

- In the E-series / 5-series category, the fiver has traditionally over the years been the leader of the market, the better car overall by comparison. Individual opinions may differ, of course.

- However, when you move one category up, the opposite applies. The S-class was always the leader, compared to the 7-series. Some even say that the S-class is possibly the best and most technologically advanced car in the world today. [Of course you also have up and away who says that you can't park the thing unless you have Neverland in the list of properties under your ownership, and we can't really argue much against that, can we? )

- One more 'rule': If you want auto gearbox, get a Merc (E- or S-class), they have traditionally been excellent in auto boxes; if you want a manual, get a BMW (the 5- or 7-series should ideally not be paired with automatic transmissions). Of course in these days every car in this league hardly comes with a 5 or 6 speed purely manual box, but this is what had been happening in history till we reached today...

- Final rule (for today): One of the very best car engines ever made was the infamous BMW 6-cylinder petrol engine, 2.0L straight was a typical version. It was an engine that was essentially a 'reference' point by which all other engines in the same category were judged by.

[N_Architect]

BTW has anyone checked out the new Audi Q5? It looks v nice and has v comfy interiors.

From a consumer's perspective, looking to get a new car, the Q5 (or the X3 type of vehicle, etc.) appears to be a worthwhile proposal.

From a automobile lover's point of view, though, all these 'new' market segments and products don't really mean much. For the people who love the idea of the automobile (an idea which is at the moment in the intensive care room) and still believe strongly in it, the cars designed and produced with sheer driving pleasure, conceptual smartness and practicality as a primary priority/mission are those that are worth much more being desired for. And they need not be expensive.

The Q7, X5 are simply huge cars. For whom? Then we get a Q5 and the X3. Is the X3 a 'real' BMW? Does it reflect the principles and ideals of the people that gave us the 2002, the M1 and the M5 (286 bhp), the 323i ??? No.

But we live in a world in which if you don't expand, you'll eventually die... If a company wants to stay viable and profitable, it has to grow, it has to capture that new market segment, period.

I like the new Fiat 500 much more than the Q5 or the X3. And the Ford Focus because it is designed to go through corners like a real car, even though it has fwd. Yes, there are more fancy cars out there, but the car makers know well which of their models have got the basics right and which are out in the market for 'revenue generating' purposes only...

[up and away]

If you want auto gearbox, get a Merc (E- or S-class), they have traditionally been excellent in auto boxes; if you want a manual, get a BMW (the 5- or 7-series should ideally not be paired with automatic transmissions).

Well, that indeed used to be the case. However, things have changed quite a bit in the last few years(at least for the Merc-E and the BMW5): The Merc-Automatic of the '08 E320 that I know is much worse than the one on the old '03 E320 (see the comments in my first post of this thread).
At the same time the Automatics for the BMW5-series have gotten better- although I'd still say: buy a manual!

[Kyo]

N_Architect - So, after all that, why the A170 over the 1-series?

To be honest, I hardly dabble in the auto realm - but I do have a few pieces of general knowledge and there are *some* things that I do pay attention to. And yes, I have watched every episode of Top Gear also, hehe, oddly enough! I hear them praise the Golf far more than the 1-series, but once again, I am not an expert. This is one field I am more happy 'being a consumer'. Love Porsches, though...

[milehighj]

- One more 'rule': If you want auto gearbox, get a Merc (E- or S-class), they have traditionally been excellent in auto boxes; if you want a manual, get a BMW (the 5- or 7-series should ideally not be paired with automatic transmissions). Of course in these days every car in this league hardly comes with a 5 or 6 speed purely manual box, but this is what had been happening in history till we reached today...

Hello my friend...

This may have been true till recently but IMO this rule is now changed. The "new" dual-clutch transmissions (DCTs) have levelled the playing field. If anything the DCT technology from VW/Audi is now the most advanced.

Just my 2 cents.

[9V-JKL]

If anything the DCT technology from VW/Audi is now the most advanced.

No doubt about that but they're actually designed/developed by Borg Warner.