For some perhaps, but for most we are just able to indulge our passion. I am 53 years old, my need to impress people is long gone. I like cars, always have from a small child and worked my way up from a Mini 1000 in the mid 80's. You need to be less critical of those who can. Likely most are not as stupid or one dimensional as you imply, makes you sound a bit bitter. Most are just the same people as you, with more money, not some Made in Chelsea dweeb.
Big estate advice - Merc vs BMW?
- Thread starter chanjy
- Start date
I think there's actually 2 issues here:
1) Do we actually need to spend £20k+ on a car
Well, obviously not. But it's the same amount of money as a new Focus or Golf so it's hardly splashing the cash is it.
My reason for wanting what you call a 'prestige' brand is actually just that long journeys are so much more comfortable. Things like wind noise and tyre roar are much better controlled in something like an E class estate or 5 series touring compared to a Mondeo or Octavia. Not buying to impress others (it lives on the street so who would know it was mine anyway?) but to make sure we can travel in comfort and take all the gear we need on holiday.
2) If you are spending that money is it worth going to the extra effort so that you get the car you actually want?
And I feel the answer to this is yes. It's one of the bigger purchases in everyday life other than buying a house. If you are spending that money then why wouldn't you make sure it had the options you wanted?
It is quite funny really how people get blinded by brand, be it posh or less posh.
Often there are lots of subjectives at play here. There are few really bad cars these days, all will do a good job, work well, service a family and do the job for which they were built. Looks are totally subjective so not worthy of debate and the differences do come down to how you interact with your cars, how they drive and frankly often how they make you feel, another subjective.
I have mainly bought German cars over the years because for me they make the cars I like with the right balance of performance, aesthetics, reliability, driving feel, features and comfort. I remember joining an MG forum years and years back, can't remember why now, but so many there were absolutely adamant that their Rovers were better in every way than their German equivalents. They would not hear any negativity towards their beloved brand, blind to it's failings, clear in why their cars were just better. I heard many many times that you just buy cars like that to impress others. Their little world was all they knew and they all had a friend who's 3 Series was always in the garage and a wealthy friend who always bought Rovers and "he could buy any car he wanted". Sound familiar?
Lots of the debate was subjective of course, but for someone who had actually had both (I had Rover company cars more than once years back and as a loan car once) I could see it was rubbish. They did make a decent engine on occasion, they also did have some nice riding cars too but their interior quality and to me aesthetics were dire and their fun factor was lacking. They rattled, they felt tinny and we just not as good as a whole. My dad had an SD1 Vitesse back int he day, it was incredible but also terribly built.
So back on topic my order would be 5 Series, E Class, A6. I have driven all 3 of the current versions and that is where I sit. I think the E Class drives the worst but is a nice place to be (again a subjective). The A6 was a decent car and in many ways better than the E Class, with newer tech but I HATED the glass cockpit which is hard to work when driving and means a constant duster is needed to remove finger prints. But as always in this class, the 5 series is king. Best multipurpose saloon car on the planet since it's first day and I haven't changed that view since.
Often there are lots of subjectives at play here. There are few really bad cars these days, all will do a good job, work well, service a family and do the job for which they were built. Looks are totally subjective so not worthy of debate and the differences do come down to how you interact with your cars, how they drive and frankly often how they make you feel, another subjective.
I have mainly bought German cars over the years because for me they make the cars I like with the right balance of performance, aesthetics, reliability, driving feel, features and comfort. I remember joining an MG forum years and years back, can't remember why now, but so many there were absolutely adamant that their Rovers were better in every way than their German equivalents. They would not hear any negativity towards their beloved brand, blind to it's failings, clear in why their cars were just better. I heard many many times that you just buy cars like that to impress others. Their little world was all they knew and they all had a friend who's 3 Series was always in the garage and a wealthy friend who always bought Rovers and "he could buy any car he wanted". Sound familiar?
Lots of the debate was subjective of course, but for someone who had actually had both (I had Rover company cars more than once years back and as a loan car once) I could see it was rubbish. They did make a decent engine on occasion, they also did have some nice riding cars too but their interior quality and to me aesthetics were dire and their fun factor was lacking. They rattled, they felt tinny and we just not as good as a whole. My dad had an SD1 Vitesse back int he day, it was incredible but also terribly built.
So back on topic my order would be 5 Series, E Class, A6. I have driven all 3 of the current versions and that is where I sit. I think the E Class drives the worst but is a nice place to be (again a subjective). The A6 was a decent car and in many ways better than the E Class, with newer tech but I HATED the glass cockpit which is hard to work when driving and means a constant duster is needed to remove finger prints. But as always in this class, the 5 series is king. Best multipurpose saloon car on the planet since it's first day and I haven't changed that view since.
To be fair, it’s like anything else isn’t it? Why buy Miele kitchen appliances? Why buy Sennheiser headphones?
As mentioned above, a car will most likely be the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make other than a house! Why would you not buy the best you can afford?
As mentioned above, a car will most likely be the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make other than a house! Why would you not buy the best you can afford?
Welcome back!A well spec'd 5 is always the better choice if you enjoy driving and gadgets, but the new E is not bad at all if you want to waft in comfort
There is an option on the Polestar Spotify app to change the streaming quality to very high.
for the 5 estate, whether you would need adaptive dampers, especially if an M.
[
Ok that's good, I see there was a petition last year ... Tidal flac is currently on my bucket list for native apps in next car.
but I did see, for bmw people choose to use carplay for spotify, which would be true of tidal too.
]
V90. OP said no thx
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
I once rented a new shape XF and did 3000 miles in it.
Probably the most disappointing car I've ever driven, I had such high hopes and it wasnt a patch on my previous generation 5 Series let alone the current one. It was back in 2017 but this is presumably the age of car in range.
Probably the most disappointing car I've ever driven, I had such high hopes and it wasnt a patch on my previous generation 5 Series let alone the current one. It was back in 2017 but this is presumably the age of car in range.
I'm looking again now on Autotrader, it does seem to be a lot of car for the money!Ill pay better detention next time
Oh
I'm looking again now on Autotrader, it does seem to be a lot of car for the money!
Oh
Yeah, there were deals on a brand new V90 for ~24k a year or so ago.
Or at least i could've sworn i saw posts on HDUK about them, but can't see anything now!
EDIT - Close enough at £26k
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ne...r-geartronic-26200-at-nationwide-cars-3494688
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I'm near the end of a Volvo V90 CC T5 lease. I enjoy the car but the infotainment system is a bit pants. Spotify is awful and mostly doesn't work. Trying to 'click' anything on the touch screen was almost impossible but that seems to have improved since its recent 2 year service. Some of my cars leasing siblings are appearing for sale now around £21k, which given the supposed £40+ list price makes me glad I leased. I had a E89 Z4 a few years back which I thoroughly enjoyed until 2nd child came along and refused to go in the boot. As lease deals are thin on the ground I'm thinking of buying 540i touring. I find it very hard to determine the spec level when viewing various adverts. I would like a 'pilot assist' type feature but feel I may be asking too much. In fact even adaptive cruise seems hard to come by.
You can't split them out on the 5 Series - Adaptive Cruise is only available in the Driver Assistance Plus package which includes the pilot assist type features as well. Consequently it's expensive and virtually nobody specifies it new so very very few cars will have it fitted.
The 540i tourers are silly money, £30k+ for a 4 year old 5 Series? No thanks
Plenty of V90s around at £21k ish, the default spec seems decent too. Still not sure it’s the car for me though - infotainment definitely one of my major reservations about it.
Adaptive cruise and pilot assist features are really thin on the ground for the BMW and Merc unlike the Volvo where the adaptive is standard. I had adaptive cruise on a cheap lease Golf R and it was useful but haven’t found myself missing it all that much in the couple of cars I’ve had since so it’s not on my list of ‘must haves’ for now.
Quite a leap from a T5 to a 540i
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TBF they are on the expensive side, but cheaper than the X versions. I've found a few in the £30k's 19/20 plates though that look decent enough. It just seems for the money you don't get much tech. If I test drove a 530i or 520i I would probably be more than happy, so perhaps I need to try some and aim lower. Overall it's the running/deprecation cost over ownership that matters to me. My Volvo has cost just over £300pm + 2 services, but I had 3 months free. The Santa-Fe I had before it and owned worked out just over £400pm over the time I had it.