"Line" edition ruining specialness

Resident

Resident

Resident

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Am I wrong in feeling that "line" edition model ruin the specialness of the "hot" models?

R-Line, ST-Line, GT-Line etc all tend be base models with a bit of body trim and alloys used to make them look similar to the hot models.

SiL has a 2017 Focus ST-Line, with a mundane and wheezy 1.6 diesel & what's even worse, windy windows. Externally it looks good but the drive and the interior equipment screams cheap. Pretty much the same with a neighbour's 2019 Golf R-line, looks almost identical to a Golf R

Is it snobby to want to show off that I've worked hard and earned enough to afford a top spec motor, only to have it's look usurped by someone buying a low-end model?
 
Yes it does ruin the specialness of the equivalent "real" hot versions, however, specifically in response to this:
Resident said:
Is it snobby to want to show off that I've worked hard and earned enough to afford a top spec motor, only to have it's look usurped by someone buying a low-end model?
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I wouldn't say its snobby but it probably isn't healthy. Pretty much anyone can afford relatively expensive cars on tick anyway (admittedly, with questionable priorities...), so this is already the case if showing off through having an "expensive" car is your bag. The only real way you're going to get around it is to care less about how other people view you.
 
Could not care less to be honest, if it makes my car more anonymous and less likely to be stolen then it’s all good. AMG line or real AMG, meh…..Besides, you can’t fake the noise of a v8 with a 4 pot
 
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Most people aren't car people and wouldn't know the difference between (or be very interested) an a3 and an a4 for example, let alone different trim levels. And anyone that does know cars will know the difference.
 
Zefan said:
Yes it does ruin the specialness of the equivalent "real" hot versions, however, specifically in response to this:

I wouldn't say its snobby but it probably isn't healthy. Pretty much anyone can afford relatively expensive cars on tick anyway (admittedly, with questionable priorities...), so this is already the case if showing off through having an "expensive" car is your bag. The only real way you're going to get around it is to care less about how other people view you.
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In a way I guess you're right. Unfortunately part of me wants to show off with the "expensive" car (bear in mind I have owned EVERY car outright, never on finance) due to having practically nothing as a kid. Don't get me wrong my parents gave me everything they could afford, would save for months etc but I'm in my mid forties now, son of a miner and a young boy during the strikes. So that part of me wants to say "look I had nothing and now I can have this" and maybe there is an element of that that is unhealthy but it's part of me.
MassiveJim said:
Most people aren't car people and wouldn't know the difference between (or be very interested) an a3 and an a4 for example, let alone different trim levels. And anyone that does know cars will know the difference.
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That's another thing. 80s-00s manufacturers used to advertise their hot versions, for example:


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I can't remember the last time I actually saw a car advert
 
This is hardly new. Us old-timers will remember the Golf Driver, which was designed to look like a GTi without actually being one In about 1986. Is it annoying? Slightly, yes. Are you going to be able to stop it? Of course not, since it's coming from the manufacturers not the punters. It works for them, so it's here to stay. (Confession: my Merc is an "AMG-line" but like all recent mercs there's no badges saying this anywhere. I didn't buy it because it one either.)
 
Resident said:
Is it snobby to want to show off that I've worked hard and earned enough to afford a top spec motor, only to have it's look usurped by someone buying a low-end model?
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Yes it is a snobby.

Resident said:
In a way I guess you're right. Unfortunately part of me wants to show off with the "expensive" car (bear in mind I have owned EVERY car outright, never on finance) due to having practically nothing as a kid. Don't get me wrong my parents gave me everything they could afford, would save for months etc but I'm in my mid forties now, son of a miner and a young boy during the strikes. So that part of me wants to say "look I had nothing and now I can have this" and maybe there is an element of that that is unhealthy but it's part of me.
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At least you recognise it as being unhealthy.... But the comment above seems to suggest that, although you realise this, your irrational need to show off and impress complete strangers is more important than your mental health.

Have nice things? Absolutely, but if a large part of having those things is to impress other people then it's silly.
 
This is a textbook case of "those who don't know don't care, and those who care, know"

Anyone can see the difference between a hot variant and a trim level a mile away, bit of a silly thing to get annoyed about tbh.
 
Resident said:
due to having practically nothing as a kid. Don't get me wrong my parents gave me everything they could afford, would save for months etc but I'm in my mid forties now, son of a miner and a young boy during the strikes. So that part of me wants to say "look I had nothing and now I can have this" and maybe there is an element of that that is unhealthy but it's part of me.
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I find it incredibly cringey when I hear these kinds of statements, almost as if to justify how you got into that position. We had some exec the other week come to work to give a talk, and basically started off saying he grew up on a council estate in Wales and never went to Uni and now look at me (no-one actually cares).

It clearly wasn't that prohibitive in getting you to where you are today when there's thousands of others who also grew up on the same street and also "made it in life from nothing".
 
Josh said:
What's special about a Golf R, Focus/Fiesta ST or a Golf GTI?

Phallus waving jealousy because of plastic trim isn't healthy.
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Golf Rs are pretty special tbf. 315bhp/awd? Probably one of the quickest cars down a B road, or easiest to drive quick down a B road anyway.

The rest are pretty bland warm hatches that no one buying should really care about being noticed in.
 
nlel1975 said:
Doesn’t look that special though, not like a 911, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin or McLaren
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I think that's the point of the OP. Cars now are very bland with no real rareness of the special/fast editions.

Obviously no hatch/Estate will look like a sports car though.
 
"Nice car, what's the retail on one of those?"
"More than you can afford pal... Focus ST"

Sorry to burst your bubble but no one is looking at someone driving a hot hatch and thinking that they've made it in life or giving a second thought to how much more that would have cost than the equivalent standard "-line" model.

I actually quite like them as a concept and for people that want a more interesting look to their car but don't want or need the extra performance they make a lot of sense.
 
Begbie said:
Golf Rs are pretty special tbf. 315bhp/awd? Probably one of the quickest cars down a B road, or easiest to drive quick down a B road anyway.

The rest are pretty bland warm hatches that no one buying should really care about being noticed in.
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Yeah there are 3 on the local council estate, very special.

Very good hot hatch sure but special? Do they do an edition 30 R? Now that would be special.
 
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