The curse of boring reliable cars - they always want to be one sector higher than they belong to. Skoda used to be the cheap alternative within VW group and at £16k for top of the range Octavia and £20k for Superb they were exactly that. Today, when the L&K Octy starts at nearly £30k the Skodas are often more expensive than equivalent VW or Seat and up-specced Superb can easily go very deep into Audi territory pricewise. And that's a mistake, because Skoda was a great budget car, but it's not nowhere near Audi material.
It's the same with far eastern brands. Subaru for example is a Skoda of Japan. An honest, rough around the edges brand for ex-Volvo mum in rural setting with one sporty model to keep the name afloat in dads memory. Yet UK importers (the same wench of bankers that killed Daihatsu brand in UK and are about to finish off Isuzu) seem to think it should be priced as if the brand could compete with BMW on the isles. And the same curse affects Kia. It needs to be affordably priced Ford competitor, but the brand quite clearly has appetite for Jaguar niche market.
The American market sees cars differently, Brits are shallow, there is much less badge snobbery and stereotypes attached to cars, which is why the Japanese brands have been so successful and were well received when they first entered the US markets, despite negative feelings towards Japanese people.
There’s also the matter of the dying sedan market. It’s no coincidence that almost all the cars you’ve seen out of the Detroit show today have been SUVs or boring crossovers. Those are the profit-makers now. Buyers are flocking away from sedans in droves.
If that's the case why is the Kia K900 selling so badly?![]()
I'm guessing that applies to the European market as well? I seem to see more and more 4x4/SUV/Crossovers now and they usually look rubbish.
Aye, D segment is dying, so many have manufacturers have stopped selling in this segment in European markets.
I'm not sure if Americans are any less shallow and picky - isn't that the reason Japanese brands had to invent the whole "premium" brand masquerade - the Acuras, Lexus', Inifinities and so on because no yank would spend $$,$$$ on a Honda, Toyota or Nissan?
Seems odd then that it was only in this generation of the A3 (8V/MLB Platform) that VAG started making a Saloon.
They aren't even any bigger inside either. Just heavier and more expensive to run :/
I don't know why people buy them tbh. 99% never even get taken off-road.
Its 365bhp isn't it? 0-60 under 5 seconds.It's also way too heavy by the looks of it. 1,730kgThat's like....1 GT86 plus 1/3 of an Elise. 255bhp isn't going to go far in that.