New Cars with Showroom Appeal

[Rob 131]

A couple of weeks ago I dropped the Wife's car off at Audi Dubai and while it was been done went to the nearby Aqua Park with my nine year old car mad son 

On returning to the dealership we sat in the showroom cars and here IMO is a range of cars with massive appeal, especially the S5  I remember as a child loving nothing more then a trip to the Fiat Dealers to sit in the 131's / 132, Cars with massive appeal.

My son often drags me round the dealers which is difficult as he likes big 4WD's I don't. Modern cars just don't seem to have the appeal of yesteryear  However the current Audi Range changes this 

It would be interesting to see other Forum Members opinions on this subject and what modern cars appeal to them.

[simon131]

I agree Rob that the some Audis have a certain appeal - right up to the point I sat in one Didn't even have to drive it - the dash and interior almost always leave plenty to be desired, are generally bland and remind me too much of Audis VW parentage - which is a shame. The last thing I want to own is a ?35k Skoda / SEAT / VW! 

If I'm honest, perhaps I'm too choosy in selecting an everyday car, but there isn't all that much that floats my boat among current new models and definitely nothing in the current Fiat range - except perhaps a new Abarth Punto

[bellamacchina]

A new Abarth is definately interesting
And we have a very nice product in our showroom, Peugeot RCZ
Bt also an Audi S5 is in my opinion a nice modern car.

Definately I like older cars much more!

[djape1977]

frankly, only newish car that i sat in and that left me with desire to own it was lancia thesis. even big mercs and audis don't have such beautiful and comfortable interiors.
couple months ago i was driven in the back seat of brand new audi A8 and quality of interior plastics and seats upholstery (plastic too) left me wondering how on earth did italians manage to come up with so good velour fabric in 131/132 decades ago and how on earth did germans manage to convince everyone that the way they do it now is the right way? and one more thing: driving over a speedbump in that same audi at 20ish MPH left me feeling like someone kicked me in the kidneys. sorry to say but even suspension in my lada is far more comfortable.

[david]

I am a mechanic and work on all sorts of cars but the majority them are german ie vw's, bmw's and merc's and I agree with you they are generally dull to drive and the interiors are awful but people aspire to these cars ! but their first cars were probably ford escorts or some such rubbish and then they moved onto these so they don't know any better .

[djape1977]

guess no one is to blame but me for having fiat 132 mk3 as my first car. everything after that is not a car once you get used to 5speed, power steering, velour, and soft susupension. i was amazed so see mercs of the same vintage as my 132 with 4 speed and manual crank windows.

[david]

Tried to convince my brother in about 1987 or 88 to buy a five year old Lancia Trevi 2000 which was as new and only selling for ?400 at the time as Lancia had a bad name for that rust scare thing a few years earlier but he said  " Lancia's they rust don't they"  and went and bought a ford cortina mk5 for ?1500 !  but then all he ever had was a mini as a first car and from then on ford's so he was a lost cause.

[wak131]

I?m also a car mechanic and come to drive different cars every day, but don?t ask me what new model would i buy.

The question of appeal is something different. I also fancy the new A5/S5 design, but that?s it. Probably the last "modern" car i would buy is a bmw E34 Touring. An ideal mix of handling, practicality, simplicity and "not ufo designed". Most modern cars are either ufo designed or same as all others... without a shape.

My first car was a 131 2000/TC S3 Super bought without servo and i just learned to love the feeling of the road by all four wheels, it?s addictive. So every car i drive and don?t feel the road, don?t feel the engine, is rubbish.

[Rob 131]

Seems like the S5 does have some appeal amongst forum members  However it is far from at the cheap end of the market , although V8 4.2 and many other trick features it may be worth it    I'll keep dreaming

With reference to some of the comments regarding Audi Interior's. I have to disagree. They are real quality. My wife's that has standard issue children and school bags / kit abusing it everyday comes up like new 

I also like the classy feel of them, especially the new A8, something that really impresses me, although way out of my league.

Maybe it is because I have a deep respect / liking for modern Skodas. Had them as hire cars and like them 

[kev131]

Interesting discussion topic Rob - You brought me back with your comments about sitting in 131s & 132s in Fiat showrooms. This was a special treat when I was young and Dad facilitated this. As I got older & more independant I was able to cycle to garages on my own, these visits were a lot more frequent & the bike carrier was usually laden down with brochures (many of which I still have) on the return journey.  I can still remember car hopping from brand new Supermirafioris to 127 Sports/GTs, 132s, Argentas, X1-9s, etc. Those were the days when Fiats truly created ownership aspirations.

What new cars today create the same ownership aspirations? Well for me, one new car recently undid many years of cynicism generated by the car industry's increasingly transparent attempts to re-invent itself. In July last year I decided that I'd have a 520d SE, ordered it in Oct & took delivery in Jan. Now with c10k kms on the clock I'm more disappointed than pleased. I still admire the chiselled and aggressive design but the "ultimate drivers car" it aint. According to the BMW forums you need to upgrade both the steering and suspension to get an involving drive and despite 181bhp from its 2.0 diesel engine, compared with red eye diesel Passats producing 40/50 less bhp, it has nothing like the same urgency.   It's still an awesome cruiser and will be fine on an upcoming European trip (which will take in Il Mostro Scambio in Imola in Aug).  

The discussion on Audi interiors also interests me. I had a new A3 in 2004 and I still think that this is one of the classiest car dash designs I've ever seen. Being an Audi fan I'm very disappointed with the current dash design of the A4/A5. I don't doubt the robustness or quality but the whole execution seems designed by a committee. Plus have you tried being a rear seat passenger in an A5..?   I think the Passat interior is one of the most ergonomic and the new 5 a long way behind. I really like the BMW in many ways but I think the next car will from the VAG stable.  

PS - I'm looking forward to your next discussion topic.  

[Rob 131]

Kev

When I was permanently based in the UK, I had what would now be the previous shape 520D. What a great Continental Cruiser; stepping out from driving back from the South of France; I could have turned round and done it all again . Very fond memories of this car and get to use it (now passed on to my Father) when I am back in the UK. The current 525i that I have with 231 BHP is considerably faster, yet somehow not as a relaxed cruiser as the 520D.

Haven't tried the new shape 5 yet and probably won't as I want a change from BMW for the next car  It is a great looker. You will enjoy piloting your BMW down to Italy 

[n2oxide]

There is absolutely nothing thats takes my fancy right now; We are looking for a decent 2 year old 4 door car for my wife...............we are having trouble.  At the end of the day I'm going to spend probably ?25k, so I might as well buy a good used 4 door Maserati...................they cost just as much to maintain as a decent A3 or A4 - we have 32 of them at work and they are nothing but trouble and money wasted.

My daily drive is a Saab Aero 2.3 HPT Sportwagon; 260bhp of turbocharged meat, cruises on the motorway at 100mph doing under 2,000rpm and in 5 years have done nothing more than change the service parts.  I buy a car that was 30k new and 5 years later I pick them up for 5k.  If I get 4-5 years out of it I'm happy.  Sure, it does nothing to the gallon, but I don't give a rats about gas mileage.  I can go shopping in it, I can go to work in it, I don't care if it gets a ding or someone leaves their supermarket trolley tattoo on it.  I load up junk for the dump, I go up and down to race meetings loaded with parts and spares and I use it as the tow vehicle to bring the dragster back to the pits from the finish line.  I can fit a Big Block V8 in the back and still leave room for the existing junk in the boot.  And whatever you laden it up with, it still pulls like a steam train.  I does space travel miles in all weather and never misses a beat.  What I wont do is spend ?20k on a decent 4 door Audi thats 3 years old just so that I can pamper it and spend money on maintenance.............and when some twat prangs it, end up in a road rage incident and get stabbed for a car !

[Rob 131]

Kev

My Neighbours Wife has a New Shape 535i in Dark Grey that makes my 5 Series look Blobby and Extremely Dated  . I wish I had gone for the XF Jag now that still remains modern looking  ::)The current 5 is a very good looking car in the same way the E34 5 Series was in its day.

Does anyone know if Lancia are planning to come back to the UK. I am sure I read somewhere that they are and do they make a big car. Also are Alfa planning to build a big car. The 164 / 166 and the Thema were great cars.

[mirafioriman]

I have not driven either but the two 'new' cars I like the look of are the Alfa 159 (particularly the estate version) and the Audi A5 (saloon and coupe)

[stathe174]

But the Alfa is out of production now... They only make Giuliettas  and MiTo's nowadays...