Toyota
Posted by: Manni on 16 March 2004
Hi all,
as my Baby Benz ( MB 190 D 2.5 ) is from 1986, i consider buying a new car. What do you think about the Toyota Corolla and Avensis, which are according to the ADAC ( a german automobile club ) the most reliable cars, far better than Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and so on?
Thanks for your answers,
Manfred
as my Baby Benz ( MB 190 D 2.5 ) is from 1986, i consider buying a new car. What do you think about the Toyota Corolla and Avensis, which are according to the ADAC ( a german automobile club ) the most reliable cars, far better than Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and so on?
Thanks for your answers,
Manfred
Take plenty of stimulants, Toyotas may be reliable but they are truly BORING they have to call them names like Charisma because they have none.There is more to a car than reliablity and what does it mean anyway it breaks down every 16 months instead of 15? Don't forget people with Jap cars overlook a lot of faults that other makes have reported I have noticed. As regards Gremans loosing the plot certainly the latest Mercs are a lot less reliable, can't say I've noticed VW being particularly bad. Not compared to FIAT and Peugeot.
Howard
Howard
Well, it all depends what you want.
I went to the Melb. International Motor show, whilst the F1 GP was on.
It was fun to see so many different cars under the one roof, and one could flit from one to the other, making personal value judgements as one does, as regards looks, engineering fit and finish, interior presentation/ambience etc.
To my mind, the best overall for looks, paint and panel gaps, interior finish (materials, design and fit/finish) and perceived engineering, was AUDI, followed by Benz and BMW in that order. To be fair, the only vehicle that really equaled the Audi in interior quality of materials and fit and finish, was the Lexus, however the style both interior and exterior is not to my taste.
The biggest surprise was comparing the local Ford & GM products, to the more 'pedestrian' Euro imports such as Peugeot Renault etc. Surprising in that the local Falcon and Commmodore were equal, or in some cases even ahead in the looks, fit and finish departments, with comfort, size and value for money that the smaller Euros couldn't compete with.
The smaller Japanese imports, Honda etc, to my mind, had interiors so consisently boring and depressing in swathes of grey plastic, the thought of being immobile in a traffic jam in one of them filled me with dread. I would hate to have to sit in it, and look at it, and be reminded what a crappy interior I had shelled out so much money for. Frankly, I'd rather put up with public transport than live with such a mistake.
Only MHO of course, but I hate spending money on something merely because it is practical - if it doesn't have some sense of style, even if it's quirky style like a Citroen for eg, I quickly tire of it, and hate being reminded that I paid good money for dross.
As they say in the US, YMMV
Cheers
John...
Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary
I went to the Melb. International Motor show, whilst the F1 GP was on.
It was fun to see so many different cars under the one roof, and one could flit from one to the other, making personal value judgements as one does, as regards looks, engineering fit and finish, interior presentation/ambience etc.
To my mind, the best overall for looks, paint and panel gaps, interior finish (materials, design and fit/finish) and perceived engineering, was AUDI, followed by Benz and BMW in that order. To be fair, the only vehicle that really equaled the Audi in interior quality of materials and fit and finish, was the Lexus, however the style both interior and exterior is not to my taste.
The biggest surprise was comparing the local Ford & GM products, to the more 'pedestrian' Euro imports such as Peugeot Renault etc. Surprising in that the local Falcon and Commmodore were equal, or in some cases even ahead in the looks, fit and finish departments, with comfort, size and value for money that the smaller Euros couldn't compete with.
The smaller Japanese imports, Honda etc, to my mind, had interiors so consisently boring and depressing in swathes of grey plastic, the thought of being immobile in a traffic jam in one of them filled me with dread. I would hate to have to sit in it, and look at it, and be reminded what a crappy interior I had shelled out so much money for. Frankly, I'd rather put up with public transport than live with such a mistake.
Only MHO of course, but I hate spending money on something merely because it is practical - if it doesn't have some sense of style, even if it's quirky style like a Citroen for eg, I quickly tire of it, and hate being reminded that I paid good money for dross.
As they say in the US, YMMV
Cheers
John...
Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary
I have a Toyota MR-2 Roadster.
This is not a boring car.
Stephen
This is not a boring car.
Stephen
Point taken
I have driven one of the earlier MR2's (the orginal slightly squarish shaped one) some years ago, and thought then that it was a fantastic little sports coupe. The only thing that counted against it here was that with our local heat, the air con struggled, and on a long trip it was a bit on the noisy side with the engine right behind the ear-hole as it were.
For build quality, I think the Japanese & the Germans loosely speaking, build the best.
My only gripe really is with interior, and to some degree exterior style. Merely a personal thing.
Just to be obtuse, I find it interesting but odd at times that Japanese cars are praised and held in high esteem generally, ditto their cameras, whilst their HiFi is often seemingly looked down upon, as it doesn't emenate from specialist manufacturers, or most especially perhaps UK ones.
Yet just as with Brit/US cars v's the Japanese & Germans, generally speaking the build, finish, and reliability is ahead in many cases over the home grown UK product.
Perhaps some people just think they sound boring. Well, IMHO in some cases yes, but in other cases no. So yes, I will support that an MR2 is a stonking good drive. And not boring.
Don't start me on a Corolla though, if you like driving as against just getting from A to B.
As our US friends are want to say, YMMV
Cheers
John...
Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary
I have driven one of the earlier MR2's (the orginal slightly squarish shaped one) some years ago, and thought then that it was a fantastic little sports coupe. The only thing that counted against it here was that with our local heat, the air con struggled, and on a long trip it was a bit on the noisy side with the engine right behind the ear-hole as it were.
For build quality, I think the Japanese & the Germans loosely speaking, build the best.
My only gripe really is with interior, and to some degree exterior style. Merely a personal thing.
Just to be obtuse, I find it interesting but odd at times that Japanese cars are praised and held in high esteem generally, ditto their cameras, whilst their HiFi is often seemingly looked down upon, as it doesn't emenate from specialist manufacturers, or most especially perhaps UK ones.
Yet just as with Brit/US cars v's the Japanese & Germans, generally speaking the build, finish, and reliability is ahead in many cases over the home grown UK product.
Perhaps some people just think they sound boring. Well, IMHO in some cases yes, but in other cases no. So yes, I will support that an MR2 is a stonking good drive. And not boring.
Don't start me on a Corolla though, if you like driving as against just getting from A to B.
As our US friends are want to say, YMMV
Cheers
John...
Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary