Can a car BE 'over-rated'?
Discussion
I have occasionally seen views from people saying a car (or motorcycle) is 'over rated' or 'under rated', but by definition, if enough people rate them highly, aren't we saying in effect that they are great cars and so cannot BE 'over-rated'?
Put another way, which cars FOR YOU have been over (or under) rated? In your eyes.
Put another way, which cars FOR YOU have been over (or under) rated? In your eyes.
When it comes to the views of informed petrolheads, I think there are more underrated cars than overrated ones - vehicles which perhaps aren't particularly attractive or which inspire some sort of bias (I.e. American cars can't handle) but which are actually terrific - it's just not enough people try one to sway popular opinion (my 7 litre c6 z06 vette did 21mpg and would have out handled the GTR I owned afterwards - how many people would credit that even on these pages?)
I think plenty of cars are overrated by the general buying public, however. Most things German for starters...
As for famous cars (F40 etc.) you could argue it either way. It's easier to talk something down than up, especially when it's already on a pedestal.
I think plenty of cars are overrated by the general buying public, however. Most things German for starters...
As for famous cars (F40 etc.) you could argue it either way. It's easier to talk something down than up, especially when it's already on a pedestal.
When they were first advertised the AMV8 Vantage was supposed to be a "£60K Porsche 911 eater" and yet when the final specs were released the "all new" 4.3 V8 was a small re-working of an existing 4.2 V8, the standard 18" wheels kept failing in impact tests so potential owners were asked to pay out north of £1K for the 19" ones, the satnav and significant parts of the switch gear came from Ford and Volvo and the overall package was totally underwhelming. I placed a deposit and then had it returned when it turned out the cost of the car was to be c£88K when specced up and given enough "goodies" to be desirable, and even then the performance stats were still terrible.
As such, total over rated based on hype and press releases when first available.
As such, total over rated based on hype and press releases when first available.
Blanchimont said:
MX5. Why not buy an MR2 T-Bar with a targa roof?
Because the mk2 MR2's chassis is complete rubbish? 
Anyway I think the answer is probably yes, a car can be overrated but most cars that people claim are, aren't. There's plenty of cars that people call over-rated because they simply aren't the sort of car that they like; but there are also a smaller number of cars that lots of people claim are good in ways that they simply aren't.
Strangely enough, for me the most "over-rated" cars tend to actually be ones that I like most; generally speaking I think the better a drivers' car is, the more people tend to exaggerate how good it is. Conversely, usually the most under-rated cars are the crap ones. People seem to like to believe that differences are greater than they are.
Edited by kambites on Friday 4th September 17:38
Grey Ghost said:
When they were first advertised the AMV8 Vantage was supposed to be a "£60K Porsche 911 eater" and ....
As such, total over rated based on hype and press releases when first available.
snipped for space.As such, total over rated based on hype and press releases when first available.
I think that right now the AMV8V has sunk to the other end where I think that it is comically underrated in the bang for your buck department. I mean £30k for an Aston, the sound of which can snap knicker elastic at 500 metres.
The Mrs and I have a nice little selection of cars between us and plan of adding a few more depending on the house we plumb for. If i can't find a sensible priced Turbo 2 I may just have a fit and buy an AMV8V
CorvetteConvert said:
I have occasionally seen views from people saying a car (or motorcycle) is 'over rated' or 'under rated', but by definition, if enough people rate them highly, aren't we saying in effect that they are great cars and so cannot BE 'over-rated'?
Put another way, which cars FOR YOU have been over (or under) rated? In your eyes.
Argument ad populum - just because something is popular doesn't mean it is good, so things can be over or under rated, and it happens all the time. Put another way, which cars FOR YOU have been over (or under) rated? In your eyes.
Not a suit needed here but a nuclear bunker, but here goes anyway.
Of the cars I have driven enough to form an opinion, I have found a few under and over rated, as I see it and as I found the cars to be.
Over-rated (and yes there are thousands of fans of these out there, I know, who will disagree) are first the BMW M3 CSL. Impossible to drive 40-50% without letting the world know about it via the induction scream (nice WHEN you want it) and poor performance unless you thrashed it. In cut and thrust driving on a car run out the CSL could easily be left by less powerful cars unless you held low gears the whole time waiting for that top-end rush of power and noise. Also it had very poor brakes for a £60,000 (nearer £70,000 in today's prices) car and the gearbox was rubbish.
Ferrari F40. Yes really.
I got to do around 200 miles in my friend's car, in 2 stints, a month apart, on roads which should have suited it perfectly. Big lonely roads in the wilds of California (where he lives).
The fit and finish inside and out was appalling. You could actually see the outside world with the doors closed around their edges! The gearbox was poor and heavy. The clutch was very heavy and had a sudden biting point. The engine was a typical low capacity unit with two huge turbochargers which gave lag like you would not believe before a huge rush of power hit you. But because the car was not happy to rev high it was over as quick as it had arrived and so the effective power band was tiny. These things are going for a million quid each now, remember.
The kit was sparse, the engine hated going slowly and the brakes were appalling for a car expected to stop from 203 mph.
A Californian said to me that it was a race car for the road and should be viewed as such. In which case 470 bhp and 1100 kgs ain't that great is it? Not when for £100,000 you can have a 750 bhp Ultima which weighs 1,050 kgs and has better brakes, suspension, gearbox and is way faster with huge grunt from tickover.
Under-rated? Cooper S Works GP Gen 1. A real gem few got to know or drive. What a hot hatch should be. Light at 1090 kgs. Powerful at 218 bhp. Plenty of urge from 2,000 rpm to over 7,000 rpm. I own one now, my third.
Many American cars. Some are tat but many are written off without people ever trying them. The new Corvette is an absolute gem.
Of the cars I have driven enough to form an opinion, I have found a few under and over rated, as I see it and as I found the cars to be.
Over-rated (and yes there are thousands of fans of these out there, I know, who will disagree) are first the BMW M3 CSL. Impossible to drive 40-50% without letting the world know about it via the induction scream (nice WHEN you want it) and poor performance unless you thrashed it. In cut and thrust driving on a car run out the CSL could easily be left by less powerful cars unless you held low gears the whole time waiting for that top-end rush of power and noise. Also it had very poor brakes for a £60,000 (nearer £70,000 in today's prices) car and the gearbox was rubbish.
Ferrari F40. Yes really.
I got to do around 200 miles in my friend's car, in 2 stints, a month apart, on roads which should have suited it perfectly. Big lonely roads in the wilds of California (where he lives).
The fit and finish inside and out was appalling. You could actually see the outside world with the doors closed around their edges! The gearbox was poor and heavy. The clutch was very heavy and had a sudden biting point. The engine was a typical low capacity unit with two huge turbochargers which gave lag like you would not believe before a huge rush of power hit you. But because the car was not happy to rev high it was over as quick as it had arrived and so the effective power band was tiny. These things are going for a million quid each now, remember.
The kit was sparse, the engine hated going slowly and the brakes were appalling for a car expected to stop from 203 mph.
A Californian said to me that it was a race car for the road and should be viewed as such. In which case 470 bhp and 1100 kgs ain't that great is it? Not when for £100,000 you can have a 750 bhp Ultima which weighs 1,050 kgs and has better brakes, suspension, gearbox and is way faster with huge grunt from tickover.
Under-rated? Cooper S Works GP Gen 1. A real gem few got to know or drive. What a hot hatch should be. Light at 1090 kgs. Powerful at 218 bhp. Plenty of urge from 2,000 rpm to over 7,000 rpm. I own one now, my third.
Many American cars. Some are tat but many are written off without people ever trying them. The new Corvette is an absolute gem.
Cars you see loads of: Golfs, A3s, Focus, etc... Lots of people clearly rate them enough to buy them.
But they are all just too bland for me. But then I like weird cars. The sorts of cars that other people would call s
t.
It's just opinions, and thank goodness there is enough variety out there for everyone.
But they are all just too bland for me. But then I like weird cars. The sorts of cars that other people would call s
t.It's just opinions, and thank goodness there is enough variety out there for everyone.
CorvetteConvert said:
Over-rated (and yes there are thousands of fans of these out there, I know, who will disagree) are first the BMW M3 CSL. Impossible to drive 40-50% without letting the world know about it via the induction scream (nice WHEN you want it) and poor performance unless you thrashed it. In cut and thrust driving on a car run out the CSL could easily be left by less powerful cars unless you held low gears the whole time waiting for that top-end rush of power and noise. Also it had very poor brakes for a £60,000 (nearer £70,000 in today's prices) car and the gearbox was rubbish.
Under-rated? Cooper S Works GP Gen 1. A real gem few got to know or drive. What a hot hatch should be. Light at 1090 kgs. Powerful at 218 bhp. Plenty of urge from 2,000 rpm to over 7,000 rpm. I own one now, my third
For fast road driving, the CSL is perfect out of the box IMO (albeit with uprated brake fluid), but I agree it's not really a car for the urban environment. The funny thing is there are a good few CSL owners out there who also have GPs ( myself included), so they kind of appeal in a similar way I thinkUnder-rated? Cooper S Works GP Gen 1. A real gem few got to know or drive. What a hot hatch should be. Light at 1090 kgs. Powerful at 218 bhp. Plenty of urge from 2,000 rpm to over 7,000 rpm. I own one now, my third
I personally think that these cars get dismissed "on paper", and are both therefore under-rated, but the big thing for me is the way they drive and how they make me feel. I don't really care that one supposedly shouldn't have come with rear seats, and the other should
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