Totally bewildered re new models
Discussion
I used to be pretty switched on regarding what was what, and which car would suit us. Now I have no idea.
New unfamiliar brands appearing overnight.
A blur of new model launches.
New tech.
It feels like we're about to go through some tumultuous changes.
No wonder the general public (me included) are sitting on their hands.
New unfamiliar brands appearing overnight.
A blur of new model launches.
New tech.
It feels like we're about to go through some tumultuous changes.
No wonder the general public (me included) are sitting on their hands.
Me too. Life long car fan and had a pretty clear idea of the good, bad and ugly. We are thinking of changing one of our cars but what for? Half the brands out there are all derivatives on one another (VW, Stelantis, Renault) and within those groupings all seems to drive quite similarly. We have a 2019 C class Merc and had a 2025 CLA loaner while it was in for service. It drove nice enough but wow did the quality feel a step ladder down. Same tech and interface as our car but deployed on smaller and more fiddly buttons. Shiny plastic everywhere. Gutless as hell. I'm sure the bigger models are better built but don't actually deliver much new or better than what we have.
I had BMWs for years but they are the same. Lower models have seen significant quality drops and the design has gone from classy to gauche. Nothing from the range appeals - I'll stick to my i3s which is at least interesting and innovative and rock solid still at 7 years old and nearly 60k miles.
Audi's - see above. Posh VW and drive like a Polo. Can't see the value or appeal.
The French are interesting. Renault and Peugeot went from totally uninspired styling through a period about 5-6 years ago where many of the designs suddenly were really smart and coherent, but sadly they've passed through that stage and evolved them all in the name of evolution.
Land Rover - we have a Discovery 4. Peak LR in my view.
Mazda seems to be the most interesting of the Japanese. The others have all slipped into a more origami design phase - I'm sure they are well built but almost all currently models look a dogs breakfast to my eyes.
Then the Chinese brands. They do appear to be well built and are definitely much cheaper, but the styling of some are too big and challenging on quite a few. I'm also in the camp of if you want a European car industry in the future you need to buy their product, so on principle it's a no.
The Korean's do seem a better bet and Mothers little Hyundai is a marvel of small car engineering in many ways (but is woefully underpowered), but the styling of many have drifted into weird.
So hands remain firmly in pockets.
I had BMWs for years but they are the same. Lower models have seen significant quality drops and the design has gone from classy to gauche. Nothing from the range appeals - I'll stick to my i3s which is at least interesting and innovative and rock solid still at 7 years old and nearly 60k miles.
Audi's - see above. Posh VW and drive like a Polo. Can't see the value or appeal.
The French are interesting. Renault and Peugeot went from totally uninspired styling through a period about 5-6 years ago where many of the designs suddenly were really smart and coherent, but sadly they've passed through that stage and evolved them all in the name of evolution.
Land Rover - we have a Discovery 4. Peak LR in my view.
Mazda seems to be the most interesting of the Japanese. The others have all slipped into a more origami design phase - I'm sure they are well built but almost all currently models look a dogs breakfast to my eyes.
Then the Chinese brands. They do appear to be well built and are definitely much cheaper, but the styling of some are too big and challenging on quite a few. I'm also in the camp of if you want a European car industry in the future you need to buy their product, so on principle it's a no.
The Korean's do seem a better bet and Mothers little Hyundai is a marvel of small car engineering in many ways (but is woefully underpowered), but the styling of many have drifted into weird.
So hands remain firmly in pockets.
Huzzah said:
I used to be pretty switched on regarding what was what, and which car would suit us. Now I have no idea.
Same for us. For years I had company cars, changed every two years, and at a year old I'd already weighed everything up and knew what I'd be choosing for my next car. Now nothing excites me enough to want to go test driving it, let alone chasing after deals etc. Bought wife's last car mainly based on the dealer being nearby, and they've turned out to be disappointing. And wife, who is barely interested in cars at the best of times, has no attachment to the car at all.
My interest in cars slid into obscurity with the advent of SUVs, in which I have no interest.
EVs didn't help as they tend to look like bland lozenges and apart from the odd concept small car, hold no interest.
Strange as, being retired, I can afford a new car but just nothing interests me.
EVs didn't help as they tend to look like bland lozenges and apart from the odd concept small car, hold no interest.
Strange as, being retired, I can afford a new car but just nothing interests me.
Huzzah said:
No wonder the general public (me included) are sitting on their hands.
Are they? I'm not sure the automotive market is really in a worse state than would be expected given the general state of our economy. New car sales in the UK are the highest they've been since the pandemic. Sure they're nowhere near the heights of 2015-16, but they were already falling before the pandemic due to general (possibly Brexit-related) malaise in the UK economy and that general economic slide has continued to this day.
I think people who are disillusioned with the general state of the car industry (which is entirely understandable!) might be seeing causation where there is only correlation.
Edited by kambites on Friday 31st October 09:16
kambites said:
Huzzah said:
No wonder the general public (me included) are sitting on their hands.
Are they? I'm not sure the automotive market is really in a worse state than would be expected given the general state of our economy. New car sales in the UK are the highest they've been since the pandemic. Sure they're nowhere near the heights of 2015-16, but they were already falling before the pandemic due to general (possibly Brexit-related) malaise in the UK economy and that general economic slide has continued to this day.
I think people who are disillusioned with the general state of the car industry (which is entirely understandable!) might be seeing causation where there is only correlation.
LuS1fer said:
My interest in cars slid into obscurity with the advent of SUVs, in which I have no interest.
EVs didn't help as they tend to look like bland lozenges and apart from the odd concept small car, hold no interest.
Strange as, being retired, I can afford a new car but just nothing interests me.
I think that's about when I started losing interest too. EVs didn't help as they tend to look like bland lozenges and apart from the odd concept small car, hold no interest.
Strange as, being retired, I can afford a new car but just nothing interests me.
Manufacturers phasing out manual gearboxes and downsizing engines to fewer cylinders with a turbo didn't help either.
So I've got a couple of mid 2000s straight 6 manual petrol RWD cars!
Robertb said:
Yup. I frequently see new cars I have no idea what they are. And I don't care. I've never found cars less desirable than now.
Count me in on that too. Just can’t seem to get excited by anything anymore and I’m rapidly losing touch with what’s what as a result. If I have to get in something and it bings and bongs at me on every journey, unless I navigate a screen to turn it off, EVERY single time. I’d rather just keep my current fleet going.
Screens and big slabs of dashboard with no buttons, and hardly even any gear-levers anymore, has to be the worst trend I can remember.
Robertb said:
Yup. I frequently see new cars I have no idea what they are. And I don't care. I've never found cars less desirable than now.
The response is actually somewhat ironic as many of these new cars, the Stellantis and the VAG groups for example are actually the same car. Probably there are far fewer fundamentally different cars on sale. Badge engineering is alive and well.Mr Tidy said:
LuS1fer said:
My interest in cars slid into obscurity with the advent of SUVs, in which I have no interest.
EVs didn't help as they tend to look like bland lozenges and apart from the odd concept small car, hold no interest.
Strange as, being retired, I can afford a new car but just nothing interests me.
I think that's about when I started losing interest too. EVs didn't help as they tend to look like bland lozenges and apart from the odd concept small car, hold no interest.
Strange as, being retired, I can afford a new car but just nothing interests me.
Manufacturers phasing out manual gearboxes and downsizing engines to fewer cylinders with a turbo didn't help either.
So I've got a couple of mid 2000s straight 6 manual petrol RWD cars!
Robertb said:
Yup. I frequently see new cars I have no idea what they are. And I don't care. I've never found cars less desirable than now.
I’m in the same mindset. I used to change cars every couple of years, now I’ve had my pickup for 5 years as I can’t be bothered. The new technology isn’t in areas that interest me at all. It’s annoying things like lane assist which is fine on motorways but has a s
t fit on the country roads where I live. I need a kid friendly 4wd automatic car that can tow a couple of tonnes. Nothing too low as it snows here and our road often isn’t cleared, plus I’m used to a pickup.
So I need an SUV realistically.
But these are very boring indeed, possibly more boring than a 10 year old pickup..
Also they’re very slow, 0-60 in 9+ secs is common in the usually reliable Japanese or Korean ones. But I wouldn’t really want a German one because of expensive complexity or a JLR one because of borkage.
So I just drive the truck.
Huzzah said:
I used to be pretty switched on regarding what was what, and which car would suit us. Now I have no idea.
You are not alone!I remember when my company car choice included the lowly BMW 318i which I obviously chose... the BMW range was pretty easy to understand in those days 316, 318, 320 and the revered 325. Now I see BMW's and I have no idea - honestly, not a clue.
I have a 911 and only have a vague grasp of the different models in the lineup. Ferrari seem to put out new models so quickly it's hard to keep up...
So you are definitely not alone.
Huzzah said:
I used to be pretty switched on regarding what was what, and which car would suit us. Now I have no idea.
New unfamiliar brands appearing overnight.
A blur of new model launches.
New tech.
It feels like we're about to go through some tumultuous changes.
No wonder the general public (me included) are sitting on their hands.
How old are you?New unfamiliar brands appearing overnight.
A blur of new model launches.
New tech.
It feels like we're about to go through some tumultuous changes.
No wonder the general public (me included) are sitting on their hands.
When I was in my late teens I knew pretty much every car on the road and could identify most of them by their exhaust note. Today - no clue.
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