Sports Saloons - Italians leaving the Germans dead.
Discussion
For me, Audi, BMW & Mercedes no longer carry the executive tag they used to. As every Tom Dick & Murphy own a variation of the above.
The Alfa would do it for me with the Maserati a close second and the Jaguar not far behind. Kia have a new RWD sports saloon arriving shortly, although it may not have "The badge" it would certainly be different and worth a look....it's all down to personal taste at the end of the day.
The Alfa would do it for me with the Maserati a close second and the Jaguar not far behind. Kia have a new RWD sports saloon arriving shortly, although it may not have "The badge" it would certainly be different and worth a look....it's all down to personal taste at the end of the day.
ian2144 said:
For me, Audi, BMW & Mercedes no longer carry the executive tag they used to. As every Tom Dick & Murphy own a variation of the above.
OK that's your perspective but I still can't and never will see why anyone else's choice, not matter how many people or how many choices, should have any influence at all on what an individual buys for a car they want but don't need. Surely getting what you want and ignoring the herd (whether they agree with you or not) is better because...you get what you really want. Peer pressure has an expiry date of hour one day one at school surely - if not sooner.
Jimmy Recard said:
Zod said:
I saw that the other day. Is it pretty much just me who didn't care about all the problems he found with it? He struck me as an idiot. No interest in the car, he seemed interested only in things like radar cruise control, that I've never used anyway in cars that have it.And the panel gap that was simply the shape of the door card, not a build problem at all. I'm pretty sure he said it was great to drive though. I'm more interested in that than non-HD reversing cameras
t that only teenagers can possibly care about he did highlight that the car is a bit of a parts bin special competing in a field of highly competent and well developed cars; indeed the entire platform is shared with a Chrysler. It drives well, but no better than a BMW 550i, so the only reason to buy one is because of the badge, the sound, or the looks. That was certainly my conclusion after trying one too. Interesting that they are discounting them by 20% in the US too, ALD Automotive were leasing these for next to nothing in the UK at one stage last year. I was tempted though, entirely because of the looks, the badge, and the noise.
Personally I can't get with the idea of a Maserati that is full of highly conspicuous Chrysler bits and sold with a diesel engine. Platform and part sharing is just fine in ordinary cars, but for a car this expensive and sold under a name like Maserati I think you can expect better.
Edited by dme123 on Friday 21st April 11:48
Jimmy Recard said:
I saw that the other day. Is it pretty much just me who didn't care about all the problems he found with it? He struck me as an idiot. No interest in the car, he seemed interested only in things like radar cruise control, that I've never used anyway in cars that have it.
And the panel gap that was simply the shape of the door card, not a build problem at all. I'm pretty sure he said it was great to drive though. I'm more interested in that than non-HD reversing cameras
Doug DeMuro is a car reviewer for people who don't like cars. He did a video about an Aston Martin he got and said "bumper to bumper warranty" so much that even thinking about it makes me want to punch him. I hate that I have clicked on a link to one of his videos now, as youtube will assume I love his content and recommend his rubbish for months.And the panel gap that was simply the shape of the door card, not a build problem at all. I'm pretty sure he said it was great to drive though. I'm more interested in that than non-HD reversing cameras
wst said:
Jimmy Recard said:
I saw that the other day. Is it pretty much just me who didn't care about all the problems he found with it? He struck me as an idiot. No interest in the car, he seemed interested only in things like radar cruise control, that I've never used anyway in cars that have it.
And the panel gap that was simply the shape of the door card, not a build problem at all. I'm pretty sure he said it was great to drive though. I'm more interested in that than non-HD reversing cameras
Doug DeMuro is a car reviewer for people who don't like cars. He did a video about an Aston Martin he got and said "bumper to bumper warranty" so much that even thinking about it makes me want to punch him. I hate that I have clicked on a link to one of his videos now, as youtube will assume I love his content and recommend his rubbish for months.And the panel gap that was simply the shape of the door card, not a build problem at all. I'm pretty sure he said it was great to drive though. I'm more interested in that than non-HD reversing cameras
Yes he can be a bit irritating but I'd much rather watch him than Schmee, STG, SOL etc.
Adz The Rat said:
That Alfa looks fantastic.
Ghibli wouldnt get a second glance from me.
M4 looks great but becoming a bit common.
C63 would be a tough choice between that and the Alfa.
Thats where I'm at. Just picked up the C63 for the weekend.Ghibli wouldnt get a second glance from me.
M4 looks great but becoming a bit common.
C63 would be a tough choice between that and the Alfa.
Oh, and don't discount the Ghibli. The S is a lovely car.
Ares said:
EddyBee said:
It'd be a hard call between the Alfa and the Merc for me and I'm a huge BMW fan.
Nice situation to be in mind!
Not fancy seeing how a Jag compares?
Which Jag though? There aren't any decent saloons with a smoking engine.Nice situation to be in mind!
Not fancy seeing how a Jag compares?
Ok power wise you could only really compare it to the lower powered Ghibli but surely worth exploring?
I certainly would. Ok, on paper it's not quite up there with the others but cars aren't all about performance figures.
It's still range topping forced induction fast saloon like the others.
For all I know it could be pants but I'd want to see for myself how it compares.
Edited by EddyBee on Friday 21st April 16:35
smarty156 said:
Compare Nurburgring times then.
Quadrifoglio is still the fastest, by an even greater margin. It's 6 seconds faster round there than the new £90k M4 CS (with copied Quadrifoglio rear spoiler I see!).
Not disputing the Alfa's performance at all, it's the car I prefer out the OP list. I was commenting on just a drag race being used as a performace measurement.Quadrifoglio is still the fastest, by an even greater margin. It's 6 seconds faster round there than the new £90k M4 CS (with copied Quadrifoglio rear spoiler I see!).
Edited by Tickle on Friday 21st April 18:00
dme123 said:
While the chap was very irritating and mostly focused on st that only teenagers can possibly care about he did highlight that the car is a bit of a parts bin special competing in a field of highly competent and well developed cars; indeed the entire platform is shared with a Chrysler. It drives well, but no better than a BMW 550i, so the only reason to buy one is because of the badge, the sound, or the looks.
That was certainly my conclusion after trying one too. Interesting that they are discounting them by 20% in the US too, ALD Automotive were leasing these for next to nothing in the UK at one stage last year. I was tempted though, entirely because of the looks, the badge, and the noise.
Personally I can't get with the idea of a Maserati that is full of highly conspicuous Chrysler bits and sold with a diesel engine. Platform and part sharing is just fine in ordinary cars, but for a car this expensive and sold under a name like Maserati I think you can expect better.
I certainly agree with you at least in part. I'm not sure it would put me off the car. I probably wouldn't buy a Ghibli because there are cars out there that I prefer, it's just that not one of the faults he found would be significant enough for me to be bothered at all. I understand that it's more expensive than the equivalent BMW, I understand that it shares some switchgear with Chrysler stuff. But that doesn't make it the worst car you can buy, as he says. t that only teenagers can possibly care about he did highlight that the car is a bit of a parts bin special competing in a field of highly competent and well developed cars; indeed the entire platform is shared with a Chrysler. It drives well, but no better than a BMW 550i, so the only reason to buy one is because of the badge, the sound, or the looks. That was certainly my conclusion after trying one too. Interesting that they are discounting them by 20% in the US too, ALD Automotive were leasing these for next to nothing in the UK at one stage last year. I was tempted though, entirely because of the looks, the badge, and the noise.
Personally I can't get with the idea of a Maserati that is full of highly conspicuous Chrysler bits and sold with a diesel engine. Platform and part sharing is just fine in ordinary cars, but for a car this expensive and sold under a name like Maserati I think you can expect better.
Edited by dme123 on Friday 21st April 11:48
An impression of what it's like to use - that would be much more handy as an informative tool to someone considering one. Instead he just tells the prospective customer that they're a snob for liking it more than a BMW. There could be myriad reasons why the buyer might want it more than a BMW, and only one of those is the badge/brand image it involves.
Oh, and I really agree with you about the diesel part. If I wanted one of those, I wouldn't be interested in the diesel version at all. If I wanted the diesel, I'd probably buy a BMW. It's not logical, but I normally buy cars I just like and don't care about justifying it to myself.
That said, I have an Astra
but to justify it, I do like it and it was really cheap 
Vitorio said:
The germanic brands have been complacent, and have been so for years
a decade ago i was a young IT upstart, on a mission to find a new company lease, budget would allow for entry level "premium" cars. I was ignored for 45 minutes in a BMW showroom, walked into the alfa showroom and had a 147 to test drive within 10 minutes.
They assume people will buy their cars anyway, even if they're treated like st.
But now Alfa is back with a stunner of a car
+1 when I was shopping for a new car every dealership was helpful to varying degrees, BMW couldn't even give me the time of day I was just ignored. a decade ago i was a young IT upstart, on a mission to find a new company lease, budget would allow for entry level "premium" cars. I was ignored for 45 minutes in a BMW showroom, walked into the alfa showroom and had a 147 to test drive within 10 minutes.
They assume people will buy their cars anyway, even if they're treated like s
t.But now Alfa is back with a stunner of a car
As for the BMW wheels I like them. It's got to be the Alfa though.
Tickle said:
Not disputing the Alfa's performance at all, it's the car I prefer out the OP list. I was commenting on just a drag race being used as a performace measurement.
I wasn't having a go, just saying that actually the drag race is pretty reflective of the fact it's the fastest of the bunch, backed up by the Nurburgring times. I'd say the Nurburgring times show more how the car performs on the road, albeit a race track like road. I suspect, given the excellent and compliant suspension on the Alfa, on rougher (ie UK) roads it would fair even better.Edited by Tickle on Friday 21st April 18:00
I should say, I am biased though, as I have a Quadrifoglio. Very nice it is too.
If the OP wants a car that makes him smile, even just looking at it, it's got to be top of the list. As someone else said it looks WAY better in the flesh than in pictures.
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