RE: PH Footnote: Crossed out
Discussion
I give Nissan credit for building it, though. "Every niche must be filled!"
Krikkit said:
nickfrog said:
DBRacingGod said:
A good point well made, but utterly beyond the ken of the likes of Mrs DBRG who simply wants something roomy into which she can shove the kids and potter from A to B in reasonable comfort and with an elevated driving position.
Yes, she has a Qashquai.
They're brilliant for that purpose. I couldn't live without one as a family car. Better than estates for a variety of reasons and despite image, which I am not overly bothered about.Yes, she has a Qashquai.
I dislike these cars, too, see them as "Old Age People" cars for folks that can not or do not want to get down into a car and back up out of it.
High seating position and bloatedness lures drivers into a false feeling of "security",
which is at the cost of any passenger in a normal-sized car in case of accident,
and quickly comes to physical driving limits that totally get them by surprise, hence the need for multiple dumbing down assistant devices.
I also dislike SUVs which were born out of a gigantic tax-evasion scheme so all these cars are bought and driven by stupid ignorant egoistic lazy folks,
which may be the reason they sell in great numbers.
High seating position and bloatedness lures drivers into a false feeling of "security",
which is at the cost of any passenger in a normal-sized car in case of accident,
and quickly comes to physical driving limits that totally get them by surprise, hence the need for multiple dumbing down assistant devices.
I also dislike SUVs which were born out of a gigantic tax-evasion scheme so all these cars are bought and driven by stupid ignorant egoistic lazy folks,
which may be the reason they sell in great numbers.
nickfrog said:
I find the Tiguan as comfortable (taller sidewalls help), ..
Yep. The one thing wrong with this current craze is that manufacturers are putting (relatively) stupid diameter and profile tyres on the cars and in many cases making the suspension too stiff. Our Tiguan on 16" winter tyres is like riding on a magic carpet.I've been getting emails for months about T-Roc and it's one car I might actually go and see - if only because I can't quite believe that in reality it'll look so similar to Tiguan! I think it would be a great car for my daughters and their little kids. Surprisingly the more stylish and sporty daughter mentioned the Vx Grandland the other day - I did shudder a bit once I'd Googled what it was.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Agree with this. Family car buyers mostly don't care about handling, and just want something that looks cool and is roomy enough for their needs.I like crossovers. We're on our second CRV and it's a great family car.
I also think magazines and car forums overstate the number of crossovers and 4x4s on the road (OMG they're EVERYWHERE! It's IMPOSSIBLE to buy a normal hatchback these days etc etc). Look at the UK sales top 10, it's mostly small and medium hatchbacks with the Fiesta and Corsa typically in the top 2 positions. The Qashqai gets into the top 10 occasionally, but the sales charts are still dominated by mainstream hatchbacks.
I miss the days when Volvo made cars that were distinctly Volvos, Porsche made cars that were distinctly Porsches, and Mercedes made cars that were distinctly Mercs. Nowadays everybody from Skoda up to Porsche sells a crossover roughly the same size and shape as a Qashqai, and it's getting harder to see a distinct brand image. Still, car companies exist to make money and I can't blame them for giving customers what they want.
Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Friday 20th October 15:09
DBRacingGod said:
I looked at everything from 4Motion to Forrester (like the alliteration?) but ‘er indoors liked the Qashquai. There’s no diving deeper into it - she ‘just liked it more’, which is why this epic exercise in blandola succeeds.
We have one also as a family everyday bus. Aside from the practicality it was well priced, had an almost interest free Hire Purchase offer thrown in with a very good servicing, breakdown and warranty package.Very logical and good choice (which I'm sure plenty of people with a clapped out POS will slate) however also a totally emotionless car.
spreadsheet monkey said:
The Qashqai gets into the top 10 occasionally, but the sales charts are still dominated by mainstream hatchbacks.
errr....it's 4th in the UK YTD and it was in 1st place in Sept!We just got back from Florida and the US version is called Rogue. That was unbelievable - it sometimes felt like 50% of the cars on the road were Rogues!
I'll put my hand up. I've got a Seat Ateca as one of my cars. Why? It's an appliance. We need something to shuttle 3 teenagers and their sports bags around and guess what, the Mini and the 911 just weren't cutting it any more. I had an epiphany when I saw my 5'10" rugby playing folding himself into the back of the Mini and realised we needed something else.
Initially we looked at the traditional hatchback class but the crossovers had a couple of simple advantages - extra height and extra room. I must admit I do like sitting up higher - you can see further down the road and general better visibility. And the extra interior space is undeniable, and it comes with an airy interior which makes the hatchback equivalents feel oppressive.
As a car, it does the job. I'm not looking for sportiness - I want a tool for the job and in this case the job is urban & semi-rural shuttling. And this is what most people want from a car, and that's why they are popular.
The author (and some posters) have fallen into the self-deluded conceit that anything other than an "sports car" is somehow to be sneered at. Except these people will often drive their "sports cars" (which usually means nothing of the sort) in the sort of urban environment that is ill-suited to their breed but ideally suited to these crossovers.
Such people need to realise that a crossover is simply a taller hatchback. You get extra internal space for no penalty except maybe a teeny-tiny reduced dynamic ability. But then the 1.4 Seat Leon (the hatch equivalent of the Ateca) wouldn't exactly be my first choice for ultimate dynamics anyway. Crossovers don't have any pretensions of being offroad or even 4x4 and it's usually only the self-styled "road warriors" (in their 320d) who get all sniffy about them and their styling. The evo review of the Ateca talked about it's deficiencies for heel-and-toe, which is one of the biggest reviewer conceits I've ever read.
Most people need a car that is just another appliance, and for that these crossovers excel and (gasp) are more practical than their hatchback equivalents.
If I want a sporty drive on the road I'll take the 911. Or if it's a sunny day, the F430 spider.
If I want a sporty drive on track I'll take the Radical (and tow it there in - shock - an SUV).
But I spend 99% of my time commuting or shuttling the family around, and for that I'll take the crossover - just like many other people for whom these cars are appropriate and - significantly - simply better than their hatchback equivalents.
People getting all sniffy about the fact that other people might buy practical vehicular appliances, while pretending to themselves that their vehicle of choice is somehow a "sports cars" (when in most cases it is nothing of the sort), need to take a long hard look at themselves IMO.
Unfortunately this superior attitude seems to be prevalent amongst this website content and editorial team, quite frankly it shows a lack of maturity.
Initially we looked at the traditional hatchback class but the crossovers had a couple of simple advantages - extra height and extra room. I must admit I do like sitting up higher - you can see further down the road and general better visibility. And the extra interior space is undeniable, and it comes with an airy interior which makes the hatchback equivalents feel oppressive.
As a car, it does the job. I'm not looking for sportiness - I want a tool for the job and in this case the job is urban & semi-rural shuttling. And this is what most people want from a car, and that's why they are popular.
The author (and some posters) have fallen into the self-deluded conceit that anything other than an "sports car" is somehow to be sneered at. Except these people will often drive their "sports cars" (which usually means nothing of the sort) in the sort of urban environment that is ill-suited to their breed but ideally suited to these crossovers.
Such people need to realise that a crossover is simply a taller hatchback. You get extra internal space for no penalty except maybe a teeny-tiny reduced dynamic ability. But then the 1.4 Seat Leon (the hatch equivalent of the Ateca) wouldn't exactly be my first choice for ultimate dynamics anyway. Crossovers don't have any pretensions of being offroad or even 4x4 and it's usually only the self-styled "road warriors" (in their 320d) who get all sniffy about them and their styling. The evo review of the Ateca talked about it's deficiencies for heel-and-toe, which is one of the biggest reviewer conceits I've ever read.
Most people need a car that is just another appliance, and for that these crossovers excel and (gasp) are more practical than their hatchback equivalents.
If I want a sporty drive on the road I'll take the 911. Or if it's a sunny day, the F430 spider.
If I want a sporty drive on track I'll take the Radical (and tow it there in - shock - an SUV).
But I spend 99% of my time commuting or shuttling the family around, and for that I'll take the crossover - just like many other people for whom these cars are appropriate and - significantly - simply better than their hatchback equivalents.
People getting all sniffy about the fact that other people might buy practical vehicular appliances, while pretending to themselves that their vehicle of choice is somehow a "sports cars" (when in most cases it is nothing of the sort), need to take a long hard look at themselves IMO.
Unfortunately this superior attitude seems to be prevalent amongst this website content and editorial team, quite frankly it shows a lack of maturity.
BeirutTaxi said:
DBRacingGod said:
I looked at everything from 4Motion to Forrester (like the alliteration?) but ‘er indoors liked the Qashquai. There’s no diving deeper into it - she ‘just liked it more’, which is why this epic exercise in blandola succeeds.
We have one also as a family everyday bus. Aside from the practicality it was well priced, had an almost interest free Hire Purchase offer thrown in with a very good servicing, breakdown and warranty package.Sheepshanks said:
errr....it's 4th in the UK YTD and it was in 1st place in Sept!
We just got back from Florida and the US version is called Rogue. That was unbelievable - it sometimes felt like 50% of the cars on the road were Rogues!
The Rogue is doing well in the States. So is the CRV and RAV4 - they all sell in huge numbers over there. They are well ahead of us in their preference for crossovers and 4x4s. Cheap petrol, badly-surfaced roads, it makes sense that they sell well over there.We just got back from Florida and the US version is called Rogue. That was unbelievable - it sometimes felt like 50% of the cars on the road were Rogues!
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/10/americas-...
Here in the UK, the Qashqai may have done OK recently, but last year it didn't even make the annual Top 10. The Qashqai has been a great success story for Nissan and for British manufacturing, but crossovers are not (yet) taking over the UK.
https://www.germancartech.co.uk/blog/uk-car-sales-...
PhilboSE said:
People getting all sniffy about the fact that other people might buy practical vehicular appliances, while pretending to themselves that their vehicle of choice is somehow a "sports cars" (when in most cases it is nothing of the sort), need to take a long hard look at themselves IMO.
Unfortunately this superior attitude seems to be prevalent amongst this website content and editorial team, quite frankly it shows a lack of maturity.
Errrrr I don't think people on their high horse. Most folks on here appreciate all sorts of different cars, from sports cars to more mundane stuff. Being a day to day car doesn't mean that a car has to be mundane or unexciting. The Citroen Cactus looks ace and is far from mundane (yet divides opinion). The Fiat Panda is basic and cheap yet funky. The Skoda Yeti is interesting, practical and looks a little bit different. I could go on. Unfortunately this superior attitude seems to be prevalent amongst this website content and editorial team, quite frankly it shows a lack of maturity.
But the Seat Ateca? It's an okay car sure but there's nothing of any particular merit about it to distinguish it from any of it's jelly mould cousins. I think that's the issue that folk have with it, not the fact that it's not a sports car.
DBRacingGod said:
A good point well made, but utterly beyond the ken of the likes of Mrs DBRG who simply wants something roomy into which she can shove the kids and potter from A to B in reasonable comfort and with an elevated driving position.
Yes, she has a Qashquai.
Ha! Can tell how 'turned on' you are by Mrs. DBRG's Nissan in that you can't even spell "Qashqai" correctly!Yes, she has a Qashquai.
That alone earns you 'molto' bonus points in my book!
Sheepshanks said:
I wanted to like it but just didn't. It was very plasticy. The dash made me think of Amstrad. Wife didn't like it all. Bought Tiguan (last of the previous model) instead. Wife absolutely loves it (and she's not a car person) and I think it's pretty good. It was an old design at that point, although VW threw a lot of updates at it as it reached the end of its life. I have seen plenty of comments that the latest model Tiguan feels a lot cheaper.
We looked at the Tiguan however it was circa £4k more expensive, had less impressive after sales and finance package and less options for the price. However the diesel is nicer in the VW and the refinement is a tad better (I.e go for the VW if the extra cash doesn't bother you) However, since then I've experienced the Skoda Superb estate which was a way, way nicer car than the Nissan and I would be happy to pay the premium.
spreadsheet monkey said:
Here in the UK, the Qashqai may have done OK recently, but last year it didn't even make the annual Top 10. The Qashqai has been a great success story for Nissan and for British manufacturing, but crossovers are not (yet) taking over the UK.
https://www.germancartech.co.uk/blog/uk-car-sales-...
You might want to actually take a look at the contents of that link. https://www.germancartech.co.uk/blog/uk-car-sales-...
And change your user name. 
The average Pistonheads reader (myself and the article author included I think) are in a shrinking group. I love weekend jaunts in my 6.0L V12 Jaguar ('94 vintage) but I can understand why that's not the status quo. Niche vehicles are exactly that and are never going to sell in the numbers required to keep huge car companies afloat. Hatchbacks, Saloons and Estates, once the stable of volume production offer unique solutions but these days, saloons are mainly perceived as reps cars, and estates as family wagons. SUV's cross-overs are generally seen as classless do-anything, go-anywhere (even if they don't) vehicles and have somehow, so far escaped an obvious label as to the type of person that drives one. They suit the young, old, sporty, countryside-loving and urban-dwellers, which is why we can't get enough of them. And who really gets to exploit their 'good handling' coupe on the UK's terribly maintained and overcrowded roads these days anyway? And as the cost of living and running a car gets higher and higher every year, the group of people who can afford an everyday car, and a second 'toy' will get smaller, meaning that the everyday car will have to be able to do everything well, and inevitably, the niche cars will decline even more. It's almost as if the car industries days are numbered... Good job we have an awesome public transport infrastructure. Oh, wait...
BeirutTaxi said:
We looked at the Tiguan however it was circa £4k more expensive, had less impressive after sales and finance package and less options for the price.
We didn't get into details on Qashai pricing but we got £6K off Tiguan. Obviously that wouldn't have been possible on the new model when it came out, but I don't think VW are far away from that level of discount again now.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff