RE: PH Footnote: Crossed out
Discussion
Andy20vt said:
nickfrog said:
I am still quite impressed about your ability to know my needs better than me though.
It would seem that you don't 'NEED' a Tiguan though, just interested in understanding the logic as to why someone who claims to love driving would even have the remotest of interests in buying/driving something as dull and dead to drive as a Tiguan when there's clearly far better/nicer drives out there for very similar money. Why not make every drive special rather than just the 75% you do in your Renault? We only have a limited time on this planet so personally I would hate to miss out on some of the great, quiet driving roads that frequently co-inside with MTB trips just for another couple of cm headroom and a 15sec wheel removal saving. Some of the best drives I've had have been to and from MTB rides in Wales/Scotland.Thank you for your interest though, so let me repeat once again :
- the Tiguan is far more practical than the estates we've had, so logically we prefer it. And it's not just a few cm or "15 seconds". The car is brilliantly practical for the purpose in a way than an estate isn't IME.
- I find all the road biased cars you mentioned so far as alternatives as dull and dead to drive so logically I don't prefer any of them.
- I was at BPW earlier this year. We went for the riding, not the driving. Irrelevant as the Tiguan was far more practical so logically I took the Tiguan. Same for Peaslake weekend trips etc...
- Conversely, on every track day trip either in the UK or abroad, I take the Megane as it works better than the Tiguan for that purpose
- Why don't I use the Megane for the 25% of drives ? Because the Tiguan is better for those, so logically, I choose that.
I have no issues if you have fun on the public road in any of the cars you mentioned. I wouldn't.
Edited by nickfrog on Tuesday 31st October 22:43
Andy20vt said:
Errrr because why on earth would anyone who claims to love cars and driving try to hobble themselves for 95% of their driving (or whatever other significant percentage of the time it is you claim to need to drive a practical car) by driving something as bland and boring as an Ateca/Tiguan or one of the countless other uninspiring SUV lookalikes?
You may say, yes but in heavy traffic or with kids in tow what does it matter, or oh but I have another car for that once in a blue moon I actually get to use it? Why? I make sure that even sat still in traffic, or when transporting the kids at slow speed my cars inspire me. A special and/or rare car will be fun and satisfying even whilst sat in a motorway traffic jam. Something that cannot be said of your average SUV or 'soft roader' etc. Each to their own and all that but I'd loose the will to live (and drive) if I had to drive a soulless SUV any time a bit of practicality was called for.
Exactly. I want my car to remind me why I love it even when I'm sitting in a bloody M25 traffic jam on a wet autumn Tuesday evening.You may say, yes but in heavy traffic or with kids in tow what does it matter, or oh but I have another car for that once in a blue moon I actually get to use it? Why? I make sure that even sat still in traffic, or when transporting the kids at slow speed my cars inspire me. A special and/or rare car will be fun and satisfying even whilst sat in a motorway traffic jam. Something that cannot be said of your average SUV or 'soft roader' etc. Each to their own and all that but I'd loose the will to live (and drive) if I had to drive a soulless SUV any time a bit of practicality was called for.
I also want it to handle with reasonable agility and provide me with feedback as to what it's doing on a routine daily run through the Surrey hills.
And yes, my 540i will haul a large bike without any problems, no need for removing wheels.
RoverP6B said:
I also want it to handle with reasonable agility and provide me with feedback as to what it's doing on a routine daily run through the Surrey hills.
And yes, my 540i will haul a large bike without any problems, no need for removing wheels.
It's great that you like it and that it does so many different jobs that you are reasonably happy with, I wouldn't, but that's just me. I prefer two have 2 cars, one that can do practicality/dependability/low cost and the other that can do track days / Ring trips.And yes, my 540i will haul a large bike without any problems, no need for removing wheels.
I know precisely what an old high mileage 540i can do - it can't do either.
Again different people like different things. Which surely is quite easy to understand.
I've been running E39s for eight years and they've cost me very little money overall, I've had 3 years out of my £595 535i for naff all, OK it needs a gearbox rebuild now, but that car owes me absolutely nothing.
I fully expect the 540i to be similarly reliable - it's had the scary jobs done, it's in fine fettle, and would only be an LSD conversion away from being able to do a bit of track work (although of course it wouldn't be able to keep up with something like a Clio 182, let alone a 911 GT3 or a Radical SR3!), but the idea of track days bores me, so...
The thing is, 20 years ago, BMW made a car that could do bits of everything. There wasn't a duff engine in the range, even the old M52B20 is a lovely thing, if a bit lacking poke. OK, diesels, but even they were all straight sixes. There was an E39 520d in Germany, but it never came to Britain. There are some cars around today which approximate to the same sort of thing, and the RWD estate is an inherently more practical proposition in many respects than an SUV.
I certainly wouldn't have wanted a FWD crossover when I had to load, haul and unload a Miele washing machine weighing 100kg the other day - loading would have been a lot more arduous, and traction would have been distinctly hairy. As it was, the 540i did that job with its usual unfussed assuredness, and the V8 grunt was very welcome for dealing with that weight... OK, you can get a 2.0 turbo four-pot to make the same power as the M62TUB44 with little sacrifice in durability, but you do lose low-end torque as you wait for the turbo to spool.
In terms of space, pace, grace, plus grunt and low CofG, a Tesla Model S estate at sensible money would be an intriguing proposition for many, though I'll stick with my V8...
I fully expect the 540i to be similarly reliable - it's had the scary jobs done, it's in fine fettle, and would only be an LSD conversion away from being able to do a bit of track work (although of course it wouldn't be able to keep up with something like a Clio 182, let alone a 911 GT3 or a Radical SR3!), but the idea of track days bores me, so...
The thing is, 20 years ago, BMW made a car that could do bits of everything. There wasn't a duff engine in the range, even the old M52B20 is a lovely thing, if a bit lacking poke. OK, diesels, but even they were all straight sixes. There was an E39 520d in Germany, but it never came to Britain. There are some cars around today which approximate to the same sort of thing, and the RWD estate is an inherently more practical proposition in many respects than an SUV.
I certainly wouldn't have wanted a FWD crossover when I had to load, haul and unload a Miele washing machine weighing 100kg the other day - loading would have been a lot more arduous, and traction would have been distinctly hairy. As it was, the 540i did that job with its usual unfussed assuredness, and the V8 grunt was very welcome for dealing with that weight... OK, you can get a 2.0 turbo four-pot to make the same power as the M62TUB44 with little sacrifice in durability, but you do lose low-end torque as you wait for the turbo to spool.
In terms of space, pace, grace, plus grunt and low CofG, a Tesla Model S estate at sensible money would be an intriguing proposition for many, though I'll stick with my V8...
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