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The Automotive Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Zyzyxxz
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Just gotta chip in here but the Evoque is an amazing car. Is gorgeous, the quality is really good and it has such a unique styling that the car probably won't "age" really fast. So it will still be a special car even years from now. Can't really go wrong.
See them around here all the time, have become quite popular among bankers in the city.
The GLK has a plasticky interior? At that price? WTF is MB doing?
With those requirements in mind, yeah Evoque seems like the best choice. It's nice looking, and quite capable too, judging by the episode of Top Gear where James May drove one. I think among American brands, Buick makes the classiest looking cars, but the Regal is the only one that's meant to be driver's car, and I don't think it's as nice as it should be. Might be tricky to find one she liked even if she wasn't set against an American car. American luxury tends to be more about brashness.
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
All Benzes below the CLS and S-Class have this ridiculously plastic slabbed center console that just looks disgusting.
LOOK AT THOSE BIG CHROME (GAUDY AS FUCK) VENTS!
Yeah, center stacks seem prone to that. I drove an Escalade Platinum a while back and thought: Well this is actually pretty nice for something based on a Chevy truck, leather everywhere, I like the way they did the wood, comfy seats, more screens than I've seen in a car outside of Pimp My Ride....wait, what the hell! Is that recycled DVD case plastic in the center there or what? I'm not sure they could have made it look much more out of place if they tried.
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Yeah. I understand using plastic. But a lot of other companies go out of their way to mask the harshness with a nice and soft textured layer, which also helps adds a layer of thickness to prevent rattling as well. Benz doesn't do that - you press on the console and you just hear plastic creaking from the stress of your push. I hate that noise so much I cringe every time I hear it.
And btw, those pictures I posted...one of them is a $30K C-Class. And the other is a $52K E-Class. A $22K premium...gets you the same exact center console.
And btw, those pictures I posted...one of them is a $30K C-Class. And the other is a $52K E-Class. A $22K premium...gets you the same exact center console.
I agree with that. I don't so much care about what something is made of if it's not something I'm going to be touching, as long as it at least looks good. Whether I touch it or not, it shouldn't rattle or creak.
With respect to the E-Class vs. C-Class interior, I have mixed feelings. While yes, the E is more expensive, that's mostly because it's bigger. To put it in a different way, if you want a small car, why should you have to sacrifice interior quality? They are both Benzes. Of course this is somewhat of a bad example because of the interior in question. For the purposes of this argument, imagine the E class has a center stack befitting of its price.
I was kind of thinking about this when I drove the Cadillac ATS and sat in the XTS, they have the same exact center stack with the same touchscreen technology. Within the next year or so, all Cadillacs will be like that. With screen-based interfaces, what will differentiate more expensive models from the cheaper ones, as far as all that stuff is concerned? Other than the desire have different interiors to fit the different personalities of each car, which can be done with the rest of the dash, is there even a need? It really will be "same sausage, different lengths."
Granted, smaller cars will always tend to be more driving-oriented than bigger cars, and larger cars more comfort-focused (Heated rear seats wouldn't make much sense in a 1-series).
While I'm sure the Evoque is a nice car (truck?), to me it looks like a roided up Ford Edge. The exterior seems to lack some of that class that I normally associate with Range Rover.
The AWD X series look a little classier and more interesting to me and at the Evoque price point you're really talking about X3 or X5 territory in terms of price. Still, whatever makes mom happy is probably worth it. And yeah, the Volvo is probably a smarter choice than either of the 'activity vehicles" from BMW or RR. Good luck with the search.
The AWD X series look a little classier and more interesting to me and at the Evoque price point you're really talking about X3 or X5 territory in terms of price. Still, whatever makes mom happy is probably worth it. And yeah, the Volvo is probably a smarter choice than either of the 'activity vehicles" from BMW or RR. Good luck with the search.
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
A roided up Ford Edge?
I don't think you've ever seen an Evoque in person, duder. They're tiny little things.
It's a roided up Ford Smax with the 2.0 ecoboost engine from the edge and escape and others in the ford lineup.
33-Hit-Combo
Member
lolwot?
Has got that 2.0l petrol though, which in it's full state of tune is pretty good. 0-60 in 7 seconds.
Reminds me more of a sculpted Ford Kuga, in aesthetics.
Uses the same platform as that S-max people carrier. Still don't see a reason to buy an Évoque over a X3 at that price level.
Lagspike_exe
Member
There are people (mostly women) who buy cars exclusively based on looks. French car companies wouldn't exist otherwise.
33-Hit-Combo
Member
For some reason I thought you were talking about the way it looks, whoops.
Skel1ingt0n
I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Yesterday I finally had a chance to hit the car wash and spend a few hours detailing my car. I still had quite a bit of goodies; but what is it about a new ride that makes you want new cleaning goodies?
Anyway, it's no Evoque or Escalade or Mercedes ;p But I think it cleaned up nice:
A week of driving, and I'm really liking it. It's quite a bit different than my Grand Prix, and it's not the Camaro or Challenger I was toying with; so I'm still getting used to it. The ride is quite a bit more comfortable, which is nice - but that's something my passengers will care more about than I do. It's nice and roomy - I love that for about 80% of things now, I won't need to ask to borrow a friend or family member's truck. The high clearance is really nice; in early morning traffic it's really nice no longer having to hope the car in front of you is paying attention, as I can now see past them. Heated seats are really nice, though such an unnecessary luxury. It has the premium Infinity sound system with sub in the back - for OEM, it sounds pretty damn decent and has a fair amount of punch on the low end. It's actually surprisingly easy to park - after a full wheel rotation, it starts cutting closer as I assume it knows you're parking, which makes tight, slow turns much easier.
Someone earlier asked if it was the 3.7 or 4.0. Unfortunately, it's the 3.7 tied to a 4 speed. Considering I was looking at a six speed manual on other cars - yeah, it's pretty bad. It does occasionally have one of those "long shifts", and floor it and it takes a good second or two for it to rev all the way up and drop a gear. But for generally cruising, it's perfectly serviceable - and so long as it doesn't give me any problems, I'm happy.
Gas mileage is actually not *as* awful as I expected. I averaged 19.7 miles on my first tank, and am averaging 19.8 currently on my second tank. That's about 70% highway, and 30% city. Not great - but damn, my Grand Prix rarely exceeded about 20 mpg, anyway. I think this should be about the same. And the tank is the same size - 17 gallons - so it doesn't feel too much more painful at the pump.
Anyway, those are my impressions after a little less than a week. Hope it treats me well for a while.
Oh, and I love the paint color - my buddy called it "Original Xbox Green" and that's a really good way to describe it. It's dark, and at first sight most people assume it's black. But in bright sunlight, it's very obviously green. And I feel it's a color that could only be pulled off on a Jeep.
Anyway, it's no Evoque or Escalade or Mercedes ;p But I think it cleaned up nice:
A week of driving, and I'm really liking it. It's quite a bit different than my Grand Prix, and it's not the Camaro or Challenger I was toying with; so I'm still getting used to it. The ride is quite a bit more comfortable, which is nice - but that's something my passengers will care more about than I do. It's nice and roomy - I love that for about 80% of things now, I won't need to ask to borrow a friend or family member's truck. The high clearance is really nice; in early morning traffic it's really nice no longer having to hope the car in front of you is paying attention, as I can now see past them. Heated seats are really nice, though such an unnecessary luxury. It has the premium Infinity sound system with sub in the back - for OEM, it sounds pretty damn decent and has a fair amount of punch on the low end. It's actually surprisingly easy to park - after a full wheel rotation, it starts cutting closer as I assume it knows you're parking, which makes tight, slow turns much easier.
Someone earlier asked if it was the 3.7 or 4.0. Unfortunately, it's the 3.7 tied to a 4 speed. Considering I was looking at a six speed manual on other cars - yeah, it's pretty bad. It does occasionally have one of those "long shifts", and floor it and it takes a good second or two for it to rev all the way up and drop a gear. But for generally cruising, it's perfectly serviceable - and so long as it doesn't give me any problems, I'm happy.
Gas mileage is actually not *as* awful as I expected. I averaged 19.7 miles on my first tank, and am averaging 19.8 currently on my second tank. That's about 70% highway, and 30% city. Not great - but damn, my Grand Prix rarely exceeded about 20 mpg, anyway. I think this should be about the same. And the tank is the same size - 17 gallons - so it doesn't feel too much more painful at the pump.
Anyway, those are my impressions after a little less than a week. Hope it treats me well for a while.
Oh, and I love the paint color - my buddy called it "Original Xbox Green" and that's a really good way to describe it. It's dark, and at first sight most people assume it's black. But in bright sunlight, it's very obviously green. And I feel it's a color that could only be pulled off on a Jeep.
Congrats and enjoy it ;-)
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Looks almost British Racing Green to me.
Circle T
Member
It was car wash time for me as well yesterday. With winter quickly approaching, I wanted to get one last good, full wash in, and get her all protected for the impending elements. Spent almost 8 hours giving her the full "wash-clay-pollish-seal-wax" treatment, plus a full clean of the interior. Hard to see in the pic, as white doesn't show shine that well (and it was overcast), but it turned out really well. Even washing frequently, it's still amazing how much crap you pull from the paint when using clay bars. So satisfying, after a long day of cleaning, to run your hand over perfectly smooth, clean paint, with no crud embedded in it.
Next objective is to find a decent set of standard Z wheels to put some snow tires on. The stock "Track" wheels are in really good condition (for being 10yrs old), so I'd like to keep them that way. I don't plan on driving much, if at all, when it snows, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Next objective is to find a decent set of standard Z wheels to put some snow tires on. The stock "Track" wheels are in really good condition (for being 10yrs old), so I'd like to keep them that way. I don't plan on driving much, if at all, when it snows, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Skel1ingt0n
I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
^^^ Whew... eight hours? Dang. I clean my vehicle about once a week - takes me about an hour. And about three or four times a year, I do a "deep clean" but I'm lazy and it only takes me four hours or so. That usually involves a full-body claying and the easy seal/wax combo stuff. Does a good enough job, it seems - and creates a nice, sealed, smooth finish.
That said, I'm sure your paint job has to look freaking beautiful in person.
***
Anyone have any input on snow tires? Since my new ride is only RWD, I'm looking into maybe getting a set of four tires for the winter. It seems if I hunt real hard I should be able to snag a set of Blizzacks (sp?) for about $600. But I'm debating on spending more and getting something studded - how awful is the road noise, and does it really make a big difference? Comments in general?
That said, I'm sure your paint job has to look freaking beautiful in person.
***
Anyone have any input on snow tires? Since my new ride is only RWD, I'm looking into maybe getting a set of four tires for the winter. It seems if I hunt real hard I should be able to snag a set of Blizzacks (sp?) for about $600. But I'm debating on spending more and getting something studded - how awful is the road noise, and does it really make a big difference? Comments in general?
Circle T
Member
^^^ Whew... eight hours? Dang. I clean my vehicle about once a week - takes me about an hour. And about three or four times a year, I do a "deep clean" but I'm lazy and it only takes me four hours or so. That usually involves a full-body claying and the easy seal/wax combo stuff. Does a good enough job, it seems - and creates a nice, sealed, smooth finish.
That said, I'm sure your paint job has to look freaking beautiful in person.
Well, I had all day with nothing else to do, so this was 8 hours at about 50% speed. Case in point, just the wash took almost an hour. I like to take my time with this stuff, and make sure I get everything just right. Plus, it's kind of nice and cathartic to spend time doing this.
And yea, other than being 10yrs old, and having the requisite minor dings/nicks/scratches, the car looks great. Overall, the paint is still in really nice shape. Pike's Peak White looks like just bright white in pics, but it has a lot of pearl in it, and it really shimmers at times. It looks really nice when the light hits it just right. I really like it.
Nice jeep! I had zero interest in Jeeps or SUVs in general until my parents bought a Jeep Commander as the vehicle for our summer "everyone gets together" home. After a winter of driving it around while finishing my Masters, I had a hard time going back to a sporty coupe. The feeling of being able to go anywhere and do anything is extremely satisfying. Every 5 seconds I'd be thinking "hmmm I bet I could drive over/through that" and fighting the urge to just go barreling up some embankment and through a rough field.
Studded is only of some use on ice, in other conditions, it's marginal benefit and sometimes increases stopping distance.
Consider the Continental ExtremeWinterContact and Michelin X-Ice Xi3 for studless.
David Incorporated Esq.
Member
I'm digging those wheels, any better shots of 'em specifically?
Thoughts on this guy? I've always liked the A5 and I'm loving the look of the four door "sportback" version, which isn't even available in North America. There are some good deals to be had on this thing with relatively low miles and lots of features. Anyone driven one? Does it offer anything over an A4?
One reason to hate black wheels, they are hard to capture in a picture. Doesn't help I used a phone camera in a low light environment. Anyways, they are Bremmer Kraft BR05.
One reason to hate black wheels, they are hard to capture in a picture. Doesn't help I used a phone camera in a low light environment. Anyways, they are Bremmer Kraft BR05.
BBS replicas?
BrokenEchelon
Banned
Thoughts on this guy? I've always liked the A5 and I'm loving the look of the four door "sportback" version, which isn't even available in North America. There are some good deals to be had on this thing with relatively low miles and lots of features. Anyone driven one? Does it offer anything over an A4?
Mad fucking style. One of the most beautiful cars ever made. The rear seats suffer due to the "four door coupe" design, but I think that's usually the only knock against the car. You'd essentially be buying a less utilitarian A6.
Slayer-33
Liverpool-2
I love the 350z very very much.
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Because you are a scholar and fine man.
David Incorporated Esq.
Member
I likes 'em. Nice looking package you have there.
VQ <3
My car looks like hell after the Hurricane. I was going to give it a full wash/detail this week but now that seems pointless with the snow storm starting tonight. :/
I guess you skipped my text?
Anyways, here's a better shot in the day time.
No sir, I didn't - but if someone tells me 'They're Rota Grids', I'll know they're Volk TE-37 replicas.
Just asking because they look exactly like BBS CH-Rs.
Still a good idea to wash the crap off - don't need to go hardcore, but a bit of soap and power wash can't hurt.
BTW: this is how I drove in to work this morning. :\
Good luck! Make sure to get steering wheel and pedal locks, a kill switch and an alarm. Integras are some of the easiest cars to steal.
It has a 2-way alarm already, but if i buy it I plan on adding security measures for peace of mind. Integra theft in my local area isn't like it is in some parts of the states but those will still be on the top of my to do list.
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
Jaguar F-Type announced to have a 6-speed manual.
Jaguar F-Type announced to have a 6-speed manual.
It's over.
Last Gen coupe was the nicest Accord in my opinion. I don't like the tail lights on the new one. They look like a Genesis sedan.
33-Hit-Combo
Member
Hopefully it loses a ton of weight. Base model currently weighs 1600 kg!
New A6 is a far, far nicer interior though and I actually think looks better, at least from the front anyway.
Edit: Miscalculated. Yeah, 3500lbs is a bit heavy, but that's the convertible which I don't care about. Waiting on the coupe, which should be plenty lighter. If the coupe is around 3200-3300lbs, then that's a win in my book.
33-Hit-Combo
Member
Hope so, but I don't imagine the savings to be huge given that the conv. has a fabric roof.
It will be a big weight saving, no doubt. For example...
911 Coupe: 3075lbs
911 Cabriolet: 3260lbs
S5 Coupe: 3858lbs
S5 Cabriolet: 4310lbs (!!!)
XKR Coupe: 3968lbs
XKR Convertible: 4079lbs
So, it's anywhere from 100-400lbs of weight savings depending on the car. Those are also all fabric roofs.
My guess (hope) is 3300-3400lbs for the V8 + manual. Which would make it plenty light for me.
33-Hit-Combo
Member
I don't get how it's so heavy in the first place!
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