Sports or Luxury? (1 Viewer)

[seremify007]

I'm inclined to also think that even though the features trickle down to the cheaper models, there will always be demand for something 'different' or 'exclusive'; and not necessarily just for the social status. In recent times though, the big brands have been forced to just up the performance factor to give their cars an extra selling point of differentiation.

 

[S1M0]

True that.

S class for instance, first mass produced car to be fitted with airbags. First factory produced car to be fitted with (abs) brakes, etc.

This does add to the social status, as exclusivity and status goes hand in hand, in certain aspects.

 

[seremify007]

True that.

S class for instance, first mass produced car to be fitted with airbags. First factory produced car to be fitted with (abs) brakes, etc.

This does add to the social status, as exclusivity and status goes hand in hand, in certain aspects.

True.. but S Class... some of their new innovations seem a bit.. gimmicky. I'm sure the night vision and pre-crash sensor are great, but I wonder if they will work in real world conditions beyond the normal roads. Hate to think what would happen if people became reliant on them and one day they failed...

On the note of S class.. even an old one (we have a W140 from '98/99) still is extremely luxurious compared to say a modern day base model E class or 5 series. It seems that there's not much wood now, with much more focus on grey/silverish plastics... not really fond of those except in the sporty cars IMO. I like the gemoetric cube pattern in the 330Ci, but would not appreciate it if it appeared in a 5 series.

 

[S1M0]

True.. but S Class... some of their new innovations seem a bit.. gimmicky. I'm sure the night vision and pre-crash sensor are great, but I wonder if they will work in real world conditions beyond the normal roads. Hate to think what would happen if people became reliant on them and one day they failed...

On the note of S class.. even an old one (we have a W140 from '98/99) still is extremely luxurious compared to say a modern day base model E class or 5 series. It seems that there's not much wood now, with much more focus on grey/silverish plastics... not really fond of those except in the sporty cars IMO. I like the gemoetric cube pattern in the 330Ci, but would not appreciate it if it appeared in a 5 series.

You've also forgotten on what i believe to be the best factor on the new S class: Voice Activation. Which is really cool, as opposed to pushing buttons on the dashboard. I think that was the S class' exclusive new feature, as they always try to make a "world first production car with..." feature to it. However, i'm not 100% sure.

And when you say "real world conditions beyond the normal roads", what exactly do you mean by that? Scenario might help.

But yeah, if they did fail, it'll obviousally look really bad for mercedes, and that could damage its reputation. Something which is cannot afford to damage in any way whatsoever.

 

[Riet]

Alot of luxury cars you are purely paying for the brand name. The IS250 is WAY better value than an equally spec'd 3 series or C Class yet people still buy the germans. Just like people pay more for Ferraris and Porsches even though a Corvette with a pushrod V8 can get the job done better for half the price

 

[bos1234]

u dont need luxury as long as you have adequate food/shelter/water/warmth and a comfortable bed with a pillow

so its sport for me

 

[S1M0]

u dont need luxury as long as you have adequate food/shelter/water/warmth and a comfortable bed with a pillow

so its sport for me

Sport can often be at the expense of any comfort, but in my opinion both luxury and sports are both good apsects to have in a car.

Lets take the evo for instance, its got phenominal handling, but you'll be shaking throughout the whole trip on Sydney roads.

 

[seremify007]

You've also forgotten on what i believe to be the best factor on the new S class: Voice Activation. Which is really cool, as opposed to pushing buttons on the dashboard. I think that was the S class' exclusive new feature, as they always try to make a "world first production car with..." feature to it. However, i'm not 100% sure.

I'm pretty sure it was in the old S class... i remember jeremy clarkson doing a review of it- with his proper british english screwing it up, I can only imagine what our chinese-english accent will do. I'm quite used to BMW's iDrive now (we have it in 3 of our cars; both the old and new versions) and it's not too bad once you get the hang of it.

And when you say "real world conditions beyond the normal roads", what exactly do you mean by that? Scenario might help.

Hmm... one example of a Merc which wasn't well engineered (in our opinion) is the CL55. In malaysia, the roads aren't exactly like they are here.. there's alot of gravel, uneven surfaces, edges/bumps, etc... as a result, the CL55 had a problem where after long driving, the glass on the rear left window started to crack... and crack more... even when we replaced it, it started cracking again. Talking to the engineers they said it was a flaw in the design or something which made it unsuitable for our roads. As a result, the CL55 sits in our carpark most of the time.. unused.

Should be noted that since this thread is becoming about the S class... we haven't had any problems with the W140. It looks very outdated though but still impressive.

I can think of a BMW of equally bad fortune though... one of our 740s had it's sunroof glass panel come off when we were driving on the highway. Unbelievable right? I have NFI how it happened but my uncle (who was the one driving when it happened) said he was only doing about 240ish and it came off.


EDIT: I guess it's a bit unfair to the Germans to compare their cars on the roads back in Malaysia... after all, we do live in areas with unsealed roads, dirt tracks, and very... poor conditions which I doubt they even can imagine over there in the design house...

 

[joolee]

asleast we have that good lookin bmw service car =P

 

[bos1234]

Sport can often be at the expense of any comfort, but in my opinion both luxury and sports are both good apsects to have in a car.

Lets take the evo for instance, its got phenominal handling, but you'll be shaking throughout the whole trip on Sydney roads.

what is this thread about?

I though sports as in the activity or luxury as in comfort..
Would you rather play sport or live in luxury

i didnt know we were talking about cars here

 

[joolee]

in case you still haven't realised, this thread is in Bored of Studies > General > Hobbies, Interests & Social Activities > Cars and Automobiles
therefore, sports or luxury refers to sports car / luxury car =)

 

[bos1234]

oh.. in that case i would say sports because u'd want to get from A to B in the quickest time possible

 

[vorahk]

sports- luxury: is300, C class coupe, M3

 

[lengy]

IS-F you mean.

 

[seremify007]

I don't really like the C Class Coupe- it looks kinda... half-assed. At least the CLK is hot; and that is comparable to the 3 series coupe in apperance (but maybe not in price).

I'm just trying to do a quick comparo between the Germans;
C class coupe vs. 3 series coupe
SLK vs. Z4
CLK vs. eries (not sure about this since a 6 series is alot more exp)
CL vs. M6? (both equally hot)
SL vs. Z8 (doesn't count since Z8 not avail here)
CLS vs. 8 series (doesn't count since no new 8 series yet)

 

[sanjeevprasad99]

ferrari enzo.....IMMA GET ONE!!!!

 

[sinist4]

haha sports lux FTW ... i love my liberty

 

[veterandoggy]

riced sports.

you should have added that to the poll >.>