Stupid ways people compare cars!

pippip

I have seen this all over the net and really don't get why people fixate on it so much when comparing cars. I'm talking about cases like the following:

Audi = VW = Seat = Skoda or
Ford = Jaguar x Type = Volvo S40 or
Saab = Vauxhall

I know they share things like engine and chassis but is this really a case for comparison on such a strong scale. I saw one post the other day "Audi = expensive VW" in a discussion on how Audi's are so overpriced.

I have an 2002 A4 1.8t and see everyone comparing it to a VW passat. When buying it I didn't say to myself well if they're the same I might as well go for the cheaper one! I went for the one I liked the look of. If I drove a Saab and someone said I may as well have bought a Vectra I would seriously laugh at them!

Why do people go by these comparisons? Top Gear got caught once with this. In a past episode Jeremy slags the Saab 95 for being a Vectra but in a previous series when he test drives the Saab 95 he gives is a really good review and says its great car. So why change your mind on a car when you hear it compared to something else?

Unless these cars look identical on the outside, I dont see why they should be compared. I wouldn't drive an Audi and expect the VW or Skoda to be the exact same to drive.

TheRealist

It's just jealously. Lots of people in Ireland just don't like people having nicer things than them, especially cars! Some people just love to try to bring people down, e.g. ; "shur, it's just a Skoda with a different badge...."

MrMojoRisin

Well,if you were to take the VW Passat and an Audi A4,both cars are similar mechanically, though Audi's quality control in Inglostadt is better than VW's in Wolfsburg. Personally,i think Audi has better build quality, and residual values too.

My brother owns an Audi A4 and I recently swapped cars with him for the evening. i found the A4 to be great to look at because its muscular lines and flared wheel arches give it a sporty modern aesthetic. but i also found that the incredible visibility I enjoy in my less than head turning Honda Accord 98-2002 was nowhere to be found in the sportier A4. I only compare the two simply because it is the car that I had swapped for the night.

I can only imagine in a straight shoot out between the A4 and a fighter jet as to which had the more complicated instrumentation panel,the A4 would win hands down! Getting out of the thing was like performing a systems check each and every time, so varied and many were the sheer number of buttons that had to be pressed and prodded to park it (or conversely ignite it as they case may be). id say i was suffering from a little bit of culture shock coming from da confines of my Honda Accord which is anythin but complicated having all its dials and knobs in full view,easy to understand and certainly not suggesting u needed a Phd to qualify to drive it.
In fact, at one point the car prompted on its in dash display that I keep my foot on the brake when not engaging da gears. Thanks buddy,like i never would have guessed that! :rolleyes:
anyway,the A4 has speed to burn and is effortlessly quick in delivering power and really balanced all the while.
The ride in the A4 is added to nicely by the firm feel on the road, i mean this is no Honda Civic lightweight,this is a balanced German road machine made to be driven.
Yet for all the gushing over the cars drivability, I couldn't quite get over the quality (or lack thereof)in the interior finish.
All those buttons having to be pressed for the air conditioning, climate control and the like on the dash had basically been wiped clean of all literature, there were squeaks within the cabin which I swear shouldn't have been audible, with the general interior falling apart or looking more than a little worse for wear.
You might argue that the owner was responsible for the state of this paticular A4, but again comparing it to my Accord, at a full 10 years old, some 6 more at least than the A4 and even taking into consideration that I am a careful owner, it still doesn't add up as to why the interior was in such bad shape.

Now,as for the Passat, no long review to give or comparison to make frm personal experience, as I have never driven rather than sat in one. My impression of the Passat? Def less than glowing is the short answer.
In a nutshell,if you were in the market for a handsome sporty car, wit speed to marvel at, id get the A4. If you want a better built car, look elsewhere but not at a Passat. I dont see how they would compare or why anyone would say theyre alike.But in the Passat's defence and for what its worth, both are essentially made by VW and in my experience tread carefully with their cars. Gorgeous to drive(as was the case with the A4), but a pain to maintain.
Well its back to my beloved Accord for me.

Anan1

pippip wrote: »

I have an 2002 A4 1.8t and see everyone comparing it to a VW passat. When buying it I didn't say to myself well if they're the same I might as well go for the cheaper one! I went for the one I liked the look of.

unkel

I was going to do that

maidhc

pippip wrote: »

Unless these cars look identical on the outside, I dont see why they should be compared. I wouldn't drive an Audi and expect the VW or Skoda to be the exact same to drive.

how about a Seat Exeo?

pippip

maidhc wrote: »

how about a Seat Exeo?

I don't know them that well but they do look good, personally if I had the money for one of them I'b being going for something slightly older but better. I'm not into spending all that money on a brand new car, but thats for another day.

Zube

pippip wrote: »

I don't know them that well but they do look good, personally if I had the money for one of them I'b being going for something slightly older but better. I'm not into spending all that money on a brand new car, but thats for another day.

This has to be a p!ss-take, no?

Lex Luthor

personally I think there is a bigger gulf in quality and class between the Audi & the VW than there is between the VW & Skoda.

Then again, who cares

pippip

Zube wrote: »

This has to be a p!ss-take, no?

I know there based on the A4 all round but your into the comparison of money, which is totally different to my original argument. That is a car you can compare to a certain extent to the OLDER audi's but there's not much point in comparing to the Brand new models, is there?