Makes with most extras

delux

What makes of car usually come with the most extras like parking sensors, cruise control, heated mirrors etc..?
And not in the high end (Lexus, Audi etc.)

sebastianlieken

I hear that Hyundai are pretty good these days. the i30 and i40 seem to have amazing interiors with lots of bells and whistles as standard.

CharlieCroker

I would've said Hyundai/KIA as well.
Honda tend to have good spec as well as do Ford once you don't go for the base model

MuppetCheck

Skoda (I know) seem to be using them to lure buyers in.

coylemj

Marques that are outside the mainstream tend to get more goodies than the established models. The more reliable a model is perceived (e.g. Golf) and the lower it's depreciation (e.g. BMW 3-series), the less goodies will be in it.

It's mostly down to the local importer (distributor), they tweak the specs. based on what they can get away with i.e. they will include very little in the way of extras if they think there is a demand and they don't need to throw away profits with goodies.

It's partly the fault of the consumer, most people look at list prices when comparing models and don't make any adjustment for spec.

In the days of the Celtic Tiger I think you'll find that 3-series BMW came with feck all extras, I recall doing a test drive and being amazed at how little spec. there was - windup windows FFS!

CharlieCroker

Sure, Merc only offered a radio as standard in the mid 90's!!!

TURRICAN

Any Japanese import car

MuppetCheck

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Sure, Merc only offered a radio as standard in the mid 90's!!!

Sure some of the brands mentioned above weren't even available here then!

colm_mcm

It depends.

A high spec version of a lowly model will often have more spec than a base spec premium model.

For standard high spec and low price, the French and Koreans do it well.

CharlieCroker

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Sure some of the brands mentioned above weren't even available here then!

Ah they were, they were just woeful!!

Leonard Hofstadter

Toyota have got to be the masters of poverty spec Paddy spec cars.

Imagine, we're about to enter 2013, and the Auris and Corolla STILL don't have either air conditioning or stability and traction control as standard!

The Yaris is available with three specs. I can live with the bottom spec in a supermini not having a/c but the Luna model doesn't have a/c either and obviously it should! It doesn't have alloys either, which you'd expect in a mid-spec supermini.

The Avensis still has keep fit windows in the back and you have to go up two trims before you get climate control and lose the keep fit windows. The poverty spec Avensis still doesn't have alloys either.

colm_mcm

captainspeed wrote: »

The Avensis still has keep fit windows in the back and you have to go up two trims before you get climate control and lose the keep fit windows. The poverty spec Avensis still doesn't have alloys either.

Surely nobody would buy such a car. I must email Toyota Ireland and tell them to stop bringing in base models.
They might respond by saying that their most popular trim levels are the basic ones.
Don't know what I'd say if they told me that though..

Bpmull

Elegance spec Octavia still very cheap has parking sensors, ac, dual climate control, maxi dot display, walnut, built in sat uk Ireland, USB, auto wippers, sd slot, cruise control, alloys, drls, fog lights, auto dimming mirror, heated mirrors, electric windows mirrors, cant think of the rest. A lot on a 21k euro car I think. Hyundais have a high enough standard spec too.

bazz26

Models coming to the end of their life usually are kitted out to boost sales, the Octavia as mentioned above being a good example. I bet next year's new model will not be as generously speced as standard. The Ford Focus is another example, the last model was welled speced towards the end of it's life whereas you have to go up to the mid spec model to even get a multi-function steering wheel or bluetooth.

Overall though cars have better standard equipment these days than they had say 10 or 15 years ago.

R.O.R

Bpmull wrote: »

Elegance spec Octavia still very cheap has parking sensors, ac, dual climate control, maxi dot display, walnut, built in sat uk Ireland, USB, auto wippers, sd slot, cruise control, alloys, drls, fog lights, auto dimming mirror, heated mirrors, electric windows mirrors, cant think of the rest. A lot on a 21k euro car I think. Hyundais have a high enough standard spec too.

Sat Nav has never been standard on the Octavia Elegance. There was a period in 2011 when Skoda were offering the Columbus Nav for free (mainly because of supply problems on the standard units), but that was across the whole range - actually means a smaller screen than you would normally get in the Elegance.

Also - Elegance has now gone. Few models left in stock, but it's now been replaced by the Exclusive version (which does have Sat Nav as standard) which is cheaper than the outgoing Elegance spec. Long live high spec run out models!

September1

There is also group of cars of various regular makes that are fake premium, and they would usually come with plenty of toys. There was time when somehow it was assumed that premium hatchback with low-end badge would be great idea and Opel/Vauxhall Signum or Renault Vel Satis were born. There were also some attempts at premium by Citroen (C6 for example), Daewoo Chairman (not sure if LHD existed) and even VW tried with Phaeton - which was initially a total failure, but then people realized that you can have a Bentley without being ostentatious, for example high official use those people cars in socialistic paradise in North Korea. In general the rule would be the higher aspiration of car, the better basic spec.

Anan1

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Sure, Merc only offered a radio as standard in the mid 90's!!!

They didn't even, the radios were fitted on arrival by MDL! The 1991 230E came as standard with a four speed manual gearbox for the domestic market.

colm_mcm

The phateon may not have sold much, but as a halo car to sell passats and jettas and push brand perception higher it did great job

Joe 90

Anan1 wrote: »

They didn't even, the radios were fitted on arrival by MDL! The 1991 230E came as standard with a four speed manual gearbox for the domestic market.

I suppose that was in a way an improvement. There was a period when you could not get a Merc of over 2 liters with anything other than an automatic, at least in the UK and so I would imagine Ireland would have been the same. I suppose that in Ireland it would not have nattered, no one would have bought one over 2 liters. My father at least whic explains why I hate Mercs.