What cars are out today that people will desire in 15-20 years time? I don't see many

MTBD

I've been thinking a lot recently about what cars are available that really set my pulse going. I'm not talking about hypercars or even C63s or M4s etc but relatively affordable cars. There seems to be very little choice out there. Everything fast is a four cylinder turbo or else diesel. Not a huge amount of truly great looking cars out there either. Although I wouldnt care if they were all ugly if they were at least a little mechanically exciting/interesting.

In 1999 you could have had:

Alfa 156 V6
BMW 328i
Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo
Honda Civic Type R
Mitsubishi Galant VR4
Subaru Impreza WRX
VW Golf VR5/6
Peugeot 406 Coupe
Volvo s40 T4
Opel Omega V6 (if you are so inclined)

All of those cars have completely different performance characteristics. I found most of them desirable then and I would consider all of them now. None of them were perfect but all of them were quite interesting/exciting in their own way. There is everything in there from 4cyl turbos, to N/A inline 6s to twin turbo v6s to Flat 4. Of course being stingy Irish people we bought hardly any of them but they were available and they were reasonably priced.

I recently bought a car on that list and I actually cannot stop smiling when I drive it as the engine sound is so glorious and free revving. I just cannot see a car out there at the moment that offers anything like that. As far as i'm concerned its an all time low in terms of reasonably priced desireable cars. I'm not saying there arent some very impressive and fast cars out there but they are all following a formula that is very boring. Engine sound is a thing of the past. Even Porsche are doing away with 6 cylinder Boxsters.

Am I wrong? I just dont see me looking at any car out now in 15 years and thinking "That's nice and cheap, I'll buy it for the craic"

edit: some people missing the point a bit **What, non outrageous money, cars currently on sale will be desirable in 15 years and looked at as a petrol heads wet dream**

tossy

Opel omegas,V5 golfs, 406 coupes weren't describable in 1999 lol

There are plenty of cars out today that will be desirable in 15 years time.

S3
Golf R
Golf GTI/ED 30/35
Focus ST
Focus RS
most of the type R's

Mister Jingles

Mondeo st220
Focus ST 2.5
S60 T5
Most 6 pot petrol BMW's
Omega V6 and maybe the Vectra as well ( I emphasise maybe)
Mk5 gti Golf if not all destroyed/ruined

There's probably more but I can't think of them right now but there the few that I'd like to seen as been desired in many years to come.

What is interesting is to see what cars today will go for mad money like the mk2 escorts or sapphire cosworths etc in years to come.

MTBD

tossy wrote: »

Opel omegas,V5 golfs, 406 coupes weren't describable in 1999 lol

There are plenty of cars out today that will be desirable in 15 years time.

S3
Golf R
Golf GTI/ED 30/35
Focus ST
Focus RS
most of the type R's

So, in order you have listed:
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo (identical engine with bigger turbo)
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo (identical engine with smaller turbo)
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo
2.3 litre 4cyl Turbo
2.0 litre 4cyl Turbo (yes, even Honda have gone down this path)

I'm still not quite convinced...:P Other than preferring the shape/look of one over the other why would anyone desire these in 15 years? They all deliver power the same way, they all handle much the same, the VAGs all look the same! They all have basically the same features. Do people really want cars that are all the same?

I think a 406 coupe with a V6 is one of the nicest cars of the 1990s. No golf appeals to me but at least having a 5/6 cylinder made them interesting.

tossy

MTBD wrote: »

So, in order you have listed:
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo (identical engine with bigger turbo)
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo (identical engine with smaller turbo)
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo
2.3 litre 4cyl Turbo
2.0 litre 4cyl Turbo (yes, even Honda have gone down this path)

I'm still not quite convinced...:P Other than preferring the shape/look of one over the other why would anyone desire these in 15 years? They all deliver power the same way, they all handle much the same, the VAGs all look the same! They all have basically the same features. Do people really want cars that are all the same?

I think a 406 coupe with a V6 is one of the nicest cars of the 1990s. No golf appeals to me but at least having a 5/6 cylinder made them interesting.

GOlf R and S3 are the same engine/turbo/drive train.

Daaryl

One car that will be deffo desirable would be a Evo X I'd say

Brasso

Yeah most affordable performance stuff today has an I4 engine with a turbo, but in 15-20 years most cars will probably be 2 or 3 cylinder hybrids or something, so you might look back on the 4cyls with the same fondness you now have for V6s etc.
If we're talking new cars you can buy today I like the BMW 228i coupe, with a manual would be nice (yeah another 2 litre turbo 4). If you want a more unique engine layout there is the GT-86, 2 litre flat 4. Then there's the current twingo/smart forfour, rear engined 3cyl with rwd. When they make R's and brabus performance variants they will be pretty cool and unique cars. The new mx-5 is also out soon, a 1.5 naturally aspirated engine I think.

Chris_Heilong

350Z
S2000
GT86

This would be my choice of normal everyday cars.

Notch000

the question should really be what car would be capable of starting up after lying under covers for 15 years & still be desirable


MX-5 / Thread

A lot of car listed above are highly strung maintenance heavy and might not last the test of time, look at what classics people drive now, e.g beetles, mg midgts, morris minors 2Cvs etc, cheap, simple diy, no fuss driving, uber reliables

Modern cars are getting more powerful all the time & thats not going to so desirable , when every other car is just as fast,

IMO you'd be better off to mothballing something like a clean micra or starlet and pulling it out and scooting round and remembering the good times ,

and then everyone would be like ahh sweet a micra, I used to have one of those back in the day in collage and it was a total POS ..........

I have a 306 GTI than im going to sit on for the near future and pull it out as a every daily classic when it comes of age

Brasso

I was watching a Q&A with Autoexpress journalist Mat Watson the other day and he reckons the Citroën C4 Cactus could achieve classic status. I agree and think it's a funky car but we'll have to see how many they sell. I'd see it more as a classic in the style of what an old 2CV is today, fun to drive and be in, but not because of performance.

darragh o meara

Ford Focus RS mk1 3500 made and a good few crashed or scrapped.

Ford Puma racing even fewer made..

Opel Calibra turbo

Peugeot 306 Gti6

Subaru Impreza Sti getting thin on the ground now..

Toyota Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz

Mitsubishi Lance EVO 6 Makkinen edition

Stick a good example of one of these in a shed and keep it a few years and it'll be worth a few bob.

Foxhole Norman

I can see 135i's/235i's being very desirable in a few years, 135i's especially.

Notch000

e36 BMWs , the looks are only getting better with age

Pov06

BMW E39

MTBD

Notch000 wrote: »

e36 BMWs , the looks are only getting better with age

BMW E39

350Z
S2000

I think people are kinda missing my point a bit here. I'm talking about cars that are for sale right now that people will want in 15 years. I'm not talking about cars that are already desirable to car fans.

Pov06

MTBD wrote: »

I think people are kinda missing my point a bit here. I'm talking about cars that are for sale right now that people will want in 15 years. I'm not talking about cars that are already desirable to car fans.

Any car that is not already desirable will probably not be desirable by petrol heads until it goes ancient ancient which will be when any car is desirable of that age.

MTBD

Pov06 wrote: »

Any car that is not already desirable will probably not be desirable by petrol heads until it goes ancient ancient which will be when any car is desirable of that age.

Well thats quite true and I dont want to labour the 15 year thing but I guess I'm just trying to make the point that real car people will still lust after those cars years later because they were special at the time. Not one of those fast cars like the Golf R, S3 etc strikes me as interesting other than the fact they are fast.

bazz26

There are little or no cars like on the original list that have been sold here in the last number of years. Outside of Golf GTi, Golf R or the odd Audi S or BMW M models nearly everything sold here in the last 7 or 8 years has been a low tax diesel car. Even back in the day any of those cars on the original list would not have sold in decent numbers over here simply because they were too expensive to buy or run for most folks.

hytrogen

darragh o meara wrote: »

Ford Focus RS mk1 3500 made and a good few crashed or scrapped.

Ford Puma racing even fewer made..

Opel Calibra turbo

Peugeot 306 Gti6

Subaru Impreza Sti getting thin on the ground now..

Toyota Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz

Mitsubishi Lance EVO 6 Makkinen edition

Stick a good example of one of these in a shed and keep it a few years and it'll be worth a few bob.

Yeah because lads are wrapping themselves around trees & diving into ditches up in Donegal thinking they're Colin McRae (RIP)
Sadly!

hytrogen

Everyone seems to be glued on Jap tin cans where as look at an Audi, same sleek design as they were 10 or 15 years ago & what's coming down the line? The exact same with a few more 'artistic' pencil lines thrown in.and stupid eco-drive german efficiency.. same with bmw sadly. There's no imagination, no creativity in design anymore.
IMAO a Jaguar is probably your best bet of a car that will stay true to being a petrol head car and none of this eco-drive crap or engines turning off at lights to save a few cents in ze fuel ja.
I would also consider the Nissan GTR, again like the Jag, next level up to the Focus or Golf classes but it's a masterpiece and in the UK, where the actually have a practicle value on cars & spend on top end spec unlike in Ireland, it came in at an affordable saloon price.

Mister Jingles

Saying that 4 cylinder turbos would never appeal to you kind of leaves you with very little opition then. That's what most if nearly all sub 50k performance are today.

For Forks Sake

MTBD wrote: »

I think people are kinda missing my point a bit here. I'm talking about cars that are for sale right now that people will want in 15 years. I'm not talking about cars that are already desirable to car fans.

BMW i8

Nissan GT-R

darragh o meara

For Forks Sake wrote: »

BMW i8

Nissan GT-R

It'd be interesting to see how the i8 will age, in 15 years battery technology will have come on a lot and the current battery tech may be obsolete.

Voodoomelon

I doubt the i8 will be desirable in 15-20 years time. Can you imagine how much better electric offerings will be then? Perhaps as "the first attempt" bragging rights, its novelty will be well and truly overshadowed.

Gavman84

MTBD wrote: »

So, in order you have listed:
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo (identical engine with bigger turbo)
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo (identical engine with smaller turbo)
2.0 liter 4cyl Turbo
2.3 litre 4cyl Turbo
2.0 litre 4cyl Turbo (yes, even Honda have gone down this path)

I'm still not quite convinced...:P Other than preferring the shape/look of one over the other why would anyone desire these in 15 years? They all deliver power the same way, they all handle much the same, the VAGs all look the same! They all have basically the same features. Do people really want cars that are all the same?

I think a 406 coupe with a V6 is one of the nicest cars of the 1990s. No golf appeals to me but at least having a 5/6 cylinder made them interesting.

I think he was referring to the 2.5 Focus ST and RS which are 5 cylinder engines.

wendell borton

BMW 1 series Ci

MTBD

LIGHTNING wrote: »

GT86
RCZ
C63 AMG
Porsche 918

The rcz is a good shout (although its still another turbo 4cyl or diesel) as is the gt86. The other two are well out of the reach of normal people and will always be.

shabbyalonso

For what it's worth, I reckon the BMW 640 gran coupe will be as desirable in the future as it is now only it shall be attainable for more people than it is now!!!

Lellostag

I think the Fiat 500 will be a rather desirable little car. Mind you the 500L is quite an ugly duckling, but it makes the 500 look even prettier!

For Forks Sake

darragh o meara wrote: »

It'd be interesting to see how the i8 will age, in 15 years battery technology will have come on a lot and the current battery tech may be obsolete.

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I doubt the i8 will be desirable in 15-20 years time. Can you imagine how much better electric offerings will be then? Perhaps as "the first attempt" bragging rights, its novelty will be well and truly overshadowed.

I listed it purely from a design perspective rather than the technology, which will inevitably have moved far along in the next decade.

selectamatic

darragh o meara wrote: »

Ford Focus RS mk1 3500 made and a good few crashed or scrapped.

Ford Puma racing even fewer made..

Opel Calibra turbo

Peugeot 306 Gti6

Subaru Impreza Sti getting thin on the ground now..

Toyota Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz

Mitsubishi Lance EVO 6 Makkinen edition

Stick a good example of one of these in a shed and keep it a few years and it'll be worth a few bob.

With the majority of these the boat has been missed and they are already commanding very high prices so I would say that to have them referred to as future desirable cars is a bit of stretch to say the least! tommi makinen evo's are already major money :eek: The two fords are more affordable but that said proper 150bhp puma's are super rare at this stage. Proper clean STI's are big money too so perhaps a wrx would be more suited to the term future desirable.

Also in relation to another post in the thread I wouldn't lay the blame on the Irish people for not being the best up takers on desirable cars as the Irish motor tax system makes owning such cars an economic nightmare!

AMKC

Nissan Skyline
Juke Nismo and any other Nismo,s never know might become desirable.
Toyota GT-86 and Suburu BRZ
Renault Megane RS 265 and 275.
DS 3 and DS 5 more for there looks than there engines do.

Eric Cartman

The current jag xfr
The last model chrysler 300c
The 2004-08 bmw 6 series
Gt86
The rhd mustang

I reckon people will want to keep those as classics eventually.

challengemaster

M4 Coupé... It's a beauty now, it'll definitely be sought after.

JohnBoy26

Notch000 wrote: »

the question should really be what car would be capable of starting up after lying under covers for 15 years & still be desirable


MX-5 / Thread

A lot of car listed above are highly strung maintenance heavy and might not last the test of time, look at what classics people drive now, e.g beetles, mg midgts, morris minors 2Cvs etc, cheap, simple diy, no fuss driving, uber reliables

Modern cars are getting more powerful all the time & thats not going to so desirable , when every other car is just as fast,

IMO you'd be better off to mothballing something like a clean micra or starlet and pulling it out and scooting round and remembering the good times ,

and then everyone would be like ahh sweet a micra, I used to have one of those back in the day in collage and it was a total POS ..........

I have a 306 GTI than im going to sit on for the near future and pull it out as a every daily classic when it comes of age

Probably rusted to bits by then.

Je suis tres mal

Eric Cartman wrote: »

The current jag xfr
The last model chrysler 300c
The 2004-08 bmw 6 series
Gt86
The rhd mustang

I reckon people will want to keep those as classics eventually.

Agreed with most, except the 300c!
Weren't most of those sold with a 6 cyl diseasel engine!

On the other hand, one with the hemi v8 and no bentley badges could be desirable.

fleet

What will ICE cars cost to run in 15 years?
Fuel costs etc.

Will these all be Sunday driving cars?

Je suis tres mal

Adjusting for inflation, they probably cost the same to run now as they did 15 years ago.

blue5000

Was on the M50 during the week and the only car that caught my eye was a white '91 peugeot 205 a proper classic in my opinion. As to today's cars, maybe the honda 1.6 cr-v diesel might be worth a look.

colm_mcm

We'll just buy whatever's left in the UK in 20 years time. All the diesel focus's will have been exported to Ireland at that stage anyway.

I'd say the evoque would be popular in 20 years time

Sobanek

6 Series Gran Coupe
BMW M Cars
Audi RS cars
Toyota GT-86
Golf R
Opel Insignia OPC?
Mercedes AMG Cars
Mercedes S-Class
BMW 7 Series
Lexus IS250

Je suis tres mal

IS250? I don't think so. They aren't even desirable now.
Opel insignia OPC? Really? That's like a worse version of the hot versions of the Omega, at least they were rwd.

Perhaps the larger engined 7 series and S classes will but the general ones with 3 litre diesels won't be.

BMW M cars and Mercedes AMG cars cannot be bought by the average new car buyer. I think you (amongst others) have missed the point of the OP.

Mister Jingles

Isn't the Insignia OPC 4WD though ?

Je suis tres mal

AWD with a FWD bias iirc

Hachiko

has to be one of these bad boys clearly, a nice n/a V8 and it will still be going strong.

Je suis tres mal

Looks like a toyota saloon front , except for the slope of the hood, with a 3 series E90 rear.
I dont actually know what model that is, when it comes to lexuseseseses (lexi?) I love the LS series (especially any in "Presidential" spec) but can take or leave the smaller models.

JohnBoy26

Sadly hardly anyone in this country will have desire to buy anything mentioned in this thread. Even the cars mentioned in the first post aren't cars that people desire now.

It's mostly diesel passats and octavias etc that people desire these days, or anything with low tax and good mpg. I can't see things being much different in 20 years time.

colm_mcm

No. Not this ****e again. I'll just ban the lot of ye over watching this lexus toyota argument for the tenth time.

Je suis tres mal

People =/= Petrolheads

Petrolheads are a small subset of people.

MTBD

Sobanek wrote: »

6 Series Gran Coupe
BMW M Cars
Audi RS cars
Toyota GT-86
Golf R
Opel Insignia OPC?
Mercedes AMG Cars
Mercedes S-Class
BMW 7 Series
Lexus IS250

I dont think the current M-cars or AMGs fit the conditions for this thread but anyway I still dont think they will be anything as sought after as the old ones. BMW and MB have watered down their brands so much. Sure what BMW/Merc doesn't have an "M" version now or an AMG. Same goes for Audi although I'm still bewildered how Audi are even considered a prestige car manufacturer.

The only cars that fit the criteria there are the Lexus, Opel and the GT86. The rest are too expensive new.

I think the main problem with car manufacturers is that they think fast=exciting. It just doesnt work that way in my view. For any of those AMG/M cars to be fun you are immediately into license losing territory. The GT86 has the right idea.

I kinda blame Top Gear for causing such a massive push towards the view that faster lap times=better. Among casual car fans this is an undeniable truth. I'd take characterful speed over outright speed anyday. I dont think people connect with a lot of the technology out today. Electronics will never elicit the same emotional response as mechanical workings, hence manual gearboxes are still loved by so many on this board.

Hachiko

Je suis tres mal wrote: »

People =/= Petrolheads

Petrolheads are a small subset of people.

clearly not you then.