Sometime’s david something has to give and alot of ice cars seem to be getting less powerful or dropped or being made hybrid’s because of emmisions and the eu fines coming, options are thin on the scheme right now. Ap’s are getting out of hand on some cars and some just cannot afford such high ap’s to get what they require and from whats available now or to order for 3 months time to exchange.
For me both the merc and the audi are non starters for two reasons one adaptive cruise control is part of a pack and i never add extras and secondly both dealers are too far away for general servicing etc for them to be viable, so are bmw, as well as afew other dealers.
Which is a shame as it restricts choice for me. Some maybe happy with the a180 in a high spec others may not be (like yourself) and want more power it’s really is down to the individual and sometimes hard choices have to be made taking all one’s needs into account or maybe they want the better mpg.
The last few cars for me thats been a higher seating postion that has gone to get the spec i need i gone for a car.
Comfort and having acc is the most important things to me and of course the size of the boot and is it practical for me and the family. The main thing is all our needs are different and i am glad you seen how what you said could be taken the wrong way. Is just something to be mindful of i guess.
What i would say is if a car meets your needs and ticks all your boxes then you should test drive them all then pick. often for me thats just two cars, last time it was only one car.