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My wife and I are due to order our new car in Q4. We always try to do some research before we have to order, so we can take our time, enjoy it and not be stressed. Straight away we looked at what was on the list from the German brands. Up until now, we’ve had 2 VW’s and 2 BMW’s on the scheme so we looked at their lists along with Audi and Mercedes. Our current car is a BMW X1, but we’ve decided to look at estate’s.
We always like to draw up a shortlist of three to look at and test drive. Plumping for an estate meant there was only the C Class from the German marques. But at the time there was only a manual petrol available, with a very high AP. So we looked at alternatives for the other two choices. TBH there aren’t many estates on the scheme. Aesthetics are important for us so the car has to be a ‘looker’. So we also shortlisted the new Peugeot 508 SW and the Mazda 6.
We sat inside a C Class. Very nice but the very honest salesman put us off. He said the Merc manual gearbox is a dog! Next we went to look at the 508. A stunning car, far better looking than the Merc and the interior makes the Merc’s look boring. Plus the quality of materials and build was on a par. What let it down though is that my wife needs to use the interior grab handle to get into the passenger seat safely. The Pug doesn’t have one. The sales guy was perplexed as to why.
So the next day we went to look at the Mazda 6. Wow. A stunning car again with a minimal but beautiful interior, from both a design and quality POV. We went on a test drive and the car is superb – high revving petrol engine, sweet gearbox, sporty but smooth ride and very comfy seats. And the Bose soundsystem is unbelievable. We both arrived back at the dealer with big grins.
Now I’ll get to my point! Brand perception is such a strong emotion. Like a lot of people on this forum, we always went for a German car, because they’re the best aren’t they? Well because of circumstances we ended up breaking through that perception and realising that there are other great quality cars out there. IMO the Mazda 6 is just as good as a BMW and is far better value on the scheme. We can order the Sport Nav+ version with loads of kit (inc the Bose system) for an AP £2,000 less than the Merc, a lower spec car that has less kit and a crap gearbox.
It’s a no brainer.
So for anyone like us who look straight away at the German marques on the scheme – you don’t have to. There are alternatives. A lot of the other car brands have had to up their game to compete with the Germans. The new 508 feels premium, so does the Mazda (plus other cars within their range like the CX-5 and new 3). I’ve no doubt there will be others.
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The Mazda 6 has been around for a long time and like the X3 and X5 look great too, mazda’s have always had a good reputation but suffered a bit from the tie in with Ford.
But no matter what any one says the first thing most people see is the badge on the front. The truth is though we went for a Vw as it suited us on price and practically. Nothing else came close.
who knows what will be around when it’s time to change? I definitely wouldn’t choose a car purely on the badge, test drive, practicality and research are my priority.
For me I’d love it if they made Mazda estates as practical as volvo’s the sloping roof eats up too much boot space if you need to carry stuff and passengers.
Looks wise I was wowed by a Ford Mondeo Estate the other day, it really stood out and I actually first thought it was a Jaguar Estate. Maybe my tastes but I haven’t noticed Ford for years
when looking it’s definitely best to have an open mind, we ended up with the Tucson only because we noticed it as the Hyundai garage was next door to the Mazda and volvo dealership we had gone to see,
I’ve not seen the 508 Estate in person but on paper so to speak I think looks fantastic. The only other estate to catch my eye lately is the Alfa Romeo thingy.
From what I’ve read only the 508 suffers from electrical gremlins. Shame as it’s a nice looking car.
Looks wise I was wowed by a Ford Mondeo Estate the other day, it really stood out and I actually first thought it was a Jaguar Estate. Maybe my tastes but I haven’t noticed Ford for years when looking it’s definitely best to have an open mind, we ended up with the Tucson only because we noticed it as the Hyundai garage was next door to the Mazda and volvo dealership we had gone to see, I’ve not seen the 508 Estate in person but on paper so to speak I think looks fantastic. The only other estate to catch my eye lately is the Alfa Romeo thingy.
Funnily enough we saw a new Mondeo Estate the other day and we both remarked how nice it looked. I did some research and it only has the option of a black leather interior. We prefer a lighter interior scheme. Which both the Mazda and 508 have.
I’ve had a Vauxhall (c**p) a Citroen, a Seat, a Fiat and a BMW on Motability as well as many other makes before I got on Motability so am no badge snob or German car only buyer. The Citroen and Seat never let me down once. The Vauxhall and Fiat were awful. The BMW I didn’t have long enough to enjoy properly as I was pipped, but used the transition payment to buy another BMW, the sheer joy of driving my car on twisty roads, up mountains, on the autobahn is fantastic, BUT in the two and a bit years I’ve owned it I’ve had two new sets of brake pads, an EGR valve replaced and the i-drive replaced. The latest thing to go wrong is the arm rest.
I certainly would not recommend a BMW on reliability but if you want a car that goes fast and sticks to the road like glue then I would have no hesitation in saying BUY A BMW. Having said all that, when I get back on the scheme next year (fingers crossed) will I buy a German car? I can honestly say I’m not sure.
Never been bothered about what badge is on my car and i’ve owned most in my lifetime(had 3 garages in my chequered past) plus I’m a typical bloke when it comes to 2nd hand cars(looking for the next one as soon as I get current one) and in general the newer french(under 15 years old) cars have been the best overall on reliability, value for money, practicality and driving comfort.
The last 6 german cars have had loads of problems, even one I bought new, it had so many faults within a year I got a full refund.
3 mazda’s were,,, well very mazda like, nice enough and did everything well but just lacked a bit of feel and were a bit squeaky/rattly plus a tad behind the times in general.
The newer pacific rim motors have come a long way from astras in a frock and can really compete in today’s market.
The less I say about merc the better.
These days I no longer keep 3-4 cars at one time and since joining the scheme again in 2013 have stuck to just their cars and the odd rental when I need something different.
If somebody gets a car just for the badge then more fool them, get a car that suits 1st and forget the neighbours.
Vw tiguan r line was what we changed to from BMW 3 series Estate and I am not disappointed, surprisingly handles almost like a car (shockingly so for the size and weight) and has lots of useful tech and is a bargain at current ap and unlike all space is built in Germany.
What about the Lexus shame its not on motability comes top in reliability as does some toyotas, Honda, and Mazda.I have had fiats a punto sporting dualogic which when under a 1.000 miles went into the dealer 3 times for engine management light when that was sorted i had over 17,000 miles trouble free and loved it, that was a motability car had my own suzuki 3 in the past no problems also an Abarth mta 595 no problems and now waiting for a mini 5 door dual clutch auto which is being built in sep so hope thats ok it has a bmw engine and gearbox.
What about the Lexus shame its not on motability comes top in reliability as does some toyotas, Honda, and Mazda.I have had fiats a punto sporting dualogic which when under a 1.000 miles went into the dealer 3 times for engine management light when that was sorted i had over 17,000 miles trouble free and loved it, that was a motability car had my own suzuki 3 in the past no problems also an Abarth mta 595 no problems and now waiting for a mini 5 door dual clutch auto which is being built in sep so hope thats ok it has a bmw engine and gearbox.
It is interesting what a journo’s experience and an actual owners experience is. When you read through reviews and head-to-heads in motoring magazines, nine times out of ten the German car comes out on top. However, reading the recent Auto Express mag, they had the results from the Driver Power survey. Not one German brand in the top 20 best cars to own (you could argue that Skoda is a German brand though?). The top 20 is dominated by the Far East – as you say Toyota and a lot of Lexus (or Lexi if you’re a Digital Radio presenter from Norfolk). It would be interesting how many Lexus would sell if they were on the scheme? I’d certainly consider one despite not being a big fan of their styling.
Vw tiguan r line was what we changed to from BMW 3 series Estate and I am not disappointed, surprisingly handles almost like a car (shockingly so for the size and weight) and has lots of useful tech and is a bargain at current ap and unlike all space is built in Germany.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not a badge snob. Prior to us joining the scheme, I’d always owned Italian cars. Started out with a Lancia Beta Coupe then over the years had other Lancia’s and Alfa’s. 2nd hand they were a great buy – a lot of car for little money and if you chose a good one, they were very reliable. Mind you, it was our last 159 Sportswagon that made us join the scheme. The Selespeed gearbox died. We needed a car and quick – it was then someone told us that my wife would be eligible for Motability. She’d always wanted a VW Golf so we went over to a dealer. He then promptly told us what else was on the scheme, and there was a very nice Passat sat in the dealer’s, ready to go. So we went for it. It was nice solid car, but coming from a petrol Alfa the diesel Passat was boring to drive. Plus it had some squeaks and rattles we could never get rid of. I’d heard so much about German car build quality but I was disappointed.
If there had been Alfa’s on the scheme that suited us then we would have shortlisted these no doubt. I’m secretly hoping that Alfa bring out a Sportswagon version of the new Giulia. Now I would pay any AP for that car!
I had an Alfasud years ago and I have to say I absolutely loved that car, it was the most reliable car I’ve ever owned, I could rely on it to break down every single time I drove it, at least it was usually a quick fix or if you just left it 5 minutes it would start again, still loved it though.
Another shout out for Lexus here, i have owned a RX450H for four years now and the quality and reliability of the cars and customer service from Lexus is why they top the poles every year.
All my Motability cars have been decided by disability suitability but as I can’t test drive cars because of the adaption I need so I’ve always stuck with cars within the VAG group simply because my first disabled car was VAG and when you sit in the driver seat of one all the important controls come to hand in the same place no matter of model.
With the delivery problems I had last year with a VW Touran I switched to KIA because their control layout is the same as a Touran but boy I wish that my only concerned was the colour of the paintwork or how comfortable the seats are because for me those things come at the bottom of a long list no matter where the car comes from.
In fact the list is so long I can’t remember them all and even I got caught by the lack of a grab handle on the drivers door of the KIA and that the filler cap is on the other side of the car…. Oh and its not got auto tinting rear-view mirror…or it’s not got etc.
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If I had another life may be I could find the time to find the perfect car but I don’t believe there is one made by the German’s, Japanese or anyone else and switching marque is such a risky business for me.Mazda needs to get more autos on the scheme – i can’t rely on my left leg so while I CAN drive a manual, I really shouldn’t. There’s only £300 ap difference between the only auto they have and the manual equivalent – I’d definitely be interested in the Top of the line estate if it was auto, and it’d still be below my self-imposed £2k AP limit if the price difference was maintained.
The 508sw (in the midnight blue colour) is the only car I’ve looked at so far which immediately made me think, damn I want that without even opening a door, but the AP’s are a bit scary unfortunately
"Man is born in freedom, but he soon becomes a slave, in cages of convention, from the cradle, to the grave."
Germans just seem to put things together better. I owned a golf years ago that was really good and well put together. I had an Vauxhall Astra GTC on the scheme in 2013, built in Ruesselsheim, Germany another really nice car but it wasn’t until it went in for service and was given a British built Astra saloon as a courtesy car that I noticed the difference in build quality.
Inserts gratuitous image of said car for no other reason than I like looking at it (I still miss it, should have bought it).
I have just ordered a Mercedes but practicality and affordability were both higher up the checklist than being German, Hyundai and Kia were both on the shortlist too but just didn’t tick as many boxes for me.
If I seem a little strange, that's because I am.
Skoda Karoq SEL.
Now if lexus were on the scheme I would 100% have them down as first choice, having owned some in past, on the alpha, test drove the guilia as a option came away as a no for me after driving over a pothole it sounded like the suspension was going to pop right through the bonnet and felt as much… heart was looking at it saying yes, back was saying no no no no.
We should all get together and go to Lexus U.K. head office and beg them to go back on motability I love them and my dealer in Leicester is just 7 miles away
New Lexus UX is under the cap.
hey I currently have Mercedes b class auto which I brought prior to motability. I do need something higher up now and to be honest I am been a car snob, but the vw Tiguan r line has definitely caught my eye. Do you enjoy yours as your have come from bmw to vw? What’s the fuel economy like. Thank you
Anneka ours is a 4wd 2.0 tdi Dsg and all but the shortest trip sees low to mid 50 mpg.
If you don’t mind the fact there are lots on the roads. They are great practical cars.
Heres a pretty large rang of colours, not everyone like loud coloured cars.
White, grey and black look good on the Tiguan depending on model. To be fair you don’t buy a vw to stand out.
They are just good daily drivers.
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