Am I mad?

[patently]

Previous post was in reply to T...

Still keeping an eye out for my future classic and I have come across the perfect car for P.

28000 miles on the clock, plenty of comfort and immense towing qualities apparently. Oh and it has an iconic V8 from a Mustang.

MG ZT. £7k

(The Rover 75 equivalent).

Your welcome.

Ha ha. Feck off

[NewNiceMrMe]

It wasn't until the 991 911 and the latest generation of Cayenne (and Panamera et al) that Porsche got even close to BMW and Audi with in-car tech.

 

It's as if it was the groups last brand to be looked at in that respect.

 

If you look at a car like Biscuits new Cayenne though, things are much better now.  The problem Porsche have is that BMW bring out new tech with facelifted same-variant cars, whereas the Porsche cars seem to have to wait for the next generation.  That's not to say BMW introduce huge changes mid-model, they don't, but anyone who has a post-2010 BMW will know how they keep nudging things along bit by bit and improving it all so cleverly.

 

On the Jaguar, I know exactly that patently means.  The tech features are there, they're just not well deployed, too fiddly and the dual view screen of the XJ was awful.  If you were were to list features they'd not be a million miles away from BMW/Audi, but they're awful to use.

 

MrsMe's sister has just bought a Ford C-Max and I'm very impressed with that car.  It's a 2013 model so it doesn't have the latest stuff but it has the Sony Nav system and apart from working nicely it looks lovely on that very funky dashboard. 

 

Actually, I'll go one step further - that C-Max is one hell of a car.  The interior design is very clever indeed and the 2.0 TDCi Titanium X doesn't half have some grunt.

Edited April 3, 2016 by NewNiceMrMe

[Cuprabob]

MrsMe's sister has just bought a Ford C-Max and I'm very impressed with that car. It's a 2013 model so it doesn't have the latest stuff but it has the Sony Nav system and apart from working nicely it looks lovely on that very funky dashboard.

Actually, I'll go one step further - that C-Max is one hell of a car. The interior design is very clever indeed and the 2.0 TDCi Titanium X doesn't half have some grunt.

You've just "Unlearned"☺

[patently]

The tech features are there, they're just not well deployed, too fiddly

 

This. 

 

You look at the spec sheet and everything is lovely.  You try to use the feckers and it drives up up the wall.

 

The Nav is so stupid it keeps getting me lost.  I'm not joking.  I now sanity-check every instruction. 

 

For the last three years, every time I zoom out past 1/2 mile resolution it reminds me that POIs are not displayed above 1/2 mile zoom with a big message that obscures everything else on the screen.  I KNOW. YOU'VE TOLD ME ALMOST EVERY DAY FOR THREE YEARS. SHUT UP AND SHOW ME THE FECKING MAP AGAIN BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SEE.

 

Then there's the Nav system warning that nav systems are distracting read this now no don't look at the road and you must press this to acknowledge that you've read it oh sorry was that even more distracting than the nav system itself?  Every single bloody time

 

The phone interface is unusable.  There is no "phone my wife" function.  The "last 10 called" is the last ten called from the car, not the phone, so I never use the phone, so the last ten is not populated with the numbers I need...

 

I could go on...

[Tipex]

MrsMe's sister has just bought a Ford C-Max and I'm very impressed with that car. It's a 2013 model so it doesn't have the latest stuff but it has the Sony Nav system and apart from working nicely it looks lovely on that very funky dashboard.

Actually, I'll go one step further - that C-Max is one hell of a car. The interior design is very clever indeed and the 2.0 TDCi Titanium X doesn't half have some grunt.

Ford are doing a lot right at the moment, they are an often overlooked brand with useful features you simply won't find anywhere else for the price, even the bigger models such as my Galaxy give handling and feedback that put all but the best competition to shame, build quality is spot on, some materials don't feel quite up with the likes of BMW or Mercedes, but having said that, unlike all new Mercs, the dashboard doesn't creak if you touch it!

It's interesting having two Galaxys parked on the drive at the moment, the differences between the 2007 and the new (to me) 2013 model are stark, you can see how they've incrementally upgraded materials over the years, much higher quality and nicer feeling bits that you wouldn't really notice until you compare them.

I really didn't want another Ford if I'm honest, this is my third one in a row and it makes me feel like a fan boy, which I'm not, it's just that no one else makes anything as good at what it does at any price point.

I dare say your sisters car has the same 2.0 diesel as mine, albeit pulling a fair bit less weight, mine has the Power Shift gearbox which is nice, if you need it to, it will hitch up it's skirt and shift shift off the line quite well, enough to surprise most things that pull up alongside at the lights.

[Booster]

I do a lot of Fords on finance. More than any other brand. I have to say that they really impress me. The seats and whole dashboard / steering wheel ergonomics are spot on. The way that the Fiesta and the S Max drive it is hard to believe that you are in a Ford.

[NewNiceMrMe]

Ford are doing a lot right at the moment, they are an often overlooked brand with useful features you simply won't find anywhere else for the price, even the bigger models such as my Galaxy give handling and feedback that put all but the best competition to shame, build quality is spot on, some materials don't feel quite up with the likes of BMW or Mercedes, but having said that, unlike all new Mercs, the dashboard doesn't creak if you touch it!

It's interesting having two Galaxys parked on the drive at the moment, the differences between the 2007 and the new (to me) 2013 model are stark, you can see how they've incrementally upgraded materials over the years, much higher quality and nicer feeling bits that you wouldn't really notice until you compare them.

I really didn't want another Ford if I'm honest, this is my third one in a row and it makes me feel like a fan boy, which I'm not, it's just that no one else makes anything as good at what it does at any price point.

I dare say your sisters car has the same 2.0 diesel as mine, albeit pulling a fair bit less weight, mine has the Power Shift gearbox which is nice, if you need it to, it will hitch up it's skirt and shift shift off the line quite well, enough to surprise most things that pull up alongside at the lights.

 

This is an automatic too.  It is nice and smooth.

 

In terms of not feeling quite up to BMW/Audi standards in terms of the interior, they're light years apart.  The quality of materials is nowhere near.  However, it doesn't feel cheap like a Nissan Pulsar that I've been inside and is way, way above the likes of Citroen and Peugeot.

 

I would have no qualms whatsoever about buying a Ford if I needed to.  I also think the new Mondeo is a fabulous looking car.  The ergonomics, as Booster mentioned above, are absolutely spot on.

 

However, these aren't cheap cars.  Even a Fiesta 1.6 TDCi Titanium with an automatic box will cost you £17500-19000.  That's a lot of money for a car that'll be worth £7,500 in 3 years time if it has 36,000 miles on the clock.

I'd put Ford well above the other volume budget brands at present.

Edited April 3, 2016 by NewNiceMrMe

[Tipex]

The thing with Ford pricing, is that no one ever pays list, even if you don't ask for discount you'll pay less than list, if you negotiate hard you can get quite big savings.

 

Regards to trim quality, I guess it depends on the model, C-Max is fairly low in the range, S-Max and Galaxy being effectively Fords most expensive cars, save for the Mustang and Vignale have a significant step up in interior quality, as I say, not quite BMW, and certainly not Audi, but not as far behind as you might think.

[eldavo69]

My colleague went from an E90 M Sport Plus to a top spec Kuga as a company car and the amount of kit is astonishing for the money. It's a rugged interior but coping well with three kids and nothing is broken or scratched up like cranky Nissan plastics.

[NewNiceMrMe]

The Ford Kuga was her preferred choice to begin with but they were well out of her budget without choosing a very. very high mileage example.

 

I like the Kuga a lot.  Apart from the kit they come with they also look very good.  They're engine sensitive though - with the lower powered models getting slaughtered in reviews.

[Andrew]

I'd never buy a Ford again (never say never). I hated our Focus. The Passat on the other hand is crammed with tech which is great. My 08 BMW feels about on the same sort of level, but as MrMe says, post 09/10 it moves on massively. I'm tempted to upgrade it but a) I don't use it enough to justify it and b) each time it goes to BM for work I'd have to put all the original kit back in or any software updates won't work. What a PITA.

[patently]

News just in: I am indeed mad

[theduisbergkid]

News just in: I am indeed mad

Tell us something we don't know

[Booster]

News just in: I am indeed mad

[garcon magnifique]

So buying her a new MacBook was the final hurdle...

[patently]

 

He knows why.  At this point, I should acknowledge Mr B's huge help in putting together an achievable plan to secure my final and complete insanity.  He really is the most helpful and co-operative car finance man I have ever come across.  You really should all go and talk to him when you're feeling sane and need to do something about it. 

[patently]

So buying her a new MacBook was the final hurdle...

May have helped. Who knows…

[cruiser647]

He knows why.  At this point, I should acknowledge Mr B's huge help in putting together an achievable plan to secure my final and complete insanity.  He really is the most helpful and co-operative car finance man I have ever come across.  You really should all go and talk to him when you're feeling sane and need to do something about it. 

 

Did he talk you into Mobile Race Meeting Accomodation too? 

[patently]

Did he talk you into Mobile Race Meeting Accomodation too? 

 

Ooooh.... interesting idea *last tiny shred of sanity vanishes*

[Arch]

*hands on hips, head slightly cocked to left, look of concern, ffs tone of voice*

What have you bought now°°°°?

[billy2shots]

Let's have a look then P.

Spring has really sprung with all these TSN car purchases.

[NewNiceMrMe]

News just in: I am indeed mad

 

Porsche Cayenne GTS, 2013 model.  Me thinks.

[E-bmw]

Nah, he bought a new one coz we said he should.

[patently]

*hands on hips, head slightly cocked to left, look of concern, ffs tone of voice*

What have you bought now°°°°?

 

For a moment, I thought no-one was ever going to ask

 

Just waiting for replies from dealers to put ink on paper (etc), but everything is in place to order this:

 

Porsche Cayenne GTS

Carmine Red

Black Alcantara-trimmed GTS interior incl. Carmine Red trim

Piano Black dashboard trim

ParkAssist (front and rear) with Surround View

Panoramic roof system

Heated windscreen

Towbar system with electrically deployable towball

Roof rails in aluminium with black finish including roof transport system

Power steering Plus

Air suspension with self-levelling, ride-height control and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)

20-inch Spyder Design Wheel in Black (satin finish)

19-inch collapsible spare wheel

Automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors

Comfort lighting package

Driver memory package

GTS Sports Seats

4-zone climate control

Seat heating (front and rear)

Loadspace management system

BOSE® Surround Sound System

Digital Radio (Porsche charge extra for this ffs!)

 

I know, I know, it's a bit more than a used one would have been...

[NewNiceMrMe]

Ooooooooooooooo.  He should immediately drop all other work and tell us what it is (and then thank people for making him look at a new one, obviously. ).