Just had an interesting but random conversation with a bloke at work about how few cars there are that people actually want. i.e. if they had more money they wouldn’t be buying a Vauxhall Astra. Its not something I have really thought about before but to an extent it seems to make sense. Has anyone really ever wanted a Renault Megane? My list started with the following 3 which I see a lot of parked outside expensive houses. They would look equally at home outside a modest house as they would parked next to a Lamborghini outside a multi million pound house as a second car.

Golf GTi
BMW Mini
Fiat 500

Any thoughts and other cars to add to the list. Must be new cars though.

Fiat 500

Get out.

Started well with the GTi.

Audi A4? They’re all over the place.

If I could get a modern estate as good looking as a Triumph 2500S I’d be happy parking that outside the mews house.

Has anyone really ever wanted a Renault Megane?

If i is the Renaultsport version, then yes (although the latest one is a bit of a minger).

Gold R’s seem to be pretty popular.

It’s the same for everything though.

Does everyone live in the house they want or the one they can afford nearish to where they work?

Do people buy the bike they want or the one that does the job at the price they can afford?

Do people have their dream kitchen or the one they can afford from Ikea, Wickes, B&Q etc.

And on the car thing it depends on how you view cars. My 13 year old Renault Megane 1.9 turbo diesel still does everything I need it to. If you see a car (or anything) as a tool to do a job thats completely different to viewing it as a status symbol / extension of your personality / style icon and will change what your dream car is and what you’re happy to have in your life.

There comes a point when you realise that an expensive car is just another bike you don’t own.

I’ve got the car I want more or less. I’m not particularly bothered about the badge. I’m not a petrol head. It fit’s loads of stuff in it and is pretty comfy on long drives. I wouldn’t mind a brand new one but the type of car I have wouldn’t change.

The 3 cars the OP listed wouldn’t make it any where near my list.

Wanting is a funny thing. What would you feel like if you actually had it? What would people think of you when you vroom up outside their house in a Lambo?

If I were well off I’d probably still be in a Passat, but it would be newer and have all the extras. If I were better off still I might stretch to an E-Class or a BMW 5 series, but I doubt I’d go beyond that.

People really seem to want/covet Range Rovers for some reason

Obviously…

Toyota IQ

Golf GTi – nope
BMW Mini – nope
Fiat 500 – only the Abarth version.

Either a:

1) Lotus Exige

2) Caterham R500

3) A Radical track car and a lorry

4) An RS200 if I had serious money and a lorry.

mindmap3 – Member
Gold R’s seem to be pretty popular.

Because everyone’s getting them on lease deals for around £5 a month

Covet Range Rovers? Not this abomination….

Not sure the OP meant “do you personally want” but more “cars that are universally liked”.

e.g. the Range Rover isn’t something less well off folk would drive. But many would drive a GTi (says the not-so-well-off GTi driver).

edit: I rather like that soft top rover. It’s monumentally fugly. But I quite like it.

so i work for a major OEM. (not FIAT) Fiat 500 should defo be on the list. I hired one on holiday, and in every possible way you could measure it was awful. Shocking and unsaleable on some points – but that hasn’t stoppped people buying them in droves. Most people really don’t care about the stuff most managers seem to worry about. Its all about the looks and the image.

Ask people what they want and end up with some pastiche of ideas that no one buys. Do a crazy off the wall styling exercise and it sells – see nissan juke – i geniunely thought that the first one i saw had been in an accident until it got a bit closer and realised it was supposed ot be like that. It sells though. Same with this wierd cactus thing.

People really seem to want/covert Range Rovers for some reason

Have you ever been in one? My sister has one and every time I have to drive for more than an hour I wish I were in one rather than any other car I’ve been in. They are silly expensive, ridiculously large for parking etc. but really, really comfortable for long journeys.

OP – funny you mention the Fiat 500. I have always said that if I won the lottery, I’d get myself a bright red 500 Abarth. Admittedly not only that one car, but it would definitely be on the list.

Don’t agree with the BMW Mini – especially any of the latest ones. Bleurgh.

Struggling to think of any others to be honest…..

Just for the record I don’t want a Range Rover, but I see plenty of people in them who you maybe think are cutting corners elsewhere to afford one.

Yes I have been in a few before, and no I still don’t want one.

A super reliable easy to maintain car. Easily customisable behaviour eg lock doors when moving or not. Options like this should be easily set by user not by dealer only software.

This does not exist!

Funny, I was just thinking about something similar the other day. For me it would be something not too flash like a Jaguar XE.

I like cars

If I was really loaded I’d have:

I’d have a big estate with a massive engine as a daily driver- Like an RS6 Avant
A sensible sports / GT – think 911 or GTR rather than Ferrari or Lambo
A track day toy – like an Atom / possibly a Nomad if I could find some appropriate off-road bits to play too.

But I’m not loaded so I own the 29er Hardtail of the car world – a hot hatch

Easily customisable behaviour eg lock doors when moving or not.

I’ve had several cars that you can do this dating back to a 2003 Citroen C3

Cars have become commodities – white goods and as such have had their souls sucked out of them. Even your super hot hatches and exotic super and hyper cars are sterile – fast and efficient, but so what, and only serve to make their drivers look like complete and utter pricks – absolutely nobody looks good in them. As such I’ve completely lost interest in cars. If money were no object I’d be going for a more classic/older car with a few modern tweaks to make it more reliable and update the brakes and suspension etc. Not as ‘good’ as a modern car but at least it would be interesting and exciting to drive and a bit more unique. Something you’d look forward to getting in and want to take the long route to wherever it is you’re going.

I’d have a big estate with a massive engine as a daily driver- Like an RS6 Avant
A sensible sports / GT – think 911 or GTR rather than Ferrari or Lambo
A track day toy – like an Atom / possibly a Nomad if I could find some appropriate off-road bits to play too.

Pretty much this.

I’d say a mid range Audi would be in the list somewhere.

I’ve got an A4 and love its ability to look good but blend in to the crowd when driving. I’ve had a GTi and a couple of other Golfs and agree they fit in anywhere as well, the R seems to be a master of that, I just wish it didn’t have 4 tailpipes!

As for cars people like to own a middle of the range 3/5 series and C/E class would fit in with that list as well based on driving around the okay areas by me.

I think you’re confusing ‘interest’ with nostalgia there wobbliscott. Or possibly road noise.

I remember when I was a kid and my dad was looking for a new (to him) car, I said “why don’t you get a Porsche?”, He said, “Nah, you can’t fit a ladder rack on”.

I have the same interest in cars today. Loads of people would say they want a super fast sports car, but the novelty would wear off quickly I reckon when they’re struggling to fit the shopping in, or one of the kids pukes up in the back!!

Do a crazy off the wall styling exercise and it sells

I was going to buy a Honda Civic simply because it was different inside (and an otherwise decent car of course). The Focus I tried, despite being supposedly great handling, was just so dull. Only reason I didn’t was because the ones at the dealer at that time were a bit too expensive.

mindmap3 – Member
Gold R’s seem to be pretty popular.

Mostly driven round here by shaven headed thug/drug dealing types, according to my police contacts.

OK, 3 cars to cover every eventuality:
Bowler EXR S (for looking like a complete tool)
Completely restored (and updated) Triumph 2500S estate
Fiat 124 Abarth hardtop

That should do it.

Have you ever been in one? My sister has one and every time I have to drive for more than an hour I wish I were in one rather than any other car I’ve been in. They are silly expensive, ridiculously large for parking etc. but really, really comfortable for long journeys.

I smiled to myself when I was told the MPG of one.

No wonder they sound so nice starting up – that noise probably cost more than a nice lunch out*.

*This may not technically be completely factually correct.

Different cars for different things

Some big Merc for motorway driving (do they do 4×4?) or yes even a Range Rover.

A fast Caterham for fun.

An electric BMW 3 series for commuting. (one out in 2018)

A GT (prob Ferrari of some sort) for long trip nice journeys ie through Scotland/Alps etc.

Edit: and a van for biking.

Spend half my week in Surrey – where parking your Range Rover and your Audi outside your house – however small the house is – is compulsory.

The other half I spend in rural East Sussex where people care rather less about what cars they have and park them outside rather bigger houses.

I want, as my next car, a modern automatic (DSG or similar) estate with 4×4 and a large boot/seats down, that is nice to be in for long drives, but NOT an SUV. And I’m struggling to find it at the mo.

I want, as my next car, a modern automatic (DSG or similar) estate with 4×4 and a large boot/seats down, that is nice to be in for long drives, but NOT an SUV. And I’m struggling to find it at the mo.

I have had test drives in 2 of these this week 🙂

Yesterday, an A6 Avant quattro, today a Skoda Superb estate 4×4.

Just waiting for the dealers to get back with prices now, having sent them both CarWow finance quotes…

I almost forgot the Prius.
Didn’t all the celebs go mad for them a while back for so called eco-credentials.

Not sure why there isn’t much love for RR.

People I know that have them say they are great. About the comfiest place you can be. High up so you can see, and relatively safe ie 4×4 and built like bricks.

I think Golf’s will always have universal appeal, they’ve lost some of it in recent years by diluting it with their own sub-brands, but it gave the greater market share if anything. It was always one of those cars they topped sales charts when you stripped anyway the fleet buyers – the car people bought with their own money.

There are other cars that seem to appeal to certain sectors, which usually means they alienate people outside of it.

A1’s are the new 500, which was the new Mini which was the new Beetle.

LR Evoke.

Audi A5, BMW 3/4 series.