QUOTE(stix @ Jul 18 2012, 04:13 PM)
think of it this way. a 'china' iphone might have more features than the original iphone but is it actually better or has better quality than the real one?
Well, I selected my car based on several criteria and one of them was feature set. But it was not the main point, the most important determining factor was what I was comfortable paying per month over a set period of time followed by driving dynamics, family needs (size, comfort) and finally feature set.
The Koreans were out mainly because... it's Korean. I was not able to overcome my personal bias against Hyundai or KIA.
My first choice was actually the new F30 320d but that changed when I learnt my initial down payment had to be at least in the 120k range if I wanted to keep the amount I was willing to pay each month within my comfort zone and within the 5 year period. I could go with 7 years but I absolutely hated the idea of taking a 7 year loan.
So with the Luxury marques out of the way, it came down to either the new Peugeot 508, The Passat and the new Camry.
The Peugeot 508 was eliminated immediately because of reliability and after sales issue. It might not happen but why put myself in that position of having to worry in the first place?
So it became a toss up between the Camry and the Passat and it was a tough struggle, both are good cars in its own right and both had it set of problems... ultimately, I couldn't stand the feeling of buying a car that made me feel like I was being ripped off and went ahead with the Passat.
Not sure if it answers your question though, LOL!