Hello all,

Have been keenly following this interesting thread, and think I should finally add my 2 cents to the discussion. Since I'm a newbie, lemme quickly introduce myself. Have been driving for >20 years; current cars are an MPV and 2009 Camry. Used to own a Honda, and had a few Protons in the past.

Have been looking for another D segment car for over a year (yes, really!) and have test-driven all the 3 cars in mentioned in this thread. My thoughts...

1) Ford Mondeo -- this face-lifted, 2011 version with 2.0 Ecoboost really had me salivating since it came out. Scoured the web for anything I could get my hands on, and eagerly awaited its arrival in Malaysia. What's there not to love? A kick-a** engine with more torque than you know what to do with. A legendary reputation of being rock-solid reliable (at least in UK and Europe), and a series of pictures that are awesome. The reviews I read sang praises, compared it against the Passat (and beat it mostly), and based on that, there was nothing much to not like!

The test-drive was an eye-opener. I'm not sure if its due to all the anticipation built up over the months... but the experience was a bit of let down. To be sure, there was plenty of torque and power on tap... but the drive, while feeling solid and assured, was surprisingly harsh. Bumpy even! In 'real-life', the car looked a lot less exclusive than in the photos. There was plenty of room both front and back, but lacked the exclusive overall feel. The boys loved the voice-control feature, but it felt more like a gimmick than anything to me.

Then came the reality check. This is Malaysia... other than the Fiesta, which recently did exceedingly well, nobody else is touching Ford's passenger cars with a ten-foot pole. This year so far, Paultan.org (Aug) reported only 22 Mondeo 2.3l version sold.... that's even lesser than the Cherry Tiggo, or Audi A8, or Beemer X5.... even the Freelander sold slightly better! The 'killer' happened when I asked the salesmen from VW and Peugeot, what they felt about the Mondeo. They gave me this puzzled look... like "why are you even comparing with that'?


2) VW Passat -- test drove this the same week it was launched. Wow, imagine owning a German marque that's not a pocket rocket or little cream-puff on steroids, but a full fledged D-segment at below 200k!! Okay, granted the engine's smaller (than the Mondeo's), and with it, fewer horses, but this *is* VW... it has to be bullet-proof or awesome or something, right?!

Unfortunately, all the brushed aluminum inserts, the 7-speed DSG, or the classy analogue clock on the dash does not add up to much, if the overall body looks as exciting as mud. Passat CC this car aint!! The car accelerates effortlessly, drives like it's vacuumed to the road, but is just about as exciting as ..... a Camry!

I went in and out of the car... looked at it from all possible angles, far and near... and as much as I tried to like, want, love the car.... I couldn't. It just lacked that passion! Sorry, VW, I love your Toureg, think your Golf is amazing, but Passat? Boring, sigh!

3) Peugeot 508 -- had not really bothered much when I first heard about it. 1.6l engine woh, sure or not? That's just marginally better than the T&H's 2.4 liters... how fun can that be? A friend suggested I checked it out, and my first (biased) reaction was to scoff it off.

But since I was seriously looking at getting a car, I could not ignore all the hype and excitement the 508 had been generating. And I was pleasantly surprised to find how my original impression of it could be so wrong! The car looks amazing in the flesh. Okay, granted, the rear-end takes a bit of getting used to, but surely it still looks a WHOLE LOT better than Accord's ugly butt! The 17-inch rims look great, and the overall swooping lines just somehow works nicely.

Stepping into the drivers' seat felt like getting into space ship, or at a stretch, a Beemer 5-series. All the blinky lights, switches and fittings together with the head's up display come together nicely. Among the 3, this car really makes you feel like you're in an executive-class car, and justifies the price-tag it's getting. In Europe, reviewers are comparing it against the Mondeo (yes, its still the benchmark) and Passat, and in some cases is even mentioned in the same breath as the Audi!

I liked the drive -- a lot. It may not be as punchy as the Mondeo, but is certainly more fun than the Passat. Just a nice balance, I think, of technology, handling, performance and pricing! Its not stellar in any particular area, and will probably not do too well if you're always throwing your car into tight corners in b-roads. But the 95% of the time, I can imagine myself thoroughly enjoying this car. The only scary bit is Naza's after-sales. But my thinking... if I survived 10+ years of Proton (non) service, surely I can survive whatever Naza throws at me?!?

So my conclusion? If you're brand conscious and have a Toyota (i.e. Ah-pek) mentality, you'd probably want to go for the Passat. If you fancy yourself a closet racer and don't care two hoots about resale value, the Mondeo it has to be. And if you like a bit of everything, while attracting admiring looks when you drive by, you probably can't go wrong with the 508!

For me, its the 508. I've plonked down the booking fee, and should get it in the next week or so. Good choice? Dunno leh... only time will tell!

SPCX, did you get the same bunch of freebies as Sleepy?
Trying to see if all branches practicing the same or different.

TTDI seem to be very kedekut with their gifts, even the full fuel tank is being position as a super-duper-ultra-nice gesture that you should feel eternally grateful to them for it.

SPCX, many thanks for sharing. Its hard to find straight-talking and capable sales folks these days.
Your note also points out one key point... there is some flexibility that each SA/branch can exercise in trying to close a sale.

So to all to-be buyers of Nasim cars, do know you should nego to get a good package of goodies!

Cheers!

Got mine today!

This post has been edited by cdubliew: Nov 30 2011, 10:26 PM

Yeah 508... got very lucky as I'd just booked mine at COTY.

Cybermaster,

The 508 seems to be very comfortable in the 140 to 160 zone. It easily went beyond 170 but at that point I think it was my nerves that gave way, not the car!

If you compare the 16" wheeled Camry, vs the 18"x45mm in the Pug, surely the 508 would feel bumpier. You're giving away 2 inches of air in exchange for better side-wall rigidity.... something's gotta give. At least at this price range, kan? But try taking sharper corners at higher speeds... you'll know which of the 2 you feel more confident with!

I know how you feel... especially after reading so much about it, hearing so much good stuff being talked about a car.... somehow no matter how, it will buckle under tremendous expectations! Give some time in between, and go for another test drive. I'm sure your impression of it will be less harsh. Better yet, test-drive the Mondeo/Passat first before going for the 508, then see how

Lastly on the JBL.... yeah, I do admit its 10-speaker, 500w reputation turned out to be a bit of a let-down, if you're expecting a boombastic experience. Its adequate, IMHO, but no better than the usual 6-speaker system from other D-segments.

Ya man, and on top of that, you should check out something like the "Teana vs Camry" thread instead of an all-european thread like this.... over there, comfort rules!

Bro, from 2012 Camry winning "hands down" to "who knows", "mana tahu" and
"expensive boring vehicle" .... that's quite a leap isn't that?

Road tax: RM 90
Cost of petrol per km (long distance): 16 sen
Seeing the surprised look when you overtake (rather effortlessly) the 2.4l Japanese makes: PRICELESS!

Lesson: Stop looking just at the cc, start looking at the power to weight ratio and the torque/power curve :-)