What are your experiences with Skoda?

I was passenger in a Skoda Superb II, and it was superb. Quiet, comfortable, and as roomy as hell.

There are obviously big differences between contis, and what they want to achieve. It is similar with Japs. Some cars want to get you from A to B safely (for example the Golf, though it also tries to be fun as far as that doesn't compromise safety), while others are all about the fun (Seat Leon, though closely related to the Golf, is far more engaging to drive, and the F20 1 series BMW does fun rather well too, without sacrificing comfort). The French (Citroen and Renault) are more interested in comfort, while Peugeot is aiming for fun (and IMHO the 208 is great fun, I only had one for a day, but I think I fell in love a bit...). In terms of refinement I feel like VW spends the most in premium feeling materials and dampening, while the French are a bit more creative in creating an interesting and nice environment without having to spend too much. Seat and Skoda are more to a budget, though still far ahead of the Japs.

Keep in mind that Japanese brands tend to offer cars for the Asian market that they don't offer in Europe or some other more demanding areas (I wouldn't call the US demanding, they have other priorities like that the car needs to last forever, but it doesn't need to feel posh or well built. Big panel gaps? Who cares). The cars in Malaysia are meant to get you from A to B, somehow. Price is important, space is important. Fun, safety, not important. Posh feeling? Not important. (Of course the bigger, more expensive the car, the posher it is, generally speaking. Same applies for contis).

If you want the Conti feel in a Japanese car, I'd say your best bet is a Mazda. Lexus is good too. I've been in their small hybrid, and while it lacks the style, it is refined like a VW or above would be. The rear passengers don't sit as good though, it feels rather cheap back there.

I think Karenalvin is joking. What do you do as a religious person? You pray. Italian cars, being so unreliable (that's an outdated stereotype though, they aren't worse than others) will make you pray... pray that the car will work.

Anyway I only drive conti cars, and my mother doesn't want any Japanese either... a) because of Japanese occupation, and b) because of terrible experiences (like a Japanese car falling apart beyond repair after 2 years or so...). There is a certain refinement, a certain feeling that the car doesn't just want to get you to the destination in them.

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Nov 1 2016, 01:42 AM

Erm. Disagreed. There is a difference when you drive them or are passenger in them. Which Toyota Crown are you talking about? The old taxis? Nope. Don't feel conti to me, more American. Different companies pay attention to different things, different countries pay different attention to different things. European cars are always more about driving enjoyment (be it comfort, be it driving fast) than their Japanese counterparts, except for Mazda and a couple of models. Japanese sports cars are obviously fun. But for ordinary everyday road cars, say C segment cars, there is a difference. Having space for huge families doesn't matter nearly as much in Europe. The C segment BMW 1 series is perhaps as tight inside as a Myvi, perhaps even more so. Doesn't matter. Fun is more important.

Where is VW owned by Arabs? Qatar owns roughly 15%, even the German government is close to that figure.

Mh... yeah. BMW isn't exactly the best in terms of quality... seems like they are just too much in demand for them to care too much. My Golf does feel posher than a F20 BMW (then again, in terms of fun...!).

The LFA is a very special car though. Yeah I'd absolutely take one over a Ferrari, but there are not many Japanese cars like that. Likewise the MX5, though if it is MX5 vs 4C... 4C it is.

The GT-R lacks reliability, so no thanks. And the WRX and EVO heroes seem to be living off their reputation these days...

I think it's a mixture of brand and country of origin... the Japanese do have things in common, and so do the Germans for example. All Germans have in common IMHO that they are built for high speed stints on the Autobahn... it shouldn't matter too much which one you get, they'll all perform well, while the Japanese tend to feel out of breath when you go faster.

As for the Skoda... they are relatively cheap, so there's only so much they can do. Also, VW isn't too happy when Skoda makes cars that are too good (AFAIK they even fired people at Skoda when reviewers found Skoda was better than VW... ). So Skoda has to be a bit careful.

It's not about powerful. It's about a typical B segment hatchback with 90 hp having no problem doing 180 (if the engine can reach that speed), and feeling relatively planted at that, where a STOCK Japanese car of that segment won't be doing so well. They weren't designed for that, they were designed to be easy to drive through towns, with minimum effort.

I'm saying that most contis are capable of driving way beyond the speed limit (in terms of engine power any car is, but not in terms of handling etc.). My 75 hp Citroen Xsara, despite having a comfy setup, easily does 170 (downhill). I don't even need to hold the steering wheel, that's how planted it is. And no, no exaggeration. Through towns or when parking the Xsara takes a lot more effort, the power steering exists but is very weak, you need to work hard. Japanese cars are better in those situations.

Anyway, I consider Mazda more conti then Japanese in terms of feel etc., they may be 100% Japanese, but they are quite European in feel.

As for the Kangoo... no, it's not the best car, but it is vastly underrated and better than the Avanza, its main rival back in the day.

Mine is a 2002 Xsara, and yeah, it still exists. Barely gets driven anymore, but it's fine. Currently it resides in Spain.

I suppose Peugeot expanded too fast, had bad SCs, couple of issues that weren't rectified swiftly and without fuzz by the SCs, so the brand got a bad rep.

And yeah, I think VW also made the same mistake, and they ruined their reputation. Now it doesn't matter anymore if the cars are good, if the problems are gone, if the SCs have been improved. The reputation is gone, and it will be very, very hard for them to get it back.

@djtong: Obviously every brand has a different focus... IMHO Peugeot is trying hard to copy VW, but with more flair, while Citroen is going their own completely bonkers ways. You can't even put all the French into one basket. However most European cars have a certain flair... a certain feeling. It may come in different ways, but there's something special about them. Obsessive attention to detail in VW and the desire to appeal to any driver, no matter what they want (even though that means compromises). Quirky out of the box thinking (Citroen). Driving pleasure (Ford). Quirky thinking + aspirations to be like VW (Peugeot). Aspirations to be like VW, but more comfortable and more stylish (Renault). And on and on.

British cars? Which British cars? There's Aston Martin, Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Bentley. Some smaller brands like Lotus too, sure. But nothing mainstream is left.

Russians? Terrible cars, and Russia isn't exactly part of Europe IMHO. They are doing their own thing.

You are joking. Perfectly flat? I wish it was. AFAIK it took them up to 80 years to replace the highways built in the 1930s.

I don't have the balls to drive 80 in a Rusa, but the same road in another car at 130? Sure. No problem. It IS the car. I drove the same road in my 2013 Golf, in a 2016 Peugeot 208 and an 2016 Opel Corsa. Did 210 in the Golf, no issues, not tiring. Did 180 in the Peugeot, no issues, a bit more tiring, but it's fine. Did 170 in the Opel, was absolutely exhausted when I got out of the car, and quite terrified while driving (unfortunately I was in a hurry, otherwise I would have driven much slower in that car). The Opel is IMHO designed as a city car first and foremost, and for driving around towns it is good. Really good. But don't drive fast in it.

Likewise I just think that most Japanese cars, because it isn't necessary for them to drive fast (it only really happens in Germany anyway), aren't good at it. Different priorities.

I meant out of breath in the sense that they are out of their comfort zone. Might have mixed something up, apologies. And yes, I am generalizing, and I am talking about mainstream cars. Performance cars are an entirely different story. I am also excluding Japanese (and Korean) cars designed for Europe. Those tend to behave much more like European cars. And Mazda.

Exactly.

Though there are OEM parts that are significantly cheaper than original parts (which are expensive in Europe too!), but for some reason only Singaporean stockists seem to bring them in. No clue why. I used to get OEM parts for the Renault from Singapore. Original parts the savings weren't really worth bothering, might as well buy from the SC.

Reliability needs to improve, sure, though these modern cars need to be driven differently too. You can't drive them like these old cars. They are more sensible, but with proper care they should do well.

Btw., the latest results of the German TÜV results were released. German brands (especially Merc) seem to be as reliable as Japanese brands, but IMHO maybe it's just owners taking more care of their ride.

Balls of steel. Balls of steel. There are cars, where 140 feels like nothing at all, where you don't need to do much, and cars where you are on the edge because it requires a ton of input. IMHO it usually has a lot to do with the power steering too. If it is too strong at high speeds, you're in big trouble.

There's also Scion... or there was Scion at least. Anyway, a Toyota Avensis is pretty much like a conti, though the interior may lack a bit in style. Still, https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yxE2Mk3SFAU/maxresdefault.jpg is IMHO significantly nicer than the Uncle barge Camry. Likewise the Auris. Toyota has separate models for Europe, to match European tastes and demands (although the Auris and Altis dashboards are almost identical, apart from the outside air vents). Remember the Hyundai i40, running alongside the Sonata in Malaysia? The i40 is for Europe, the Sonata for Asia/US.

IMHO those luxury brands from Japanese manufacturers aren't meant for Europe. You rarely see a Lexus in Germany, and even fewer Infiniti (they only started sales a few years ago?). No Acura at all. The NSX is a Honda.

Not sure if Japanese cars can take the abuse. Servicing intervals are shortest for Japanese cars in Germany. Like, a Honda may have to be sent for service every 15k, while VW is 30k and Renault, Fiat etc. is 35k. Oh yeah, guess which cars do well in the statistics and which ones don't. Dacia btw. does terrible... I guess because those cars are very, very cheap, and the cars are abused. People who spend very, very little on their car tend to spend even less on keeping it running in perfect condition. I can also imagine that people who buy Japanese cars do so because they want reliability. What other reason is there to buy a Toyota? So they may take more care of their cars.

My Golf is asking me to send it to VW for inspection... no oil change, just let them have a look at the car to check if everything is ok. I think that is important for it to work reliably, oil doesn't need to be changed so often, but it's necessary to check for upcoming issues before they get problematic and perhaps cause a breakdown (plus a much higher bill).

The TÜV test examines every car on German roads, every 2 years. If you don't pass, the car needs to be fixed, and tested again. Until it passes, it isn't road legal. The testers should be impartial.

Oh, and a German pro-VW car magazine regularly tests new cars... they buy them, drive them for 100k km or more, then take them apart to see the condition (and of course they keep track of what went wrong with the car in the meantime). The first-gen Touran did extremely bad, so bad that their cover image was of a tent in front of a VW dealership. The most reliable car they have ever tested was a Toyota Prius. Other Toyota models didn't fare so well... just somewhere middle of the road, but Mazda does very, very well (sadly the ones before they got so stylish... no idea if the new models are as good).

@wkc5657: Multiple European brands offer different seats for their cars... VW has 3 different seats for the Golf for example. Regular, sports (they are rather comfy IMHO, just a bit body hugging), and some luxury seats with electric adjustment in 14 different ways. Those are supposed to be super ergonomic, and I believe they even have a massage function. Never been able to try those though. One thing I had to notice about seats... seats that seem extremely comfortable at first don't have to be when you drive for many hours, and vice versa. The Golf sports seats are good after many hours of driving, even though they seem rather normal at first. The seats in my Xsara are really comfortable at first, but I do get some backache after a couple of hours.

I think one thing that may set Europeans and Japanese a bit apart is attention to detail. Head units in mainstream Japanese cars often enough seem tacked on... seem aftermarket. European brands do a better job of integrating it into the design, of making it part of the actual car design. Makes it much harder to replace with aftermarket units, but it looks very nice. In the Golf there is a small ridge molded into the plastic next to the rear seats. The purpose is to keep the seatbelts at the side when you fold the seats... when you put back the seats, the seatbelts are where they are supposed to be. The door bins are lined with felt, so when you put stuff there it doesn't rattle around. There's an almost obscene amount of thought in the smallest items, and that feels special.

Japanese also over-engineer things... but with different goals. The Prius is such a car IMHO, the hybrid drive train is extremely well designed, with lots of tolerances built in to ensure reliability. Unlike the Germans they have realized that reputation is everything, especially for new technology. The first gen Hybrid absolutely had to be reliable, otherwise the technology may be rejected by customers forever. Just look at VW. DSG is a good idea, but at this point it doesn't matter anymore if the latest gen is reliable or not, people will just reject it.

Haha, probably. I'm not too confident with that either, luckily my Golf has a manual gearbox. Worry free, fun and pretty much as easy to drive as an auto.

Thing is, Toyota already has their e-CVT which is CVT only in function... it has nothing to do with the rubber band used by others. It's a brilliant system, boring to drive perhaps, but brilliant engineering and super reliable. They completely rethought the gearbox to do their hybrid, rather than take an ordinary one and attach an electric motor. No clutch, the cogs are always connected.