Need help identifying suitable new car

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Some people care about colour in their immediate environment, some don't.

I definitely don't want to be surrounded by the variations of monochrome that appear to be fashionable today.

I'd agree, but if you have a play with the car configurators on many manufacturers' websites these days, the available colour options are often disappointingly limited, and major on the various shades of gunmetal/silver/metallic taupe, with a token metallic blue and/or red in there to reassure you that you haven't gone colour-blind. Often, the only zero-cost colour is white.

 

[Marchbanks]

If someone offered me the ugly Toyota in Stephen Bennett's post above at the same lease price I am paying for my current car, I wouldn't consider it. If they offered it to me at a quarter the price I am paying now, I'd be all over it. And if my friends told me it was ugly I would agree with them and laugh all the way to the bank, because I don't care that much. This makes me sociopathic, apparently, as does the fact that the trousers I am wearing today are probably twenty years old.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

No, but the fact that, apparently contrary to what you posted upthread (#83 and #85), you say that you'd only take it if it was much cheaper, is interesting.

That suggests that appearance is more important to you than you might like to admit.

 

[Marchbanks]

No, but the fact that, apparently contrary to what you posted upthread (#83 and #85), you say that you'd only take it if it was much cheaper, is interesting.

That suggests that appearance is more important to you than you might like to admit.

I'm taking an extreme case with the Toyota - I am saying I would never dismiss a car out of hand, however ugly (and that one is very!) Whereas for everyday models, appearance makes no odds to me. My car has stupid plastic bits front and rear. I don't find them attractive, but so be it.

We all prioritize - what I have been trying to say is that most people put external appearance way too far up the list, when the amount of time you spend looking at your car is minimal. Good interior design and comfort are crucial, definitely, appearance isn't of overarching importance, colour isn't at all IMO.

4G under the channel - that's a new one on me!

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

We all prioritize - what I have been trying to say is that most people put external appearance way too far up the list, when the amount of time you spend looking at your car is minimal. Good interior design and comfort are crucial, definitely, appearance isn't of overarching importance, colour isn't at all IMO.

4G under the channel - that's a new one on me!

While I agree with you on the interior design and comfort (and supportive seats are a make-or-break in a car choice, for me) I think you're underplaying the appearance and colour thing. If the fugly Toyota was the same price as your current car, and clearly better in every respect (including interior design and comfort), would you seriously still only take it if it was a quarter the lease cost?

4G under the channel, indeed. Ironically, for me, reception on Eurostar in the tunnel was better than for big chunks of the overland sections on both sides.

Edit: ah, just seen your edit. So, it's a bit more nuanced than you suggested upthread.

 

[stephen bennett]

That’s always struck me as an interesting paradox. Why is the look of a car so important when you spend more time driving it than looking at it? Is it just a fear that your friends may be laughing at you? To me the colour of a car I am thinking of buying is also pretty irrelevant for the same reason.

I like design and ergonomics.

Stephen

 

[JensenHealey]

My wife and I agree on a few things (good job too really!). One of them is that we do not understand where this trend for Grey coloured cars has come from?

The occasional grey coloured car can look very smart, but there are so many now, it has become borrrriiing.

Back in my youth, in my mind most cars were Red. A few years ago there was a trend for White I think.

 

[davidsrsb]

Red paint has always faded badly, more so with the modern "greener" paints

 

[Yank]

Red paint has always faded badly, more so with the modern "greener" paints

All paints fade badly if you're too lazy to polish and wax occasionally. My red car is almost eight years old and looks fine.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

All paints fade badly if you're too lazy to polish and wax occasionally. My red car is almost eight years old and looks fine.

Red DOES fade badly. Maybe yours has been protected well, but many red cars look very sorry for themselves when compared to same aged cars. Worst overall I think are Vauxhalls.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Red absorbs proportionately more UV light, which makes it oxidise more quickly, I think.

 

[hc25036]

My wife and I agree on a few things (good job too really!). One of them is that we do not understand where this trend for Grey coloured cars has come from?

The occasional grey coloured car can look very smart, but there are so many now, it has become borrrriiing.

Back in my youth, in my mind most cars were Red. A few years ago there was a trend for White I think.

Oops. After the test drive we decided on the Ateca and I've just run quickly through the configuration to compare the various specs and chose grey! Perhaps I'll have another look at the bright orange...

 

[Yank]

Red DOES fade badly. Maybe yours has been protected well, but many red cars look very sorry for themselves when compared to same aged cars. Worst overall I think are Vauxhalls.

I've always found silver to be the color that ages worse than all the others.

 

[Yank]

Oops. After the test drive we decided on the Ateca and I've just run quickly through the configuration to compare the various specs and chose grey! Perhaps I'll have another look at the bright orange...

Looks like a good choice. They don't sell Seats in my country, nearest thing we have is the VW Tiguan. What engine did you choose?

 

[stevec67]

Looks like a good choice. They don't sell Seats in my country, nearest thing we have is the VW Tiguan. What engine did you choose?

Seat is the VAG Europe sporty range. The brands essentially break down as, or at least are biased towards:
VW: Core range, family cars, quality build, etc. The reliable choice.
Skoda: Cheaper range, similar mechanicals but fewer high performance options, less luxurious trim, etc. The good value choice.
Audi: Premium quality, better trim, more stylish presentation, higher prices. The choice for those who have the money to choose.
Seat: More performance, often stiffer suspension, shorter gear ratios for better acceleration, quicker steering, etc. Performance often attained at the cost of less comfort, a noisier cabin, or cheap trim like (say) thin carpets and thinner seats. The choice of those who want to enjoy driving.

 

[hc25036]

Looks like a good choice. They don't sell Seats in my country, nearest thing we have is the VW Tiguan. What engine did you choose?

The 1.4 150bhp petrol with DST auto. Same engine as my current Leon and does very nicely in the Ateca

 

[James]

Funny, isn't it. You buy a new car and fret about getting the 'right' options and colour.

You buy a used car with that mindset and you do not get what you want. I went through a stage of wanting a particular model of car, used, but it HAD to have certain combination of options. Needless to say after months of searches, included automated ones by manufacturers used car search alerts, I never found what I wanted.

So ended up buying new, something entirely different and then (cos my wife was over my shoulder) not quite getting the right spec. Which she now ruefully agrees!

It's not much different with building a new house, except there's endless choices in colour combinations and almost EVERYTHING else. I've had that luxury for our last two houses, and I learnt to engage the services of a colour consultant for the second bespoke house.

The breadth of choices with new cars depends on marques. Germans seem to have much more configurable options compared with Japanese, and that's before considering 'individual' options. I think I changed my specs about three times between signing the paper-work and being told the build had begun. My order started off as a 4WD grey four-cylinder turbo-diesel and was delivered as a RWD blue six-cylinder turbo-petrol. I have almost zero regrets.

 

[James]

All paints fade badly if you're too lazy to polish and wax occasionally. My red car is almost eight years old and looks fine.

Even with clear-coated finishes? I can see how polishing and waxing will help with shine, but any fading of colour in the base coat would surely be unaffected by the top coat.

 

[Yank]

Even with clear-coated finishes? I can see how polishing and waxing will help with shine, but any fading of colour in the base coat would surely be unaffected by the top coat.

I have no idea from looking which cars are clear-coated these days. I just see a lot of cars that aren't very old but are already starting to look dull and shabby.

 

[James]

I have no idea from looking which cars are clear-coated these days. I just see a lot of cars that aren't very old but are already starting to look dull and shabby.

Almost all cars sold new in the last 15 years or longer are clear coated. Are you sure you're not seeing satin/frozen finishes? They are quite popular with those not inclined to wax or polish.