Audi unveils little beauty ready to roar in hot hatch market

[neddy]

European cars are fine, just drive for a few years then sell them to the Pommies. The car problems will be theirs.

I received a call from an Indian who bought my Bimmer some time back. The car had failed completely because this idiot had never changed the transition oil ever since I sold to him. The transmission is green labelled, not black labelled. So, he need to change oil.

A reconditioned transmission replacement will set him back $2000.

Good luck to him.

Pommies and Ah neh are the same when it comes to cars.

 

[LeMans2011]

Porsche is built like a tank. It is one of the toughest car ever built and can withstand abuse. To rate it #36 out of #38 i would say is, pure jealousy.

 

[Leongsam]

Pfft....shoddy? That is purely your view whereas I think otherwise.

Like I said you're allowing yourself to be influenced by slick presentations.

I know that german engineering is shoddy because I used to produce electronic components for Bosch.. the brand that keeps the german car industry going.

The Bosch designs were a nightmare to produce. The Germans think very highly of themselves as engineers and incorporate all sorts of fancy functionality into their design incorporating extremely tight tolerances without considering the manufacturing difficulties.

The Japs keep it simple. "Simple" is a lot harder to design but far easier to manufacture.

In order to understand reliability, the best example is the often quoted example of the AK47 vs the M16. Design is everything. Once it's done right, reliability is built in. Get it wrong and the most modern, state of the art assembly will do nothing to save the day.

 

[neddy]

Fair enough that the slow Japanese cars are generally more reliable because they run like turtle. Slow car, low combustion, low heat, low motion, low damage => common sense.

Putting SAAB at #25 ahead of the other cars listed is a joke.

Is that because you live in Singapore and only get underpowered cars?

 

[Leongsam]

Porsche is built like a tank. It is one of the toughest car ever built and can withstand abuse. To rate it #36 out of #38 i would say is, pure jealousy.

The problem is not the mechanical construction. The Achilles heel of most European cars is the electronics and electrical systems.

 

[Leongsam]

Is that because you live in Singapore and only get underpowered cars?

That affects all cars sold in Singapore not just the Japs.

 

[exobay]

Like I said you're allowing yourself to be influenced by slick presentations.

I know that german engineering is shoddy because I used to produce electronic components for Bosch.. the brand that keeps the german car industry going.

The Bosch designs were a nightmare to produce. The Germans think very highly of themselves as engineers and incorporate all sorts of fancy functionality into their design incorporating extremely tight tolerances without considering the manufacturing difficulties.

The Japs keep it simple. "Simple" is a lot harder to design but far easier to manufacture.

In order to understand reliability, the best example is the often quoted example of the AK47 vs the M16. Design is everything. Once it's done right, reliability is built in.

Why worry about reliability in Singapore? Maybe where you are I can understand the frustrations. Over here, our transport system is good enough, not the best but not too bad that one cannot live without a car. I have a tiny 2014 Toyota for the wifey for marketing and small errands. The ride is very bumpy but it is cheap and very very reliable. Happy?

 

[looneytan]

the best example is the often quoted example of the AK47 vs the M16. Design is everything.

What cars are they?

 

[No_Collar]

I saw an accident the other day between a mitsubishi colt and a jaguar xkr. The colt seems to rear ended the left side of the xkr bumper and its whole wheel came off while the colt only suffered minimal dents on its front bumper..

 

[Leongsam]

I saw an accident the other day between a mitsubishi colt and a jaguar xkr. The colt seems to rear ended the left side of the xkr bumper and its whole wheel came off while the colt only suffered minimal dents on its front bumper..

This shows that the Jag is a much safer car.

 

[exobay]

This shows that the Jag is a much safer car.

LOl and if the Jag had been the one to hit the Colt, it will be the owner's head that will come off.:(

 

[LeMans2011]

Not trying to win an argument here BUT: it is useless to look at used car reliability rating because you are rating old cars and a lot of other factors come into play. eg. Toyota drivers are uncles who use the car to fetch his wife to market or his kids to schools - how badly used can the car be? On the other hand people bring their Porches/Lambos or BMWs/Audis to race circuit and have them abuse. I personally run my Audi to 200kmh for a few minutes everyday when i was commuting daily from Malaysia hence it is heavily used.

So there you go, look at the latest 2013 top 10 reliable cars:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/10/2013-consumer-reports-reliability-survey/index.htm
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2013/10/top-10-most-reliable-car-brands-in.html

In summary:
1) Lexus (2012: #3)
2) Toyota (2012: #2)
3) Accura (2012: #7)
4) Audi (2012: #8)
5) Mazda (2012: #4)
6) Infiniti (2012: #9)
7) Volvo (2012: #20)
8) Honda (2012: #6)
9) GMC (2012: #12)
10) Subaru (2012: #5)

I find this Consumer Reports reliability ranking a lot more balance. The one SamLeong pulls out is always saying all Japanese cars are good and all European cars are shit.

 

[exobay]

Not trying to win an argument here BUT: it is useless to look at used car reliability rating because you are rating old cars and a lot of other factors come into play. eg. Toyota drivers are uncles who use the car to fetch his wife to market or his kids to schools - how badly used can the car be? On the other hand people bring their Porches/Lambos or BMWs/Audis to race circuit and have them abuse. I personally run my Audi to 200kmh for a few minutes everyday when i was commuting daily from Malaysia hence it is heavily used.

So there you go, look at the latest 2013 top 10 reliable cars:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/10/2013-consumer-reports-reliability-survey/index.htm

Besides it is not only the speed of the car, but how well it handles the road and the time it takes to brake to a complete stop.

 

[LeMans2011]

Besides it is not only the speed of the car, but how well it handles the road and the time it takes to brake to a complete stop.

Exactly. BMW 5 series has one of the lowest insurance premium despite its high defect rates why? Because the car handles so well and has one of the lowest accident rates. I pay $1800 insurance premium for my 333hp 3 litre supercharged car.

 

[The_Hypocrite]

i still; refer th bmw 1....rear wheel drive hatch.

 

[Papsmearer]

Porsche is built like a tank. It is one of the toughest car ever built and can withstand abuse. To rate it #36 out of #38 i would say is, pure jealousy.

Which fantasy is this? Porsche has the worse reputation for transmission failures, electrical failures and O ring seal failures. The only reliable and dependable Porsche that is anywhere near decent is the Boxster. And that means a stock Boxster, not the Boxster S. Every time I want to buy a Porsche, I have to step back in horror when i read all the stories during my research.

 

[Papsmearer]

Exactly. BMW 5 series has one of the lowest insurance premium despite its high defect rates why? Because the car handles so well and has one of the lowest accident rates. I pay $1800 insurance premium for my 333hp 3 litre supercharged car.

Really?, I am not aware that BMW makes a 3 litre supercharged engine. Pray tell what is the engine model?

 

[exobay]

Really?, I am not aware that BMW makes a 3 litre supercharged engine. Pray tell what is the engine model?

Maybe the 530i model. BMW M3 is usually sold here with a 4 litre engine but some models hahve a bigger capacity.

 

[winners]

....... However, I fail to see why I should reward shoddy design and manufacturing with my custom.......

This I do agree. I once learned from my Taiwanese client that they won't buy European makes because of design shortfall. An example would be their battery's location. Most European models will place their batteries "behind" the engine, just below the front windscreen. This will only heat up the battery and shorten its lifespan.

The Japanese makes will always place their batteries at the front, ahead of the engine and also gets cooled by the wind convection when the vehicle is in motion. When they feedback to Audi, the maker brushed aside and instead told them that they had sold millions of their vehicles in Europe with such design and without any problem, so they wouldn't amend their design. However, little did they know that such a design is not good for tropical climates, although it may only have minimal effect on European climates since their really hot summer temperatures are usually only about 3 weeks duration.

Furthermore, my client is not the ordinary John or Harry. They are the parts suppliers to many of the automotive assembling industries in Taiwan, albeit mostly Japanese and also to Ford.

 

[LeMans2011]

Really?, I am not aware that BMW makes a 3 litre supercharged engine. Pray tell what is the engine model?

Why dont you change your glasses? I did not say I drive a 5 series. In fact I stated quite clearly what I drove earlier but I wont be bothered to explain to some old man stuck in the 80s era.