Mission Possible 1: New Car Hunting <Size does matter!>
Last Sunday, Pii Jens and I decided to go out for visiting some car dealers nearby. We wanted to try out by at least sitting in a car and see if Pii Jens can comfortably fit on the driver's seat on first hand. Size has been problematic for us, or especially Pii Jens' family because all family members are very tall. So we could at least do the pre-scanning before we decide to put more effort on the driving test tours.
So our day out yesterday has been an eye-opening for us because we then did not have to dream about cars that we (or primarily Pii Jens) could not fit in anymore.
The reason we started looking for a new car is that our car is getting old. This means the motor starts making more noise, and more expenses on reparation. In fact, it has been driving for almost 170,000 kms now. Despite we have been quite happy for this car, we have to let it go to some points.
In the beginning, we focused on a full-sized sedan or stationwagon so we at least can be more or less sure that there're some chances that we might be able to fit in. This idea is based on our good experience with our 10 years old VW Passat.
The Size Scanning
Volvo Anyway, we started with the first car dealer, which was Bilia (official car dealer for Volvo, Renault and Ford). When we looked for cars on internet, regarding to price, quality, and our own requirement (budget, size, and motor), we thought that Volvo would be one of the good options. The exterior, interior designs and the accessories are great.
Volvo surprised us because it is not spacious as we have hoped. We tried both S60 and V70, but it did not make any different. However, Pii Jens and I agreed that the the interior design looks pretty great and fabulous. But sadly, we had to stop dreaming about Volvo.
S60
V70
Renault The sale guy did not give up though he convinced us to try Renault. Surprisingly, Pii Jens could comfortably fit in Mégane Touring (stationwagon). We were actually quite surprised because we couldn't imagine that France would make car with lots of leg room. (We always thought that France and Italy always makes small cars for their small people).
Mégane Touring
Ford Our next car dealer another Bilia car dealer in another town (the one with Volvo and Renault did not have Ford cars.) We wanted to try Ford cars now. Actually, the S-Max and New Mondeo (stationwagon) are quite spacious. The interior design was not that bad either. It's a clean line with sporty touch. Wow :) Actually, I had positive impression with Ford because my driving teacher's car is Ford Mondeo and it's quite easy to drive. So, Ford would definitely one of the options we're going to consider.
S-Max is a real family car with up to 7 seats, and it's actually pretty similar to Citröen C4 Grand Picasso that Pii Jens used to drive (company's car).
S-Max
New Mondeo (Stationwagon)
Audi After Ford, we moved further to Audi car dealer. Again, Audi disappointed us with too small leg rooms for Pii Jens. We tried both A4 and A6, but A6 didn't make much different (though we knew that we couldn't afford A6, so we tried anyway.) However, there's nothing else to complain about Audi. The design was so exclusive both interior and exterior. We could feel the quality.
A4
A6
Peugeot Next, we visited Peugeot. Why Peugeot? Well, a couple years ago we visited France and rented a car. It was Peugeot 407 stationwagon, and Pii Jens really liked the design and enjoyed driving in it. So we decided to visit Peugeot car dealer.
We tried Peugeot 407 and of course Pii Jens could fit in the driver's seat without problem. We were also convinced by the sales to try Peugeot 308 stationwagon. Actually and surprisingly, it has better driver's space & leg room than 407. It was so amazing. The interior design was a bit similar to Ford. So it's not that bad at all :)
407
308
Toyota The last car dealer we visited for the day was Toyota. I asked Pii Jens why Toyota? And he answered that he was an old Toyota boy . He used to drive a lot in his Dad's both sedan Toyota and frequently Toyota HiAce (the mini van) to transport lots of bicycles while his dad still had a bike shop. Anyway, we tried the new Corolla but the driver's leg room was too small. So the sales suggested Verso, and it actually gave a lot more leg room on the driver's side. Anyway, we decided to go home because we were so thirsty suddenly and couldn't bear the heat on the hot day anymore (it was about 30 celcius yesterday). Moreover, we had no aircon in our old Passat!
Verso
New Corolla
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Next round candidates: Anyway, the next round candidates that we'd spend more time considering pros & cons are:
Ford - New Mondeo & S-Max
Peugeot - 407 and 308
Toyota - Verso & Corolla
And of course new VW Passat We did not visit VW car dealer to try the new Passat because we already did that 2 years ago right after the premier, so we knew that we could fit in there without any problem. :)
For me, I'd say I still believe in German quality, and thus would still prioritize Passat as no. 1
Create Date : 28 กรกฎาคม 2551 |
Last Update : 28 กรกฎาคม 2551 19:40:18 น. |
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6 comments
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Sound excellent all of them ..I prefer Totota>>
people call them a .smart car ...safe and safty ..
now I am looking for Land cruiser from To yo ta
be well