It’s not crazy, but it seems, to me, the engine isn’t properly designed. 2.0T engine makes 134hp? Damn, I’ve got a 1.8NA in my Miata that makes 129 at the wheels and hasn’t had a single problem in 23 years. Get your shit together BMW.
Oh, don’t get me started with the focus RS. Cool idea, poorly executed.
I can definitely see the argument there. I think the problem I’m seeing is that I’ve seen multiple instances of reliability issues show up way too early on an engine that’s not really making impressive numbers. 134hp in a 2.0 is just over half of what Audi does with the 2.0 they put in the Q5.
I drove one of those. Fun car. Odd looking? yes. Did I like the styling? Not particularly, but it was definitely fun.
I have to agree with you on how good the engine sounds. It’s wonderful.
All in all, they’re alright cars, but I’ve got some concerns about a few things that just make them a bad fit for me. If you like them, love them. That’s the thing about a car that’s a bit out of the ordinary. People will love them and people will hate them. That’s part of what makes them so good. You have a car that mirrors the character of the driver.
This is the point I was making, so maybe I misunderstood your original comment. 134 HP out of their engine is certainly not squeezing out too much for the size. The 1.4 liter in my Abarth makes 160hp and has proven to be a reliable powertrain in the market for most-all folks except those who smoke their clutches, the lead-footed goons.
Do you have a source for your claim about their engine problems? I’m looking through JD Power and CarComplaints lists and can’t find anything significant other than the timing chain issue they had a recall for in like 2009 or 2010. Is this another case of reputation not being backed by reality? (A reputation I have attributed to them as well. Not accusing you or anything I may not also be guilty of lol.)
I have the greatest appreciation for this sentiment. I love that you can learn a lot about a person by what they drive and how they talk about their car.
I was discussing the VehiCross with a coworker and how it appeals to me for the same reasons by Abarth does. Quirky, weird, has superficial design problems that aggressively bother some but aren’t a concern to me, and is objectively a very very capable vehicle for what it was designed to do. He went off on a rant about how it’s a stupid ugly dumb Jeep impersonation that’s ugly and universally hated and how I’m gonna lose money on it (Prices starting at $3,500. I think I’d be fine lol) and it’s not worth the scrap price and it’s the worst thing ever put on 4 tires. You can hate the car, but yeesh! Seems to me like a VehiCross swept in and stole his woman back in 2001 or something.
This guy drives a leased BMW 6-series that he can’t really afford. I don’t endorse the opinion that BMW is a pretentious brand, but making serious financial sacrifices to drive a brand-new BMW because you like the image it projects is a pretty pretentious thing to do. For somebody who works as an engineer for an auto-maker he seems to not really get what’s wonderful about cars, and not really have much of a love for them himself.
Anyway, as a consequence of this rant I want that particular vehicle even more. It’s moved up a couple slots on my consideration list. Guess that does say a fair bit about my personality, eh?
I’ll chime in and say Suzuki Grand Vitara/XL-7 are cheap and fun.
Old Jeeps and Land Cruisers are def. great.
However, for maximum fun/weird/interesting/cool you need a GAZ 69 or 69-A.
Meh, a lot of worse offenders imo. Like a lot of modern pickup tracks with a massive amount of polished steel on their grill and like massive letters spelling out the model on the tailgate. Why don’t you get a tattoo on your face and ass branded with the model name as well? And massive shiny grills on pickup trucks are about as classy as massive shiny grills on rappers.
Cars, like many things, are very subjective when it comes to looks. Personally, I think things like the Juke are ugly as sin and like the look of (for example) the new Ranger, even though it is fair to say it’s a departure from what it used to be…
According to spintires :U its probably 6 normal then 3 rear. I don’t understand how rear-end shifting works. I’ll keep my stupid little drift mobiles @>@
