>>>"Or maybe even have put Traction control, or stability control, or intelligent four wheel drive, or better interiors or climate control, even basic aircon, or even a ICE system of any kind."
Er, it seems even the most basic £6k Sandero has Stability Control, Traction Control, and Emergency Brake Assist. (and tyre pressure monitoring)
The Duster Laureate adds (amongst other things) alloys, cruise, aircon and onboard computer for £1500 more than the Duster Ambiance spec.
Hyundai put aircon on an i10 for £660.
And these are the costs to the end customer, not the manufacturer.
Once you've got ABS, then ESC, TC, EBD, hill hold, hill descent, electronic-limited-slip-diff etc are largely just software, as is cruise.
Once you've got basic aircon, climate is largely sensors, stepper-motor ducting flaps, and software.
Adding these features doesn't force the manufacturers to add thousands and thousands to the price of the car; they choose to.
Regards the spec of the Land Wind X7, for all I know it may well have most of the toys the Evoque has, but it is priced at less than half as much.
>>>"the first level of aspiration is to have an "off road" SUV. The second level of aspiration is to have a "real" off road SUV, and the third to have an SUV that "real" offroaders (rich farmers) are envious of."
Come on, NoFM, the Evoque must be about the least likely of any SUV to be taken off-road in real life. The cheapest, £29k, model is even 2WD only. I can't see many farmers being envious.
Disparaging of the yummy mummy SUV brigade? Hmm... well I've been taking one or other kid to primary school on the odd occasion for about the past 14 years, so I've had time to observe their oneupmanship struggles.
One of the funniest moments was when one got a second-hand Discovery 3. Made sure she got a non-dating plate slapped on it pronto, but then spoke to my wife - because she was a 'close-enough' friend to confide in - and actually APOLOGISED that she'd had to get a Discovery 3 because the Discovery 4's were slightly beyond her financial reach...
That's the difference between her and my wife, who only usually remembers whether anyone's car is 'big' or 'small' and what colour it is...
You're darn right that 'Range Rover' and 'Evoque' are what they desperately aspire to - to 'make an entrance' in.
All I'm saying is that they didn't buy it because they required its sophisticated 4WD drivetrain - they wouldn't realise if they'd actually been sold a 2WD one. Seen on the other carriageway, or across the carpark, or passing the pavement cafe, by their clique-members or the general public, if a Land Wind (or some future Dacia) looks like, or as good/striking as, an Evoque, it will have done the job, until viewed close enough to judge the panel gaps. And if it was priced at only £14k brand new, it would, for example, have been within my wife's friend's financial reach, and thus would have soothed her terrible guilt.
Last edited by: Enderman on Thu 27 Nov 14 at 00:23
|