What Else?

[Autopia]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

I thought long and hard about it last night and whilst I really like the Ford I don't love it. A car needs to offer more than merely the thrill of super fast acceleration.
If my leasing company can show me that the R36 is affordable it will be my next car. Although the CC is cheaper and has the same motor.

[R36 Dreamer]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

I thought long and hard about it last night and whilst I really like the Ford I don't love it. A car needs to offer more than merely the thrill of super fast acceleration.
If my leasing company can show me that the R36 is affordable it will be my next car. Although the CC is cheaper and has the same motor.

I had a Holden SS and loved it initially, however it takes no time from it feeling brand new to old. After a couple of months I thought it had lost a great deal of tightness and felt really loose. Rattles etc. were pronounced.

Conversely the VW GTI was fine after 2 years, and the R36 has had no problems. There are some rattles, but at least when they are fixed they dont come back.

I cant recommend the 36 highly enough.

Just my two bobs worth.

[First VW]

I had a look at BMW 325i, lexus IS250 sports, Subaru Liberty TB STI, and deicded on the R36. I previously owned accord euro (the first generation) and MY07 liberty GTB. The R36 is so much more of a car than the rest, with the value, it offers so much more than the rest, from power, handling, small stuff like dynamic headlights, heated seats etc. The build quality is also up there, it feels solid. So in terms of power and performance, I would say R36 is a good balance, very good handling, drives nothing like a big car (it is a fairly decent sized car), easy to drive, power is there when you want it, gearchange is awesome, and in terms of comfort and luxury, its all there. I did consider the passat CC but personally I think its more towards luxury than performance and it looks more 'mature' so I went for R36. Having said all that, its my 2 cents anyway, so the decision is still yours. =)

[gregozedobe]

It is important to consider what the car will be like after you have owned it and the "thrill" of the test drive has worn off. What is impressive at first may become tedious after a while, or just not very important.

Back-to-back test drives over your regular roads can sometimes help you decide.

If resale value is a serious consideration then you will probably be better off buying a 1-2 year old used car and letting the first owner pay the depreciation slug that goes with a brand new'un.

[olcoop]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

I thought long and hard about it last night and whilst I really like the Ford I don't love it. A car needs to offer more than merely the thrill of super fast acceleration.
If my leasing company can show me that the R36 is affordable it will be my next car. Although the CC is cheaper and has the same motor.

I was told that the CC would work out a lot dearer.

The dealer said that no fleet discounts would apply!

Has anyone got info different to that?

[Autopia]

I was told that the CC would work out a lot dearer.

The dealer said that no fleet discounts would apply!

Has anyone got info different to that?

Don't know about fleet pricing but the standard RRP of the R36 wagon is $67590 and the CC is $65990.

[Audemars]

I had a really hard time making up my mind (until I heard about the R36).

I looked at several options but for me price was really an issue. It wasn't so much the budget itself, but rather finding "bang for the buck" (quality, specs, performance, looks, safety, and space).

Having lived all my life in Europe I still find most European cars to be outrageously overpriced here in Oz. I just can't bring myself to justify paying 50-90% $$ mark-up when I know how much I would have paid for the same car in Sweden/UK/France/Germany.

The shortlist consisted of:
- BMW 3-series Touring (too small and overpriced)
- BMW 5-series Touring (nice ride, enough room but again overpriced)
- Subaru Liberty (too small, ride was too harsh, didn't like the interior)
- Audi A4 and A6 Avant (look great but A4 too small, A6 too pricey)
- Holden Sportwagon (don't love/trust the brand, could get R36 for similar money to the Calais V-series)
- Mazda 6 wagon (nice exterior but no options available, boring engine)

The R36 just seems to me like outstanding value for money whilst being great fun to drive and practical too. Having said that, if my wallet had allowed for it I'd probably have gone with the RS6, the M5 wagon or the E63 AMG wagon.

[tryingavw]

The shortlist consisted of:
- BMW 3-series Touring (too small and overpriced)
- BMW 5-series Touring (nice ride, enough room but again overpriced)
- **Subaru Liberty (too small, ride was too harsh, didn't like the interior)
- Audi A4 and A6 Avant (look great but A4 too small, A6 too pricey)
- ** Holden Sportwagon (don't love/trust the brand, could get R36 for similar money to the Calais V-series)
- Mazda 6 wagon (nice exterior but no options available, boring engine)
:

interesting, i went through exactly the same analysis although suba ( too jappy) and holden ( usual reasons) not on the list.

was pretty keen on the mazda -but way too plasticy. nice drive though.

also looked at peugot 408 which in v6 diesel is very nice. but quite large & we didnt really need that.

final shortlist was a4 wagon, 323wagon, passat. glad we got the passat though i reckon a4 would also be great.

just about to head off to philip island again ( hope i dont cop another ticket! )

[Deedub68]

Yup, I looked at a G6E T as well.

To be honest, I was kind of sold on the R36 already, but wanted to eliminate possible contenders.

So I went to the dealership and plopped myself into the G6E in the showroom. Seems solid enough, and looked the business, but on opening the doors did not have that "built like a tank" feel of the Passat. Strike 1.

Salesman goes to get the key...and the electric seats refuse to work! And this on a showroom car! Hmmm, not a good sign...Strike 2.

So anyway, the sales guy says that next week he has a G6E T coming in and would I like to take one for a drive? Yes I say and give him my card (I'm a company director, and this is stated on my card, so he should have taken my request seriously). Long story short...I never heard back...Strike 3.

No doubt the G6E & G6E T are pretty good value for money, but I pity the fools who cannot look past a Ford or Holden badge.

At the end of the day, I love my R36: those seats, that engine, the gearbox, the handling, and that engine NOTE leave the local 6's for dead.

Just my .02c