What's important to you when choosing a car?

  • When choosing a car, power, acceleration, speed and handling are important to me. I consider the entire package, but a car must be fun to drive.
  • When choosing a car, power, acceleration, speed and handling are of little importance to me. I consider space, comfort, warranty and service, economy, etc… to be much more important.

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@afterspivak and I need your help. I am willing to admit defeat once the Forumosans have spoken.

Considering the traffic in Taiwan, you’ll be waiting and driving slowly much more than speeding!

Hence, comfort, space and economy are keep factors when choosing a car :sunglasses:

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Depends where you live. Taipei City work commute, yeah.

Not only.
Highways during national holidays, too. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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They were actually ok yesterday and today. Pleasantly surprised.

Huh. One of the things I love about living in the Taipei area is the near-zero need I have to ever buy a car again, at least as long as I stay here. “When choosing a car…” has about as much appeal as “When choosing a root canal …”

If forced to choose … speed wouldn’t be on the list at all. Safety, fuel efficiency, cost. Handling’s there somewhere, because that’s part of safety. When I’m driving something, visibility is probably the #1 thing I care about from moment to moment.

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Small petrol engine turbo is best of both worlds, speed, handling and economy.
Suzuki vitara, Skoda Fabia, Ford Fiesta.

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You dislike driving or prefer using public transportation? Maybe both?

I don’t like public transportation personally. Crowded, uncomfortable and slower. Sometimes even more expensive.

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MRT yes :+1: Taiwan busses :-1: car :thinking:

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Convenience/cost of parking a car in cities :-1: HSR speed :+1:

I have a motorcycle to go places that are inconvenient using public transportation, I use public transportation when it is more convenient than the motorcycle. Until I have children, I have no need or desire for a car.

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City driving is awful. To me, Taipei public transportation is better than Taipei driving. But Taipei’s public transportation is very, very good. In many other cities the calculus would be different. Which is one reason I live in Taipei.

But one of my main goals has always been to live walking distance from work, and for now I’ve got that. When the weather’s good I probably go the most miles on a bicycle, which is almost entirely recreational.

I know that some people enjoy driving a car, but to me it’s a chore. Miserable weather makes me wish I weren’t going anywhere. Good weather makes me wish I was on a bicycle. There was some pleasure in driving and speed and handling on winding roads when I was a teen and in my early twenties, but that was long ago.

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Yeah, I think that’s the only reason I’d bother with a car. I get scared enough in random taxis when it’s just me and my wife. With kids, no friggin’ way.

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Admittedly surprised so far, but the night is young.

Full disclosure, did a lot of dirt/gravel racing in my youth. Flipped an Escort two and a half times end over end and walked away unscathed. Totalled a Camero doing drifts too.

I’ve settled down a lot though and can drive the speed limit without much pain. But I need to feel that acceleration from a stop on an open road.

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Yeah, me too. Currently I’m working for a university in an inconvenient area, and although I could live there I don’t really want to (did it for 6 months when I first arrived). So, I’m doing the motorcycle commute (except on days when it is pouring rain, but public transportation takes a similar amount of time and is never busy when I want to go to that destination)

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I think we’d all, at least those willing to live city life, love to live in a truly walkable city. I don’t think Taipei is anywhere close though.

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Apparently for Taiwanese purpose is to show off with its Porsches and Teslas.
For me it would be pure economics and cheap repair - therefor a compact japanese brand.

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My wife drives a Fiesta for those reasons and because it’s easy to park. It is nice to drive, handles well and has decent passing acceleration, but it’s slow off the start, about 10 seconds to 100. It has that computer controlled clutch that can be a bit wonky at times too. If it had the 2.0 turbo from the Focus, it would be really fun

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I know it sounds weird but my next car will probably be either a Subaru or a Benz with full time AWD. So much rain and winding roads in Taiwan…

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My relatives back home all drive AWD Subarus. They are designed to do maintenance by yourself too, which can save a lot. Nice to see consumer forward thinking in design.

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I bought used diesel Renault for 7k euros. Had 120km, 4 year old, consumption is 5.5 with mix drive. On high way 4.5. Drove 40 000 km, no major repair needed. Just oil and breaks.

They say French make terrible car. I say people spent too much on car. I don’t like to be poor cause of house or car

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