The KOREANs are coming!

[grober]

The KOREANs are coming! [YOUTUBE]PjK6BPIyvVY&feature=relmfu[/YOUTUBE]

 

[ringway]

I actually like the styling of the car, but the interior lighting colours don't compliment each other at all.

 

[E CLASS]

The Koreans are already here and have been for years and their products are continously improving.

Rock solid depreciation too!(I mean huge of course) so a good used buy!

 

[crockers]

And they believe in their products and give 5 or 7 year warranties...

 

[blaser24nig]

I actually like the styling of the car, but the interior lighting colours don't compliment each other at all.

where did you see the interior lighting colors?

 

[MOCAŠ]

The KOREANs are coming!

Nice enough car, but I don't see why they're getting that excited about it...

 

[Charles Morgan]

Looks like a BMW 5 series has raped a Skoda.

Very quiet though.

 

[grober]

Nice enough car, but I don't see why they're getting that excited about it...

The price and warranty perhaps? The Koreans were previously regarded as worthy but dull. They are now getting their European styling up to speed with a R&D Center located in Russelsheim Germany, hiring ex Audi stylist Peter Schreyer and a production plant in Zilina, Slovakia. With the success and undoubted quality of Kumho tyres [ OEM to Mercedes!] and other Korean manufacturers the Europeans had better look to their laurels.
Question:- There's a definite choice of marketing philosophy between a make of car offering a 7 year warranty and cheap servicing and another marque packed with electrical gismos like lane keeping assist/attention assist/distronic plus/intelligent light system/speed limit assist/parktronic/pre-safe ---I begin to wonder if Mercedes has made the right choice having chosen to focus its engineering prowess on gadgetry rather than a return to its fundamental engineering values in its latest models ?

 

[Dieselman]

I begin to wonder if Mercedes has made the right choice having chosen to focus its engineering prowess on gadgetry rather than a return to its fundamental engineering values in its latest models ?

Most people don't know what quality is anymore and think the more buttons and gizmo's the better a product is.

 

[Adam230K]

Most people don't know what quality is anymore and think the more buttons and gizmo's the better a product is.

And thats why BMW are so highly regarded.

 

[wemorgan]

Most people don't know what quality is anymore and think the more buttons and gizmo's the better a product is.

or the sound the door makes when it's closed.......some engineers manage to make a decent living engineering such nonsense

 

[MOCAŠ]

Most people don't know what quality is anymore and think the more buttons and gizmo's the better a product is.

I'm a firm believer in the maxim that quality is "built-in, not bolted-on" (quoted lifted from a halcyon-era edition of Car, may have even been from the pen of Setright himself).

Back when MBs were known for their hewn-from-solid BQ, it didn't matter that they didn't have electric windows or air conditioning. Their luxury credentials were defined by the smoothness of the ride; from the effortless progress afforded by an unstressed engine; and yes, from the feeling of reasurrance you got when shutting the door.

Meanwhile, mainstream manufacturers would load their cars with gadgets without addressing the fundamentals, such that the banks of switches offered little compensation for the tinny clang of the doors, the choppy ride or the fact that every journey would be accompanied by a tiresome assortment of squeaks and rattles. And you could all-but guarantee that the gadgets themselves would have a miserably short service life before they started misbehaving.

But there is a third way: good build quality, plus reliable electronics. It's taken a while for MB to exorcise their demons in these areas, but recent reports have indicated that they are now back in the game. That's not to say they are going to start offering 5-year+ warranties just yet; in a sense, they don't need to, as their cars tend to sell on the reputation of the three-pointed star, and even when that repuation was at its nadir the brand appreciation seemed undiminished.

The Koreans are offering long-term warranties not only because they can, but as a marketing ploy to overcome buyer resistance, in the same way that Japanese manufacturers used to include a high spec as standard as a sales incentive. As an established player, MB need only match the market standard.

 

[Dieselman]

or the sound the door makes when it's closed.......some engineers manage to make a decent living engineering such nonsense

Now that's important...

My best sounding ones are my old Cits, they just thunk..

 

[Dieselman]

As an established player, MB need only match the market standard.

For now, but why is Toyota the largest car manufacturer in the World. They were the leaders in terms of reliability on fairly sparsely specification cars.

 

[Usuf_x]

nice looking car but they value will drop a lot quickly.

As for a Toyota > you cant go wrong with them, very reliable car

 

[crockers]

nice looking car but they value will drop a lot quickly.

As for a Toyota > you cant go wrong with them, very reliable car

As is Honda - but they have problems selling cars now.

 

[artyman]

Kia are possibly in the same situation that Skoda were some years ago, they now have a reputation of solid reliable no nonsense good value cars. If Kia follow their route then they will also enjoy a similar reputation a bit further down the line when residual values will follow normal trends and improve. On the subject of residuals, how much do you lose on a big engined Mercedes a few years down the line. I wonder how some folk can afford the amount lost on depreciation in the first couple of years.

 

[wemorgan]

Depreciation is all relative to how much you paid in the first place. I'd imagine a Mercedes would cost 30-50% more that of a Kia on a pence per mile basis.

 

[grober]

Here's another UGLY Korean product shortly to grace our shores. The i40 [YOUTUBE]6o0kHXqBbPY&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[prm]

Here's another UGLY Korean product shortly to grace our shores. The i40 [YOUTUBE]6o0kHXqBbPY&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

I quite like it...