Buying a new Car
The last few weeks, I had a sudden inclination to go to the showrooms to test drive some cars.
I guess the main cause is that COEs have been going up, and also because recently my Toyota Wish has been giving me problems.
The Toyota Wish is a real functional car, but it has grown to a bit cramp for the family. With the 2 car seats, and 1 booster seat, the car is always fully-packed when we go out. In terms of the car interiors, the kids have maximized all the compartments, and even my cup holder has been stolen by the kids. (Read about it here)
I decided to test-drive a mini MPV instead of a full size MPV(as they have better fuel consumption), and after driving Japanese all my life, I decided to test drive a European car as they offered better road handling and safety.
I was looking at 2 essential ingredients: Safety and Performance.
With these factors in mind, I looked at:
1) The Volkswagen Touran
2) Citroen Grand Picasso
Both of them are Ranked 5 star in terms to European Safety standards and in terms of Performance:
Both cars have a turbo engine, but the Volkswagen has more power and offers better fuel consumption. (I will spare you all the techie specifications, as it might be a bit boring to read if u are not a car enthusiast)
The Volkswagen also needs a smaller area to make a turn, and it is therefore more agile as compared to the Citroen Grand Picasso.
When looking at the Interior:
The Volkswagen is very simple and functional. This is German Efficiency at its best, and everything is placed with no frills and made with a “boring” efficiency.
For the French Citroen Grand Picasso:
The Driving Console was artistically done, with lots of extra compartments to put all your essentials. The car also has a “moon roof” and it has increased visibility with it’s larger than life windscreen.
In the Volkswagen Touran:
Last row seats were small, which were similar to the Citroen. However, the car seemed smaller than the Citroen, and it felt cramped when the family squeezed into the German Automobile.
Both Cars could fold their 2 and 3rd row seats down, so as to carry more luggage, and both had European simplicity in shifting the chairs.
Hmm…Which car should I choose? Power or Functionability?
Find out in the next post…