Euro cars

[RIĐO]

Hello gentlemen

Since north america and europe have very different roads and overall perception of performance I was just wondering whats your opinion on these cars that are available in europe. I know many people from the states are used to high hp cars but here in europe everything up from 200hp is considered high hp car.
The cars i am refering to are:

Megane rs

Seat leon cupra

A45 amg

I really like latest Megane rs. It's a blast to drive and i don't mind fwd since I've got 86 for hooning and racing.

Seat leon cupra is also awesome machine but the turn off is that it is a part of VAG group (stupid reason I know).

A45amg is also very nice car but maybe too expensive for what it is.

Both a45 and cupra st are awd but it is a fwd biased awd so nothing special.

Since internet is saturated with high hp cars some people don't really understand how powerfull a 300hp car is especially on narrow twisted roads.

Would any of you consider any of these cars if they were available in your country?

I think they would make a great daily car especialy if you already own a rwd/awd sports car.

Just wondering.

Cheers.

[Impureclient]

I don't really like hatches but of those three, the Megane RS for sure. I think they would do really well in the U.S. for what you are paying and what you are getting.

[Sasquachulator]

Theres just a lot more options for hot hatches in Europe because North America does not like small hatchbacks. Well Canada does, but we get the same cars that the US does because Canada is just like US lapdog....just follows them around in everything.

[weederr33]

I'd hop on the A45 AMG in a heartbeat. It's always been a hot hatch lust of mine. But yeah it is very expensive and the concept of a manual transmission pretty much divorced Mercedes in the late 90's :/

[RIĐO]

I think it's strange they don't offer at least a45 in the states since fuel is way cheaper and since they sell cla45 amg. Over here the fuel is expensive and in general cars are way more expensive.
5.0 mustang is about 60k eur, wrx sti is 55k eur, gt86 starts at 35k eur etc.


I would assume that sports cars are more easily sold in usa because of the size of the market, fuel prices and liberty for potential modifications.

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by RIĐO

I think it's strange they don't offer at least a45 in the states since fuel is way cheaper and since they sell cla45 amg. Over here the fuel is expensive and in general cars are way more expensive.
5.0 mustang is about 60k eur, wrx sti is 55k eur, gt86 starts at 35k eur etc.


I would assume that sports cars are more easily sold in usa because of the size of the market, fuel prices and liberty for potential modifications.

American's just don't buy hot hatches, and they sure as hell won't buy a Merc that's a hot hatch.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

I don't really like hatches but of those three, the Megane RS for sure. I think they would do really well in the U.S. for what you are paying and what you are getting.

That particular Mégane with choice carbon bits and bobs will retail circa £72k...carbon wheels etc.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by weederr33

American's just don't buy hot hatches, and they sure as hell won't buy a Merc that's a hot hatch.

Didn't the Ford Focus Mk3 RS do okay with you guys?

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by JD001

Didn't the Ford Focus Mk3 RS do okay with you guys?

It was literally around for 2 years. Popular for those who knew what it was and that it existed.

[RIĐO]

Originally Posted by JD001

That particular Mégane with choice carbon bits and bobs will retail circa £72k...carbon wheels etc.

Oh yeah you're right. That's the one without rear seats too. I jist quickly uploaded the pics and i didn't notice it was trophy-r edition.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by weederr33

It was literally around for 2 years. Popular for those who knew what it was and that it existed.

A local tuning company just launched a 513bhp upgrade for the Focus.... The car's number plate a bit of a coincidence...

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by JD001

Didn't the Ford Focus Mk3 RS do okay with you guys?

Originally Posted by weederr33

It was literally around for 2 years. Popular for those who knew what it was and that it existed.

Yep, at least initially it sold relatively well, about 500 units a month in the first 9 months, at least according to this article.

There may be an issue with 44% of the sales being in just five states so it could be the market was saturated at that point.

CA 627 18%
MI 256 7%
TX 244 7%
FL 230 7%
PA 192 5%
Others 1,951 56%

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by JD001

A local tuning company just launched a 513bhp upgrade for the Focus.... The car's number plate a bit of a coincidence...

Probably means "Beast Ford RS"

[strat61caster]

If you already own a fun car that kind of sucks for driving around town why would you spend a bunch of money buying another fun car that also kind of sucks for driving around town?

US roads are not well maintained, that's why American car companies build large soft vehicles that glide over poor roads, the Germans, French, and Spanish put more money towards public upkeep than we do and it reflects in the products they develop. These kinds of cars make sense as an only car that does everything decently well, as a secondary car most people would rather pick something cheaper and more comfortable to compliment a fun car, the GTI does well here because it errs on the side of comfort over performance. Most of this country is open roads, there are places where a twisty backroad or racetrack is a 12+ hour drive away, we don't get taxed on displacement and only in rare locations based on emissions so buying a V6 or V8 car with 300+ horsepower and a comfortable ride is far more common a desire than a high revving turbo-laggy corner carver that bounces you down mainstreet.


Hatchbacks suffered poor reputation due to the failure in the 70's of several small cars like the Gremlin, Pinto, Chevette, and the various imports from Japan and Europe that fell apart, had no power, and poor reliability, today the primary NEW car buying demographic is in their 50's-60's who were starting to drive in the late 70's and early 80's when those little shitboxes were readily available, and they were total shitboxes tainting the perception of hatchbacks as a whole for a generation. They never stood a chance to the big fat lazy american iron for 'reliability' (the metal was 3x as thick so it took 3x longer to rust through) and comfort. Also add in a decades long campaign about crash safety, early small cars were death traps, that sentiment persists over here, it's very common to hear the sentiment about buying your beloved spouse or child a big ass fucking SUV to 'protect them' in case of a crash. I've seen it posted on these forums a few times even, supposedly packed with enthusiasts.

I bet hatchbacks pick up steam in America in about a decade as younger Gen X and Millenials become the core new car buyer demographic who started driving when Civics Integras and RSX's and GTI's were good.


And that's not even getting into the fact that SEAT and Renault don't sell cars here at all and those cars are likely not designed to pass our crash testing standards. It took Fiat an extra 2 years to bring the 500 and Alfa 4c to America because while they passed Euro crash tests they couldn't pass American crash testing without significant design changes, for instance the Abarth wasn't sold here with an automatic transmission for at least two years because it didn't fit with the revised chassis that was stiffened to pass the crash tests, and the US 4c is like 200 pounds heavier than the Euro model.

I'm just happy Mercedes keeps selling E63S AMG Wagons over here. Maybe I can afford one some day...