Monday, January 11, 2021

Automotive Outlier Update or the Lost Soul of VW

Since July, I have been thinking about this issue and an electric car still seems like a good idea.  In fact, once I got my mind around the idea, buying another fossil fuel car just seems wrong.

But then, there may not be a good choice out there for me, at least not yet.

When I started researching EVs, I thought about what things would be important to me in choosing a electric car.  Of course, most important would be fitting in the car with my height and neck/headache issues.  Not many cars are truly a good fit, so this isn't trivial.  

Next would be a good driving feel.  I can't seem to live without that.  And styling fits in there too.  I can live with a lot of styling choices, but there are some I just can't.  Alas, one of those is the Tesla 3.  Besides being expensive, I find both the inside and outside ugly.  The nose reminds me of a duck or the back of a Henry J without fins.  



Plus, I don't really like Elon, so Tesla is off the list.

I had been leaning toward VW, since they are working very hard on changing to EV after their diesel debacle.  The Buzz microvan that I mentioned in the earlier post looked promising and the ID.4 looked good enough that I put down a refundable deposit to order one.

 

But then I drove a current Jetta.  What an awful disappointment.  The ride was soft and floaty.  The steering was very slow, very light, and non-linear.  There was absolutely no precision and no joy in driving this car.  As it happens, a friend of mine rented a Passat for work about the same time.  He reported the same issues.  Basically, US VW cars, except possibly GTI variants, drive like 1980's Buicks.

I remember visiting Germany and working with the VW engineers on what character a car had to have to be a VW and driving precision was at the heart of it.  I'm afraid that VW in the US has lost it's soul.

 


So now what to do?  Tesla is out for me.  VW looks doubtful too.  My best possible guess at this time is the Ford Mach e.  I hope I fit.

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