Am I expecting too much??

[bubbadubba]

Can I get a sanity check....
We are looking at replacing our family car. 2015 tiguan that's been great, top spec, lovely to drive and a nice place to be.
Looked at both a T roc and then a test drive in a T Cross........very disappointing to say the least. I can only assume that they have been built to the lowest cost possible.
We prefered the look of the T Cross over T Roc. Thats all we liked about it though. The interior was very cheap feeling with scratchy plastics everywhere that rattled and squeeked over every bump. The 1.0l 115ps tsi was at best adequate and lacked any torque that was noticeable. The doors felt flimsy and light, definitely didnt shut like a "golf" The reverse camera picture looked like a betamax video image from the 90s. The seats were not just not comfortable. The stereo sounded awful, I am guessing cheap speakers?......I could go on.
I was driving it thinking where has the vw build quality gone? I said to the salesman it doesn't feel like a Vw, felt more like a Dacia or renault!!
Every VW we have owned always felt solid or premium over the "budget brands"
It apears this is no longer the case, the price does not reflect the product anymore.
Are all cars going the same way? Am I being unreasonable?.....I am thinking of buying a different brand for the first time ever.......I'm a bit gutted to be honest.

 

[BuilderJay]

It’s the way the world is going TBH.
My mate works for Toyota and he said they are basically French now.
Personally I don’t think cars and vans will ever be built the same. Even security is poor. Don’t think the manufacturers care as if your car gets nicked what you gonna do?? Yep that’s right go and buy another.
Shame really.

 

[Bav]

I think most brands are heading this way, not least to cover the enormous cost of introducing/developing EV and hybrid models. IMO, VW are worse than most, as there's the additional matter of recouping the £0.75 billion they were fined for the emissions scandal. The EU commission may or may not have intended to punish VW and their owners/shareholders, but guess who's really picking up the tab!

 

[TallPaul_S]

Isn't the T-Cross the 'budget' SUV in the line up? There's £10k difference between that and a current model Tiguan. So a large part may be that you're comparing a higher end old model to a current base version.

My 2017 Skoda Superb was built really well, but I wouldn't jump in a 2024 fabia and expect the same quality.

 

[Sasquatch]

Every VW we have owned always felt solid or premium over the "budget brands"

It was never really the case to begin with.

For example, a quick flick though the What Car Reliability Index shows no VW model performs above average when compared to say, Ford, when it comes to the frequency and cost of warranty claims.

Ditto JD Power, which doesn't reflect terrible well on them when it comes to customer satisfaction.

What VW have always been masters at is giving an impression of "quality" (whatever that really means) by many methods, ranging from slick and clever advertising through to actually 'tuning' the doors so they make a satisfying noise when closed (they're no better or worse than anyone else's doors, but the brain perceives that they are.)

Ditto the way they engineer the feel of the switches - they're no better in operation than Ford switches, or any longer lived than Nissan switches, but because VW work on the way they feel they convey that coveted impression of quality. And it is just an impression. It costs barely any more and doesn't make the switch at all superior in either function or longevity, but allows VW to justify the premium prices in the minds of buyers.

They also carefully control the amount they sell in the UK so as not so flood the market and affect re-sale values, which thus further justifies to the buyer the higher retail price on a new model. This is at odds to, say, Peugeot's stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap philosophy.

They play every trick in the book to make buyers truly believe it's a quality product, while doing little to actually deliver on that promise. Thus they can charge premium prices for a product that cost them mainstream prices to manufacture.

And having planted those seeds in the psyche of buyers they then charge that premium for a product that is no better, no more reliable, no more durable than a similar product from Ford or Toyota.

There's nothing wrong with them, but it's never been a premium product in anything but image.

 

[LastBoyScout]

It’s the way the world is going TBH.
My mate works for Toyota and he said they are basically French now.
Personally I don’t think cars and vans will ever be built the same. Even security is poor. Don’t think the manufacturers care as if your car gets nicked what you gonna do?? Yep that’s right go and buy another.
Shame really.

Have Toyota Rav4 built in Japan. Brilliant and solid.

 

[TallPaul_S]

It’s the way the world is going TBH.
My mate works for Toyota and he said they are basically French now.

A lot of their cars are the same car/van as a Peugeot or Citroen with just different badges.

 

[bubbadubba]

Isn't the T-Cross the 'budget' SUV in the line up? There's £10k difference between that and a current model Tiguan. So a large part may be that you're comparing a higher end old model to a current base version.

My 2017 Skoda Superb was built really well, but I wouldn't jump in a 2024 fabia and expect the same quality.

Yes you are correct......it's the budget suv and I guess you are correct in that I am not comparing Apple's with Apple's as the saying goes but even still I was shocked at how poor it was.
I will test drive a Tiguan and see if it has th "vw" feel to it. I really hope so as it might give me some faith back in the brand.

 

[Lubrown]

Trouble is people (customers) put up with a lot of nonsense these days. Too many people seem to care less and less about all kinds of things that effects them, other than image. As long as it looks good that’s all that matters.
Things like Temu etc. would go out of business if everyone cared about quality. Sadly they’re going from strength to strength (although Temu specifically get a hefty dose of government support I hear) but there are many others like them.

 

[LastBoyScout]

It’s the way the world is going TBH.
My mate works for Toyota and he said they are basically French now.
Personally I don’t think cars and vans will ever be built the same. Even security is poor. Don’t think the manufacturers care as if your car gets nicked what you gonna do?? Yep that’s right go and buy another.
Shame really.

Have Toyota Rav 4 built in Japan. Brilliant and solid. The vans are a different story as many are built in Europe.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Have Toyota Rav 4 built in Japan. Brilliant and solid. The vans are a different story as many are built in Europe.

Yeah, I looked at a couple of Toyota Proace Verso\Peugeot traveller\Citroen Spacetourer van based MPV's before very quickly deciding that they were pretty poorly built, and not that high mileage ones (I'm talking 50-60k miles) looked tired and 'well used'. And here I am now with a VW Caravelle...

 

[t0mb0]

It's not just cars, just look at modern furniture, or new build houses. If you want any real quality or craftsmanship you can expect to pony up an absolutely enormous price premium.

 

[sdlnet]

I got rid of our 2017 Tiguan bitdi 240 r-line 4motion dsg after the turbo went bang after 20000 miles. I looked at the Troc at the time and thought the build quality was garbage. That said the build quality on the T6.1 is not as good as my previous T5.1 either. I guess dieselgate has cost VW a lot so they need to save some money.

 

[bubbadubba]

I got rid of our 2017 Tiguan bitdi 240 r-line 4motion dsg after the turbo went bang after 20000 miles. I looked at the Troc at the time and thought the build quality was garbage. That said the build quality on the T6.1 is not as good as my previous T5.1 either. I guess dieselgate has cost VW a lot so they need to save some money.

I second the build quality of the t6 being worse than the t5.1. My t6 feels almost fragile compared to my old t5.1 tank.

 

[Sasquatch]

But how does one substantiate that?

"Feel" is completely subjective.

 

[bubbadubba]

But how does one substantiate that?

"Feel" is completely subjective.

I guess so.......I suppose I lack confidence in it. Probably unfounded but I am on edge listening out for weird noises, regens and dash lights etc.... reading horror stories on here doesn't help

 

[Sasquatch]

Confidence is all important.

 

[ChrisBell]

Reading the bulk of posts on here recently does not or would not fill a prospective purchaser with much confidence indeed! I totally agree with quality of everything nowadays.. Seems like a minefield. Hope new transporter is better! For time being I'm gonna enjoy my Static Caravan after splashing out! The old work van can do for the now! I'm well past caring!

 

[Mercsl]

Can I get a sanity check....
We are looking at replacing our family car. 2015 tiguan that's been great, top spec, lovely to drive and a nice place to be.
Looked at both a T roc and then a test drive in a T Cross........very disappointing to say the least. I can only assume that they have been built to the lowest cost possible.
We prefered the look of the T Cross over T Roc. Thats all we liked about it though. The interior was very cheap feeling with scratchy plastics everywhere that rattled and squeeked over every bump. The 1.0l 115ps tsi was at best adequate and lacked any torque that was noticeable. The doors felt flimsy and light, definitely didnt shut like a "golf" The reverse camera picture looked like a betamax video image from the 90s. The seats were not just not comfortable. The stereo sounded awful, I am guessing cheap speakers?......I could go on.
I was driving it thinking where has the vw build quality gone? I said to the salesman it doesn't feel like a Vw, felt more like a Dacia or renault!!
Every VW we have owned always felt solid or premium over the "budget brands"
It apears this is no longer the case, the price does not reflect the product anymore.
Are all cars going the same way? Am I being unreasonable?.....I am thinking of buying a different brand for the first time ever.......I'm a bit gutted to be honest.

try the Skoda kamiq We test drove the T-Roc but the Kamiq 1.0 115ps TSI at the time drove better and was more spacious inside. and better percieved build quality

 

[bubbadubba]

try the Skoda kamiq We test drove the T-Roc but the Kamiq 1.0 115ps TSI at the time drove better and was more spacious inside. and better percieved build quality

Good advice.....I will definitely have a look.
Thanks