How To Make A Car Comparison

You just know I'm going to say it depends. It depends on the promise a class of car makes. The promise determines the type of car comparison you make, for example:

A small car promises to be more affordable, cheaper to run and easier to use. Just one problem, small cars come in three different sizes - tiny city cars like the Citroen C1 and Fiat 500, super minis like the Mini and Micra and super-sized small cars, Fiesta, Corsa, Clio. To make a car comparison you first need to pick a size. Generally you'll find small cars of the same size are about the same price, have similar engine efficiency and costs. Check out safety.

Medium/small cars like the Asta, Focus, Golf and medium size cars, Insignia, Mondeo suffer from being so similar. They fall into the same size categories with similar interior space. Engines are very similar in performance, emissions and economy. Maybe personal tastes in style and comfort may make a difference. Subject to safety feature buy the best deal.

Estate cars, MPVs and SUVs promise to be versatile family cars. Estates, MPVs SUVs come in all sizes. However, overall size is not an indication of interior space and versatility. If you rank these cars by maximum load capacity as an initial indicator of space and versatility you'll come up with surprising results. Prices are almost inverted to maximum interior load space. There are so many engine options with different fuel consumption, emissions and performance.

Large luxury and sports cars are purely decisions based on personal tastes.

Engine options are interesting. 40-years ago the 1.6 engine was the answer. In the 70s and 80s the torquey 1.4 became popular. Since the 90s the 1.2 has doubled in power. Today a 1.4T does the job of a 1.6/1.8 and 2 litres tend to diesels. Many of these engines come from the same source. So why don't manufacturers simplify their options. Is a large engine range a tool to walk car buyers up a price range?

Regards
Ralph