[jenn888]

"Actually hor.. The S40 uses the same chassis as the Ford Focus and Mazda
3 leh...So the S40 should not be compared to the Merc C Class or the BMW
3 Series.

As such, IMHO the S40 alternatives are... Waja, Civic, Corolla Altis,
Mazda 3, Ford Focus etc etc..."


Waja, Civic, Corolla Altis, Mazda 3& Ford Focus are certainly way way way
behind the powerful S40 2.4i. Even entry level 3 series & C class can`t
beat S40 2.4i if you put them to race



Potong-waja, civic, corolla, mazda3 are not qualified competitors for s40
(except when u want cheaper, lower performance & poor/lower safety rating
)

The QUALIFIED competitors for example are 325i, new C230, accord 2.4,
camry 2.4, mazda6 2.3 ... certainly NOT potong cars!!

[sengthee]

IMO, cars can be compared based on (1) price (2) size (3) power/engine
capacity (4) combination of these factors:

(1) Based on price, alternative to S40 would be Camry 2.4, Accord 2.4 or
any other similarly priced cars

(2) Based on size, alternative would be Waja, Altis, Mazda 3, Focus, 3-
series, C-class, A4 etc.

(3) Based on power, then it would be 323i, C200k, Mazda 3 2.0, Mazda 6
2.3, Camry 2.4, Accord 2.4 etc etc.

However, in real life, these factors are seldom considered in isolation.
Therefore, for ppl in the market with 200k budget, they would not even
think about altis, let alone Waja. Similarly, for ppl with 250-300k to
spend on cars, they would also not take a second look at the S40 (which
is too cheap at 173k)

Just my take, of course. Cheers.

[andrewlim8]

sengthee,

You are absolutely right!

[bangbus]

Agree with sengthee. Adding on to his comment. People also choose car for
these factors as well:

(4) Cost of Maintenance & Reliability. In this case, I'll say the jap car wins.

(5) To be unique & different. This is where the conti choices wins as there
are less numbers on the road. Hence, the exclusivity feeling is there and
you don't get bored with the car so soon. I'm one of those that choose car
for this reason. This is why I finally opted for the s40. I often see
people when comparing conti choices they leave out the likes of Audi & VW.
Prior to getting the s40, I was eyeing the A4.

Sadly people in Msia tends to rate point (4) highly and that leads to the
poor resale value of most conti cars. For this reason, when I decided to
try out a conti, I wanted a pre-owned unit as I tend to change car often.