I used to recommend a variety of different car brands when asked, but nowadays its really quite boring as I find myself defaulting to Toyota, and simply finding the model in the Toyota range that matches their requirements. They are not usually best in class but it seems a safer bet so a recommendation doesnt come back to bite me. Knowledge, its really boring!

Know what you mean...I'm in the same club as you in that I virtually always recommend Toyota models...but it's simply my experiences with Toyota that lead me to do that.

I guess it's the pure reliability factor that suits me.

Having bought nothing but Toyota for years now..and accepting that there are some really good Korean cars out there now too, it's hard to comfortably recommend owt else.

I quite like the CH-R but wouldn't want to sit in the back (tiny windows). A lot of cars now are very over-styled, the Japanese seem to be the worst culprits, but not alone. As I understand it, safety restrictions now significantly limit shape, so they try to differentiate with swirls and corners etc.

Back to the original point - I love recommending cars to people because it gives a really interesting look into their psychology. People will say they're not bothered about image, but then rule out anything Japanese or Korean because they're for pensioners, or they'll want fuel economy but nothing small or slow, or they want practicality but buy a Mini. I just find it fascinating to keep asking more questions until you get to the truth.

I always say that the problem with choosing cars is that you're trying to rationalise something irrational. The rational answer is that, when you have funds available and it's necessary, you should buy something around 3 years old, with a manufacturer's warranty, that meets your space requirements and is as efficient as possible. That normally means Toyota or Korean, which is why older people with less to prove will buy them and younger people won't.

So, unless you are old or otherwise sensible enough to have got over yourself, you have to accept that you're doing something irrational and wasteful before you can make a choice. Who on earth would buy a new car and pay irrecoverable VAT if they were acting rationally? Who sat down with a checklist of wants and needs and came up with a Range Rover Evoque?

So, yeah, recommending cars based on rational thought is boring, recommending them by probing the the recommendee's true psychology can be fascinating.

Edited by SLO76 on 23/05/2022 at 15:59