Wonder if anybody (maybe MRO) has some great inside info on upcoming Volvo models? Really like the S60, superb seats, good looks, good price (I think), but lacks a bit of power in the T4 format. In other countries, such as Malaysia the T5 is not 'that' much more expesive, about 15-20%, which I would be ok with.

Still looking for the "perfect" car for about 2m with style and some power and fun driving. My missus is still dead against my Skoda choice....can't complain her too much, she has some valuable arguments. The Skoda Octavia is a decent car, but is actually not sold here anymore in favour of the Superb.

Golf GTI is a nice choice for power, but lacks flair....and again my missus does not like it....

Guess it is time to change my missus...would be much easier to chose the car! )

The S60 T5 was sold in TH for some time, but has now been discontinued in Thailand in favor of the T4F (1.6L turbo 180HP).

However even when it was sold here it was in detuned form so as to slip under the 220HP excise tax limit (exceeding 220HP nets you a cool 111% tax) - and even then it was 2.99M Baht...

Unfortunately, there's practically zero chance we'll see them return to Thai shores, unless the excise tax system receives a major overhaul (unlikely).

As for the perfect 2M Baht car, IMHO it's probably a < 1.5M Baht car with 500K+ worth of mods... They can't tax the HP you make after you've bought

Golf GTi lacks flair! Really?

What car has flair here? Without getting into big, big money?

Is the Scirocco much more expensive than the Golf?

The S60 T5 was sold in TH for some time, but has now been discontinued in Thailand in favor of the T4F (1.6L turbo 180HP).

However even when it was sold here it was in detuned form so as to slip under the 220HP excise tax limit (exceeding 220HP nets you a cool 111% tax) - and even then it was 2.99M Baht...

Unfortunately, there's practically zero chance we'll see them return to Thai shores, unless the excise tax system receives a major overhaul (unlikely).

Thanks MRO, I tought the 2.0T S60 sold here prior to the T4 is a different engine than the T5, but my research might not be complete. It might have been coz of the detuning.

I am presently in contact with HEICO, tuning company for VOLVO, Singapore also takes care of Thailand and for once i found a well informed person there. Where we are at is that they have the tune for the manual already and the powershift is only 1-2 months away, which should increase about 20hp and 50NM of torque. Especially the gained torque is interesting.

Should get the car to some decent figures.

Regarding GTI: Surely a great drive, me saying it does not have much flair, I mean design wise. Well, of course all is subjective, but I don't really think it can be seen as a 'beauty' contender or very stylish car. Even the interior, although very well build, is just a tad ahem 'boring'. My Skoda choice of course is even further down the scale of design and style.

cheers