Is Bigger Better

[meatboy]

are thais wakeing up to the fact that bigger is not better,seems the most popular cars at this years motor shows were,swift,march,mirage,we were looking for a small hatchback big enough for our dog to ride with us but all the suv's were like mini buses,the only one we have seen that we liked was the mazda cx5 but that had a 2lt engine also not ready.my wf does not want a big car in the drive just to show face what most of thais seem to think if next door has a big car they must have bigger.have just seen the new vauxall mokka 1.4 launched in the the uk perfect size at £16k,i can see honda or toyota down sizeing their suv's if fuel keeps rising.so what did we end up buying, a vios trd sportivo and a special seat belt for the dog,nice drive.

[tom21]

a lot depends on where you live . if it is in a built up area with good roads a small car is best but if you live in issan for instance something with a heavier suspension is need. that is what i think but others have different views

[anon210]

Actually there is a very artificial stimulant for this interest: the first car rebate of the government.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

[VocalNeal]

Suzuki SX4?

[billd766]

I live in a rural area and have an 11 year old Ford Ranger 4x4 pickup which is really what is needed out here though in the cities it gets a bit much at times.

On the other hand at least we are fairy high up in the rain and floods and I can chuck a months bulk shopping in the back and not notice it.

A few years ago when we had no government water for a couple of months I bought a 1,300 litre water container and got water from the klong at over a ton a time which may be a tad difficult in a city car.

[sezze]

Yep , i took allready potholes with my BT50 which would ruin the complete suspension of a normal city car . In a city , a small car is by far the best , outside in rural Thailand , a bigger car ( aka pickup or suv ) is still nr 1 and not without reason .

[BSJ]

A few years back I saw an altercation between a Land Cruiser 100 series and a Mazda 3 in Oz. The Land Cruiser was driven away. What was left of the Mazda left on the back of a tilt tray!

Bigger is better.

[dezy1801]

I would say cost has a major impact on why Thais prefer to be buying smaller cars like the ones you mentioned thats why the smaller car market is picking up IMO, if you can afford a SUV then majority of Thai's will more than likely by it over a smaller car.

[meatboy]

I would say cost has a major impact on why Thais prefer to be buying smaller cars like the ones you mentioned thats why the smaller car market is picking up IMO, if you can afford a SUV then majority of Thai's will more than likely by it over a smaller car.

its the refund that swayed us to buy a 1.5engine but we would have bought a small suv,there are 2on our mooban both honda 4x4's quite old but just the right size now you see drivers in these big pick ups or suv's who have a job to see over the steering wheel and cant estimate the width,when we told my b.i.l.we were looking to buy a small type to take the dog out his reply was no good you cant cotrol when passing lorries or buses.

[culicine]

A few years back I saw an altercation between a Land Cruiser 100 series and a Mazda 3 in Oz. The Land Cruiser was driven away. What was left of the Mazda left on the back of a tilt tray!

Bigger is better.

Problem in Thailand is that you have just as many large vehicles (pickups/suv's) as smaller cars, so if you are in a pickup you have just as much chance of hitting (or being hit by) a large vehicle as a smaller one. There's some horrific footage of mangled pickups on youtube. They are only 'safer' if you hit something much smaller. Pure physics.

[sezze]

A few years back I saw an altercation between a Land Cruiser 100 series and a Mazda 3 in Oz. The Land Cruiser was driven away. What was left of the Mazda left on the back of a tilt tray!

Bigger is better.

Problem in Thailand is that you have just as many large vehicles (pickups/suv's) as smaller cars, so if you are in a pickup you have just as much chance of hitting (or being hit by) a large vehicle as a smaller one. There's some horrific footage of mangled pickups on youtube. They are only 'safer' if you hit something much smaller. Pure physics.

You are right . But , as you say , would you like to have the small car or the big one ? When you just stated that there are as much big ones as there are small ones , and big against small is safer . So if i sit inside a Vios and crash against a City or a Yaris or similar car , then chances are equal , depending on how what where etc . However there is a 50% chance of having a crash against something waaayy larger and those chances do not look too brightly .

[anon210]

Simple:

So you’ve looked up the crash rating of your car and

you’re pleased. It has a five-star rating. Before you get

too smug you should consider the following. These ratings

give good information about how much damage

you could expect for a car hitting an immovable barrier.

But the five stars won’t help much if you hit a large truck

head-on. By the laws of physics, your car is going to

come out second best. The momentum of your car is

likely to be considerably less than that of the truck.

In the past few years there has been considerable

worry about the large number of SUVs and pickups on

the road as compared to passenger cars. Studies have

shown that the people riding in a car (even if it has a

good crash rating) are four times more likely to be killed

if they are struck by an SUV or pickup. Furthermore,

they are eight times more likely to be killed if hit on the

side by an SUV or pickup.The reason is, of course, the

difference in weight. The Lincoln Navigator, for example,

weighs 5500 pounds, compared to about 3000 for most cars.

But weight is not the only problem. SUVs and

trucks ride considerably higher than cars, and their

bumpers are frequently higher than those of a car. Furthermore,

the frames of SUVs and pickups are usually

stiffer and stronger than those of a car.

From: The Isaac Newton School of Driving - Physics and your car"