Pushrods&Capacitors
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Brian
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2021
- Threads
- 28
- Messages
- 1,754
- Reaction score
- 3,242
- Location
- Round Rock, TX
- Vehicles
- ā21 4X, ā14 SS Sedan tuned, ā17 WRX tuned
- Occupation
- Analyst
Well put. VW group decided to spend in the interior finishes because most buyers of European cars demand it.Nearly every car is a compromise in terms of price point and schedule. My last car was a 2017 VW GTI. The interior on that car is incredible. I've sat in Porsches and seen the same parts-bin pieces in them that were in my VW. They have huge economies of scale that let them accomplish a lot. The investment is easily justified. That GTI has an amazing interior that is well above its price point.
You can compare the new EV VWs with the Mk 7 GTI and see where VW compromised. Whereas my GTI had soft touch materials nearly everywhere (yes, the door pockets are flocked on GTIs!) the new ones save money with hard plastics here and there. They use cap touch switches instead of mechanical ones (a terrible trend) to save more money. Even the mighty VAG has to cut corners to pay for the very expensive electric powertrain.
These Mach Es are not yet high-volume vehicles- even 50,000 in a year is peanuts compared to, say, the F-150 or the Golf. Could they have flocked the door pockets? Sure, but it means qualifying another adhesive, sourcing the felting material, and developing a manufacturing process for cutting and installing it. I'm just speculating here, but my guess is that they were laser-focused on getting the platform built, and putting an engineer on the door-pocket-flocking qualification would take an engineer away from something else. For my purposes, a $2.00 sheet of felt and some sharp scissors will solve the problem quite efficiently. Same thing for a ski pass-through: on its own, it's easy, and I'm sure the marketers and engineers debated it during the development. But that's what roof racks are for. This is a solvable problem.
Anyway, in my opinion, Ford has knocked it out of the park with their decision making. The range, exterior, and interior are all acceptable. The performance of the GTPE is more than acceptable for what I'm going to use it for, which is commuting and an occasional 200-mile road trip. It can fit my family and some stuff, it rides high enough that my wife feels safe with all the trucks on the road (big problem in the Z4M for her), and of course, it has tons of that wonderful electric torque. I don't drive 100 miles per hour and I don't drag race, but I do like to punch it from a stoplight now and then.
In summary, these early-gen BEVs (yes, this whole EV industry is in the early innings) have to make trade-offs to hit acceptable price points. I'm pleased with Ford's decisions and I'm voting with my dollars. Luckily for all of us, there are options in the market now, so each person can choose the trade-off that they prefer.
Alas, features like standard limited-slip differentials didnāt make it on all GTIs without certain packages (I admit I donāt know the model years and specifics) and, even the mighty Golf R relies on 2-piston sliding calipers up front when all/most of the competition in that category offer track ready 4-piston fixed caliper Brembos, some even in the rear. Itās all a trade-off as you stated. Like you, I think Ford and VW have a pretty good idea of what trade-offs their buyers will accept.
Now, about that ID.4 interiorā¦..?
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