Unlike some other brands, the difference between a VW Group car from another is....

a heck of a lot........

This staid lookimg sedan drives better than.......

Over the years I have driven a fair number of cars from various makes or manufacturers. What makes me want to try car after car is the fact that every one offers a different driving experience from one another. In some cars the interaction between man and machine is so satisfying that this car would be the one to drive. Some cars are so clinical they feel like an operating theater on wheels. Some give you that five star hotel feel on wheels. Some would feel like you're driving in the LeMans. Whilst this is quite true, it could be otherwise as most car companies have become predictable in how their cars drive. Or handle.

...that this, slightly newer designed better equipped hatchback.

Take for instance Proton. Most of you have driven one and most of you would have read (even in motoring-malaysia) that Protons handle quite well. You could buy any Proton out there on sale today (Persona, Preve, Suprima, Inspira, Accordana) and the car will actually be a pleasure to punt around some hillside road. The same could be said of a BMW, or a Mercedes Benz for that matter. Get yourself in the driver's seat of a BMW you would find out that a BMW will always feel like what a BMW should drive whether that BMW is a lowly 116i or a even a hulking 740i. It's this predictability in most car manufactuers that make us want to keep buying the cars one after another.

In a Mercedes, you automatically assume that the car will not be as sharp around a handling circuit than any BMW but you get a chassis that is adequate to deal with most road conditions and still be able to excite you at times. Jump into any C-class to a CLS class or even a S-class a Mercedes would handle like a Mercedes would. Usually in the case of Mercedes Benz, it goes from adequate, to slightly sporty but still conservative, to sporty but not BMW-like (but darn easier to drive everywhere) until you reach to AMG levels, which could be either slightly better than average (SLK55, CLS63), good but not great (A45) or sublime (C63,E63). But no matter what the thing is, the bar is set usually at average upwards and there is a consistency to the cars.

I mean if you get into a Toyota Vios, Corolla Altis or even a Camry you would notice that they basically feel almost similar only the size goes up. Of course chuckability of the car is reduced the larger it is but it still feels pretty similar to one another. So when you buy a Toyota sedan you automatically know what the heck you're getting into – Toyota standard quality with high resale value on your mind instead of anything to do with the thrill of driving. But again, you clearly know what you're getting into when you're buying a Toyota sedan.

The Audi TT, whilst looks super cool and drives quite well does not feel as thrilling as a MK5 Golf GTI hatchback.

However, there is only one automotive group which I think bucks this trend. The Volkswagen Audi Group. This is expecially so when it comes to their 'bread and butter' models but not their premium Bentley, Lamborghini or Bugatti or anything with a silly pricetag. When it comes to Volkswagen and Audi, you have to test each individual model to be really sure of what you want. I have driven a base Polo 1.6 hatchback which I loved, an Audi A6 which I didn't, a Golf 1.4TSI which was good but too clinical to drive, a Audi A4 which was great, a Jetta that outshone the Golf by miles and then read about the RS5 being average but the RS4 fantastic (same engine and all). In fact, a Golf GTI Mk5 feels sooooo much a better drive than a second gen Audi TT.It's not that the Audi TT is bad, it has its flaws (a softer suspension setup - more roll, less bite, much more twitchier compared to the similar engined Golf GTI) How is that possible? - Well, maybe the shorter wheelbase, but who knows.

You see, with the other makes they all start out having the same expectations and basic feel. But with Audi or Volkswagen, it could be said that the people there must have two or three separate teams for chassis development. You can tell the parameters for the Golf Mk7 was totally different from the current Jetta. Whilst the Golf is the newer chassis and the better overall car, it still felt a little cold compared to the Jetta. It isn't like a small difference to me. It is like night and day. How can a car based on an earlier model be actually be more fun to drive? It definitely boils down to what the manufacturer wanted from the build of the car. It could be a simple as that when VW built the Mk7, the team in charge of the development put more effort into other stuff instead of handling whereas the team that built the Jetta knew how to milk the chassis better than the team on the Golf.

I suppose other companies have a more focused chassis development team compared to the VW Group. This is the only explaination I can think of aside from the fact that they are putting the development money into other parts like interior design, drivetrain and styling. But I think the VW group has no fixed focus when it comes to chassis development and engineers have a freer hand. Or less time for Car A compared to design team on Car B. Who knows.

Of course, the issue for this would be that if I were seriously hunting for a certain car and if there were two or three VW group cars was on the list, I'd try each and every model from VW Group. This is because the difference in handling, and therefore fun would be quite glaring compared to jumping in one BMW to another.

But that being said, we should try all the cars that we intend to purchase. There are other things aside from great handling that would need to be addressed before one buys a car.