Why do some people in the Philippines buy mid-sized sedans like Camry and Accord?

[CVT]

If you want it, and you have the money,- then buy it....



"The measure of a man is what he does with power" LJIOHF!

25.7K:shark:

[SiRbossR]

It's there for a reason. And people buy it because it suits them. Simple as that.

[jasonub]

Here is my car ownership history.

Ford laser hatchback- Ok reliable and small. Perfect for a recently graduated person. Had no issues with it since i don't know much about cars and i only use it and my parents have it serviced when needed. I think the only work that was done with it was regular pms. All pawis features

Mazda 323 sedan. Square type. Again no idea on maintenance i used it in manila and had it brought to cebu when i was assigned there. That and my fzr 400 super bike made my trips around the city easy. I prefer the bike since i was young and maporma. I only use the car when it rained.

Mazda 323 Astina. When i worked for Signet i got this car and it was an automatic model. It was blue and beautiful. I loved that car. All power features, 15 inch mags iirc and it was already big at that time. It was underpowered and i hated driving a matic car.

After awhile a customer asked if i wanted to swap when he found out that i hated my auto tranny. So i had it swapped with his and i was happy with the manual tranny. I don't remember if 5 speed na ang manual dati. But it was way better than the 3 speed auto of the astina. Regular pms only and it was not used that much. I work in Mandaluyong edsa and my apartment was a 2 min walk away. So i had the car parked in the casa.

My girlfriend called it night rider since i only drive it at night when we go out on dates or when i go to the gym in makati which is also in edsa inside the now dusit hotel.

When i left that job to work for VW Audi, I sold it since the depreciation was very quick and parts are being a concern.

I then got my first toyota. It was a toyota corolla xe with power steering. 1.3 liter engine and all mano mano controls like pawis windows.

It was reliable and parts are always available. It was a workhorse. No parts were replaced during the 4 years or so of usage just regular pms.

Power is non existent due to the big body and small engine. IT had a manual transmission

Got a toyota gli 1.6 engine manual. More power and all power features. Aside from evaporator replacement and tires, usual pms lang and it never let me down. Except for when the battery died hehe. This is where i was impressed with the toyota brand. I worked for vw audi and then chrysler and you can't imagine the problems of those cars. Not to mention the expenses customers had to pay for the repair of their vehicles.

Toyota camry. Now this was really a great car. It had more power and was very comfortable to drive. Very quiet too, I had some cases of trying to start an engine which is already running. Road noise was also minimal. The ride was very very comfortable. Long drives usually exhaust the driver but I never do get too tired after driving it due to the comfortable ride.

All power features and a 4 speed auto transmission. Traffic was getting bad so i learned to use an auto. I still downshift the car like a manual though

Ondoy hit it and before floodwater hit the computer box, i removed the battery terminal. So after the flood, i cleaned it myself and dried everything up and started the engine after replacing the fluids and making sure the ecu and tcu were clean and dry. I stripped these computer boxes and cleaned it up using electronics cleaner and dried it completely for a week.

I click the engine started and I had no problems arise due to the flood aside from 1 aux fan motor. I had the car for about 6 years and replaced the following during its service

fan motor ondoy effect

shocks rear 2010
evaporator 2010
2 tires 2012
front shocks 2012
valve cover gasket 2013
radiator 2014- this was caused by a stuck up radiator hose. The mechanic forced it and cracked the plastic of the radiator tsk tsk
drive belt 2014
1 engine support 2014
2 tires 2014

2007 honda accord limited ed- It was not as comfortable as the camry medyo matagtag but more power and porma. All power 5 speed matic tranny. leather seats. all power seats, steering audio control, etc It was black and beautiful but it was not that good of a car.

Had some power steering problems with it. Needed to replace a filter fuel from the gas tank. Radiator was also replaced. and it did not shift smooth like the camry which was normal daw.

Sold that car after 2 years or so

Now another Camry- more comfortable, lots of power, smooth and quiet, till i put series 50 tires 215 hehehe. All power, power seats even the rear seats were power seats and you can recline them. Power sunshade, 6 speaker system, 5 star crash test rating, huge trunk, huge passenger and driver leg room, keyless entry security push start. 17 inch mags. genuine leather seats. cool gauges opitron ata tawag. Ice cold aircon with air ioniser. HID lights fog lights steering wheel audio control and ac control cruise control etc etc , auto tranny- i hate manual tranny now that traffic is real bad.

It was a new camry or the accord with an earth dreams engine which it claims to sip like a 4 cyl. What made me decide is when i searched for problems and the 3.5 vcm has a lot of it. This made me decide to go to the camry again which i don't regret.

So why buy one? Comfort, power, features, porma is high, soft quiet stress free ride, and edmunds always rate it around 4.5 stars and maintenance is low. Just don't include gas consumption in the maintenance tab or it will be on the high side

Hope to help

[jasonub]

double tap

[Challenger75]

Mid-sized sedans are way way ahead in comfort and space versus the comparably priced CUV/SUV. Also easier ingress and egress. Driving a camry for me is way more comfortable and enjoyable than driving a fortuner or rav4.

[testament11]

Comfort, luxury, porma. Yan ang reasons why people buy mid-size sedans. Pero want a more hip, sporty look mid-size sedan? Look at the current Mazda 6. It has everything a mid-size should have plus the sporty look. Tsaka iba talaga ang mid-size compared sa equivalent CUV or mid-size SUV.

[jut703]

Dati I always thought that a midsizer still has more presence than a similarly-priced CUV. Eh biglang may Forester XT. Space? Check. Features? Check. Image? Check. Power? Big big check.

[dr. d]

to the average security guard and/or doorman, i think the midsize sedan still commands the snappier salute.. laluna kung makintab na itim.
subaru forester? what's that? heh heh.

[solidsnake4747]

Thanks for replying to this thread. Ang dami palang magagaling dito at may maraming alam tungkol sa mga sasakyan sa forum na ito.

One person here recently posted here that the Subaru Forester XT which is a CUV has all of the good features that a mid-sized sedan has therefore could act as a replacement. Do you agree with this?

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Thanks for replying to this thread. Ang dami palang magagaling dito at may maraming alam tungkol sa mga sasakyan sa forum na ito.

One person here recently posted here that the Subaru Forester XT which is a CUV has all of the good features that a mid-sized sedan has therefore could act as a replacement. Do you agree with this?

[jut703]

to the average security guard and/or doorman, i think the midsize sedan still commands the snappier salute.. laluna kung makintab na itim.
subaru forester? what's that? heh heh.

For most non-car enthusiasts I know, SUV > sedan most of the time. Since you posted this, I asked 5 random people - officemates, our lobby guards, the parking attendant, and my girlfriend which looked more expensive:

This,


or this,


Unanimously they picked the XT. Mas may dating daw kasi malaki. And mas mahal daw ang SUV sa kotse.

[jasonub]

I think the cheapest camry is more expensive that the top of the line forester. Iba ang category and iba ang features.

Iba comfort ride handling power etc etc. Apples compared to oranges.

[sientobente]

For most non-car enthusiasts I know, SUV > sedan most of the time. Since you posted this, I asked 5 random people - officemates, our lobby guards, the parking attendant, and my girlfriend which looked more expensive:

This,


or this,


Unanimously they picked the XT. Mas may dating daw kasi malaki. And mas mahal daw ang SUV sa kotse.

This is actually true. Ito din sabi ng isa kong empleyado na pinagtatawanan yung Volvo C30 ng kasama ko dito sa opisina. Kala niya Kia daw yun. She thought mas mahal pa ang CUV ko. For those na hindi mahihilig sa kotse, they associate the size of the car as the bigger/taller it is, the pricier it is.

[kimbon]

For most non-car enthusiasts I know, SUV > sedan most of the time. Since you posted this, I asked 5 random people - officemates, our lobby guards, the parking attendant, and my girlfriend which looked more expensive:

This,


or this,


Unanimously they picked the XT. Mas may dating daw kasi malaki. And mas mahal daw ang SUV sa kotse.

+1 here. pansin ko rin pag gamit ko SUV vs vios while on the road. Sa SUV may saludo pa sa guards pag pasok sa ibang subdivision, ang approach ng police officer ay mas magalang pagsita sa traffic violation, pati nga carnaper mas prefer SUV keysa mid sized sedan. sell like hotcakes daw. LOL

[CVT]

+1 here. pansin ko rin pag gamit ko SUV vs vios while on the road. Sa SUV may saludo pa sa guards pag pasok sa ibang subdivision, ang approach ng police officer ay mas magalang pagsita sa traffic violation, pati nga carnaper mas prefer SUV keysa mid sized sedan. sell like hotcakes daw. LOL

Agree. For me and wifey,- Forester it is....
(Or, even the cheaper CUVs like Tucson, RAV4, Sportage, Escape et al)


"The measure of a man is what he does with power" LJIOHF!

25.8K:shazam:

[RandMcnally]

They buy it for comfort, luxury and exclusivity to some extent. My dad drives an accord and I own a cx5. Though my cx5 might be technologically better in most ways, it still feels comfortable and great driving the accord. The guards will even give you some special treatment most of the time. My dad also drives a montero and personally I feel tired driving it. But, to the uninformed man, it might look more expensive and more luxurious but it might not always be the case. At the end of the day, it all boils down to what you really prefer and how deep your pockets are. I personally almost bought a camry because the older model looks really pogi. Unfortunately, i didnt like both the new accord and the new camry in terms of looks so I settled with the pogi CX5

[jut703]

I think the cheapest camry is more expensive that the top of the line forester. Iba ang category and iba ang features.

Iba comfort ride handling power etc etc. Apples compared to oranges.

Price and features are actually more comparable than you think:

Forester XT - 1,868,000
Camry 2.5G - 1,455,000
Camry 2.5V - 1,685,000
Camry 3.5Q - 2,082,000

Forester XT - 240 ps, 0-100 in about 7.5s
Camry 2.5 - 178 ps, 0-100 in about 9.5s
Camry 3.5 - 277 ps, 0-100 in about 6.5s

Features common to FXT, Camry 2.5V and 3.5:
- Leather seats
- HID
- Automatic climate control
- ABS/EBD
- Power adjustable seats
- Push start ignition
- Automatic headlamps
- Power folding side mirrors
- Cruise control

FXT features that aren't on the Camry 2.5V:
- 220mm ground clearance
- AWD
- Rain sensing wipers*
- Moon roof
- Harman Kardon 8-speaker sound system
- Bluetooth connectivity*
- Rear fog lamps
- Traction control*
- 6 airbags*
- Twin tailpipes*
- Power tail gate

* Not on 2.5V but available on 3.5Q

Camry 3.5Q features not on FXT:
- Power adjustable steering column
- Adaptive front lighting
- Headlamp washers
- Power rear sun shade

Ride comfort and handling are of course quite different. The Camry is still more plush but the Forester has sharper steering, handling, and most importantly, is more versatile.

[kimbon]

literaly, ang camry 3.5Q ay parang nga maiiwan ang kaluluwa mo sa lakas ng hatak when you floor it the gas pedal.

[jut703]

literaly, ang camry 3.5Q ay parang nga maiiwan ang kaluluwa mo sa lakas ng hatak when you floor it the gas pedal.

Same thoughts bro when I drove the prev gen 3.5Q, baon talaga sa upuan. Kaso pagdating sa corner, parang ang laki laki ng nililiko mo. Awesome for highway driving though.

But still, I'd have a slightly less refined FXT that goes almost as fast on straights, turns better in corners, fords knee-high floods, traverses rough roads, and fits my bike with ease.

[_Cathy_]

For most non-car enthusiasts I know, SUV > sedan most of the time. Since you posted this, I asked 5 random people - officemates, our lobby guards, the parking attendant, and my girlfriend which looked more expensive:

This,


or this,


Unanimously they picked the XT. Mas may dating daw kasi malaki. And mas mahal daw ang SUV sa kotse.

Camry for me. I've always associated SUVs or Pick ups as rugged vehicles because this was what my Dad used when he'd go to the province (a lot of rough roads). It may be expensive but not necessarily prestigious. I view mid sized sedans as classy cars often used by corporate executives

[EQAddict]

I don't like my FXT it feels weak compared to the previous version. However jut is right if you are doing the bullet point comparison . Personally I've outgrown sedans as I have kids now crossovers or SUVs meet my needs more.