Toenail

I prefer driving. And a Macan GTS drives better than my 440i…

Sure I’d prefer a 911 but it doesn’t work for us.

I like that Tonale. To me it does look unmistakenly an Alfa rather than anything else. It has a jacked up 147 vibe about it, which I guess is what it actually is in market terms.

On the SUV hate / love thing. For me it depends on what the SUV is and what the alternative is. I don't think you can make absolute judgements in any way about any type of car. Or else it's a short road to "we don't need that kind of car on our roads" and that's a slippery slope.

No: it's a perfectly rational train of thought.

I have had the misfortune of being provided a Tonale today as a loan car from the next 48 hours. First impressions? What a heap of poo.

Gutless engine that's either none existent or all there, making a racket that a cheap hairdryer would be proud of. Poor interior with cheapo plastics and no effort to cover it in any faux leather to at least brighten the place up. It handles well but then show it a corner and you fall out of the completely flat, non supportive, overly hard seats. What a crud Alfa, Is it a badge engineered Peugeot? It bongs incessantly at you if you dare go 1mph over the speed limit, bongs if the speed limit changes, bongs if a cars within 10 feet. OMG stop the noise! The driving position is awful and probably the only nod to Alfas of old. Maybe it could challenge an Arna as the worst Alfa ever?

Prices start at 35K, no wonder you don't see many on the road. Its not even in the nice Green to help save it. The interior has the charm of a 90's Ford Fiesta so can't work out why its so expensive. Maybe I'm not exposed enough o modern cars but if this is it you can keep them. People give Electric cars a hard time but the Tesla we have just bought which is cheaper per month has far more going for it in every conceivable area.

Oh dear indeed. I thought it was reasonable looking for that of thing, but it sounds awful in every way.

This is a sad fact of modern life unfortunately. I read an article yesterday saying how much better the materials and controls were on a 2008 DSLR compared to expensive cameras now. Sadly that was MUCH more the case when film went to digital. Cars have done the same, we've gone from a mechanical spend from the OEM to a big spend on computers and screens within the vehicle. Then with electrification we've seen tens of billions (100 has been touted for some) spent on new EV platforms. The money is going on stuff which will never look and perform as well as an iPad, and the rest is being ignored. I'd love to know how much collectively was spent on the "safety" crap we all hate as well - cars need to auto brake, and auto steer, for some of this to work. Interior quality is a biggie for me, and its just another thing older cars do better.

This is also true of much of life now, across the things we own and use. The very rich can afford well designed and crafted things, in mass production there has been something of a rush to the bottom in terms of materials and build. Separates hfi is one example, the materials and build and styling were all top notch. Now everyone wants an Alexa, or a Sonos if they're feeing plush. The experience is nowhere near the same, and we won't be fondly using that Alexa in 40 years time.....

I wonder if we are a bunch of grumpy old men in the know, or if collectively more people will realise that a car with huge interaction and incredible-feeling controls, and visceral engine sounds, is a good thing. If so then the high values we see now on older cars like 997's will only rise, and the "also rans" of older cars will also go up in value.... Because we can't all have one, they're a very finite resource.