Originally Posted By: edyvw
Euro version of Honda is different then the U.S. version of Honda. Many Honda models in Europe are branded in the U.S. as Acura. Japanese cars in Europe are much, much more sophisticated then in the U.S. to the point where Toyota buys engines from BMW to put in cars fro EU market.
I would give this as a random example;
Future Toyota Supra to Use BMW Engine.
That being said, where "sophistication" is concerned, I would agree to some extent. Go back to the mid 2000s, when a VW Passat came with LED tail lights, projector headlights, LED strips on the door mirrors and push to start. How many Camrys or Accords of that era had all that technology for a similar price tag? I'm not talking BMW's here or JDM, which are way more sophisticated than anything the Japanese export.
Yes, European cars of that era did have some reliability problems and they were not perfect. Some were electrical problem galore. I am purely sharing a personal viewpoint here, but there are a ton of things I like about German cars compared to Japanese.
Let's start simple, a solid thud when you shut the doors on a German car vs. a Japanese car. Knock on the fender of a German car, does it sound so hollow? Personally I live in a country where accidents are a daily part of life - 70 accidents a day on average, at least 10 of which are fatal, in a country with a population of over 3 million. I see more Japanese cars looking like complete death traps after a crash than a VW. As bad as an accident may be, I have yet to see a German car torn to two pieces right at the center, like a Toyota Camry. I feel safer in a German car than I do in a Japanese, and you also don't get as much road noise/vibration in a German car as you do in a Japanese. Speculation? Maybe, but I did say I'm going by personal viewpoint.
Drivability - ever did an panic stop in a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which costs more than a VW Toureg, at 150 km/h? I did, and I almost soiled myself. Braking and handling are worlds apart. No, the suspension isn't soft and squishy for great ride comfort, but you're not riding T rated 215/60R16s either.
Servicing - difficult? Yes and no - I'd much rather do a timing belt on a Passat with a 2.0T FSI than a Camry with a 1MZ-FE. A 5S-FE is of course easier, but what I'm getting at is this is application specific and servicing modern cars is a pain the back no matter what you're working on. But, with the right tools, a German car is not any more difficult to work on than a Japanese.
Cost of parts - when buying genuine parts, brake pads for most Toyotas here costs more than an average VW. Again, I'm not throwing MB or BMW into the mix, because those are different classes of cars. But Japanese isn't more expensive than German and German isn't more expensive than Japanese - they pretty much break even in most areas.