Copycat

I recently had an interesting conversation with a Honda engineering chief. He was chuckling to himself about the Toyota Avensis and how 'dull' it was (his words, not mine).

Surely this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black? If you had to choose between the Honda Accord and Toyota Avensis, which would you choose? Is there, in fact, anything to separate the two?

Neither sets the world alight in terms of styling or performance. Both will carry a family of four in very high levels of comfort and safety. But, and this is a crucial point, the family man company car driver will always choose the Avensis over the Accord.

Why? It's the economy, stupid. The Accord's ageing 2.2i-DTEC engine emits 170g/km CO2, meaning company car tax of at least £906.

You can have a 2.0D-4D diesel Avensis that'll cost you £654 a year, because a) it's cheaper to buy, and b) it emits just 135g/km CO2.

And should you feel the need to justify this choice to the neighbours, there's a 'built in Blighty' boast with it. Not to mention the fact it's more spacious, better equipped, and safer.

Me too
All this reminds me that there is too much copycat car design.

In the good old days, cars were driven by a single-minded 'architect' - think Alex Issigonis' Mini and Minor, or Ferdinand Porsche's Volkswagen. These cars were radical and ground-breaking due to the vision and foresight of a strong-minded individual.

But could you point to a car of today and give a name associated with its conception? Did the Peugeot 207 have a visionary mind behind it? Who was the brains behind the Volvo S80?

Cars are designed and shaped by committee, and this removes any hint of individuality. Moreover, they are driven by the competition: if the Ford Focus features independent rear suspension, all other car makers will try to emulate this, or provide excuses as to why it's unnecessary.

"It's like a Golf"
There are thousands of components that are fitted first and foremost because of the competition: witness Chrysler's redundant Voyager airbag, or the ever-increasing horsepower arms race between medium size performance hatchbacks.

One of the most refreshing ideas to come out of a litany of outlandish and unrealistic concept cars is Citroen's C-Cactus. The idea behind it is to reduce the spiralling part count in modern cars, and the associated weight and complexity. The result is a unique, refreshing family car ethos that may or may not be beaten into submission before any production intent is announced.

Another epoch-making newcomer will certainly be Gordon Murray's T25 city car. While most of its details are still secret, it seems certain that it will lead the field in terms of flexibility and economy, if and when it finally reaches production status.

There is some logic to carmakers deliberately designing out high performance from their cars, though they are loathe to admit so.

Design to unimpress
Countless cars are driven at 20% of their performance envelope, by those who neither know nor care what they are capable of.What's the point of spending thousands of development hours producing sports-car like grip and handling, if the owner isn't even going to test drive it before purchase?

Following this reasoning I predict that if Dacia/Renault finally deliver on their promise to bring the Logan to the UK, it will be a massive success (assuming it is sensibly priced). Good luck to them.

Fuss-free, practical and safe motoring for the masses, it'll be a budget car without the baggage of shame that used to be part of the package.