From your experience, which cars seem to perform better: Japanese or German?

Answer 1

You cannot beat German engineering.

Answer 2

I'd like to think that I can answer this question well. I may, in fact, be wrong. But in my experience German Cars will almost always outperform Japanese Cars.

But first I want to take a few cheap shots at the person above who stated that both Japanese and German cars hurt our economy. His point would be good if it were true. The only problem is: Where are BMWs made? Greenville, South Carolina where both parts and cars are made. Where are Hyundais made? Huntsville, Alabama. Where are Hondas made? Pretty much everywhere around the world. Yeah, sure, Foreign Cars hurt our economy, damn them and their bringing industry to America. Pigs.

Anyway. Un-tuned German cars are almost always going to beat un-tuned Japanese cars. It’s just the way it is. Japanese cars just aren't refined, the handling is sloppy and the power is blunt. The power just isn't sent to the wheels efficiently to outperform a German car. This is mostly due to suspension setup, not power. There is no one in the world that can contest the suspension of a German car, the implementation of advanced coil-overs and shock absorbers, not to mention the utilization of strut reinforcement is simply unparalleled.

Because German cars suspension is set at the ideal point where comfort and performance intersect, that's why they perform so well. One cannot compare the suspension of; say Porsche or BMW, against that of even a Nissan Skyline (which is arguably the best performing Japanese car, bare stock.) But this is where tuning cars really excel; it is very easy to tune a Japanese car, whereas it is much more difficult to tune a German Car. A built up Japanese Car will frequently have more power than a German car and if it has built up suspension, may out handle it.

But it just isn't a fair comparison, a stock German versus a Stock Japanese car. BMW and Porsche make the most out of everything, the aesthetics, the performance, the handling and puts it to design, making a well-rounded machine, something that Japanese Cars do not do, they are not well rounded, complete packages.

As for reliability, its delicate. The reason why German Cars are in shops frequently is because the owners understand the responsibility of maintaining their cars to the best they can and that requires a service call every year for a tune-up and an oil change. I have owned many BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes and an Audi, the Audi I had problems with, but the others I have never had a major problem with, ever.

My service costs are low and although I have never owned a Japanese Car, my best friends Subaru WRX Impreza has been tuned and is quite fast, but ultimately sloppy and cannot be compared to my BMW (E46) 328i, tuned similarly. Especially in the brakes department, his stock brakes were very, very poor relative to the BMW. He has since upgraded to a set of Brembos, as have I, but still the BMW seems to excel in braking and in all handling characteristics.

Answer 3

I have a Toyota Camry 4 cyl and a BMW 330i. I could give you the comparison between these, but that will be useless as they are completely different cars. The Camry is smooth and reliable and the bimmer is great for pickup and handling.

To compare Japanese and German we should pick similar cars to compare.

I have driven two Japanese sports car; Acura TL and Mitshubishi Eclipse. These are great cars , but in my opinion do not come close to my bimmer in performance and handling. The Eclipse is also a little rough compared to the bimmer.

The only German car I had the opportunity to compare the Camry against was the Mercedes E320. The Benz is way better in performance but quite similar in the comfort level. The Merc has much more features too, which is expected as it is more expensive.

From your question, it seems performance is your primary concern. If you need the brute force, don't mind the roughness and short in cash; go for the Eclipse. If money is no object go for bimmer. If you also like is soft as well, go for the Merc.

Answer 4

Depends what we're talking.. Toyota Camry and Honda Civic are #1 and #2 cars purchased in the US, and they are both consumer reports best bets.. Mitsubishi used to compete with these two vendors, but as time goes on their ratings have gotten worse and worse.. the Mitsubishi Eclipse has a lot of poor mechanical ratings, because it winds up having a lot of problems. Kia is the worst.

I know VW only has average ratings. It depends between the company. I'm a big fan of consumer reports.

On average, the American made car has 17 problems for the Japanese car's 10. I dont know how German compares in this statistic.

Answer 5

German cars are generally considered more performance-oriented. Japanese cars are generally more economy-oriented. From experience I'd say it is true. However, there are many, many exceptions and you can get really high performance Japanese cars as well as mild, conservative German cars. Anyway my vote is for German cars . Think BMW, Porsche, Audi, Mercedes. Superior engineering.

Answer 6

I've had both.
Get a round town light and quick - Japanese.
Power and glory - German.
I'm young and Conservative - Japanese
I'm educated and make more than 70K - German
I park where I can find a space - Japanese
I valet - German
If in an accident I would take any German car over any Japanese car.

Get the picture?

Answer 7

what ever you do don't listen to the guy that said both cars hurt our economy. He's lying to you. He thinks that the only people who make Japanese cars are Japanese people. I would say that the winner of the two mentioned here would be the japanese. I would definitely go with a german before going with an american though.

Answer 8

German cars 100%
they offer
-Best Performance
-Best Reliability
-Best Looks and interior
Germany is the home of cars Daimler Benz was one of teh First companies to make cars and is German And I have yert to hear of a German company going broke the closest being Audi Which was sold to teh VW group while profits were and all time high maybe that being the reason.

Answer 9

I had to laugh at some of the above posts. As far as reliability, japanese cars perform better because they are of a more simple design. Performance as far as handling / speed / technology, that's easy>> The Germans are way out in front.
Let us compare>> MB C55 AMG vs BMW M3 Vs Audi RS4.........what japanese competitors........? None.
MB E55/E63AMG vs BMW M5 vs Audi RS6 Plus,.......japanese competitors.........? None.
How about the current flagship German coupe's vs japanese competition? MB SL 65 AMG/BMW M6/Porsche GT2/Audi R8. Where is the japanese competition??? Thank you for learning something and have a nice day!!! I won't even talk about the Bugatti Veyron (developed by VW/Audi engineers), the Porsche Carrera GT/ the Mercedes-Mclaren SLR.

To the post right above me>> Guess where rotary engine technology came from? That's right Germany! Audi/NSU. But you already knew that..........right?

Answer 10

German cars perform better when they work like they're supposed to, which is not as often as Japanese cars.

Answer 11

My american cars have never let me down, ever. Its all my family buys, and all I will ever buy. My Ranger has never let me, or anyone down in her 17 years of service, I work in a garage, and I see more "imported" vehicles then anything else (i'm using quotions because many engines are made by other companies, like the 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, and 3 L engines from Chrysler are made my Mitsubushi, the 3.9L Dodge uses in the Dakota, is made my Mercedes, the 2.3L Fords are made by Mazda, and the Chevrolet Nova II was a rebadged corolla [or camry, i can't remember the difference between the two]). However, out of the two I would have to say Japanese vehicles are better overall compaired to german. Japanese vehicles are designed for a wide varity of uses, while german has stayed in the lux-touring devision, and are an absolute pain to work on.