[SV650rules]

I have noticed bias in a lot of magazines in favour of certain makes and brands. VW / Audi always get good write ups despite their less than optimum reliability, likewise BMW, I have also seen tyre tests that put Continental winter tyres in first place about 0.5% ahead of Nokian, even though the Nokian was much better on snow and ice because, (wait for it) the Continental tyre was 'better in summer braking' LOL ( seems to be a German bias in a lot of magazines, but I suppose the testers have to pander to their main advertisers). One German rider said that they pronounce BMW as 'B M troubleyou'.... priceless.

I like Jap stuff and it has never let me down or cost me loads of money in repairs / servicing. My brother bought a 1 year old Skoda Octavia last year because of the good write ups, he only kept it for 6 months and it spent a lot of that time at the dealer trying to track down various odd faults, the worst of which was the battery kept going flat overnight on various occasions and not charging properly anyway. He now has a Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.4 Boosterjet AWD (direct injection mild turbo 138 ponies) - and having driven it I can tell you that engine is amazing, great torque available from 1500 revs, the 6 speed manual box is a delight and it will perform offroad better than many vehicles seen as proper offroaders ( and which are much more expensive ) - and not a single problem or niggle in 18 months.

Personally if you are buying with your own money get a Jap product, if it is a company car and you want a 'badge' on your drive to impress your neighbours ( mainly about your lack of knowledge of cars) and you don't have to pay for repairs by all means get a German product. If you are a ROF ( rich old f4rt) get a Harley or 1200GS - I hear the latest ones can be powered entirely by the smugness of their owners....