The problem for manufacturers in the relatively small British market is that the high volumes apparently go to kids and so the products must necessarily have 'toy' toughness (and price levels).
I feel sorry for both Hornby and Bachmann, as no matter which direction they appear to favour, they are going to be hammered by some section of their customer base - they just can't win!
A possible answer, as suggested, is dual levels of detailing to be made available, but it would be very difficult to apply that to aspects such as variable coupling distances, flange standards and clearances in general.
Just a couple of personal comments
"Acres of daylight" round bogies and pony trucks, especially with undersized wheels as well, are absolutely top of my 'loathe it with a vengeance' list. This unignorable combination totally destroys the overall effect of any model.
Yet, at the opposite nit-picking extreme, I sometimes wonder if there is any point whatever in in trying to reproduce tiny dials etc, inside a driving cab, which will only ever get looked at once, if ever!
Managing both of those in a single model strikes me as the absolute height of perverse lunacy!
BTW, that wasn't levelled at the Bachmann 9F, above - we seem to have drifted a long way from the actual topic in our generally impossible-to-satisfy grumpiness - sorry!