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Sedans Entry Level Luxury Performance Sedans
11073 messages, Last post on Jul 16, 2009 at 1:47 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
I wonder if the choices/preferences posted here will change once you guys get the full range of Euro/Japanese diesels. Will the modern torquey oil-burners sway you away from your current picks, I wonder ? M-B, VW/Audi, BMW, Volvo etc have some excellent diesels. My favourite is possibly the Audi 4.2 V8 TDi as fitted to the Q7 SUV - 322bhp and 561lbft according the mag I'm looking at. Or you could have the VW 5.0 V10 from the Touareg  309bhp/554lbft but I'd still go for the 4.2. Would be interested in your views. |
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Replying to: alltorque (Mar 14, 2008 9:08 am) |
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Replying to: alltorque (Mar 14, 2008 9:08 am) Best Regards., Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Mar 14, 2008 8:49 am) I'm at about 300/week but my wife is a SAH mom but surprisingly she drives 200/week jockeying kids all day. Regards, OW |
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Replying to: shipo (Mar 14, 2008 11:29 am) I was pondering it but wanted your view. Regards, OW
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Replying to: circlew (Mar 14, 2008 12:20 pm) $2100 a year for diesel and $2700 for premium. The diesel may cost more upfront but for me the idea of stopping less often is also really attractive. As prices go up, the savings will increase too. So if I'm looking at $5 a gallon in 2010 (seems reasonable to assume), my savings increase by hundreds.
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Replying to: circlew (Mar 14, 2008 12:20 pm)  Regarding the 335d, if rumors are to be believed, the 335d is only coming over here with an automatic transmisson. As you know, I am a manual transmission bigot, so no dice on the first incarnation of a 3-Series diesel over here.  Best Regards, Shipo |
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Replying to: shipo (Mar 14, 2008 8:49 am) If I put 800 miles/week, I will be worry more about the depreciation than the gas. 800 miles/week x 52 weeks = 41600 miles/year = a lot of depreciation. I rather buy a small/sport economy car (~18K) instead of a luxury car.
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I've come to the conclusion that the best car for the OP is actually none of the above. He wants something affordable and sporty and luxury, that's also reliable and gets good gas mileage. Unfortunately, they stopped making this car 2-3 years ago, but that's fine, because used like-new examples run about $20K. Get a Mercedes C230K Sedan with manual. This is the *4 door* sedan with the 1.8 supercharged engine in it. It was the exact same model that they sell in Europe(slightly larger engine) and is actually fairly reliable. Mercedes makes two types of cars. Cars and Taxis/Rentals. The way you can tel the difference is if it comes with stick-shift, since 90% of Germans get a license that allows them to drive manuals. If you are one of the 10% that gets an automatic-only license, you are literally laughed at and considered to be a child driver. Mercedes puts no effort into their fleet sales and models, and especially their automatic transmissions. Just enough to get by and no more(S class aside of course). This is why an E class, well, *is* a Taxi in 90% of the world. And it's why their SUVs suck. They are made for basically U.S. markets and taxis.(see a pattern? heh) In Europe, it's all about the A, B, and C class. Manuals are the norm and diesels are better. The closer Mercedes you buy to this sort of vehicle, the better it will drive and last. In Europe, it's called the C200 Kompressor and is a great car. Unfortunately, you have to go back to the previous generation in the U.S. to get that engine. Of course, the BEST Mercedes is this: C 220 CDI 4-cylinder 190 hp 460 Nm If we got this over here, it would obliterate the entry-level segment. 460Nm is an outrageous amount of torque, and 190HP is equal to the IS250. All while getting 30+ mpg. http://autocar-show.blogspot.com/2007/06/first-drive-experience-mercedes-c220.ht- ml Bummer we can't get it here... **** Now, if you're looking for automatic(sigh), get couple of year old IS300. This car has the IS250's looks and feel, yet is lighter and lots more powerful, plus it has a nice I-6 engine as well. It'll blow the doors off of a new IS250 or A4 in overall driving, and is somewhat useable in the rear for kids. Note - while the IS300 was good, it honestly reminded me exactly of the Volvo 850, but with RWD instead of FWD. It had a very "European" feel to it. Something abot the balance and suspension and size and all the rest - it felt better than the base 3 series. The Lexus messed up. they made a compromise version that's honestly not any better than the stuff GM puts out, and they put a mega-speed transmission and a V6 in the IS350 in a quest for power, when all it did as turn it into a muscle car. Remember, the original luxury performance sedan was... a BMW 2002. Light, agile, and well rounded are musts. Bloat, muscle-car power, and in search for a purpose... that's most modern cars. Or you can get a classic.  There's no shame in driving a classic car.
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Replying to: plekto (Mar 14, 2008 1:03 pm) For some reason MB agrees with Lexus' strategy as they are doing exactly the same thing with the new C-class. |
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