Ask the Car People.SM


Luxury Performance Sedans

10338 messages,  Last post on May 01, 2013 at 3:12 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? Lexus GS 430, Acura RL, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Infiniti M35, Infiniti M45, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac STS, Sedan

Messages Page 776 of 1035

#7746 of 10338 Re: BMW leases [sfcharlie] by markcincinnati

Jul 10, 2006 (5:17 am)

Replying to: sfcharlie (Jul 09, 2006 8:32 pm)
No doubt ED will appeal to a small % of buyers.
 
But, even though I have not purchased and taken delivery in Europe (Germany in particular), I have been to Germany about 25 times since 1993 and have rented Audis, BMW's and Mercedes (most recently an E Class diesel) and driven from Berlin to Munich to Garmisch to Fussen (sp?) and lots of these km's were on the autobahn and many of those were at double US legal speeds.
 
Driving around Munich, Baden-Baden, Garmisch and the Black Forest cities and towns is an exercise in travel that should be near the top of your "things to do" before you die list. Perhaps doing so at a discount due to the ED program could make this more attractive and certainly more affordable.
 
If you have never been to Germany, this IS a great way to see the country in 5 star fashion at perhaps a 2 star price. The German auto mfgrs seem, each, to have divisions whose responsibility it is to pick routes, hotels and restaurants of breathtaking beauty, comfort and flavor respectively.
 
It may be a minority of folks who will take this route to German car ownership -- but they will be rewarded.
 
I'll leave you with this -- when you begin the drive south out of Munich toward Fussen, you feel like a kid when he or she first lays eyes on Disneyworld.
 
There's nothing like this experience.

#7747 of 10338 Re: BMW leases [markcincinnati] by marleybarr

Jul 10, 2006 (8:17 am)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Jul 10, 2006 5:17 am)
What is the upper limit of speed you have driven on the Autobahn and how would you rate the quality of Autobahn construction compared to the average US freeway?

#7748 of 10338 Re: JUNE SALES? [merc1] by jobie

Jul 10, 2006 (8:41 am)

Replying to: merc1 (Jul 09, 2006 11:55 pm)
I know you can count me as someone who will take a hard look at the '07 E350 instead of the 5-series. I never thought I would say this, having had a '99 3-series then an '02 530i manual (I'm currently doing the SUV thing, which I can't wait to get out of)- I thought I was firmly a BMW lifer, until the new 5 came out. IMO ugly inside and out, and 10% more expensive than my '02. I don't care how great a car drives, if it doesn't look good (and if I can't change the radio station with a single motion), I won't but it. I thought the old 5 series was about perfect - the drive, engine, styling...a real classic.

#7749 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [hpowders] by calhon

Jul 10, 2006 (8:53 am)

Replying to: hpowders (Jul 10, 2006 4:51 am)
I wss just showing that Infiniti has a long way to go in matching the efficiency of the BMW engines.
 
You haven't shown that, since the engines are attached to cars with significantly different weights. How do you disentangle the two?
 
A better, though still not exact, comparison would be with the RL:
 
M35X AWD - 18/25 mpg, 4043 lbs
RL - 18/26 mpg, 4012 lbs
 
Pretty close, and Honda is no slouch when it comes to engine efficiency.

#7750 of 10338 Re: JUNE SALES? [jobie] by low_ball_88

Jul 10, 2006 (9:18 am)

Replying to: jobie (Jul 10, 2006 8:41 am)
I think the new 5 looks good. JMHO. It has better styling that the previous version which to me looks like a shoe box. Also, other car manufacturers are copying the bangle design...go figure.
 
As for changing the radio. It is programmed on the steering wheel. Can't get more convenient than that. BTW, the new 5 is so smooth and quite that I feel that it is as luxo as Lexus.

#7751 of 10338 Re: BMW leases [marleybarr] by markcincinnati

Jul 10, 2006 (11:00 am)

Replying to: marleybarr (Jul 10, 2006 8:17 am)
I was able to show an indicated 220+ on one blast down the autobahn between Munich and Garmisch -- that comes out to 135MPH.
 
It is quite easy to drive between 190 and 200kph -- but the amazing thing is how you are always being passed even at speeds well above 160kph (about 100mph).
 
The thing is, too, it feels so much safer for a couple of reasons:
 
1 the condition of the autobahn is "perfect" -- no potholes, hell, barely any cracks or "expansion joints" the way we often have them.
 
2 the no passing on the right rule -- period, virtually no one EVER passes on the right, hence safety and speed can coexist peacefully.
 
The OHIO, KY, PA, IN, and WV freeways are full of tire and wheel killer holes. This is simply not permitted in Germany.
 
The curves are sweeping, too, so that you come across a curve at 160kph that you do notice as a curve, but that you would almost miss noticing at 100kph (62mph.)
 
It is no wonder the Germans can build cars that seem completely unperturbed at 100 miles per hour.
 
I was in a mini-van (a VW, as I recall) in Luxembourg, between Luxembourg City and Trier Germany put putting along at about 165kph in complete comfort and with no sense of drama and not much sense of speed.
 
The lane discipline and the population's willingness to adhere to it are, to a US driver, virtually a mind altering experience. Certainly an attitude adjustment accompanies the experience of ultra high speed and fantastic road manners.
 
I am certain there must be road rage -- but with as many trips as I have made to Europe (Germany in particular), I have not once seen it.
 
I also notice how folks don't seem to have dull, rusty or fender "bendered" cars as they seem to do here, especially in the larger US cities.
 
In Munich, the taxis are so clean, as the saying goes, you could almost eat off them.
 
And even in the winter the cab's interiors show the effects of a certain "reverence" for other people's property.
 
Now, by the same token, when the walk don't walk traffic light says don't walk, people don't walk -- even if there is no visible traffic in either direction.
 
Now, I don't know THAT much about the German form of government or laws, but Germany feels "familiar" to Americans. It doesn't feel like a land that is strict and oppressive, but people seem to be polite, helpful (even when they claim they only speak "a little bit" of English) and they obey the rules.
 
Yet, they have wild times during Oktoberfest at their clubs and concerts and they are hardly a stuffed shirt people.
 
Anyway, the autobahns are as I recall the Skyline Drive here in the US -- clean, wide, unaffected by road blemishes and full of VERY fast drivers who obey the notion, "Left side = passing side . . . Right side = suicide."
 
I wish we had an American Autobahn -- but my guess is that would mean we might use even more fuel -- at those speeds.
 
On the other hand, perhaps not, since there is much less of a tendency to stop and start and be all over the board.
 
Yes, you might find your small A3 4 cylinder cruising along at 120 MPH, but it probably will go further on a tankful than here simply because our driving habits are so haphazard and, frankly, discourteous and downright dangerous by comparison.
 
You may argue they have less freedom, but I certainly envy the freedom to get in the car and go with much less effort required to drive safely and rapidly.
 
Hope this gives you an idea of what you might expect.
 
Oh, BTW, I rented cars from one of the big three American companies and picked them up at the train station in Munich as easy as cake, a real piece of pie.
 
I even did a one way rental and dropped my rental off in Austria and took the train the rest of the way to Italy.

#7752 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [calhon] by lexusguy

Jul 10, 2006 (11:04 am)

Replying to: calhon (Jul 10, 2006 8:53 am)
M35X AWD - 18/25 mpg, 4043 lbs
RL - 18/26 mpg, 4012 lbs
  
Pretty close, and Honda is no slouch when it comes to engine efficiency.
 
I mentioned that before. The RL is also stuck with a 5-speed auto. However, nobody has mentioned that the '06 E350, which clocks in at just 3703lbs. and has a 7-speed ultra-hightech gearbox, is rated a worse than M35 18\24.
 
The E320 with the 5-speed was rated 19\27. What happened?

#7753 of 10338 Re: JUNE SALES? [merc1] by dewey

Jul 10, 2006 (11:40 am)

Replying to: merc1 (Jul 09, 2006 11:55 pm)
I can't wait for the facelifted E to snatch this sales lead from the fiver
 
Wishful thinking Merc. Wishful thinking, indeed!
 
Our 2006 E Class vs. 5 Serie sales bet is still binding.(refer to post 7096)
 
link title
 
The only reason I returned from lurk mode is because I hate walking away from a bet in which the odds are 100 percent in my favor.
 
So I will be back by Jan 2007 to remind you of my victory
 
P.S. I love driving my new 530XI Touring. But I may be quite tempted in trading it in for an upcoming BMW M3 Touring(assuming it will be introduced in North America, though it will likely be introduced in Europe)

#7754 of 10338 Re: BMW leases [markcincinnati] by qbrozen

Jul 10, 2006 (12:48 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Jul 10, 2006 11:00 am)
I wish we had an American Autobahn
 
It won't work here until people learn to "stay right, pass left" like those on the autobahn do, as you pointed out. Its amazing to me how many folks hang out in the left lane, even when there are no other cars around them. As a result, I frequently must pass on the right.

#7755 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [lexusguy] by calhon

Jul 10, 2006 (1:04 pm)

Replying to: lexusguy (Jul 10, 2006 11:04 am)
18/24 mpg is for the 4Matic (AWD) version of the E350, which comes with a 5-speed. The RWD 7-speed version gets 19/27. (All numbers from the EPA website).
 
My guess is that 3703 lbs is the base weight for the model, and the 4Matic version is significantly heavier.

Messages Page 776 of 1035

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement