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Sedans Luxury Performance Sedans
10007 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 7:40 AM
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Replying to: anon3 (Apr 23, 2009 1:45 pm) So on both tests from the only two US agencies that do these tests the driver proved vulnerable and fared worse than in the RL (which was the vehicle that started this discussion). This is meaningful to me because the driver's seat is the one I occupy. Also, the "moving deformable barrier" is the auto safety engineer's best approximation of the forces generated in a standardized, reproducible hit by another vehicle. In the case of a driver's side impact, that is the time when the driver is most vulnerable owing to the proximity of the impacting vehicle and the lack of significant deformable body structure in that location. I'm glad your friend wasn't seriously injured in that rollover, but this kind of anecdotal information doesn't allow measured comparison with other vehicles. No doubt people have rolled Pintos and Corvairs and been fortunate enough to remain uninjured. I agree with you about agility being another factor in accident avoidance and would never argue that it not be considered in a safety profile. The 5 series does seem like a truly great car in so many respects that I am disappointed that the only response I got from one of their salespersons was to discount the testing..."that was one car on one day...". ..this while they have a framed certificate in the dealership for the 5 star crash rating of the 3 series. I trust that even if their salespersons don't have the grace to admit that this represents a problem their great engineers will solve this and remove it as an issue for those of us who care very much about moving deformable barriers. |
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Replying to: anagni (Apr 22, 2009 6:41 pm) If your budget can manage it, the '04s are rated much better than the '02s, especially the '04 2.5T five cylinder version. Or, you may want to consider something with easier maintenance, like an Accord. |
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Replying to: vavavavolvo (Apr 23, 2009 4:09 pm) The 5 did reasonably well in EuroNCAP's side impact test, but the 5 is not the best car in the segment for passive safety. There are a lot of factors that go in to making a car buying decision, and that's one factor. When I drove the the RL back when it was released, I found the seats to be uncomfortable, the cabin claustrophobic and cramped, the steering too heavy and completely numb, the transmission dimwitted and sluggish, throttle response poor, and ergonomics lousy. I would much rather drive a 535i than an RL, even if it is a bit less safe. Fortunately there are a lot of choices in the midsize luxury segment, and the A6 is very safe, nice to drive, comfortable, and spacious.
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I had a 2001 S80 and regretted it from the very beginning. It was a service loaner with 8000 miles on it. I traded it in a year and a half later with 28000 miles, and lost 50% of what I paid just to be rid of it. I traded it for a 2005 G35x which was nice for my wife but too small--we eventually traded that for a 2006 Lexus RX400h hybrid which we still love to this day. But I digress...the Volvo had some significant problems, from a clunky transmission to noises that the service department could never figure out to a number of bad radios. For EACH problem we experienced, the car was back to the dealer 4 times for the same issue before it was sort of resolved. I would never buy ANY Volvo without some kind of extended warranty, and you should definitely have the car gone over by a tech familiar with Volvo prior to purchasing. Good luck.
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Replying to: art234 (Apr 24, 2009 12:49 pm) Having said that, I would tend to agree that Volvo has quality issues (below average reliability) while Infiniti (at least the M) have 5 star reliability ratings and rated very high on most resources.
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Replying to: shmang (Apr 24, 2009 2:59 pm) My M has been driven by some neutral experts, including a master technician from Nissan who is also trained on Infiniti, who told me the vibration would be unacceptable to him in a Sentra, let alone an M. The issue for me is not so much the problem itself than the way Infiniti handled it. When the vibration began causing a buzzing noise inside the car at certain speeds, the service manager of the dealership told me to "turn the radio up". For the record the Volvo was driven by my wife, not me, and we are both very good to our cars--we do not drive them hard at all. My choices for a new car now are the Audi A4 and the BMW 328xi. We drove the 335 and it is too much car for my wife. Again good luck with the Volvo if you so choose. |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Apr 24, 2009 10:11 am) I consider reliability as one of the biggest safety factors which most studies don't take into account. BMWs are far behind Acuras in terms of reliability. I have seen enough BMWs stranded on the roadside to never consider buying one.
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Replying to: palincal (Apr 25, 2009 7:43 pm) Thanks for that list, interesting stuff. Acura deserves credit for their commitment to safety, and they also deserve credit for quickly improving the RL's quality to among the best in the segment after a very mediocre first model year. You'll get no argument from me there. The RL is a very well engineered product. It is however, IMO, a rather poorly designed product. The A6 is both very well engineered and very well designed, and its quality as of late has been excellent, if not quite a match for the RL and M. |
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Well yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered a 2010 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro loaded--Prestige, Driver Assist (only way to get back up camera now), with walnut. I expect delivery mid-late July.
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Replying to: art234 (Apr 26, 2009 6:26 am) Congrats! The 2.0T engine has proved so popular (over 90% of sales) that Audi has dropped the 3.2L engine choice for 2010. |
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