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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21398 messages, Last post on Nov 26, 2009 at 7:15 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: tagman (Dec 02, 2008 10:40 am) Try Range Rover. Gorgeous. Not in my eyes. To me, it looks like a chromed-up box on wheels. I might feel differently if I didn't see so many of 'em; sometimes, I think that 10% of the Range Rovers sold (or, more precisely, leased) in North America wind up in my zip code. Familiarity does breed contempt. The RR illustrates the point that I was trying to make in my previous post about SUVs in general. To be useful, they have to be boxy, but that boxiness hampers the efforts of even the most talented stylist to make them look as good as any comparably priced coupe or sedan. I guess that I'm tone-deaf when it comes to high-priced SUVs. If you gave me $75K & told me to spend it on a pricey SUV, I'd wait until you weren't looking. Then I'd buy a used Honda Pilot for, say, $15K & spend the rest on a BMW 550i - with stick, of course.
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Replying to: dewey (Dec 02, 2008 9:50 am) Sure there are! And I take lots of pleasure from it.   Indeed, as you know 335 Coupe size is much better than that of 5 Series to drive along up and down winding roads. HaHa, in Europe Spain is said to be only second to Swiss regarding mountainous surface. Not having the highest peaks but creased landscape. Regards, Jose (Last November passenger car sales in Spain dropped by 47% with respect to November 2007. Gloomy perspective ahead for the industry.) |
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Replying to: m4d_cow (Dec 02, 2008 7:00 am)  Me neither. (Neptuno? Cibeles? Atocha?) Regards, Jose
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Replying to: jimbres (Dec 02, 2008 12:10 pm) LOL. Now THAT makes sense. You never mentioned a price barrier, so the RR fits the description of a good-looking classy SUV, IMHO. If money were no object and if the repair record didn't matter, I'd have one... therefore, I'm not going to get one. Hahaha. But, again, I do like its looks, at least for an SUV. In reality, your idea about the Honda Pilot is a good one, and I'd actually consider the CR-V, unless the Pilot's third row is a requirement. The CR-V is a great value and a terrific SUV... and I find its appearance to be pleasing to my eyes. I am bewildered as to why it isn't available with a hybrid or diesel alternative powerplant. It is the perfect SUV for those powerplants, and I think those alternatives would increase sales even further. TM
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Replying to: tagman (Dec 02, 2008 12:52 pm) We're empty-nesters with a small dog, & the CR-V is sized perfectly for our needs. It's an ideal suburban errand-runner - easy to park & relatively economical to run (about 20 mpg around town). I also like the plain-Jane, utilitarian styling of the prior-gen CR-V. Like you, I'm surprised that Honda doesn't offer a hybrid or diesel variant. At the same time, I'm not sure that I'd pay a premium for an alternative powerplant, given that we put only 3K miles per year on our CR-V. |
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Note to the industry (especially Lexus), this is how to design a convertible. The soft top is a bit old hat these days, but 11.3 cu.ft of space with the top down is a bit more practical than most, and the rear seats also split fold for something like 26 cu.ft. Interestingly the 2010 S5 Cab continues with the V8, but gets the QuattroSport diff option. 2011 brings the supercharged V6.    
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Replying to: lexusguy (Dec 02, 2008 3:57 pm) Classy. Near-perfect from every angle. One thing, however... I do like the rear venting treatment between the exhausts better in the BMW E90 M3, which is also optionally available in the standard 3-Series convertible. The lower rear bumper of the S5 is a bit bland by comparison, and is more like, say, the BMW 1er. The soft top is a bit old hat these days... I agree. Yes, the added storage with a softtop is a big benefit... one that I also enjoy in my 1-Series convertible, but the retractable hardtop really is the way to go. I'm expecting that the new replacement to the Mercedes Benz CLK convertible, which won't be called a CLK, might very well sport a retractable hardtop. Truth be told, I really like this S5, I really do... but I would be hard pressed to choose it over the M3, and I suspect many others might see it that way as well. I have no doubt, though, that the QuattroSport option will be quite compelling to some. Thanks for the pics, LG.  edit: The move from the V8 to the SC V6 is clearly an industry-wide type of shift in years to come, as manufacturers are already planning on boosting smaller engines as a "replacement for displacement"... gone will be the days of large cubic inches and many cylinders. TM |
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Replying to: tagman (Dec 02, 2008 5:09 pm)
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Replying to: tagman (Dec 02, 2008 5:09 pm) Makes sense to me. Audi rates the '09 A6 3.0T, a 194", 4100lb car, at 18/33. The engine's power matches that of the old A6 4.2 (with torque available at much lower engine speed), and yet its nearly a second quicker than that car, and hugely more fuel efficient. The 3.0TFSI is easily the best V6 in the world right now, and arguably the best six cylinder engine period. I like BMW's 3.0TT as much as the next guy, but you will not see the 535xi getting 33mpg on the highway.
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