Shaummy

Hey CL folks! You all seem to have such diverse backgrounds in vehicles, I thought I'd put this out to you. I'm in the market for a new vehicle, and wondered what you thought..brute power over refined luxury types:

Current Vehicle - 2009 Cadillac CTS 51k miles - I just don't like it that much, it was the wife's car until we got the RC350 for her.

Needs/preferences
- Must be able to drive in the snow (without a second set of winter tires and probably AWD/4WD and no possibility of a winter beater and I don't want to do winter tires)
- Must be comfortable (70mi/day commute)
- Must be fun to drive
- Reliable
- MAX ~$65K-$73K
- Can't be longer than ~17ft. (garage restriction)
- Looking for New '16/'17
- Prefer somewhat unique..for example there are a gazillion BMW's around that basically all look the same
- Prefer something that I could haul small/medium things like I could in the Caddy with the seats folded
- Not too concerned about fuel mileage

I've been doing research on top of research and it just gets overwhelming at some point.

Some things that intrigue me so far (as examples) in no particular order:
- Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (Yeah...475 HP would be fun but sucks some gas for sure)
- Porsche Macan S (kinda cool...but kinda small too)
- Audi SQ5 (not sure it's sporty enough)
- Mercedes E 450 sedan (not sure it's comfortable or fun but nice)
- Audi S/RS 4/5/6
- Land Rover LR4

So what do you say? Don't worry I don't have my heart set on anything right now..so don't be shy...let me know what you think!

Shaummy

yardie876

Considering you already have a Lexus, I'd say an S6. Only thing is you won't be able to tell it apart from another Audi if you're more than 50 feet away. They all look the same! The 450hp and AWD should make it a dynamic daily driver.

Shaummy

Yeah..I love that about them too...my only concern is that I'd probably have to go on the used market to get into the price range I need. Not sure if they have any problems to worry about.

Believe me my local dealer has a sweet RC-F that I was very tempted to go after but I just can't drive it year round with the snow here in the Chicago area.

Aron9000

I'd say go for the A7 or S7 if you want an Audi, probably one of the sexiest cars on the market right now IMO. Plus the back is a hatch where the seats fold down, so its very practical for hauling stuff.

Also keep in mind that cars like the S7 and SRT Jeep might come with summer tires stock, so you're still doing the winter tire thing. Plus I have my doubts, even with AWD how good something like an all season 255/40/R19 tire is going to be snow, generally those wide/low profile tires that are popular as OEM equipment act as snow shoes, you float over the snow instead of digging in. Plus potholes will trash a wheel/tire combination like that.

All I'm saying if you buy the Audi, stick with the base 17 or 18" wheel/tire package if you're going to drive it all year round.

mmarshall

Although not every single vehicle from the company will necessarily be a lemon, I would not, in general, recommend any Land Rover product if reliability is high on your list. The brand, in general, has ranked very low in that department for years.

Shaummy

Thanks for confirming that for me...I had heard some mixed results with them, but it sure didn't give me a fuzzy feeling either.

Aron9000

How about a new 670hp supercharged Mustang GT and a new Subaru(take your pick, they have several models in that $20-25k range). Both of those should be about $65k lol.

http://www.lebanonford.com/New-2016-...OH/vd/34137340

Aron9000

Although seriously, if you want a new luxury car, the A7 is kind of at the top of your price bracket but worth it IMO, it stands out and doesn't look like the boring bajillion gray or black 3 and 5 series BMW's you see on the roads.

dseag2

I wouldn't worry too much about the SQ5 not being sporty enough. All the owners on Audiworld love the way they drive. The "Q's" are also very reliable compared to most CUVs. I personally love the looks of the A7, but even with the 3.0 Supercharged V6 it is still a boring drive. I've driven an A6 3.0 as a loaner. Same car, different body. I couldn't wait to get my S5 back. The A7 is fast, but not very sporty. You would have to get into an S7, and you would be way out of your price range. If you go used, you may run into some high maintenance costs.

Actually, if you don't need 4 doors the S5 is a great car... very sporty, fast, not that common, and the rear seats fold down so it has surprising room in the back. The supercharged V6, Dual-Clutch tranny and sport suspension make it lots of fun. I need even a bit more room and 4 doors so I'm most likely going for an SQ5 when my lease is up.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

wow, you're all over the map. 2 door, 4 door, suv?

if a macan would be too small, not sure why the small/mid sedans are on the list.

sounds like you definitely want sporty, but also winter capable. if it's really sporty then even with awd it's likely to have tires that suck in the winter so you have a trade-off unless you want to change tires, either get something less sporty, or accept you have to change tires in bad winter weather. the jeep gc srt has gigantic tires on it, that even with awd i doubt would be great in winter. it doesn't have all the drive modes that the reg gc 4x4 does.

how about an rx450h f-sport? not really sporty but not slow, good room, luxurious...

Shaummy

You are right..I'm all over the board...I really want a sports car but with winter..I can't really have one. I was trying to figure out what would be fun to drive i.e. "sporty" that could get me through the winters here in Chi-town too.

The JGC came into it because I know it would be a blast to drive, and up here they do get "All-Season" tires. I figured for the handfull of times I might encounter snow on the roads it could get me by with some care.

To give you an idea what I've been driving in the past...starting with the most recent, but I got tired of worrying about whether it was going to snow all winter...too stressful

'09 Corvette - Yup A/S tires year round driving
'04 Lightning - Added some weight and got around ok
'02 SLK 320 - I actually did use winter tires on this one (still got them in fact)

As for the RX...well...I know this is a Lexus site...but the new styling...looks like a science experiment gone horribly wrong..at least from the exterior. I'm sure the interior is nice though.

Of course the real test is getting in some of these and driving them to see if they have enough seat of the pants performance/sporty attitude. I was definitely looking for the kind of feedback you guys are giving for sure. Keep it coming...I appreciate everyone chiming in!

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Search SRT reliability, it's just horrible. But I agree it's a blast to drive.

dseag2

[QUOTE=As for the RX...well...I know this is a Lexus site...but the new styling...looks like a science experiment gone horribly wrong..at least from the exterior. I'm sure the interior is nice though[/QUOTE]

Yes, this is a Lexus site, and I've owned plenty of them, but your remarks about the styling are spot-on. Yes, the interior is very nice, but I would never be able to get past the outside.

Shaummy

hmmm..I have done that search but I didn't see any widespread reliability issues in the last few model years. I did see some 2014 problems but nothing recent.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

That's old info.

Shaummy, check this out