mk416

Guess he forgot to include the "cheap" part of reasons people buy cars.

mmarshall

Well, price-wise, some of those Chrysler vehicles I mentioned are far from cheap. I've seen them run 50-60K.

Sulu

Not to mention that sucking lemon pucker front end. I never could understand all the criticism of the Lexus spindle, the Acura shield or the Lincoln split-wing when the Alfa pucker is just as bad. I don't often comment on auto styling but...

G Star

iTrader: (2)

The Giulia looks good but nothing amazing, a lot of cars have great designs lately.

Im really surprised it won the comparison, I don't really believe it but then again I didn't drive it so my opinion on that doesn't matter.

How did the 330i end up 7th? I think everyone won except for BMW in this match up...

mmarshall

Alfas have long had a reputation as drivers' cars....in many ways, the Italian BMW (or, at least, what BMW used to be like). Their reliability problems, though not as bad now as in the past, are real, not imagined.

Simple. BMW got rid of what were two of its best attributes.......one of the best hydraulic power-steering systems in the world, and one of the best chassis-combinations of ride and handling. What they are stuck with now is essentially a mainstream product.

EXE46

The IS200T got an overly fair review regardless of sponsor or not. This car is not for an enthusiast, the gearing/throttle response is horrible; the one aspect of the car that makes me regret not getting the 350. If i was doing this review, this aspect alone would make me put the IS200T dead last. Nothing else matters more to me than the driving dynamics and with the horrible lag with this turbo, the thrill of driving this car is greatly diminished for someone that drives aggressively.

EZZ

It also got 0-60 in 7 seconds. Dead last in the comparison.

MattyG

Oh now, you know that it's not horrible... just uhh... "polarizing", kinda like the new Lexus design language

Anyway, the Alfa grill and badge go back over a century. They've shown up on a lot of great Alfas at one point or another. Acura has effectively abandoned it's beak which was nowhere to be seen on early Acuras and won't likely be seen again any time soon. Lincoln's "bling-wings", also gone. The spindle awaits its fate...

Sulu

You have just validated what I have been saying about these polarizing design languages: Some really do not like them but just as many others like them or at least accept them, and yes, it may take time for people to accept them. The car-buying public has come to accept the Alfa grille because of its long history. The car-buying public has now come to accept the Audi Singleframe grille also because it has been on Audis for over 10 years now (I remember the reactions when it first came out and they were largely negative also).

The Lexus spindle will come to be accepted in time also. It has already started.

But, I believe that Acura gave up too early on its beak / shield, as Lincoln gave up too early on its split wing. These far-out, unique designs take time to become accepted as the brand's image. But gave up too early, and people do not know what the brand's image is supposed to be. Give up too early and the image -- and by extrapolation, the brand itself -- becomes lost.

MattyG

Great. Hope you've got about a hundred years or so. People walk into a showroom and love a car on first sight, they buy it. People see a design online, they want to walk into a showroom.

Fizzboy7

I spent a week in a new IS200t loaner and it was no slouch. Plenty of punch at all speeds and no lag or hesitation off the line. The only let-down was the engine sound and no improvement in mpg's over my IS250.
Overall, I don't see this obsession with cars having to be drag-race worthy. The majority of drivers are non-enthusiasts and do not care about space shuttle launches. Also, the IS200t leases for a very low rate compared to it's peers. It's a cost ratio that works very well, as this car is wildly popular in Los Angeles, as is the very affordable NX. Agreeing with MT, the Benz is out in lala-land with it's pricing structure.

As far as the Alpha's styling, it's pretty blah with a butt-ugly, Ford Edsel grille. The ONLY reason MT was enamored was over the car's brand name, the fact that it's Italian, and that it's finally available in the U.S. They let those things sweep them off their feet, which is weak and a non-fundamental reason to rate a car.

webra

As a long time Lexus owner I feel that Lexus took for granted its two best attributes and:

Abdicated leadership in hybrid drivetrains- (and failing to demonstrate prowess in turbo engines)
Believed that reliability was everything to everyone (with Porsches and Audi's moving up the rankings, and the strides Mazda is making)

I don't need to drive flagship model to buy into the brand. But I do expect a premium brand to show leadership with its flagships.

mmarshall

Maybe.....maybe not. It can be very difficult trying to read people's minds. And if magazines picked winners and losers simply by the wow/image factor, then they wouldn't waste time and printing-space doing the actual reviews.

Sulu

Even if these rags picked winners and losers based simply on a wow / image / newness factor (we cannot forget that Alfa Romeo is effectively new, returning for the first time in a generation so most people in North America will not be familiar with it), they have to print the results for 2 main reasons:

1. They need to print something to continue to sell the magazines.
2. They have to try to justify the reasons for their selections. The blind believers and loyal readers of the magazines will believe and agree with the justifications, even if others will be able to see through the bad excuses.

Sulu

They chose it because it is new. MT's editors are likely young enough that they have never driven an Alfa Romeo and if they have, would not remember ever having done so in North America.

Familiarity breeds contempt and something new must be good.