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The new G90 does ride great, I've driven it and posted a good writeup in the CarChat forum. To respond above, the G90 is all new for 2017, there was no 2016, no 2015, no 2014.
Even at more "reasonable" prices though. Lots of great riding cars out there. Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Chevy Impala, Buick Lacrosse, The Avalon & ES (I would still include them), the Genesis G80 is a great riding car...the new Audi A4 rides great as does the A6 for more money, the new C Class Mercedes rides great.
This idea that "new cars don't ride well" is IMHO propagated by people who don't drive a lot of different cars. I like good riding cars, and I do in fact drive a lot of different cars and IMHO there are lots of options today for people like us. Just gotta be smart with options...skip upsized wheels to get the best ride, etc.
The new G90 does ride great, I've driven it and posted a good writeup in the CarChat forum. To respond above, the G90 is all new for 2017, there was no 2016, no 2015, no 2014.
Even at more "reasonable" prices though. Lots of great riding cars out there. Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Chevy Impala, Buick Lacrosse, The Avalon & ES (I would still include them), the Genesis G80 is a great riding car...the new Audi A4 rides great as does the A6 for more money, the new C Class Mercedes rides great.
This idea that "new cars don't ride well" is IMHO propagated by people who don't drive a lot of different cars. I like good riding cars, and I do in fact drive a lot of different cars and IMHO there are lots of options today for people like us. Just gotta be smart with options...skip upsized wheels to get the best ride, etc.
This is a good list Steve! One can't find such lists in the car reviews these days. Even reviewers like consumer reports, who used to have a slant towards family friendly, nice driving cars, now seem to favor cars with a firmer sporty ride in their reviews.
I had tried to find lists of cars with smooth/soft rides. Hard to find online.
Yes, despite modern day low profile tires, most cars like the new C Class and new E Class on 19" wheels with low profile rubber, still ride amazingly compliantly!
It is only Toyotas and Lexiis which have been firmed up like the: Prius, Corolla, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, and BRZ etc.
The reason Toyotas and Lexiis have progressed to better, and now somewhat wild styling, plus the firming up of the suspension is due to Mr Toyoda's grandson Akio Toyoda's takeover in 2009, where using his motorsports racing background, he stipulated that Toyotas would no longer be boring, and that Toyotas would have more inspired styling and dynamics.
One thing that helps with ride compliance without as big a tradeoff in handling and helps to compensate for low profile tires is modern adaptive suspension and air suspension setups.
Another thing you may want to consider when looking for cars with great rides are crossovers and SUVs. My Jeep Grand Cherokee for instance rode great, I also drove an Audi Q7 a couple weeks ago that had a great ride.
Most cars already use "progressively" continuous/infinitely variable rate springs.
The thicker the crossectional diameter of the helical coil, the stiffer the spring rates.
But also, the smaller the helical diameter of the coil, the stiffer the spring rates; not the other way around.
And finally, the fewer the number of winds per inch helical axial length, the stiffer the spring rates; not the other way around.
The spring rates are progressive, meaning that they gradually increase in stiffness with increasing linear compression.
Rather than being progressively variable like coil springs, air springs are truly/genuinely variable from the word go, however presently, cars like the new Mercedes E Class with air spring have a noisy ride, and reliability/durability is still somewhat an issue - even in the flagship Lexus LS.
Continuously/infinitely variable spring rates means that it isn't just two or three or ten different spring rates, but the spring rates are infinitely variable between two extremes.
Below is a 2004-2006 Lexus ES330 front and rear coils respectively.
Notice how they are "progressively" variable in spring rates?
Yep I think you're right. Our old Mercury Grand Marquis is still better than any newer car I've experienced.
People in the 'modern era' want a hard ride I guess, for some unfathomable reason.
The most coherent post I've read on this board to date... In each and every letter. I thought this Lexus was going to ride like Heaven lol. It rides like a four poster bed on steel roller skate wheels lol. My 77 New Yorker whoops the **** out of this new Lexus lol. I can't understand why cars are getting stiffer; you guys are not rally racers; quit trying to lower your cars to take corners at 80-there's no reason to do it, and you're going to cause an accident lol.
The most coherent post I've read on this board to date... In each and every letter. I thought this Lexus was going to ride like Heaven lol. It rides like a four poster bed on steel roller skate wheels lol. My 77 New Yorker whoops the **** out of this new Lexus lol. I can't understand why cars are getting stiffer; you guys are not rally racers; quit trying to lower your cars to take corners at 80-there's no reason to do it, and you're going to cause an accident lol.
Lexus will change their products based on the demand of the market. Lexus vehicles use to have conservative styling -- now they far from that. Same goes for the suspension.... the original or should i say "older" demographics preferred a softly-sprung car. Well, some of these folks have moved on and the "new generation" prefer a car that is more driver-oriented. I personally didn't want to ride in a futon bouncing down the highway. I'm glad they made changes to the ES. All in all, it's a business -- and they must adapt to the needs of the customers.
But there's a whooooollle complete separate line up of "drive over a dime and tell if it's heads or tails" Lexuses; the F sports lol. Hell, there's even a line of family SUV's that can hurt your back as well now! lol. Why take the choices away from us? lol. And what about the "sport" suspension options? Why does it have to be back aching for non sport, and "shake the fillings out of your mouth" for the sport suspension? And when did a luxury car company become competition for Corvette? lol.
I mean after you've stiffened up the springs to the point where every joint on the interior trim squeak no matter WHAT you do, where does that leave you? With a confused car that now does everything completely crappy, and masters NOTHING. You'll never hang with the STI's, the F sports come with the same engine (read chevy malibu and corvette sharing one motor lol) plus an even ****tier ride, and now the 2017 BASE model Ford Fusion (which I just rented) completely and totally annihilates the ride of the coveted "Lexus" which used to be able to balance wine glasses on it's hood lol. So you're not as fast as the cars that were intentionally engineered & marketed as, and now you don't ride as nice as the Cadillacs, Buicks and now the base model pedestrian Fusions lol. You've "kept up with the Jones" so much now you're mediocre at best in all categories.
It used to be a long time ago Lexus was not only king of the super nice interiors & straight line ride quality, but they had the engine reliability thing cornered as well. They were beginning to edge out Mercedes & BMW for the entry level luxury segment for a minute, and now they're not. The only thing they have left is the reliability thing (which is the main reason I bought one) because I can tell you this, that Fusion I just rented will REALLLY surprise you in ride quality. I mean really. It was VAULT solid. If you weren't well rested before driving that car forgetaboutit, you're falling asleep in there. As far as Mercedes and BMW's concerned, everyone now knows to dump them at around the 6th year for about half of what you paid for it, and start new, because when they start to go, you better win the lottery to be able to afford the repairs will WILL come a knockin' as sure as the sun rises. But since everyone knows that, I think they yanked some engine R&D funds and put it into everything else because they're really quiet, their rides are outstanding, and they're still all faster than every other car in their class. So really if you go into it knowing you have a six year life cycle, I think they're running away with the show.
I'm not sure who you think the car company who's cheapest car starts at 39000 is trying to appease, but the types of people that can show up and buy one of these cars have ZERO interest in trying to be Colin Mcrae or Ken Block. This class of people they're gunning for simply doesn't even exist lol. It's like a solution looking for a problem. If I had that money, and wanted to for some ODD reason take corners at 90mph, there's no WAY I'd even FATHOM ANY car from the Japan's Cadillac lol. The only way I'd want a 15.25 foot long car with WOOD on the interior is if I had brown polyester pants on with velcro shoes... I'd be headed straight for Subaru, a pre-owned Evo, Mustang or Corvette and again, COMPLETELY fill that Ken Block void, and not beat around the bush lol.
I'm still confused as to who Lexus thinks are shopping their dealerships. I'm a regular in mine and I haven't seen a person under 40 in there yet. At least offer options lol; one set of springs for the cruising kind of guys who like to relax while driving, and another for the guys who think they can turn their cars into F sports with sway bars, lowering springs and 30 series tires, effectively destroying their ride quality while still not being able to keep up with Sti's lol.
But there's a whooooollle complete separate line up of "drive over a dime and tell if it's heads or tails" Lexuses; the F sports lol. Hell, there's even a line of family SUV's that can hurt your back as well now! lol. Why take the choices away from us? lol. And what about the "sport" suspension options? Why does it have to be back aching for non sport, and "shake the fillings out of your mouth" for the sport suspension? And when did a luxury car company become competition for Corvette? lol.
I'm not sure where you are going with the comment about "shaking the fillings....." and comparing the ES to a Corvette. I think you're losing it. All I said was that the (stock) Lexus' are fine the way they are -- and Lexus kept them this way because it's what the current generation of customers want.
Also, please tell me where I can buy a F-Sport ES! You're obviously high on something.
Lexus is in the middle of a little bit of an identity crisis. Okay...a big identity crisis. I think what they will ultimately find that balance where they can appeal to the people they want to appeal to the most.
I will ask though, who feels the ES is "back breaking"?!? While it may be a little firmer than before, its still a very nice riding car and is in no way harsh or uncomfortable. Even an F Sport GS is not harsh or uncomfortable.
I will ask though, who feels the ES is "back breaking"?!? While it may be a little firmer than before, its still a very nice riding car and is in no way harsh or uncomfortable. Even an F Sport GS is not harsh or uncomfortable.
The ES isn't Cadillac or old-school Buick floaty-soft though. That's what some people want and Lexus currently won't cater to them, whereas previous ES models did. It's also a demographic issue as Lexus looks for more younger buyers who want firmer rides and sharper handling.
That said, I'm a younger buyer and I wish the ES had a softer ride. It's fine on smooth surfaces but it gets thumpy on potholed roads. Or maybe I need new Pirelli P7s...
It's possible to get stiff, low suspension for hard driving combined with a smooth and absorbent ride - just install an adaptive, crosslinked suspension system like on a McLaren 650S. Costs a fortune though.
11-12-16, 09:55 AM
