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05-20-2006, 12:36 PM
Took some "me" time off from work and the kids on Thurs and Fri, and test drove a few cars. Thought I'd post some comments.
Mazdaspeed6:
My gawd, this car is fast. :eek: I mean, really, really fast. It starts revving like any other 4 cylinder, but torque comes on full-tilt at a little over 2 grand on the tach, and pulls like a steam train. Every time. There is no leisurely stroll around the city streets, unless you continually short-shift under 2000 RPM.
That marvelous torque curve aside, the car is nothing terribly spectacular. Interior is nice, but a bit chincy looking with the glossy black plastic that reminds me a bit of the black lacquer furniture of the late 80's. Seats are fine, cockpit is clean and laid out tastefully, and rear seat is adequate for 2 kids.
Handling was OK, but noticed a fair amount of lean while cornering, and tons of plow when braking hard. The front end also likes to "buck" up everytime the turbo really starts to kick in. Gives the feeling that the car is never really settled in nicely, unless you're coasting down the highway in neutral. We did a semi-emergency stop to get a feel for the braking, and the tires immediately gave up traction as the front end plowed [what seemed like] all the way down to the pavement, and the ABS went nuts trying to control lockup. Do the same in an S2000, 330i, etc, and there is plenty of traction, and is very easy to modulate.
The shifter was smooth, yet not as firm as I prefer it. Almost borderline sloppy, and left me frequently wondering if I was in the intended gear, or even fully in gear at all. The clutch is great. Takeup is almost immediate, and grabs harder than any other modern car I've driven. This is a huge plus in my book, except for one thing: the numb DBW throttle and all that sound insulation keeps you from having any clue what the engine was doing, making feathering the clutch very difficult. I know my wife would have a difficult time getting used to it. Hell, even I would.
All that being said, I still think the car is near the front of the pack, especially when you consider price. Dealer had something like 9 of them on the lot, so dealing on the car shouldn't be entirely difficult.
Lexus IS250:
Actually found one with a stick, but had no sport package and had the smaller all-season tires. What's odd, is that it's nearly impossible to find one without the sport package, and nearly impossible to find one with a stick. How did they come up with the idea to order one w/o sport package, but with a stick (huh??)? Talk about an odd duck. It's no wonder why this example has been sitting on the lot for a while.
Anyhow, the car is nice. Good quality materials, solid, nice design. The stick shifted nicer than the Mazda's. The power was underwhelming, and again the DBW & sound insulation made it difficult to figure out what the engine was doing on takeoffs in 1st gear. The clutch was much less aggressive than the Mazda's, which made it easier to drive smoothly though.
Not much else to say about the car, other than "it's nice". The lease rates are not so good, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass on this one.
Acura TSX:
Nice car for the money. Solid interior, and is a nice step up from the Honda line in terms of fit and finish, and materials. It has a surprisingly large amount of space for a compact vehicle. Unfortunately, they had no stick to drive, but they are available from time to time. So we drove an auto.
The steering is very nicely weighted. It makes the steering effort in my S2000 feel like a Buick in comparison. I liked it. The handling is pretty firm, even though there is some body roll. And the all-season tires held on better than I expected. Get some summer rubber on this car, and I'm pretty sure it'd perform quite well.
Engine was peppy off the line, but fizzled out very quickly until the tach reached past 4000 RPM, where it moves along nicely again. Mate the car to the manual 6 speed, and I think the car has reasonable potential. Pricing is pretty good when you consider that everything comes standard.
Audi A4:
Dealer only had one example with a stick, and it was FWD, no sport package, tiny wheels w/ all-season rubber. It had also just come off the truck and wasn't prepped for driving. I was able to drive it around the dealer lot to get a feel for it, though. Nice interior, car is very solid. I wasn't able to get a complete sense for the drivetrain's abilities, other than deciding that the shifter felt decent, and had short throws. Once again, difficult to determine what the engine was doing while feathering the clutch on takeoff.
I thought to myself, if the drivetrain is basically FWD layout no matter what the configuration, does it really make any sense to go with the quattro? That's going to add weight, reduce mileage and acceleration, and add to the cost of the vehicle. That being the case, I'm thinking the best route would be to just buy the 2WD model.
Well, the experience was nothing memorable. I probably owe it to myself to come back when they have a better example to test drive.
E90 325i:
Stopped by Carmax in Clearwater, and they had an example with sport package, stick, and roughly 9000 miles. I have to say that, overall, this drive was the best out the previous ones over the past 2 days. Not the fastest car, but the most balanced and communicative. The seats were awesome. The handling firm and unflappable, yet swallows up bumps with a perfectly subdued "thump". The interior is still not completely to my liking, but I do enjoy the fact that it's simple, clean, and not flashy. The problem with this example, is that it was priced at over $32K, which is basically what the same thing would cost new. The salesman drew up a sample sale that included an extended warranty, taxes, tags, etc, and it was approaching $40K. I just laughed, and parted ways. Shit, I'll just buy a similar, new 330i for that money. But you know that some sucker will buy it.
OK, that's all to report at this point. My overall thoughts are pretty well exactly what I expected. Compared to my S2000, everything else is so numb, so lifeless. So boring. The shifter in the S is so superior in feel and action, that everything else feels like a fisher price toy. I intentionally haven't driven the S since early last week, just so my thoughts wouldn't be swayed. That didn't end up making much difference. The biggest problem, however, is the damned DBW systems, and the need to shield the driver from any unnecessary noise or feel. The only vehicle that was even close to striking my fancy was the E90, which as I think about it more and more, was really quite good. It's been a few years since I've driven an E46, so I can't really compare it to that.
The conclusion that I keep coming back to is that I really, really like owning the S2000. The car is just too damned good...for its own good.
What's next? Carmax Tampa has a decent selection of low-mileage E46's that I'm going to check out. They have two 2004 325Ci's w/ sport package and stick, both right around 30K miles, and both stickering for about $27K, which is several thousand under KBB retail value. Man, how ironic (and infuriating) would that be if I ended up back in an E46. :rolleyes:
Mazdaspeed6:
My gawd, this car is fast. :eek: I mean, really, really fast. It starts revving like any other 4 cylinder, but torque comes on full-tilt at a little over 2 grand on the tach, and pulls like a steam train. Every time. There is no leisurely stroll around the city streets, unless you continually short-shift under 2000 RPM.
That marvelous torque curve aside, the car is nothing terribly spectacular. Interior is nice, but a bit chincy looking with the glossy black plastic that reminds me a bit of the black lacquer furniture of the late 80's. Seats are fine, cockpit is clean and laid out tastefully, and rear seat is adequate for 2 kids.
Handling was OK, but noticed a fair amount of lean while cornering, and tons of plow when braking hard. The front end also likes to "buck" up everytime the turbo really starts to kick in. Gives the feeling that the car is never really settled in nicely, unless you're coasting down the highway in neutral. We did a semi-emergency stop to get a feel for the braking, and the tires immediately gave up traction as the front end plowed [what seemed like] all the way down to the pavement, and the ABS went nuts trying to control lockup. Do the same in an S2000, 330i, etc, and there is plenty of traction, and is very easy to modulate.
The shifter was smooth, yet not as firm as I prefer it. Almost borderline sloppy, and left me frequently wondering if I was in the intended gear, or even fully in gear at all. The clutch is great. Takeup is almost immediate, and grabs harder than any other modern car I've driven. This is a huge plus in my book, except for one thing: the numb DBW throttle and all that sound insulation keeps you from having any clue what the engine was doing, making feathering the clutch very difficult. I know my wife would have a difficult time getting used to it. Hell, even I would.
All that being said, I still think the car is near the front of the pack, especially when you consider price. Dealer had something like 9 of them on the lot, so dealing on the car shouldn't be entirely difficult.
Lexus IS250:
Actually found one with a stick, but had no sport package and had the smaller all-season tires. What's odd, is that it's nearly impossible to find one without the sport package, and nearly impossible to find one with a stick. How did they come up with the idea to order one w/o sport package, but with a stick (huh??)? Talk about an odd duck. It's no wonder why this example has been sitting on the lot for a while.
Anyhow, the car is nice. Good quality materials, solid, nice design. The stick shifted nicer than the Mazda's. The power was underwhelming, and again the DBW & sound insulation made it difficult to figure out what the engine was doing on takeoffs in 1st gear. The clutch was much less aggressive than the Mazda's, which made it easier to drive smoothly though.
Not much else to say about the car, other than "it's nice". The lease rates are not so good, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass on this one.
Acura TSX:
Nice car for the money. Solid interior, and is a nice step up from the Honda line in terms of fit and finish, and materials. It has a surprisingly large amount of space for a compact vehicle. Unfortunately, they had no stick to drive, but they are available from time to time. So we drove an auto.
The steering is very nicely weighted. It makes the steering effort in my S2000 feel like a Buick in comparison. I liked it. The handling is pretty firm, even though there is some body roll. And the all-season tires held on better than I expected. Get some summer rubber on this car, and I'm pretty sure it'd perform quite well.
Engine was peppy off the line, but fizzled out very quickly until the tach reached past 4000 RPM, where it moves along nicely again. Mate the car to the manual 6 speed, and I think the car has reasonable potential. Pricing is pretty good when you consider that everything comes standard.
Audi A4:
Dealer only had one example with a stick, and it was FWD, no sport package, tiny wheels w/ all-season rubber. It had also just come off the truck and wasn't prepped for driving. I was able to drive it around the dealer lot to get a feel for it, though. Nice interior, car is very solid. I wasn't able to get a complete sense for the drivetrain's abilities, other than deciding that the shifter felt decent, and had short throws. Once again, difficult to determine what the engine was doing while feathering the clutch on takeoff.
I thought to myself, if the drivetrain is basically FWD layout no matter what the configuration, does it really make any sense to go with the quattro? That's going to add weight, reduce mileage and acceleration, and add to the cost of the vehicle. That being the case, I'm thinking the best route would be to just buy the 2WD model.
Well, the experience was nothing memorable. I probably owe it to myself to come back when they have a better example to test drive.
E90 325i:
Stopped by Carmax in Clearwater, and they had an example with sport package, stick, and roughly 9000 miles. I have to say that, overall, this drive was the best out the previous ones over the past 2 days. Not the fastest car, but the most balanced and communicative. The seats were awesome. The handling firm and unflappable, yet swallows up bumps with a perfectly subdued "thump". The interior is still not completely to my liking, but I do enjoy the fact that it's simple, clean, and not flashy. The problem with this example, is that it was priced at over $32K, which is basically what the same thing would cost new. The salesman drew up a sample sale that included an extended warranty, taxes, tags, etc, and it was approaching $40K. I just laughed, and parted ways. Shit, I'll just buy a similar, new 330i for that money. But you know that some sucker will buy it.
OK, that's all to report at this point. My overall thoughts are pretty well exactly what I expected. Compared to my S2000, everything else is so numb, so lifeless. So boring. The shifter in the S is so superior in feel and action, that everything else feels like a fisher price toy. I intentionally haven't driven the S since early last week, just so my thoughts wouldn't be swayed. That didn't end up making much difference. The biggest problem, however, is the damned DBW systems, and the need to shield the driver from any unnecessary noise or feel. The only vehicle that was even close to striking my fancy was the E90, which as I think about it more and more, was really quite good. It's been a few years since I've driven an E46, so I can't really compare it to that.
The conclusion that I keep coming back to is that I really, really like owning the S2000. The car is just too damned good...for its own good.
What's next? Carmax Tampa has a decent selection of low-mileage E46's that I'm going to check out. They have two 2004 325Ci's w/ sport package and stick, both right around 30K miles, and both stickering for about $27K, which is several thousand under KBB retail value. Man, how ironic (and infuriating) would that be if I ended up back in an E46. :rolleyes: