Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged luxury sedan
2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier
Jul 21st
Okay, say what you like about the Lincoln Town Car. It’s not cutting-edge. It’s a relic of an era whose time has passed. It’s downright shameless with its battleship-like proportions, big V8, and rear-wheel drive. That’s what everyone (except, of course, the cadre of fiercely loyal Town Car buyers) says. None of that matters in light of one simple fact: No one makes a big, fat slab of automobile the way Lincoln can. Challengers like the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS430 may have the edge in high technology and Euro-styling, but the Lincoln has spent years trumping their curbside impact with sheer size and tradition.
For 2003, the Town Car finally gets some refinement to go with that luxurious mass. In recent years, the Cadillac Deville has grabbed the American-style luxury spotlight with a sophisticated front-wheel drive chassis and modern interpretation of classic Cadillac style. Lincoln has chosen to go a different route. The new Town Car borrows a bit from the past to create a new “family” look for the brand. Add a quieter interior, revised steering and high-intensity discharge headlamps to the distinctive new face, and you have a Lincoln Town Car that’s thoroughly modern yet faithful to tradition at the same time.
All Lincolns now feature a distinctive hood ridge that starts with the grille crest and runs all the way back to the windshield. It looks good on the Town Car, offering shades of Lincoln’s 1960s big-car heyday. There’s a long hood, and a long tail, and riding proud on the hood, an honest-to-goodness hood ornament. To keep the car from looking like a complete throwback, projector-style quad headlamps under glass covers flank a grille similar to that of the Lincoln LS and Navigator. (One could make an argument for projector lamps being the styling gimmick of the new millennium, just like tailfins were in the 1950s, but that’s a different story.) Our test car was a top-of-the-line Cartier L model, with unique 17″ chrome wheels. The Cartier also has a wheelbase that’s been stretched six inches.
That’s a good place to excel, considering that most Town Car passengers will see the back seat first. It’s an impressive cabin, with forty-seven inches of rear-seat legroom thanks to the wheelbase stretch. The seats are deep, soft leather, and Lincoln has outfitted the Town Car with a bigwig-style rear control center including radio, heat and air conditioning controls. The rear seats are also heated in Cartier models; you can switch ‘em on and let them fight it out with the excellent air conditioning. There’s even a controller so the rear seat passenger can move the front passenger seat, for additional legroom. Up front, Lincoln hasn’t neglected the driver either. A new dashboard features nickel and walnut accents, as well as a new “signature” Lincoln analog clock a la Infiniti. There are dozens of storage cubbies–in the armrests, in the front of the seats, in the console–but no gadgets like a rear seat massager or a power sunshade. Yet.
Underneath that big decklid, the trunk is a 21.1 cubic-foot cavern. It looks like you could park another car in the trunk of the Town Car. Cartier models feature a grocery bag organizer in the floor.
The Town Car is much nicer on the road than its closest competition, the Cadillac Deville. It’s not the dynamic equal of the S-Class or even the Lexus LS430, but thanks to a revised suspension and all-new rack-and-pinion steering the Town Car isn’t as far off the curve as it used to be, no pun intended. It’s not just the rear-wheel drive that makes it feel superior to the Cadillac, but a stiffened frame with additional crossmembers. The Town Car is a body-on-frame car, which contributes nicely to ride isolation. A degree of smoothness is provided by sheer mass, also; over some bumps, the Town Car’s inertia carries it right over the worst of the roughness. The suspension is slow, almost ponderous in its responses, but the deliberate body movements are really part of the atmosphere.
On the freeway, it’s sometimes hard to keep the Town Car in its lane thanks to numb-ish steering. Conversely, it’s much easier to maneuver in-town. We were surprised at how easy this big beast is to park. The new rack-and-pinion steering is precise, despite its sedated feel. Of course, anti-lock brakes (ABS) are standard equipment. The Town Car also benefits from Emergency Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) which proportions the brakes during emergency stops, limiting the need for ABS.
All-new looks and decent handling aside, the new Town Car is let down somewhat by its powerplant. The 4.6 liter V8 engine feels labored under hard acceleration, despite a dual exhaust and improved horsepower. 239 horsepower can’t overcome the fact that this is an awful lot of car. The V8 is as slick as any of the competition, thanks to improved engine mounts, but the Town Car is hardly fast. The four-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly, without any hitches whatsoever. As long as you’re patient, it’ll get up to speed, and it’s easy to see why it’s popular with liveries and people who have to be chauffeured. The Town Car is also more comfortable from the driver’s seat than a passenger-oriented luxobarge like the Jaguar Vanden Plas.
Not that it matters to the average luxury buyer, but the big Lincoln is priced a bit below the competition. Our test car was a fully equipped Cartier L model, with heated seats, traction control and an Alpine sound system, and it stickered for $52,765, which is the approximate price of a 4,467-pound Porterhouse steak. Cartier L pricing starts at $50,700. For the shorter wheelbase models, pricing starts at $41,040 with the Executive model.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier L, which we tested.
Length: 221.4 in.
Width: 78.2 in.
Height: 59.1 in.
Wheelbase: 123.7 in.
Curb weight: 4467 lb.
Cargo space: 21.1 cu.ft.
Base price: $50,700
Price as tested: $52,765
Engine: 4.6 liter SOHC V8
Drivetrain: four-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Horsepower: 239 @ 4900
Torque: 287 @ 4100
Fuel capacity: 19 gal.
Est. mileage: 17/25
2001 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas Supercharged
Jul 8th
In a market segment that thrives on the newest, latest, and greatest, the Jaguar Vanden Plas soldiers along with a basic body shape that dates to the 1970s. It doesn’t quite reach the extremely high luxo-technology bar set by the Lexus LS430 and Mercedes S500, nor can it match the performance available from a BMW M5 or Mercedes E55 AMG. Yet it costs more than any of them. Are we missing something here?
By virtue of longevity, the XJ sedan is Jaguar’s signature car. Although it’s not the most technologically advanced car in the lineup, and not the most modern by a long shot, the XJ’s ultra-luxury Vanden Plas model is the most recognizable, thanks to a basic design that dates to about 1975. The Vanden Plas was updated to its current guise in 1998, incorporating many classic Jaguar cues that had been lost during the Eighties. The car was all-new, but retained the now-classic, low-slung body shell. For 2001 the big Jag gets heated front and rear seats as standard equipment and new 17″ alloy wheels. Does it match up to the technology and performance leaders of the large luxury class? Nope. But the Jaguar offers something that neither Lexus nor Mercedes nor BMW can: an unmistakably British atmosphere.
There’s just no mistaking the XJ for anything but a Jaguar. Quad round headlights flank a vertical-barred chrome grille, and if there were any doubts as to the car’s heritage, the chrome “leaper” cat which serves as a hood ornament easily banishes them. The Vanden Plas has a long, low stance, as Jaguars should, and the rear doors are longer than the fronts. The car seems to taper all the way to the rear; a long, low trunk is surprisingly roomy.
The Vanden Plas holds a place in the luxury car market that’s similar to that of Rolls-Royce, in that it seems to have been designed to be most pleasurable from the back seat. Those lengthy rear doors hint at the ample legroom to be had. Reading lights, wooden writing desks, a large wood console, and plush carpeting also give the rear of the car the feel of a smoking room on wheels. By contrast, the driver’s seat is a bit cramped, thanks to a huge center console. The many-buttoned central pod which houses controls for the climate control, sound system, and optional satellite navigation system takes quite a bit of getting used to. Amenities are plentiful; rain-sensing wipers, heated seats all around, and a 320-watt sound system are all standard equipment. But apart from the cool view down that long, sculpted hood that the driver gets, it’s somewhat more fun to be driven in a Vanden Plas than it is to drive one.
Not that the drive itself is an exercise in misery; quite the opposite. Jaguar’s supercharged 4.0 liter, 32-valve V8 is nothing short of amazing. 370 horsepower is the end result of all that growling under the hood. The tall-geared five-speed transmission handles the power with phenomenal smoothness, and at seventy miles per hour the wave of power is just getting started. The punch is even more surprising with the knowledge that the Vanden Plas Supercharged isn’t the fastest XJ; that honor goes (by a tenth of a second) to the XJR, a slightly less civilized, more race-bred beast. And it boggles the mind to think that the with a 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds, the XJR isn’t even the fastest luxury car out there.
Hiding behind those big wheels is a fully independent double wishbone suspension which preserves Jaguar’s well-known silky ride. It keeps the Vanden Plas in line, absorbing enough road noise to keep the “smoking room” feel intact, but large road humps upset the Vanden Plas terribly. We bounded over a few irregularities that were sufficient to annoy the Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS), intended to keep the powerful Vanden Plas Supercharged discreet, into setting off the traction control. The car regained its composure quickly, but supposedly lesser luxury sedans were not as upset by the same bumps. Antilock brakes are standard, of course, and the Vanden Plas stops with race car-like authority despite its weight of over two tons.
So…what do you pay for that unmistakable Jaguar atmosphere? Unfortunately, as they say, if you have to ask… Our top-of-the line Vanden Plas Supercharged test car stickered for $83,950. And that’s the base price. Ouch. All of the equipment mentioned is included, of course, but it’s still stratospheric. Thankfully, a normally aspirated XJ8 can be had for $56,355. It still seems a bit much. The “Jaguarness” is a wonderful thing, but it’s also available in spades in the $45,000, better-handling S-Type.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas Supercharged, which we tested.
Length: 202.7 in.
Width: 81.7 in.
Height: 53.2 in.
Wheelbase: 117.9 in.
Curb weight: 4079 lb.
Cargo space: 12.7 cu.ft.
Base price: $83,355
Price as tested: $83,950
Engine: 4.0 liter 32-valve supercharged V8
Drivetrain: five speed automatic, rear wheel drive
Horsepower: 370 @ 6150
Torque: 387 @ 3600
Fuel capacity: 23.1 gal.
Est. mileage: 16/22
2001 Jaguar S-Type
Jul 8th
We approached the 2001 Jaguar S-Type with a healthy dose of skepticism, because a lot of other reviewers have used words like “sublime,” “refined” and “sophisticated” to describe it. This set off our Rhetoric Alarms; a lot of car folk pay too much lip service to Jaguar, Mercedes, and Porsche thanks to the heritage of these makes, and not necessarily because of the quality of the current product. Personally, we’d never met a Jaguar before, so we had no reason to be moved by its Jaguarness.
We drove it, and can confidently, objectively report that that the new S-Type is sublime, refined, and sophisticated. It’s not rhetoric.
A lot of people weren’t convinced that Jaguar had truly been revived by Ford Motor Company until the S-Type hit showrooms in mid-1999. With styling heavily inspired by classic Jaguars, the all-new midsize Jag was an instant hit. The fact that they didn’t fall apart (as Jaguars throughout the 1980s were known to do) was a big bonus, too. For 2001 the S-Type gains a reverse-sensing parking aid, and Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) status.
The S-Type’s styling sets it apart from the luxury crowd instantly, and that’s not an easy thing to do. It’s unabashedly inspired by the famed Jaguar 3.8 S-type of the early ’60s, with quad round headlamps and a narrow oval grille. The hood is contoured to match the headlights, and Jaguar’s trademark “leaper” cat hood ornament is prominent. The 16″ wheels that are standard on the 3.0 S-Type fill the wells nicely. A character line running from front to rear mimics the shape of the classic S-type as it slopes to a gently tapered rear end. It’s a pleasing car to look at.
The elegance carries through to the interior. The dash and steering wheel are accented with birds-eye maple wood. There’s plenty of elbow room, but the S-Type feels very snug and confidential inside–interestingly, without a cockpit-style dashboard. A U-shaped center panel keeps the S-Type’s ancillary controls within easy reach, although the small forest of buttons takes some getting used to. An optional navigation system is housed in the dash; its screen was replaced by a handy storage drawer in our test car. A voice-activated control system operates the climate control, stereo, and cell phones, and learns to recognize the owner’s voice. The shifter gate is also U-shaped, another Jaguar trademark. Visibility to the rear can be a bit tight, thanks to the narrow window back there, but the view out the front, with the charming hood ornament just in sight, is captivating enough that you’ll rarely notice.
We were truly won over after getting the S-Type on the road, though. It’s a heavy car (almost two tons), but with 240 horsepower on tap from a 3.0 liter V6, our S-Type 3.0 L test car moved with authority. True to the car’s mission in life, though, it didn’t mind just cruising, either. Few cars can handle such power without a constant sense of urgency, but the morning drive in an S-Type feels more like a restful break at a quiet coffee shop than a commute. Electronic throttle control and variable valve timing give allow the S-Type to respond smoothly or forcefully, depending on what’s needed. A five-speed automatic transmission handles shifting details seamlessly. For the shamelessly aggressive, the more powerful S-Type 4.0 offers a 281 horsepower 32-valve V8, and a sportier suspension.
Should the need for speed arise, the S-Type is up to the challenge. An all-aluminum, fully independent double-wishbone suspension at all four corners is used instead of the more common MacPherson strut setup. The S-Type is taut and controlled when the road gets twisty, and the handling is confidence-inspiring. It’s just as smooth while attacking curves as it is on a glass-flat freeway, too. All-speed traction control and antilock brakes are standard equipment. Jaguar’s optional Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system is also included; it detects when the car’s path of travel has deviated from the intended direction, as in a skid, and uses the brakes to help straighten the car.
Befitting its luxury status, the S-Type’s list of standard equipment is generous. Dual-zone air conditioning, leather interior, a full-size, parking assist, matched spare tire, and front and side airbags are included in the $43,655 base price. The 4.0 L adds a premium sound system and a moonroof to the basic equipment list. To make the S-Type the envy of any gadget-hound, the navigation system, voice activated controls, rain-sensing wipers, DSC, heated seats, and a computer-aided active suspension can be added to the list.
We rarely approach a car with a chip on our shoulder,–but it’s a refreshing surprise to have it knocked off with authority when we do. The Jaguar S-Type is such a car, capable of winning over even the most hardened cynics with a short drive. Be careful–it’ll spoil you.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Jaguar S-Type 3.0 L, which we tested.
Length: 191.3 in.
Width: 71.6 in.
Height: 55.7 in.
Wheelbase: 114.5 in.
Curb weight: 3816 lb.
Cargo space: 13.1 cu.ft.
Base price: $43,655
Price as tested: $44,250
Engine: 3.0 liter 24 valve DOHC V6
Drivetrain: five-speed automatic, rear wheel drive
Horsepower: 240 @ 6800
Torque: 221 @ 4500
Fuel capacity: 18.4 gal.
Est. mileage: 18/25