Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged luxury sedan
2001 Lexus LS430
Jul 8th
Talk about irony; the much-anticipated arrival of the Lexus LS430 test car coincided exactly with the arrival of my fourteen-year-old sister for a visit. So much for playing hot-shot auto journalist for her, I figured. What could be less interesting to a fourteen-year-old girl than a big, boring old man’s car? A rich old man’s car, to be sure, but Lexus clearly didn’t have the Britney Spears generation in mind when they designed the LS430.
Much to my surprise, young Ashleigh hopped into the LS430′s back seat, raised the side and rear sun shades, turned on the rear seat massage, and was in heaven. Perhaps some luxuries are universal.
If the LS430 can impress the Britney Spears generation, it should have no problem grabbing the attention of the older, Mercedes-bred buyers it’s hoping to attract. The original LS400 was a luxury upstart from an unlikely source–Toyota–that put Mercedes and Jaguar and other European luxury brands on the run. Lexus kept the competition working hard throughout the 1990s with minor revisions and updates to the LS400, but the new-for-2001 LS430 is the first complete revision. The wheelbase is longer, but the car is the same length, offering impressive increases in interior room and giving the car a more limousine-like presence at the curb. The new LS430 has a larger engine, a more modern, angular look, and a whole list of new gadgets.
The LS430′s big-box design doesn’t do much for me, but judging by the pedestrians’ stares, it looks good from the curb. Big chrome wheels certainly don’t hurt. The wheelbase has been increased three inches, so the LS430 looks larger without being substantially longer. Up front, a broad horizontal-bar grille with the familiar Lexus “L” in the center is flanked by multi-unit projector-lens headlamps under glass. The broad hood is very Mercedes-like, and the squared-off trunk even more so. Yet the proportions of the car are distinctly Lexus. It’s hard to actually mistake an LS430 for a Mercedes S-Class thanks to some design voodoo. The overall design is conservative and substantial. The LS430 makes a good piece of upscale corporate jewelry.
It’s also a good place to be a chauffeur. The LS430 is a playground of technology and gadgetry inside. The lovely, gently sweeping dash looks best in light colors. Lexus offers ecru, black, or ivory interiors with California walnut accents on the console, dash, and doors. There are a lot of ancillary controls, to operate the raft of power options. An in-dash satellite navigation system is available, as is an in-dash CD changer. The front seats are both heated and cooled; a fan pulls hot air away from the body through perforations in the butter-smooth leather, for a cooling effect. Seat, steering wheel, and mirror preferences are programmable, of course. And, to make the driver’s job easier (since he may well be a professional) the doors and trunklid are equipped with self-closing mechanisms. Very often in cars like this, the guy in the back is really the one who gets coddled. It’s no surprise my sister spent so much time back there. Sunshades cover both rear side windows, and the rear window. The rear seats are not only heated and power adjustable, but have a massage feature as well. Stereo and climate controls are provided for rear seat passengers, inside an armrest which looks almost like a second instrument panel. A separate rear air conditioner is also available, with an air purifier. The LS430 feels like the shortest limousine ever built–all it needs is a crystal chandelier and a wet bar. My sister and I both enjoyed the 240-watt Mark Levinson sound system, which may not have been designed to blare Limp Bizkit and Nelly Furtado for the enjoyment of teenagers (and their journalist brothers), but obliged quite willingly.
To witness Lexus’ signature quality all one has to do is listen to the LS430 while driving or riding inside. Listen hard. That’s the trick–the LS430 is nearly silent and vibration-free while it’s running. The magic-carpet ride has always been a Lexus trademark, and the LS430 takes it farther with an available air suspension. To smooth out the overall freeway ride as well as improve the road feel, the available Dynamic Laser Cruise Control can be programmed to maintain a set distance from the car ahead, rather than a set speed. This way, there’s no need to disable the cruise control in heavy traffic. We didn’t use it much; it was easier to simply pass the slower cars.
Lexus has been just as fanatical about the engine’s smoothness as it has the suspension’s. It’s so smooth and silent it’s hard to believe there’s a 290 horsepower engine under the hood. The new 4.3 liter V8 is a silky 32-valve powerplant, and uses Toyota’s Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i) to ensure slick power delivery. The LS430 will even help the driver; the Intuitive Powertrain Control detects gas pedal pressure, vehicle speed, road grade, and other factors, and adjusts the engine’s torque delivery to make the ride smoother. The result? Much of the jerkiness felt when trying to maintain speed in traffic is wiped out. Intuitive Powertrain Control will also automatically hold gears while climbing hills, and downshift when the brake is applied. Chances are most drivers will never even notice it working. The five-speed automatic transmission works so smoothly it might as well be using a single all-purpose gear.
Yet another driver assist is available–Intuitive Parking Assist. Ultrasonic sensors pick up obstacles in front of and behind the car can be had on minivans and are nothing new, but the LS430 uses the navigation system’s dash display to show exactly where the obstacle is. It proved invaluable when parallel parking the big car.
The laser-guided cruise control, Intuitive Parking Assist, and Mark Levinson sound system are all part of the LS430′s Ultra Luxury Package. It also includes the air suspension, navigation system, moonroof, powered door closers, sun shades, and more. The Ultra Luxury package adds over $12,000 to the LS430′s base price of $54,005. The boardroom-on-wheels feeling makes the car well worth our test car’s price of $70,440–even to teenage girls.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Lexus LS430, which we tested.
Length: 196.7 in.
Width: 72.0 in
Height: 58.7 in.
Wheelbase: 115.2 in
Curb weight: 3955 lb
Cargo space: 20.2 cu. ft.
Base price: $54,005
Price as tested: $70,440
Engine: 4.3 liter, 32 valve V8
Drivetrain: five-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Horsepower: 290 @ 5600 rpm
Torque: 320 @ 3400
Fuel capacity: 22.2 gal.
Est. mileage: 18/25
2001 Buick Park Avenue
Jun 19th
The timing couldn’t have been better; the Buick Park Avenue Ultra arrived just as we were heading out of town to visit relatives for the holidays. It was a healthy dose of traditional American driving for a traditional American holiday season.
With the demise of the Roadmaster, the Park Avenue is top dog in the Buick lineup these days. All of the current luxury car amenities are there; GM’s StabiliTrak traction control and OnStar driver assistance were made standard on the Park Avenue Ultra in 2000.
From prow to stern, the big sedan is hard to mistake for anything other than a Buick. A very clean front end is dominated by a thin-barred, slightly oval grille reminiscent of toothy Buicks of the past. The parking lights are moved to a discreet position at the extreme corners, which emphasizes the bumper line and gives the Park Avenue a classic, big-chrome-bumper look without the big chrome bumper. Projector-style headlights reside behind clear covers. A nicely sculpted hood is domed in the middle, and a sharp crease on each side is faintly reminiscent of 1950s Buicks. That crease carries through all the way to the rear of the car, which also retains the big-bumper look. We didn’t find our test car’s 16″ chrome wheels particularly attractive.
Inside, the Park Avenue is unpleasantly similar to the LeSabre. That’s not a completely bad thing; the junior Buick is a well-designed, comfortable car. It’s just that for the price hike, we’d like to see a more unique, upscale interior. The seats are wide and plush, with soft leather. They’re multi-adjustable, but we had a hard time finding a comfortable position. The dash is nicely marked and easy to read, but matches that found in the LeSabre. A large console between the front seats flips out to reveal a dual cupholder, swallows a big handful of compact discs, and also feels like it came out of a less expensive car. Back-seat passengers are treated to lighted vanity mirrors, just like in a Mercedes. Controls for the radio and memory seat functions can be confusing; even after reading the manual, every time we thought we had set the memory seat, we hadn’t. Other gripes included extremely slim door pockets, and thick A-pillars which blocked forward visibility slightly. On the plus side, the Park Avenue is blessed with an enormous trunk, in proper American style. It happily swallowed a full load of Christmas cargo, and a pass-through in the rear seat allows long items to be stowed as well.
The supercharged V6 provides welcome urgency to the driving experience. The Park Avenue has no trouble bullying its way through heavy traffic, even holiday traffic. 240 horsepower makes up for the Park Avenue’s almost-two-ton girth, and it will cruise at disconcertingly high speeds effortlessly. The four-speed transmission shifts smoothly and is geared for maximum freeway efficiency. The Park Avenue gets almost 30 mpg on the freeway; coupled with an 18.5 gallon gas tank it has a range of nearly 400 miles.
The steering is light, just like that of Buicks gone by. There’s a bit of classic American floatiness when piloting the Park Avenue at low speeds–just as nostalgic, in its own way, as watching that big hood swing around. It’s a good thing that steering is precise as well as light. The suspension is tightened for responsiveness, but it’s not particularly well-done, with a tendency to be floaty where it should be snug, and to be sharply resistant where a more refined car would be softer. It’s better than years gone by, but not up to the best modern luxury cars. The brakes are also up to par, but could be better. Four-wheel discs are standard, but they’ve got an awful lot of car to bring to a halt.
The equipment list is refreshingly long. The Park Avenue Ultra also features a special edition, with a unique Laguna Green color and a walnut wood interior. The aforementioned traction control is standard, as are cruise control, heated seats front and rear, and the OnStar system. A new option for 2001 is an ultrasonic obstacle-detecting system in the rear bumper. The Park Avenue Ultra starts at $37,490 and our test car with the Gran Touring package topped the ledger at $39,330. It splits the difference neatly between the mass-market Chevrolet Impala and the high-luxury Cadillac Deville in GM’s lineup, and is quite comfortable between those two. On the other hand, forty thousand dollars will also buy a personality-challenged but nicer-driving Acura 3.5RL, a Lincoln Town Car, or a number of other big, well-equipped freeway-eaters.
Big luxury cars are nearly all good. Deciding on one is a matter of taste more than anything else. The Park Avenue is a prettier car than an Acura 3.5RL, but the interior is a definite step down in elegance. A Lincoln LS is more fun to drive, but doesn’t have much storage space inside for those road trip necessaries like maps and cold drinks.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2001 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, which we tested.
Length: 206.8 in.
Width: 74.7 in.
Height: 57.4 in.
Wheelbase: 113.8 in.
Curb weight: 3884 lb.
Cargo space: 19.1 cu. ft.
Base price: $37,490
Price as tested: $39,330
Engine: 3.8 liter OHV supercharged V6
Drivetrain: four-speed automatic, front wheel drive
Horsepower: 240 @ 5200
Torque: 280 @ 3600
Fuel capacity: 18.5 gal.
Est. mileage: 18/28
6/2009 update: The Park was just about the nicest vehicle in GM’s lineup back in the day, and it’s still a pretty nice expression of Buick-ness.
2009 Volkswagen CC
Jun 11th
You either get the “coupe-sedan” thing or you don’t. It’s a European thing for the moment. The gist of it is that people don’t like four-door sedans; they’re frumpy, they’re un-sexy, they’re family cars. Coupes, on the other hand, are youthful, sleek and attractive. The obvious solution, then, is to build a car with the glamour and visual appeal of a coupe and the practicality of a four-door sedan. Voila–the four-door coupe.
It’s an intriguing trend. Mercedes’ CLS-Class and Volvo’s S60 are prime examples, and now Volkswagen has joined the fray with the CC. CC stands for “Comfort Coupe,” and the dramatic styling is like nothing you’ve come to expect from Volkswagen; it’s more like an Italian luxury car than a practical German family sedan, with luxurious amenities to match. Underneath the svelte skin, however, this car is closely related to the comfortable and competent Passat. In fact, they’re practically twins; in Europe the CC is called the “Passat CC.”
The CC is a feast of automotive design. The roofline has been lowered, and a steeply raked windshield and backlight give it a look of motion. A strong character line runs from the headlights to the taillights, defining the car’s silhouette. While the sheet metal seems to have been pulled tauter, the CC’s face is bolder and more pronounced, with a broad, narrow grille and handsome complementary sculpting in the bumper. Frameless door glass adds a delicate touch, and a large panoramic sunroof lets the sun shine in. A range of seventeen- and eighteen-inch wheels is offered.
Inside, the CC is just as dramatic, with four individual sport seats upholstered in a handsome two-tone motif. Leather wraps the steering wheel, and the dash is accented with chrome and satin-aluminum brightwork to great effect. The seats are contoured similar to those of classic sports cars, and if they give up a little bit of comfort in the name of fashion, well, that’s just what this car is all about. (The CC still doesn’t make you give up too much practicality; the rear seats still fold down so long items can be carried in the trunk.) Between the rear seats, there’s a covered console containing cupholders and a first-aid kit.
Volkswagen’s new navigation system, named the Media Device Interface (MDI) features a boldly colored touch screen and a 32GB hard drive carrying the navigation info. It’s a bit less intuitive than other systems, and the cartoonish graphics pale in comparison to the more precise maps available in other luxury cars. A backup camera is also available.
The important thing to note about the CC is that it drives more or less the same as the Passat. This is a good thing, as the Passat already feels like a more expensive car than it is, making its low bottom line a pleasant surprise. On the other hand, the CC’s svelte body and interior-designer looks raise expectations, so that the lovely driving manners are merely expected. Whether that’s an improvement or not is up to you. Volkswagen has retuned the CC’s suspension, to ensure that it doesn’t feel exactly like the Passat on the road, but the ride is very similar. The front suspension features MacPherson struts with triangular wishbones, and the four-link rear provides the sort of subtle, comfortably taut ride that fans of European cars are looking for in anything with a German badge. The CC’s got stiffer springs and dual-pinion electromechanical power steering to help make the ride sportier. Volkswagen’s Electronic Stability Program, which includes anti-lock brakes, anti-slip regulation and yaw control, is standard equipment. At its heart, though, this is still a Passat, for better or for worse.
Whether you find it to be understated or overrated, the CC is at its best with the fabulous 3.6 liter DOHC VR6 V6 engine under the hood. The latest incarnation of VW’s familiar narrow-angle engine uses direct injection and variable valve timing for improved efficiency and power delivery, and its 280 horsepower moves the CC with the proper authority. Like other VR6-engined Volkswagens we’ve driven, the CC’s powerband is broad and instantly available, and though this is a large car, it never feels like it. The VR6 is hooked up to a six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission. VW’s 2.0 liter four-cylinder is also available, should you want better fuel economy or a manual transmission. An all-wheel drive CC with VW’s 4Motion on-demand all-wheel drive is also available.
The CC offers a measure of elegance and luxury that are much better suited to the Volkswagen brand and badge than the now-deceased white-elephant Phaeton. The pricing makes it significantly more attainable, as well. CC pricing starts at $27,100 for a manual transmission-equipped Sport model. The range-topping VR6 with all-wheel drive starts at a healthy $39,800, but even at that price point the CC is comfortable and handsome enough to deserve the price tag.
Specifications: All specs are for the 2009 Volkswagen CC
Length: 188.9 in.
Width: 73.0 in.
Height: 55.8 in.
Wheelbase: 106.7 in.
Curb weight: 3628 lb.
Cargo space: 13.0 cu.ft.
Base price: $38,300
Price as tested: $41,630
Engine: 3.6 liter DOHC narrow-angle V6
Drivetrain: six-speed automatic transmission, front-wheel drive
Horsepower: 280 @ 6200
Torque: 265 @ 2750
Fuel capacity: 18.5 gal.
Est. mileage: 18/27