cusdaddy

I think it totally depends on your needs. I can totally see the benefits of a truck over a coupe. Ideally, it would be good to have a "fun" car and a SUV/Truck. If you can't afford both, I think you have to see what needs you value most. Not everyone cares about handling or acceleration.

Just an example, my gf's father has a 2001 CLS (he convinced me to get mine). His wife drives a RX300. He absolutely loves the versatility of the RX300 and is now trading in his CL to get a 2004 MDX. He said he's sick of the limited space and lack of doors on the CL. The power of the CL was nice, but the MDX is a nice compromise in his opinion.

cusdaddy

The new trucks aren't too shabby in the handling/acceleration arena. Some aren't far behind most cars anyone.

I went for a test drive of the new MDX over the weekend and it wasn't too far off the CL in regards of driving enjoyment. It had a nice torquey engine with plenty of power. The handling was okay; not the the best, but acceptable, but the CL isn't a handling demon either, so it wasn't too far off.

Again, I think you can drive an SUV and still enjoy driving.

mattg

yup, it's called an x5.

scalbert

Do you really own a 350Z???

You must be joking if you do...

I own an RX300 and it is a far cry from driving a car. So much that my wife even wants to get rid of it. I have driven just about every reasonably priced SUV available today and none compare to the response of a decent (read: decent car). Nor should they; they have a different intention.

To compare a truck to a CL, and considering the CL isn't the greatest handler (it is good from a GT standpoint), is ludicrous. I like trucks and the ability they provide but to consider them on a back road is ridiculous. The center of gravity is too high to drive seriously. The brakes are inadequate for repeated stops. And unless the top line is picked, the power is lacking for enthusiastic driving. They are powered and geared to tow, not carve apexes.

I am shocked that a person who bought one of the pure sports cars would say that trucks could give nearly the same experience. That leads me to believe that you don't drive your car as intended??

Just look at the average slalom, skid pad and braking numbers to gains insight on the enthusiastic driving ability. They have a different purpose and if needed they are GREAT. But not a driver’s vehicle...

scalbert

Not really, the X5 4.4i I almost bought did drive better but was still not the same as a car. My Typhoon was one of the best driving SUV (certainly the fastest) but lacked on the turns and braking. You cannot over come that weight disadvantage.

cusdaddy

Yes, I do drive a Z, and I love it. But again, sometimes truthfully it's not that great to drive. The ride is harsh, the storage space is lacking and a lot of the driving I do, I can't appreciate the qualities of the car (driving in NYC with a sports car isn't terribly exciting).

I drove the X5. It's 9/10ths of what my old CL could do in regards to handling and accelerating. The new MDX may be 6-7/10ths of the CL in those areas. How many times do you drive your CL 9/10 and 10/10ths? For 90% of the driving most of us do, a good performing SUV is fine. (X5, Cayanne, SRX, etc.).

BTW, I also drive an 03 Accord. In the winter and city driving, I much prefer the Accord. I think I'd like a truck even more for that type of driving actually, as I can have much more versatility.

cusdaddy

Here is the test data from the X5 4.4i and 2001 CLS from Motortrend:

X5:
0-60 mph, sec: 6.6
1/4 mile, sec @ mph: 15.1 @ 91.0
Braking, 60-0 mph, ft: 125
Skidpad, g: 0.82
600-ft slalom, mph: 58.4

CL-S:
0-60 mph, secL 6.4
1/4 mile, sec @ mph: 14.8 @ 96.5
Braking, 60-0 mph, ft: 124
600-ft slalom, mph: 63.7
Skidpad, g: 0.82 (from C&D)

Yes, the CL outperforms the X5 in the slalom, but the rest of the #'s are very very close, and again, for the vast majority of most of most of our driving, the difference is minor.

mattg

you started off comparing the mdx and cl-s.


the x5 is a little bit out of the mdx league.

cusdaddy

Here is the MDX information from Motortrend:

0-60 mph, sec: 8.1
1/4 mile, sec @ mph: 16.3 @ 84.3
Braking, 60-0 mph, ft: 139
Skidpad, g: 0.74
600-ft slalom, mph: 57.3

The 2004 MDX which I drove has 265hp instead of 240 that the version above has, it has better tires, yet this performs 1mph less than the X5 in the slalom, so I wouldn't say it's out of it's league.

I've driven both and the performance difference between the two isn't terribly striking. Yes, the X5 is superior, but not strikingly so.

Again, I'm not trying to say that trucks handle better than cars, just that a good SUV like an X5, MDX, SRX, FX45 are very close in performance to many of the cars on the road, and satisfy most of their users needs. They must be doing something right if you look outside and see over half the autos on the road are SUV's/Trucks

mattg

i know what you were saying. you were just trying to get in your daily dig on the cl-s. we've grown to expect it.

cusdaddy

Daily dig on the CL? I loved my CL, but I know it's limits. I do the same thing with the Z. I love the styling, and I love the performance, but I also hate the harsh ride, lack of usable storage space, and less than smooth engine (compared to the CL).

I don't see any problem with being able to talk about a car's limits. If we all went around here kissing the CL's ass every minute it would be a very boring place.

The story about my gf's father is indeed true. I was suprised when he asked me to go to the Acura dealer with him, but after his arguement about the MDX being more versatile it made sense.

darrinb

how do u like the truck rob

Water-S

dude you should habe went for the Nissan Titan it's 10 times better truck than the new F-150.
The F-150 has lowest payload in the 1/2 ton class.
plus that new 5.6(i think) Nissan V-8 DOHC is torquey as HELL.

scalbert

Actually I disagree; maybe due to the different regions which we drive in. But that slalom difference is significant and would be noticeable in daily driving.

Trucks/SUVs serve a great purpose and are useful as I have owned three SUVs now. But they are not fun to drive even in daily commutes nor do they come close even at half their intended capability. Heck, we might even our fourth SUV in a few months. My wife hates the numb feeling from the RX300 so we are looking at the new X3 even though we know it won't come close to her E46 328i in terms of response and overall driving dynamics.

scalbert

That is a significant difference in slalom numbers and you would seriously notice it.

My old Typhoon would blow every one of those vehicles away in terms of acceleration; but it is not a superior driver. I would tend to agree that they serve the purpose intended. But that is not we are about; we enjoy driving (taking the perfect line through a turn, making a proper downshift, etc.). The vast majority of people do not care about driving and their vehicle is simple transportation. So the sheer numbers of SUVs means nothing about capability

SilverBullet_RENAMED

Trust me I miss taking turns at high speeds, etc. But my requirements in life have changed at the moment and I needed something that I can do everything wtih for the time being. I can't afford 2 cars.

SilverBullet_RENAMED

I agree. Even though my Pathfinder is a SUV, it handles very good surprisingly. Also has the big VQ35DE in it, so it has alot of power, more than the MDX did have.

I am RobG

yes i fully agree, the titan has more power and better payload...but again i say...ITS HIDEOUS!!! the outside is by far one of the ugliest things i've ever seen and i'm talking up there with the aztek and the rendezvous. its fuckin ugly!!

Water-S

to me I look at how practical the truck is(meaning towing,motor capability, payload, and all the numbers) then i look at the styling because to me with a truck (because i got a 02 Tundra 4x4) you got a job(s) to get done so therefore numbers are important(at least they are to me). yeah looking good is fine and dandy but to me I'd rather get my work done than "look cool" and can't do the job.

DISRUPTV

rob,

at 1st I was mad when I heard you were getting rid of ur cl-s for a truck...but then i thought abt it and realized, you should get whatever the fuck YOU WANT and not get what other people want you to get...i'm happy for ya and hope the f150 is very very good to you


good luck bro

I am RobG

thank you unsure! and btw truckin magazine did the 04 truck shoot out and the new f-150 won that

no see i'm not gonna be doing much payload and towing being i'm a heating contractor so i only pick up pipes and shit. but the titan is ugly i'm sorry

Chaptorial

Are you transferring the plates over?

CLpower

what's the difference between owning a truck or a car?

CLpower

our navigator handles great, then again it's got a handfull of hotchkis suspension mods


Thing can take some turns faster then my cl and ain't no slouch in the accleration mark either, esp. once we finally do the heads

mattg

what year nav? my dad just picked up an '04.

CLpower

'00


tell him to get the hotchkis sway bars, best fucking mod i've ever pot on any car!!!

scalbert

You might want to consider putting the suspension back on the CL or remove the marshmallow tires.

CLpower

i'm dead serious though man, the truck handles good, we put some sticky goodyears on it, and the sway bars made a HUGE HUGE HUGE difference! Yes it's still a SUV though

darrinb

y would u put sways on a navi

mattg

freudian slip?

CLpower

why not? I think it's more important on cars like that anyways, for a safety issue. The car isn't as top heavy anymore and sit's more firm on the pavement.


our plan all along has been to throw an SC on it

I think we are just gonna do the heads though

CLpower