Motor Trend $45k Luxury Car Comparo (March '05)
 

In its March issue, Motor Trend compares the;

S-type
A6
STS
530i
RL
M35

That's the finishing order as well.

They loved the M35, which was a base, non-sport model. I don't think they had anything bad to say about it.

They liked the RL, but had the usual complaints about low-end grunt.

They still consider the 5 series the Ultimate Driving Machine; they love the way it drives and handles (manual/sport packaged) but complained about the active steering and i-Drive.

Here are a few numbers:
M35/RL/530i
0-60-6.3/6.7/6.8
60-0-118/122/118
1/4 mile-14.7/15.0/15.2
slalom-64.4/65.5/67.1
skidpad-.86/.88/.89

The M35/M45 are home runs for Infiniti. I was very impressed, and in person it looks and feels very nice as well.

I'm really, really impressed with the M. But ti'm acutally surpised at how far back the A6 place. Was that with Quattro? I also hoped the STS would place higher, say... better than the RL.

i'm impressed by the m35 too

I just reread the comparison and I see I got the order wrong; the A6 is actually 4th place, and the STS is 5th. My bad.

Performance-wise, I agree (as do the numbers) with the order. Motor Trend is a VERY performance-orientated magazine. Well see what Car and Driver does with this. The only negatives the M35 have are very minor. The wood is :thumbsdown: in my opinion, and the drapped leather on the door sills is too old. The dash is hot and the exterior is great, but that's just my opinion. The RL would win if it were more "comfort" orientated, but remember that Motor Trend is not as "all-around" as C&D.

Glad to see the M35 and RL finish 1 2 ahead of the Germans, Brits, and Americans :thumbsup:. Tells you a little about the progress Japan has made in the luxury market. They didn't even include the 06 GS!

I had a chance to sit in the M45 at the NAIAS last week - definitely a pimp ride. Scary how similar the dash layout was to the RL. If I had an extra 50 gizzles to blow on a sedan and I lived somewhere warm and sunny, I'd definitely buy one.

Damn the article isn't on the MotorTrend website yet.:sad:

Damn. The STS didn't fair well at all.

I think the S-type is in need for a serious makeover not design wise but for the engine, chassis, suspension etc.

The SH-AWD works...look at those slalom times. But the 530 was very very impressive in that regard too (even better than the RL). Looks like good old fashion RWD still rules at the track. I can't believe the heavier M35 runs to 60 as fast as the lighter G35 sedan. :what:

the M would have been my choice too

Anyone else wonder what the skidpad/slalom figures would be if the M35 had the sport package?

Overall, :thumbsup: to Infiniti & Acura for finally building better midsize luxury sedans than the Germans!

Anyone going to post up scans for us?

I just picked up my Feb issue. We get em late in Canada.

Whats the weight on the M35?

Isn't the next gen S-Type coming out soon?

Damn the STS got pwn'd ... What the hell happened there?

Supposedly for 2007 it's going to be redesigned and use a variant of the XJ8 platform according to MotorTrend's vehicle forecast. But I think it's long overdue for a redesign.

:scratch: Seems to be right about where I would have placed it. Without the V8, the STS really isn't that impressive.

Which A6 did they test, the 3.2? My dad is looking to buy a new car and is leaning towards an A6 4.2, so I am curious to what they said about the car. I have been telling him to also check out the M45, but he likes the build quality of the Audi, especially the interior.

Let's compare Apples to Apples here...

Put the M35x and the new 530ix against the RL, and we should see the RL excel. Still, the RWD M35 is my favorite of the bunch; the RL will win over the older audience and the 5 series is a ripoff compared to the competition.

The AWD won't slow the M that much, it'll most likely run the same as the RL.

BTW there is no 530xi yet. It supposed to be out around May.

I bet the RL will handle better though, since it outhandles the RWD M.

yeah, that's what i was thinking. also, yeah I was talking about the future 5.

We won't know for sure until we see them both on a slalom course. Maybe the ATTESA AWD system will pull the M35x quicker around the cones then the RWD M35. Only time will tell.

Right, that's what I thought. I couldn't remeber the debut year though... thanks. It can't come out soon enough.

RIP off??

Consider it's using a 5 year old in-line 6 with 75 fewer horses and 46 lb/ft of torque and it gets squeezed out by a mere 0.1 sec. I guess it's a rip off. 0.1 second is barely worth mentioning because edmunds showed 530i to be 0.3 second faster. So this is well within the tolerance. It also crushed RL in slalom and beat it in grip as well. It also has better brake numbers. So i guess it's a rip off than, other than straight line power that Acura barely wins, and you can conclude E60 is a rip off is obsurd.

It would be interesting to see the Xi version with 255HP would do now.

But M35/45 looking more and more like a class leader now. They are getting better at being BMW than BMW is. I also really liked the new M's interior. It looks like Nissan has the formula of knocking off the germans.

So in your mind, the RL loaded at $50k is "hardly a good buy" as you said in another thread, but $56k for a BMW with less equipment is OK, because it performs well?

My goodness you just love to throw out numbers don't you...

Well is a few numbers for you...Which you failed to mention BTW. The 530I Edmunds tested was a 6 speed manual. They got a 0-60 of 7.2secs. And a 530I weights in at about -500 lbs than a RL. What does it all mean??? It means unless you are dumping the clutch at 5000 rpms you are not going to get close to what edmunds says. But does any of these even matter? Which car did what from 0-60.

Priced as tested for the 530I was 55,795.00. And for 55K you are still in an I6. But who is correcting who, right.

hmmm...i didn't get to see the issue yet, but i thought it was a $45k comparo....the 530 was $55k? i wonder why they didn't use the M45 in the comparo

Because the ass whooping would have been sooo bad, BMW would never advertise on that mag again. :boink2:

The 530i ZSP or M35 Sport can obviously take anything in their class in terms of performance. Do you want to pay around 7.5k for the BMW badge? Go ahead. Personally I think the car looks great, performs well on paper, and brings "prestige" to label freaks.

Try explaining to an automotive enthusiast that your car is supposed to be better than a Nissan or Honda, "German"-built, when its produced in China.

In my honest opinion;
-Infiniti and Acura pack MUCH more (in what they offer, exclude M, S, AMG) than BMW, Audi, or MB could pack as of late (besides "honor and prestige", which both Infiniti and Acura have improved with the M and RL, respectively).

They can't label themselves like Lexus did, but Infiniti and Acura sure as hell have done a lot to make themselves not just competative, but SUCCESSFUL in the luxury market. Kudos to both Nissan and Honda for a job well done. Well see how the M sells. The RL has been instant success. But remember, this is a pretty performance-orientated decision.

:werd:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../mikeowned.bmp

That's alright. The 530 could just call his big brother 545 to even things out. :thumbsup:

I need to reread the article to make sure, but Im sure they allowed the 530 since it starts in the 40s like all the others.

yeah, I'd love to see the 545i ZSP and M45 Sport go head to head :thumbsup:

If Infiniti wants to be the Japanese BMW they need to make an M45 with a 6MT.

I was just reading the R&T review of the M45- Apparently the rear HICAS steering from the old 300Z really works- the 45 pulled .90 g's and set a R&T record for skidpad performance by a production sedan

I'd love to see them run the RL with it...

The new 5 series is a rip off. I was optioning out the 530 and for the price they want, you can get a A6 4.2 with a lot of the nice optional packages. I used to be a huge BMW fan, but the company went down the crapper. All their cars aren't selling well.