Best Car for the money? (30 Grand range)

maxdemo · Apr 30, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by WildBill:
Depends on the deal I suppose. I drive a Passat which is a very nice car for the money. I am thinking of getting a Lexus IS 300 or a BMW 325 next. All three are fun to drive and decent values, with the Passat being a little cheaper. If you really want to step it up a notch in sportiness you can't beat an RX8. Sports car and then some, the thing flies. It just isn't practical unless you get a lot of chances to drive on open roads, but looks great and drives even better. Best of all you get almost 30mpg even with nearly 300 horsepower!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Here is the next IS300...

This concept from Lexus, Toyota's premium division, is a preview of how the replacement for the Lexus IS300 will look. The concept is a coupe, but the current IS300 is a sedan and a wagon. Lexus is likely to kill the wagon, and is considering adding a coupe to the IS300 line. The IS300 attracts a younger buyer than any other Toyota vehicle, but its sales are slipping. A coupe would make the line sportier--so would racier styling cues, like those found on the LF-C.

[This message was edited by maxdemo on April 30, 2004 at 10:06 AM.]

[This message was edited by maxdemo on April 30, 2004 at 10:07 AM.]

theswami · Apr 30, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by JohnnyDeMarco:
Swami
I looked that up on http://www.edmunds.com again and you are right I was looking at a V10. They seem like good cars too. But a 60k VW?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Johnny-

That's actually the "problem" for VW. In the US their brand is not so good but in Europe it is seen as one of the top brands (or so I've been told by some Europeans who do and do not own VWs). I've been told that the Touareg is simliarly priced as a Cayenne in some countries and some people would choose the VW over the Porsche...

They are looking to move into the luxury car market with the Touareg and Phaeton so they can hold onto their customers, who tend to be loyal, throughout their lives.

I'm making a transition from city DINK to suburban DINK with thoughts of a family in the future so I needed something with space (but not a Suburban) so a crossover SUV was on my radar screen. I loved the Cayenne but unless you get the Turbo (100k) it is not a good deal for a similar looking car built on the SAME platform in the SAME plant as a, you guessed it, TOUAREG.

I think I got a better performing Cayenne for a 20k discount. I'm not too much of a brand whore so once I got beyond the fact that I was paying BMW, Benz, and Lexus money for a VW I looked at the performance and it was a no-brainer. I can be a cheap mf'er so it can be a grueling process for me to part with money so expensive things have to scream VALUE before I buy them...kind of like sport bets and draws in poker.

The tag line is true, "once you drive it, you'll buy it." My wife LOVED the styling but her real interests ranged from Jeep to BMW but once she drove the T-Reg she didn't want to look at anything else (though we did).

Motor Trend named it SUV of the year for 2004 and Edmunds named it Cheapest SUV over 45k to own...those guys are whores but it's kind of nice to see those sorts of things about a car you own (will own once it comes in).

Now the performance of V10 is UNREAL with 28 MPG in a 5500 lb vehicle....CMON!!!!....not sure I could drop that kind of coin on a VW when at that price you can get into a nicely equipped Cayenne V8 and get pretty good performance. The V8 is the sweet spot in terms of value for the Touareg. If you are tooling around one day test drive one. It CANNOT be beat by ANY lux SUV in terms of overall on/off road performance and value. The only POTENTIAL competitior is the Range Rover.

DAMN...I just became a VW shill...sorry.

Phaedrus · Apr 30, 2004

posted by WildBill:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>
. If you really want to step it up a notch in sportiness you can't beat an RX8. Sports car and then some, the thing flies. It just isn't practical unless you get a lot of chances to drive on open roads, but looks great and drives even better. Best of all you get almost 30mpg even with nearly 300 horsepower!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Of course it's not yet in production, but the Toyota Volta hybrid turns over 400bhp and gets 32mpg.

Phaedrus