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A Few New Cars

I am so often asked about new cars and what folks should look at in various segments of the new car market. While I could never share all the knowledge I have about all cars I have decided to share thougths on a few. Remember I come at this a bit different than many because I am at heart a racer first and a consumer second. My exposure to cars is my passion and I study them as a hobby.

For ease of reading I have made my recommdnations based on the category the car/SUV/Truck falls into. I will only cover one category in this post but will add more soon.

Large Luxury Sedans

This segment actually should be broken down by price because comparing a Chrysler 300 to a Bentley Flying Spur is just not fair. So I will focus where the real world lives and say between $50,000 and $70,000. When I define price I mean the real price that you can buy a new car for with decent options - not some list price for a stripped prior year model. Before you send me nasty emails I know in the real world there are lots of cars under $50K that one could call a large luxury sedan but this price range is the most crowded. I also define Large as over 117 inch wheel base with rear seating legroom 40 inches or more.

So what's in this segment? Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, BMW, Benz, Audi, Lincoln, Genesis, Cadillac, and Jaguar to name a few. But when you look closer you will see that is not really true. For example take BMW the only thing they have the resembles a large luxury sedan in this price range is the 5 series. I don't think it really qualifies because it is not Large in my vernacular. Plus even a base model 530i with a few options is right at $70K.The 7 series definitely fits the Large definition but is not available under $70K. Jaguar is probably in the same boat as they offer cars in the price range but none could be considered Large. Their XJ fits the bill but is way outside the price range. So lets look at the others in no particular order.

Lexus has a few cars they would try to fit in this segment - the GS and the LS. One could argue the GS meets the Large status but just barely, so I am going to eliminate it. Really their only Large sedan is the LS. The new for 2018 LS is a beautiful car but you cannot buy one for $70,000. Audi has only one Large car if you ask me and that is the S8. The A6 is about the same size as a BMW 5 series or a Mercedes E Class so it is out. The S8 is a beautiful car but cannot be had for under $70,000. For that matter the same applies to Mercedes as their only qualifier is the S Class and they start at over $95,000.  While Acura wants us to believe the RLS is a large car it is about the same interior size and the Audi and Benz mentioned above. So Acura really has no offering here.

So that leaves offerings from Cadillac, Infiniti, Lincoln and Genesis. All offer Large cars and all are available at or below $70,000. So lets take a look at them.

I thought the new Lincoln Continental was a beautiful car when I saw the concept at the LA car show a few years ago. Sadly they did not produce the concept but still developed a handsome car. It is Large and is very luxurious. Lincoln offers this car in base form for about $47,000. A Black Label version is at about $70,555 and is really loaded. Their new top of the line seats are amazing - 30 way adjustable. The 400 hp engine moves the care very swiftly although the 2.7 V6 turbo is adequate. I love their service offering and the interior size good.

The Cadillac folks only have one car that fits the large status and that is the XTS. It is just barely at my rear dimension limit and the base model can be had for about $46,000 with the Platinum coming in around $65,000. The interior is nice but not as luxurious as the Lincoln. The handling is excellent and the engine is solid Cadillac fare. The styling seems a bit dated but this is a solid contender and is priced competitively.

The Genesis brand is new to many. Hyundai created is a few years back as their luxury brand and has continued to improve the offering. This year they have the G90 and G80. The G80 does not qualify as Large in my measurements but the G90 does. The standard features on this car are excellent 9Class leading) and the warranty is the best. The car can be had with a nice 3.3 V6 or a big 5.0 V8. while the rear seat space is just below my 40 inch limit the car qualifies as large because it has a 124.4 inch wheelbase, making it bigger than any of the cars we will discuss here. Genesis is now a real contender and the 3.3 can be had for right at $70,000 fully loaded.

The last but not least of the group is the Infiniti Q70L. As with all Infiniti's the build quality is excellent and the standard features ahead of most. This car can be outfitted with either the venerable 3.7 V6 or with the powerful 5.2 V8. The L stands for long wheelbase and it certainly is at nearly 42 inches. Actually it is a tad bigger than the Lincoln, 2 inches more than the Cadillac and Genesis - making it the best rear leg room in this sampling. The car has all the Infiniti dependability and comes with great tech if chosen. The 3.7 can be had for about $60,000 fully loaded. They even offer a hybrid version that is really very powerful but a bit more expensive.

So if this is your target market I would suggest you look at these sedans as they all offer a lot of luxury and many wonderful features. Also having backseat legroom in the 40 inch plus range is truly pleasurable for your passengers. if this is not important to you then you can expand your search to Benz, Audi, Acura and BMW. By the way the Acura RLS has the most rear room of that group with the Audi A6 coming in second. of these four Acura wins the price race but the Benz has the best interior followed very closely by the Audi.

Hope this helps buyers in this market and stay tuned for more comparisons on sports cars, truck and SUV's. Drive safely - till next time.



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