Luxury Vehicle

A sibling of mine, is looking for a a good investment, in a vehicle of a price range from around $70,000 CDN (about $50-60,000 American).

I convinced them not to waist it on an overpriced gas guzzling SUV (they were looking at an Escalade and a Navigator), so now theý're looking into a Luxury Car.

Just want a pretty luxurious ride, with a lot of these new features, with some pep (when paying this much, you wanna have some speed), with pretty decent traction in the rain (Vancouver rains a lot), good reliablility, and a major one, some exclusivity. Now I know none of these are as exclusive as say a F430, but nothing like a G35 or a BMW (Both are pretty much every second vehicle on the road here).

The vehicles they're looking at so far are:

Acura 3.5 RL
Audi A6
Cadilac STS
Infinity M
Lexus GS430

Out of the above mentioned, I havn't seen any of them on the road except the Lexus (which may have been a GS300). If anyone has any other suggestions, do tell, right now they're leaning towards the Acura (They have a Legend, and love it) and the Cadillac (Have always loved Cadillacs).

Infiniti M45

Power, luxury, looks...great!

http://www.autogaleria.pl/fotografie/infiniti/infiniti_m45_concept_2004_01.jpg

Regarding the idea that your sibling doesn't want a BMW, I personally think that there is a reason that there are so many BMWs out there. Nobody makes a sports-sedan as well as BMW (IMO).

But now that that is out of the way... Out of those five, I would lean towards the new Acura RL. I havn't driven it yet, but every article that I've read about it says that its much better then the previous model, and handles very well. SH-AWD is apparently a great system, and 300hp is pretty good as well. I also like the interior much more then most of the other cars on the list. This is also on C&D's top ten list.

If you were to give this $50,000 to me, I would try to buy a used E39 M5. The E39 is one of my favorite cars ever, and the 400hp V8 combined with BMW's 6-speed transmission is an amazing combination. You said you see too many BMWs, well there probably aren't too many of these around where you live.

The RL is probably the best value out of all of those, and if they need bad weather capability and all the latest features, it's -the- car to get in this category. The SH-AWD is superb, and since they already have a Legend and love it, stepping up to the RL should be no problem.

i would go with the infiniti

I'd get the infiniti too. that thing is one sexy sumbitch. if you want you can get the 4.5L v8 which is a beast, or you can get the 280+ hp 3.5 V6 which comes with an option for an Attessa AWD, which is based off the GTR tranny.
while it doesn't make as much power as the acura it does make a bit more torque, and IMO is sexier.

there's a lot of good choices in this category. the japs have some realy strong competition with the new RL, M45 and GS. and i don't think you could go wrong with either or. it probably comes down to style and overall personal driving impressions.

i'm gonna pull the bias card here and suggest the new A6, winner of the World Car of the Year.Click here for the article (http://www.audiusa.com/EventPastDetails/0,4356,eventDropdownDate-February%2B2005_status-P_eventDropdownCallingPage-eventSearch_eventDropdownTab-P_postSummaryId-3527_eventDropdownCategoryId-2_eventDropdownStateId-0_eventSearchPageNum-1_,00.html?referringPage=Home-Sec_Feature)

pics don't do this car justice. i wasn't really impressed by the pics that were released prior to the A6 intro. but i went to the dealer and these cars are quite nice. help me pray that audi brings back the RS6 and sends some stateside. :grinyes:

Whoops, I missed one of their priorities - exclusivity. The Acura RL looks like a glorified Honda Accord, and before long, they will be all over the road. In this case, I would say go for the STS V6 or M35. They are both good-looking, powerful, unique, and available with AWD.

The GS looks the best, it has a well proven engine, top-notch build and is runner up in the technology stakes to the RL, so it's my choice.

Get a lexus ls430. I can't remember the base model price at this moment, though.

oh, and the e39 M5 rules the world. All bow to its glory.

oh, and the e39 M5 rules the world. All bow to its glory.

Agreed, one of the best sedans in terms of combined luxury and sportiness ever built.

and isn't it also probably the best investment of the ones listed?
i mean, apart from running costs and maintanence, i think you'd pretty much get your money back when it's time to sell on (time dependent of course...)

Hands down, without a doubt, the best new vehicle in that price range is going to be the 2005 Chrysler 300C SRT-8. Here's a little preview (from Motor Trend) to get the juices flowing in case your sibling hasn't heard of this yet:

________________________________________
Base price: $49,000 (MT est)
Vehicle layout: Front engine, RWD, 4-door, 5-pass
Engine: 6.1L/425-hp V-8, OHV, 2 valves/cyl
0-60 mph: sec 5.0 (MT est)
On sale in U.S. Spring 2005

425 horsepower. That tells you most of what you need to know about the Chrysler Street and Racing Technology gang's latest road-burner. The square-shouldered Chrysler 300 has been a marketplace hit so far, and we told you an SRT-ified version of the Hemi V-8-powered 300C wasn't far behind. It can't get here soon enough for us.

Staying true to the classic "no replacement for displacement" theorem, the Hemi gets a bore increase (from 3.92 inches to 4.06) taking it from 5.7 liters to 6.1, or 370 cubes in musclecar speak. Redline arrives at 6400 rpm, (as opposed to 5800 for the standard Hemi), with a torque peak of 420 pound-feet at 4800 rpm. So it's a revver, not just a grunter. The block, heads, intake, crank, exhaust system--even the oil pan--all get reworked. And in a nostalgic nod to the original 426 Street Hemi, the engine block will be painted orange and wear black-finished valve covers. A five-speed AutoStick remains the only transmission offering.

Chrysler knows better than to just add power. In keeping with the formula so successfully employed by SRT and others (BMW M, Mercedes AMG, Ford SVT), braking, handling, interior upgrades, a more assertive exterior look, and the exclusivity that comes with limited-production numbers also have been addressed. Check out the more aggressive front and rear fascias, trunk-mounted spoiler, 20-inch forged-alloy wheels, and Goodyear F1 rolling stock. Shocks, springs, bushings, and anti-roll bars are all beefed for higher-performance duty. The stock disc brakes are swapped for vented Brembos, front and rear.

The 300C SRT-8's sport seats are upholstered with suede inserts front and back. Other driver touch points, such as the steering wheel, shifter, and door pulls are wrapped in textured leather. The center stack, door trim, and other bits get an SRT-only finish. The best part? A 180-mph speedo.

There's a lot more tech packed into the 300C SRT-8 that we'll cover as soon as we can strap our timing gear to one. But without so much as sitting inside, it's easy to see that this will be one special automobile. It has no domestic competition, save perhaps the Cadillac CTS-V. German panzersedans like the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG and upcoming BMW M5 will outpower it by some, but outprice it by a lot. SRT has identified a performance niche and appears to have clobbered it with an admirable--and muscular--performance/value combination.

http://motortrend.com/roadtests/sedan/112_0410_first_300c01_l.jpg

http://motortrend.com/roadtests/sedan/112_0410_first_300c/
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^

That car is awsome, but their not that concerned with speed, so anything around 300hp (they don't want something that costs that much to have no grunt) is fine with them.

check out www.infiniti.com/m and tell me that thing is not awesome. it's even got a type of all wheel steering and headlights that automatically follow the path of the road for you as well as a 14 speaker sound system.

the RL would be my next choice.

Hmm, yeah now I''ll add, they'd like AWD, and a nice sound system, (one of the reasons my uncle wanted an Escalade), but 12 speakers in the Infinity, that's awsome.

^ it's actually 14 speakers and the AWD is only available on the v6 versions of the M for some reason.

I'd get the STS, IMO one of the best looking cars on the road. It also has the Cadillac ride quality, along with Cadillac reliability.

Look, no one here is going to provide you with objective points of view, just what THEY have or would buy.

You go to the dealers and drive the cars. Drive them through a full range of conditions, not a 10 minute test hop. Tell each one going in you are serious about purchasing "one of these cars" and show them the list. Work all the accesories and note what is handy and what you don't like. Get a total feel for each car. Tell the dealers you're going to purchase from the best priced one and see if they compete for your business.

Don't worry about a daily driver being an "investment." If you buy new you're a loser in that respect anyhow. Want good auto investments? Buy some classic cars. Buy the daily driver car for the love of driving the car instead of picturing it as some utilitarian device like a toaster.

Get hands-on experience with the cars and make your choice.
http://www.animationlibrary.com/Animation11/Transportation/Cars/Car_passes.gif

If it was me

1. Used E39 M5
2. E60 545i(or wait for the 550i)
3. Audi A6 4.2i
4. Previous Shape E55 AMG.
5. Caddy STS.