FWD entry level luxury sport sedans

In the RWD entry level luxury sport sedans, kman10587 suggested there be a comparo of FWD entry level luxury sport sedans. So I'm doing just that. What is your favorite? Why?

Non-Quattro Audi A4
Acura TL
Lincoln Zephyr
Jaguar X-Type
Volvo S40
Saab 9-3
Other

For the love of God. Put 10 day limits on all polls.

I forgot to even set a limit...

The X-Type is AWD, not FWD (at least here in the States it is). I'd take the Volvo S40 T5 w/ a six-speed manual. The safety and dependability is everything I would expect from Volvo, and the Swedes really know their stuff when it comes to turbo motors. Add in sharp looks and a well-done sporty suspension, and you've got a wonderful entry-level sports sedan for the practical buyer.

so tough not to choose my own car, the audi. but i think the TL's are such a better buy for fwd. more power, a lot more reliable and more standard features. whereas the audi is underpowered, overweight, with questionable reliability and features standard on the acura become pricey options on the audi. can't argue the audi has that german car feel, great looks and typical audi interiors but for the money the acura is the better value. the volvo s60 and acura TSX would also be good choices.

My vote goes to the X-Type, naturally because I own one. The reasons:
1. Mine's the 2003 2.5 Liter version, and, at its price point it offered the most performance for the money. The Jag's 2.5 cranks out 192 HP and gets decent fuel economy. The 3 liter version cranks out 227HP with somewhat poorer fuel economy.
2. Handling is excellent, and, very, very close to that of a BMW 3 series, even though the Jag is a bit larger and heavier.
2. The car had more interior room and trunk space than its competition.
3. Its interior and exterior styling appealed to me far more than its competitors.
4. It's AWD - and has great traction in snow, ice, and heavy rain.
5. Fit, finish, and build quality are as good as any in this class.
6. The factory warranty was better than or equal to all the others and included free service to 50K miles.
7. The Jag's automatic tranny is a 5 speed that performs flawlessly, once it "learn's" your driving style.

Having owned/driven a bunch of various domestic, Japanese, and European cars over the years, this car is the best "Grand Tourer" I've ever owned.

Regards:
Oldengineer

If you want an luxury entry level with more for still a slightly cheaper price than the others I may recommend perhaps looking into the Nissan Altima SE-R which doesn't weigh much more than the 350Z and can go 0-60 in 5.5 seconds with some people saying slightly less or Mitsubishi Gallant, not to mention the soon to be out (or at least the performance and some luxury aspects of it) Ralliart package. Also while we are in the subject of largish performance sedans how about considering the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP or even Northstar V8 powered GXP which are not only comfortable but also handle great and can do the 1/4 mile in 13s without incredibly extensive modding. And since most of the luxury entry level sedans on your poll seem to be in the 27-30k price area, for performance sake you should perhaps consider going AWD with the Subaru Legacy 2.5GT or Mazdaspeed6 which still has some luxury amenities but is very much sporty in style.

I know most I listed above are more performance oriented entry level sedans but the truth is their is such a fine line between a top of line of those and entry level luxury since people are now demanding more performance out of luxury sedans. But if you want true luxury sedans there is always the Buick Lucerne which you can is either a more luxurious alternative to the Grand Prix or a Cadillac CTS for the more budget minded, which in my opinion looks pretty good especially with the iconic Buick chrome side port wholes. Not to mention Lexus now has an AWD option for its GS300, not so sure what it's base price is though. And don't forget the Infiniti G35 sedan, for a or if your in Europe or Asia it would be the Skyline sedan. Plus for a Nissan of the cheaper, FWD but still luxery minded variety there is always the Maxima. As for the ones above I do agree with some that the Acura is the best for an overal mix of luxury, performance and realiablility but even its low-end package is priced plus can be somewhat considered mid-ranged. The Jaguar would be a good option if you wanted a luxurious baseline sedan with AWD, but other than that the Subaru 2.5GT or perhaps Volvo alternative. However, you should also take a look at the new 93 Sports Sedan that seem to be going back to their roots with a balance of luxury and performance in an oldschool styled blend of FWD with a turbocharged I-5 210hp and 219 torque.

Bah, FWD luxury cars...

Out of these, give me the Acura TL. 270hp, pretty nice interior, tons of standard features, all at an excellent price. The way I see it, its the only real FWD competition for the 3-Series, G35, IS300 and A4 Quattro. For $35,000, you can get a 6-Speed manual tranny, Navigation, "performance summer tires", leather, HIDs, and all sorts of other goodies. FWD kinda ruins the car if you wanted to call it a "sports-sedan" but for a good ol' luxury car, its pretty damn good.

-All real Audis have Quattro, I would never consider one without it.

-Lincoln... they should stick to limos

-Volvo, Saab, meh

-Jaguar, based on the Mondeo isn't it? And no, it handles nothing like a 3-series, nor a G35, IS300, or A4.

I dont know how Dinan manages to throw in BMW in a fwd comparo

Me personally I would take the TL in a second, no question. Looks fantastic, tons of power, nice interior, great price

the only luxury FWD car i can think you guys don't seem to get and that is the wonderfully sublime alfa romeo 156.
how many other 'luxury' cars out there have a little bertone badge on the side....?
and how many of those cars will make you smile when you look under the bonnet?

i suggest a Nissan Maxima. it makes more hp than the others beside the acura, makes more tq than the others, can come 5 speed auto or w/ 6 speed manual and can run mid 14's stock, the only other car that'll do stock runs in the 14's might be the Acura. The VQ motor has been on wards 10 best engines list since 1995, when it first appeared in a maxima.

No Maximas, Altimas, or Galants. The whole point of this being a 'luxury car comparo' is that the car has to come from a luxury brand. The Infiniti I35 is all good, though.

I know what luxury brands are, the problem is when you start talking about entry level or base priced luxury sedans you can buy a fully loaded mid-priced sedan so to speak with all the same luxuries for a less, even if it sometimes come down to 100s. Not to mention getting the best bang for your buck. For example for the price less than the Acura TL you can get a fully loaded Grand Prix can come with a HUD display with the car's status and OnStar, leather seating, dual zone climate control, XM and many other features with a choice of a supercharged 3.8l or 5.3l Northstar V8, which both can either compare or even exceed the higher "marquee" brand choice entry level sedans you listed above for a price that still can be had for a price lower than the Acura TL. If you do not believe me just check out the official specs on what you can get in a Grand Prix here (http://www.pontiac.com/specs/specs_content_files/specs_viewall.jsp?brand=grandprix&pagename=models_prices) . The same can also be said for a fully loaded Nissan Maxima with probably even more of an emphasis on luxury. Not to once the Ralliart package comes out for the Galant will put it right up there with the Acura TL or even TSX. So before you start going into the luxury brands try looking into the best that you "contemporary" automotive brand can offer. :rofl:

I am aware that you can get sometimes even more in a mainstream car than in an entry level luxury car. But when you buy, say, an Acura TL, you pay more because you are buying into a premium brand. You can get a more luxurious Pontiac for less than the TL, but then you have a car from a brand that everyone and his uncle have a car from. I made this thread to discuss the most popular FWD entry level luxury sport sedan. And the choice is yours as to what car you think is better, but this thread is focused on the "luxury" aspect of these cars (i.e: luxury brand).

I can understand, like I said before you can buy into a premium make for the extra care in the warranty they give you, like I stated in my SUV thread the prestige of carrying a brand which prides itself on something you like and like you said uniqueness. Also it is not the question of whether everyone has a car from that brand from some form or other but if they have a specific car with a specified trim. The fact is more people generally think of buying into a more premium make than buying a top trim of one that makes more averaged priced cars, no matter how close or even better they might be than the base premium. But if you want to go into the subjects of more premium brands a good US based one would be Buick with their up and coming 2006 Buick Lucerne. It is FWD, with the choice, like the Grand Prix, of either the 3.8l V6 or 5.3l Northstar, with suspension among other things straight out of the new Cadillac parts bin. Also Saab seems to finally be on the rebound and we should also see how much the Galant Ralliart will be and exactly how much will it take from the conept.

i would consider a maxima a near luxury car. not quite on par with those listed above but certainly not amongst cars like camry's, accord and altimas. same with the vw passat, makes that line between an accord and a tl, for example, pretty fuzzy. kinda in a class of their own. i would put the 300c in this group as well. none carry the prestigious image of your typical luxury marque like infiniti or audi but all can be had in some pretty luxury-like trim. just my $.02

Well, of course that is your opinion, but the Buick Lucerne isnt exactly a "Sport Sedan". And the Ralliart is more focused on the "Sport" aspect. But it's up to you what you think is the best.

Well, the Buick Lucerine might have an updated chassis from the Park Avenue but the suspension and I was wrong about the V8 engine, it is the same 4.6l Northstar as found in the STS and Bonneville GXP so it is going to be pretty sporty even though it is indeed probably focused more on luxury, but isn't that what baseline luxury sedans are basically all about. Also unlike some other GM divisions Buick has had a good reliability record beating out Nissan/Infiniti and Mazda but not quite at the standard Honda or Toyota are at. Even though the Ralliart's interior is indeed race inspired you can't rebuke the fact that it is still rather plush and luxuriously equipped, you can think of it as a lesser but more rally like equivalent to the race inspired Aston Martin interior. That is though if they do indeed take every interior detail for the production version from the concept.

Sure, you can get a fully loaded Nissan Maxima for less than a lightly loaded Infiniti I35, have a better car and save hundreds of dollars, but you're still just driving a Nissan. Part of the reason people buy luxury cars is for the prestige factor that comes with the brand. As nice as the Maxima is, it'll never be a true luxury car, as long as it wears the same brand name as cars like the Sentra and Altima. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least not to me, it just invalidates it for this comparison.

i would put the 300c in this group as well.

I was going to. But the 300C is RWD, so I couldn't.

Sure, you can get a fully loaded Nissan Maxima for less than a lightly loaded Infiniti I35, have a better car and save hundreds of dollars, but you're still just driving a Nissan. Part of the reason people buy luxury cars is for the prestige factor that comes with the brand. As nice as the Maxima is, it'll never be a true luxury car, as long as it wears the same brand name as cars like the Sentra and Altima. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least not to me, it just invalidates it for this comparison.well, there's a sucker born every minute. the only differences between a fully loaded maxima and a fully loaded I35 is about $3000 and the physical appearance. if you're only criteria for how good a car is, is based on what emblem is on the front, then you're just waiting to be taken advantage of.

well, there's a sucker born every minute. the only differences between a fully loaded maxima and a fully loaded I35 is about $3000 and the physical appearance. if you're only criteria for how good a car is, is based on what emblem is on the front, then you're just waiting to be taken advantage of.

You know what? I completely agree with you. This is part of the reason that I'm so hesitant to buy a BMW, because I know that I'm paying hundreds of dollars for a stupid badge and an image that I don't even care about. But you have to understand that to many people, a car is nothing more than a fashion statement. These people don't care about performance or value, they just want a car to impress their clients with. In this case, what badge is on the hood becomes of paramount priority.

TL is not even comparable to the others. It is too much better.

You know what? I completely agree with you. This is part of the reason that I'm so hesitant to buy a BMW, because I know that I'm paying hundreds of dollars for a stupid badge and an image that I don't even care about. But you have to understand that to many people, a car is nothing more than a fashion statement. These people don't care about performance or value, they just want a car to impress their clients with. In this case, what badge is on the hood becomes of paramount priority.

I comepletely agree with both of you, there is such a premium on the name on the hood, granted bmw makes amazing cars your still paying extra for the name...and its amazing how many ppl in my office have these exact cars...theres a couple ppl who have Audi A4's with the 1.8T, and they get SO offended when I call it a Jetta...

theres a couple ppl who have Audi A4's with the 1.8T, and they get SO offended when I call it a Jetta...

haha. I never thought about that.

My vote goes to the Saab 9-3 SS! It's the only car here I really want. A rebagded Honda Accord? No, thanks, though the TL does look good.