HELP! Luxury Sedan for Old Lady: G35, 328i, A4...?

[BavarianDDR17]

Hey guys,
My 83 year old grandmother wants to enjoy her money and buy herself a nice luxury sport sedan and I'm the one doing all the research for her. The emphasis here is on safety and quality without being overpriced. There is no emphasis here on high performance, but an engine with decent thrust is a must. Looking for around $36,000

G35 - Get a lot for your money, newly redesigned, ride maybe a bit too firm

328i - Good handling of course, but repairs costly and base really has no options and adding them makes price go up significantly, newly redesigned as well

A4 - I've heard Audi's interiors are known for their sumptuous feel however I hesitate because I hear the A4 is being redesigned for 2008

IS250 - From what I hear, it's just way too slow and I don't find the interior that appealing.

So, for an 83 year old woman, what do you think? Am I missing any? Thank you for any help.

[GreyGoose006]

cadillac CTS would be a good option.
Buick also has a lot of nice luxury vehicles

if it were me, id go for the caddy or the G35

[DinanM3_S2]

For an older person I really don't think any of those would be great options. They are all fantastic cars, but they are all rather stiff and lean more towards sportiness then luxury. You might like them a bunch, but if I were purchasing for an older person I would look into something like a Lexus ES350. Maybe a certified pre-owned if they are too expensive new. They are true luxury cars with minimal sportiness. Great build quality, easy to drive, very safe, much larger then a 3-series or a G35. Cadillac and Lincoln also make pretty decent entry level luxury cars, but if you are looking for a real luxury car, the ES is probably the way to go.

Now if you really just want a car that you would like- Car & Driver recently picked the 328i over the G35 as the best entry level sports sedan. The G35 is significantly more powerful, but the 328i is a better all around car.

[BavarianDDR17]

Thanks for the replies. CTS is now a little dated and on top of that it's being replaced next year with a vastly updated design. For GM vehicles in general (and I have been a GM person since birth) they do not feel solid to me anymore. The ES350 isn't bad but it is a little big and my mom wants my grandmother to be able to easily maneuver. I think the G35 might be knocked off the list because it is def a little too sporty not to mention I think the trunk opening is too narrow for her golf clubs to fit in. I tend to like the classiness of the A4, not to mention that this car may eventually be mine which is what she eluded to. I also like the no frills interior that is nicely put together but not flamboyantly done. Anymore info on the A4 would be helpful.

[del]

Originally Posted by BavarianDDR17

Thanks for the replies. CTS is now a little dated and on top of that it's being replaced next year with a vastly updated design. For GM vehicles in general (and I have been a GM person since birth) they do not feel solid to me anymore. The ES350 isn't bad but it is a little big and my mom wants my grandmother to be able to easily maneuver. I think the G35 might be knocked off the list because it is def a little too sporty not to mention I think the trunk opening is too narrow for her golf clubs to fit in. I tend to like the classiness of the A4, not to mention that this car may eventually be mine which is what she eluded to. I also like the no frills interior that is nicely put together but not flamboyantly done. Anymore info on the A4 would be helpful.

there is a redesign for 2008 on the A4. i've only seen sketches and i think they look good. audi's are typcally good looking cars and you're right on the interiors, they're among the top of the industry. they have some good high performance models but some rather underachievers too. they're plagued with a bad rep for poor reliability and have been for many many years. they have vastly improved in the past 5 years according sources i've come across but dont' expect honda/toyota-like reliability just yet. i didnt' have any major issuies with my A4. but close friend with teh same model and same year had several - and they all seem to have come after a certain mileage. and there's good reason i don't have one anymore. high maintenance/repair costs are a part of most european cars so you can expect the same on an audi. down the line i may buy another audi. i like them but not the kind of car i should have at this point. my $.02 on the audi.

the lexus ES is a good choice like Dinan said. how bout the acura RL?

[BavarianDDR17]

The RL bases at around $45,000 which is about $10,000 too high. But, even if we were looking in that range, the Infiniti M35 (which is what my mom has) is a much better car for that price.

I looked at reliability ratings for Audi in a Consumer Reports auto guide today, and it shows the ratings in over 10 categories for the past 10 years. Audi has been the most improved out of any, going from bad in every category to good in 2006. Most of my fears of reliability are gone.

Two more questions though: 2.0t or 3.2? I hear the 2.0t is noisy. And what is with the difference between tiptronic and multitronic?

Thanks again for the help.

[del]

Originally Posted by BavarianDDR17

The RL bases at around $45,000 which is about $10,000 too high. But, even if we were looking in that range, the Infiniti M35 (which is what my mom has) is a much better car for that price.

I looked at reliability ratings for Audi in a Consumer Reports auto guide today, and it shows the ratings in over 10 categories for the past 10 years. Audi has been the most improved out of any, going from bad in every category to good in 2006. Most of my fears of reliability are gone.

Two more questions though: 2.0t or 3.2? I hear the 2.0t is noisy. And what is with the difference between tiptronic and multitronic?

Thanks again for the help.

if you plan on doing any engine modifications, the 2.0t is much more flexible. they called the 1.8t it replaced noisy but i didn't find it excessive by any means. if you like a reasonably quick car from factory and are satisfied with that, i'd go for the 3.2. these are pretty heavy cars so the added torque helps quite a bit.

[MonsterBengt]

The new Volvo S80.

[BavarianDDR17]

Ya I think it'll come down to the 3.2. I really don't think I'll be modding the engine at all, but I did hear that the 2.0 is much easier to do that with. I was a little worried because I had read somewhere that Audi was not releasing any 3.2 non-Quattros to the US, but I guess I misunderstood cause I went to the dealer today and the first one in the row was a 3.2 FronTrak with CVT.

Does the Multitronic feel that different from a normal transmission when you drive it?