Well, I still love my Acura TL (’04) and all, but I guess I have a small itch to look to see what else is out there and tempt myself that maybe I’m ready for a new car.. Why? Nothing pressing.. my car still has much of what I’d want:
- 6-speed and nice and zippy
- NAV
- Bluetooth for hands-free phone
- 4-doors (hey, I can’t pretend I don’t have 2 kids)
- Nice stero system, with satellite radio
- Excellent mileage – currently around 26-29MPH (I have the advantage of mostly highway)
Here’s my baby..
So, what can I gain from a new one?
- all wheel drive.. Not required reading, out here in Colorado, but real nice to have a few times a year.. reeaal nice
- iPod interface (again, a little esoteric, but I currently use a cassette adapter, so would be a nice upgrade)
- A *little* more speed – more than that, I don’t need
So, what’s in the running:
Lexus IS-250 – a good looking car for sure! Why it’s out of the running:
- The AWD model is only available in automatic (not deal breaker, but demerits) and is much lower on the HP than the IS-350, which is the same size, but has a much bigger engine
- When I rammed my foot on the gas of this puppy, it wheezed at me..
Infiniti FX-35 – This one tempted me, and still does. It looks and sounds real beefy! It’s very comfy and has a smooth and powerful ride.. not sportscar power, but nice, you know it’s there power. Lots of gadgets and amenties for all! What is holding me back?
- A little expensive.. if I trick it out, gets near $50k – ouch!
- It weighs as much as a cargo ship, almost.. 4,000 pounds+ means poor mileage, sub-20 MPG for sure – possible deal breaker
So, what else? Well, upon a reco of a friend, I took the BMW 335xi for a little spin – woah! BMWs are a little overpriced, but when you mash the gas pedal into the floor and the turbocharger on this thing kicks in, you quickly stop thinking about the price and start thinking about taking it out on E-470 and going 100mph.. So, where am I with this one?
- They only had an automatic, pffft, so I drove it and liked it, but they will get me a 6-speed (naturally, like my current Acura, a 6-speed is rare – has everyone lost their love for a manual transmission!?!?)
- They don’t have too many with the gadgets I want – Nav, iPod, Sirius
- BUT – this is cool – for the first time in my life, I may build one to *my* spec (if I go forth here)
to be continued with a BMW test drive next weekend… maybe
