What to test?

[IllogicalBeetle]

I have been out test-driving. Here are some thoughts on what I have seen.

 

1.) Chevy Cruze – This one was interesting. I went to the dealer with no pre-disposed notion of what I wanted to see or even if I was going to drive something. The dealer rep took what I had been looking at and said I should investigate the Cruze.

 

This was odd to me, but I acquiesced. The Cruze is a very well put together machine. They are pretty cute and fairly roomy, though no bigger than my present Jetta TDI. The seats (leather or cloth) felt like they were fashioned from concrete then wrapped in the upholstery of choice. The interior design was a major let down compared to the modern and sleek exterior design.

 

Ultimately, after driving it around a bit I decided I would rather take a gamble on what I already have than move to something I don’t like as well. Also, price as tested was almost $25k. I felt this was far too much for what was on offer.

 

 

2.) Buick Regal GS – What a nutty car this is. It’s a Buick and I am in my 30s, so I should have laughed at the guy for even suggesting it. It turns out there’s a 6MT with 270hp turbo 4. Say what?

 

It was ok. I could see a market for this car, but I am not their target. The interior was well appointed and very similar to what is on offer in an LGT. It was certainly less roomy, though the car itself was at least as large. It has a very cool adjustable suspension that can be adapted on the fly. I liked that quite a lot. The car was originally an Opel and now is being built in Canada. It mostly felt like a car that was designed by committee. I think the members might have all lived in different countries.

 

Price as tested was almost $38k. Way too much for what was offered. At this price point the German manufacturers are competitive and this was no Audi, Benz or Bimmer.

 

 

3.) VW Passat – I went to the VW dealer right across the street from the Buick dealer. I have a TDi Jetta now and I doubt if I decide to part with it I will choose another VW product, but I had not seen an A4 in person in years. In I went.

 

The new Passat represents IMO the best value in a family sedan on the market right now. I have 0 interest in owning one as it seemed >40% larger than the LGT. However, for a family of 4 I would always recommend they start with the Passat. It was staggering how nice a car this is for the money.

 

Price as tested was about $25k. This car is an unbelievable value for a full sized family 4-door. Built in Chattanooga, which is pretty cool too.

 

4.) Audi A4 2.0T – This has been the closest car in design and setup to the Legacy GT, which comes as no surprise. I have a pretty long list of reasons why I like the GT, but chief among them: I might love it as much as my ’01 A4 without it being prohibitively expensive to keep long term.

 

The A4 is unquestionably superior from an interior trim standpoint. Everything that Audi is doing right now on interior design is killer. There are not many cars that exceed an Audi’s fit and finish and almost no other car manufacturer is as good at designing something genuinely cool looking.

 

The exterior design is more subjective, but I personally find the A4 to be the better-looking car. I loved my 2001 to bits, but Audi has finally designed a chassis and body that is better looking than the B5, and the 2013 facelift is not hurting anything I like about the car.

 

The drive resulted in less enthusiasm than the appearance, but it was still completely respectable. It never felt as fast as the LGT I test drove, but it was certainly no slouch and more than fast enough for plenty of entertainment. Audi rates this car at 211hp and 258lb-ft. Most owners that have dyno’d come back with results in the 190whp / 230wlb-ft range. To me this simply means Audi grossly underrates the engine power, and the actual crank horsepower is closer to the LGT than the window sticker specs would suggest. It still wasn’t as big of a thrill in the corners as the Legacy. It could be weight or torque or gear ratio.

 

The A4 had a window sticker price of ~$37K. To me this was a deal compared to the Regal GS, which was roughly the same price without the Audi’s build quality, AWD, or excellent chassis. And if owning a car came down to only sticker price, I would very likely order one as my next car.

Total cost of ownership on the A4 will be higher. Insurance, maintenance, repairs, and any accidents I might have. Every aspect except for original MSRP and fuel will be 2-3x the price, even if I do all the work on the car myself.

 

 

 

Are there any recommendations on what else to investigate or take for a drive? I have a pretty open budget (single, no kids, and a decent job). I would like to stay under the mid 30s, but if something blows my mind in a test drive I can pinch a few pennies for a couple of years. Let me know your thoughts. A WRX or VW GTI has been suggested to me as well as the new V6 Supercharged S4, which would almost buy two LGTs. I am open to any advice.

 

That was a huge wall of text. No one should read all of this.

 

TLDR - I loved the LGT. What else should I go test drive?

[Gire]

Great post. I enjoyed it.

 

If you are looking at cars between 25K and 35K that leaves a lot to look at!

 

You tested two 'German' cars and two 'American' cars. (I put them in quotes as they are made in different countries than their badge suggests- other than the A4).

 

Will you test some of the current Japanese offerings?

 

I'd suggest an Infiniti G Sedan, even a Maxima. Or I'd head over to Acura and make sure to get an impression of both the TSX and the TL.

 

And I do agree with your Passat impressions, which are similar to Car and Driver's review of it. It's a huge leap forward and is a huge bang for the buck. C&D likes it better than the Accord which surprised me at the time until I remembered that the Accord is on its last year and is long in the tooth.

 

And the Cruze is simply Chevy's latest Cavalier / Cobalt offering. It's an econo-box through and through.

[LosAngelesLGT]

^+1 fun read. Thanks for posting.

[Ellesedil]

I test-drove a V6 AWD Fusion about 24 hours before placing my Legacy GT order this past weekend. Fusions have nice stats on paper, but the rear is huge, there are some blind spot issues, and the dash is up in your face and very busy. The V6's do have some pep to them, though.

 

I was going to dealers with the requirement that the car had to have AWD within the same price range as you. So that narrowed my search down to Subaru, Ford, Mitsubishi, and possibly VW if I was open to hatchbacks (I was leaning sedan).

[BDII]

Honestly, sad attempt at a car review. You should stick to your day job.

 

Secondly, maintenance is included with Audi's during their warranty period so your review is completely invalid.

 

Third, while you're having fun joy riding cars the poor salesman is stuck not helping REAL customers. You're taking money out of his pocket. He probably has a family to feed and you're wasting his time. Make a list of cars you're interested in, look at the comparisons, then go test drive.

[ziptiecloud]

No one should read all of this.?

 

Haha- thanks for telling us at the end!

 

I was in the same boat when I was looking for a car; ended up with the legacy because of it being the perfect car and overall best package (maintenance, lifestyle fit, performance potential) for me.

 

Here are the cars that made it to the top, and I absolutely recommend test driving, when I spent a ridiculous amount of time searching, searching, searching, test driving and searching; with your price point, reliability, AWD, manual transmission and rear split folding seats as the key factors:

 

2006-2007 Audi S4 (Sturdy V8; timing chain components fail inevitably tho- $3000)

2007-2009 BMW 335xi

2009 Audi A4

2010 Volvo S40

 

Also, use THIS for reliability knowledge.

[KSpan]

I was in the same boat - drove just about everything under the sun (and under $30K ) before snagging my Legacy. Haven't regretted my choice one bit.

[IllogicalBeetle]

Honestly, sad attempt at a car review. You should stick to your day job.

 

Secondly, maintenance is included with Audi's during their warranty period so your review is completely invalid.

 

Third, while you're having fun joy riding cars the poor salesman is stuck not helping REAL customers. You're taking money out of his pocket. He probably has a family to feed and you're wasting his time. Make a list of cars you're interested in, look at the comparisons, then go test drive.

 

Didn't intend to offend you with my post. For that matter, this post wasn't intended to be a car review, but an impressions post to gather advice. And I will stick to my day job, as I enjoy it quite a lot.

 

"Audi, on the other hand, will rotate your tires, but your free dealer maintenance is limited to the first 5,000 miles." This was as of 2011. To my knowledge Audi's carefree maintenance expired in 2007, the dealer supported this belief last night. Perhaps he and MSN autos are both incorrect?

 

Of the four cars I have looked at I would have certainly test driven two. The Cruze has been very well received by the automotive press and is a good looking econobox. I was genuinely interested in it. The A4 should always be required when looking at AWD sports sedans. The other two I test drove at the insistence of the dealer rep. And I mean it when I say that I will tell everyone I know about the Passat. I thought it was amazing. They might not sell it to me, but it is quite likely I will convince someone to buy one.

 

At the end of the day, I certainly wasn't trying to incite ire. Luckily there seem to be several other people here that understood what I was after and have made very nice posts.

[BDII]

 

Third, while you're having fun joy riding cars the poor salesman is stuck not helping REAL customers. You're taking money out of his pocket. He probably has a family to feed and you're wasting his time. Make a list of cars you're interested in, look at the comparisons, then go test drive.

 

this is the part that I hope resonates

[jri]

I hear great things about the Volvo S60 T6, but it was out of my price range!

[LosAngelesLGT]

Based on his review of your not-review he think that sales people should only deal with buyers. If that were the case it would not be called selling, it would be called taking money much like fishing would be called catching if the same were true. The best saleperson will turn a random into a buyer (but the best sales people do not work at stealerships).

 

...maintenance is not included with Audi's during their warranty period so my opinion of your not-review is completely invalid.

 

Fixed.

[foxrider68]

Third, while you're having fun joy riding cars the poor salesman is stuck not helping REAL customers. You're taking money out of his pocket. He probably has a family to feed and you're wasting his time. Make a list of cars you're interested in, look at the comparisons, then go test drive.

 

Back off man. These sales men chose their jobs for a living and letting people test drive cars is part of it. Remember the sales men suggested the Cruze to him. If any of these cars rubbed him the right way he would seriously consider buying them. If all the sales men had to do was help them fill out paper work they would get paid $10 bucks an hour. My brother in law sells cars for a living this is part of it. What he hates is when people come kick tires and wont leave the dealership for two hours after closing. This, this is nothing.

[NewCarSmell]

Honestly, sad attempt at a car review. You should stick to your day job.

 

Secondly, maintenance is included with Audi's during their warranty period so your review is completely invalid.

 

Third, while you're having fun joy riding cars the poor salesman is stuck not helping REAL customers. You're taking money out of his pocket. He probably has a family to feed and you're wasting his time. Make a list of cars you're interested in, look at the comparisons, then go test drive.

 

Seriously? You don't buy a car without test driving it! I think everyone on this forum would agree to that fact. As for that "poor salesman", taking people on test drives is thier JOB! A good salesman (however rare) will actually try to sell you a car through knowledgable discussion of the car's comparison to other cars in the segment (as my Subaru salesman did a month ago, which explains the piles of sales award plaques on his desk).

 

IllogicalBeetle - I went through an incredibly similar process in January. I really wanted a Passat VR6 or TDI, but as nice as the car was (I agree with your review), I just didnt fit well in the driver seat. I'm not a big guy, just tall, and the lateral supports hit me uncomfortably somehow. It was a big buzz kill. I moved on to try the Maxima. I had a '00 that I loved, but the new ones have a horrifically small backseat (2 kids in carseats) and the CVT wasn't my flavor. I looked at the Buick, G37, CTS, and A4s but I don't like base models (on a lot of features, if it's available, I want it!) and they were too rich for my budget. Then i found the Legacy. I liked the interior trim, the AWD, and the hp (and the salesman was able to convince me it, and subaru, was the best choice, ref above). I bought a 3.6R, though I think I should have gone for a 2.5GT now (next time!).

[RuskiTrombone]

When I sold cars I made sure people actually liked the car and wanted to buy one before test driving it. There is no way I would take someone on a test drive in a car if they said, "This car is not for me". We would move on and find something that is for them, then test drive.

 

Also, you don't have to drive the car to know it is not for you. When you sit in a car you know right away what you like and what you don't like. I helped people fit their lifestyle, features wish list and budget to a car they wanted.

[Ellesedil]

When I sold cars I made sure people actually liked the car and wanted to buy one before test driving it. There is no way I would take someone on a test drive in a car if they said, "This car is not for me". We would move on and find something that is for them, then test drive.

 

Also, you don't have to drive the car to know it is not for you. When you sit in a car you know right away what you like and what you don't like. I helped people fit their lifestyle, features wish list and budget to a car they wanted.

 

My wife rejected the STI this past weekend as soon as she sat in the front passenger's seat. Of course, we wouldn't have been able to test drive the car anyway, but once she sat down we didn't need to.

[BDII]

I bolded the important parts for you slow folks.

 

Based on his review of your not-review he think that sales people should only deal with buyers. If that were the case it would not be called selling, it would be called taking money much like fishing would be called catching if the same were true. The best saleperson will turn a random into a buyer (but the best sales people do not work at stealerships).

 

 

 

Fixed.

 

Buick Regal GS – What a nutty car this is. It’s a Buick and I am in my 30s, so I should have laughed at the guy for even suggesting it. It turns out there’s a 6MT with 270hp turbo 4. Say what?

 

blah blah blah

 

Price as tested was almost $38k. Way too much for what was offered. At this price point the German manufacturers are competitive and this was no Audi, Benz or Bimmer.

 

I have a pretty open budget (single, no kids, and a decent job). I would like to stay under the mid 30s, but if something blows my mind in a test drive I can pinch a few pennies for a couple of years.

 

Back off man. These sales men chose their jobs for a living and letting people test drive cars is part of it. Remember the sales men suggested the Cruze to him. If any of these cars rubbed him the right way he would seriously consider buying them. If all the sales men had to do was help them fill out paper work they would get paid $10 bucks an hour. My brother in law sells cars for a living this is part of it. What he hates is when people come kick tires and wont leave the dealership for two hours after closing. This, this is nothing.

 

Price as tested was almost $38k. Way too much for what was offered. At this price point the German manufacturers are competitive and this was no Audi, Benz or Bimmer.

 

I have a pretty open budget (single, no kids, and a decent job). I would like to stay under the mid 30s, but if something blows my mind in a test drive I can pinch a few pennies for a couple of years.

 

Seriously? You don't buy a car without test driving it! I think everyone on this forum would agree to that fact. As for that "poor salesman", taking people on test drives is thier JOB! A good salesman (however rare) will actually try to sell you a car through knowledgable [/color][/sizediscussion of the car's comparison to other cars in the segment (as my Subaru salesman did a month ago, which explains the piles of sales award plaques on his desk).

 

IllogicalBeetle - I went through an incredibly similar process in January. I really wanted a Passat VR6 or TDI, but as nice as the car was (I agree with your review), I just didnt fit well in the driver seat. I'm not a big guy, just tall, and the lateral supports hit me uncomfortably somehow. It was a big buzz kill. I moved on to try the Maxima. I had a '00 that I loved, but the new ones have a horrifically small backseat (2 kids in carseats) and the CVT wasn't my flavor. I looked at the Buick, G37, CTS, and A4s but I don't like base models (on a lot of features, if it's available, I want it!) and they were too rich for my budget. Then i found the Legacy. I liked the interior trim, the AWD, and the hp (and the salesman was able to convince me it, and subaru, was the best choice, ref above). I bought a 3.6R, though I think I should have gone for a 2.5GT now (next time!).

 

Price as tested was almost $38k. Way too much for what was offered. At this price point the German manufacturers are competitive and this was no Audi, Benz or Bimmer.

 

I have a pretty open budget (single, no kids, and a decent job). I would like to stay under the mid 30s, but if something blows my mind in a test drive I can pinch a few pennies for a couple of years.

 

When I sold cars I made sure people actually liked the car and wanted to buy one before test driving it. There is no way I would take someone on a test drive in a car if they said, "This car is not for me". We would move on and find something that is for them, then test drive.

 

Also, you don't have to drive the car to know it is not for you. When you sit in a car you know right away what you like and what you don't like. I helped people fit their lifestyle, features wish list and budget to a car they wanted.

 

this guy's test driving 40k buicks on a low 30's budget and I'm the one who is wrong?

[Carpe_Diem]

You would think since you posted it so many times you would have seen that if he really liked the Buick he could have bought it....specifically>>>

I would like to stay under the mid 30s, but if something blows my mind in a test drive I can pinch a few pennies for a couple of years.

[BDII]

pinching a few pennies is 5-6k

 

each 1k = $20 a month

[Carpe_Diem]

Depending on his down payment it's like $50 a month....that you can save a month if you are to "pinch pennies".

[NewCarSmell]

Look at the TrueCar price. Like every other "American" car sold in this country, the sticker price is a very poor starting point for negotiations. The AVERAGE price paid for a GS is 2k under sticker. Not to mention when was the last time "affordability" stood in the way of a dealership selling a car.

[BDII]

dunno where you learned math and down payment is irrelevant

30k for 60 months at 4% =$552.49

32k for 60 months at 4% =$589.32

35k for 60 months at 4% =$644.47

38k for 60 months at 4% =$699.83

[LosAngelesLGT]

down payment is irrelevant

 

Fact.

[Magic Marker]

I hear great things about the Volvo S60 T6, but it was out of my price range!

We have an 11' S60 T6. It's a really great car in terms of fit/ finish and the inline turbo 6 is plenty to play with. Although the AWD option is a HUGE price increase. You can get into a base T5 for $32k, but AWD starts at $37.

 

We picked up an 11' leftover with almost every bell and whistle including the Full Auto Brake Pedestrian blah blah blah. But got it for $3k under invoice....

 

One of the deal makers was the 5yr/ 60k bumper to bumper w/ included maintenance.

 

The most horrible part of the car is NO SPARE! Running standard lo profile 18's isn't the best idea. They handle great but hit a pot hole just the right way and poof..... there goes the tire. This is my fiancee's car. She's replaced two tires already; sidewall blew out. Good thing we bought the tire warranty. Since no spare and sidewall blow out... car gets flat bedded to the closest dealer. Although the Volvo app on her iPhone is pretty cool. It asks questions, figures out your GPS coordinates and calls Volvo for you.

[Magic Marker]

dunno where you learned math and down payment is irrelevant

30k for 60 months at 4% =$552.49

32k for 60 months at 4% =$589.32

35k for 60 months at 4% =$644.47

38k for 60 months at 4% =$699.83

Ewwww.... 4% on a new car??

[IllogicalBeetle]

Interesting that a car would come without a spare. Thanks for the info Magic. I might investigate the Volvo more closely.