Pulp Free

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to drive Audi’s new 2012 A6. I started poking around the thought of a new vehicle after spending a few years trying to make my way through some snow and ice packed winters. While unbelievably crazy fun in the summer, my 2009 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG reminded me every time there was even a mention of snow flurries in the forecast that it should stay in the garage. (And yes, I’m mindful that’s what I get with a rear-wheel drive. summer-performance tire setup in a sports sedan with over 500 horsepower. At the time I bought it, we hadn’t had snow in Saint Louis is mostly 5 years!)

Below you’ll find a few of my observations after a test drive in a Prestige optioned A6 with Innovation and 19″ Sport Packages…

Interior

I thought the seats were actually comfortable but a little “thin” – as I’ve heard others mention before – not sure how they would stand up in a long trip. Knowing that US customers can’t currently get any different seats the seats could be a lot worse. The heat was nice and the cooling ventilation in the seats was okay. I didn’t get the feeling that the ventilation seats were blowing against my back – just my seat bottom. While I haven’t been a fan of the S-type sport buckets, I was looking for a little bit more support by having the seats hang onto me a bit more in the corners. I seemed to slide around a bit more than expected and I wasn’t really driving all that sporty. Bonus was that I received the wife’s “thumbs up” on the seats. I’ve had other cars get the thumbs down just because of the seats.

I will say that getting in and out of the car seemed low and I felt that I was needing to step up and then out. The doors had oddly spaced detents in them so the door was either barely open (which I would keep scraping my shoes on the speaker grills) or really wide open (which in a parking scenario probably not very welcome). The back seats had a good amount of room and were just as comfortable even when the front seats were in a normal position. I expect the knee cutouts helped for those in the back.

The electronics are clearly the highlight of Audi’s recent updates to their lineup and left me really excited with what was available. Starting with the the night vision – clearly this cool feature worked exactly as advertised. I loved seeing it in the console dash LCD monitor between the tachometer and speedometer (called the DIS – Driver Information Display). I also tried out the active cruise control that uses radar and a camera to keep pace at a variable distance with the traffic in front of me – perfect in stop -and-go traffic along with cruising on the highway.  The lane departure technology components are limited in the US set of available options but do include blind spot detection. They’re quite useful in that LEDs in the mirror housing flash when the system detects vehicles in my blind spot. And depending on the traffic’s rate of approach, in the heads-up display as well. I’m glad to see that such technology is making it’s way into mainstream car markets – the experience was new to me. They work as expected and a welcome addition to actually turning my head and looking!

The new-to-Audi heads-up display (HUD) was really useful once I was able to get more than just the speed indicator to display. I managed to get the navigation’s turn-by-turn to display in there for a short while along with active cruise control and the side-assist notifications. Interestingly the map directions are visually displayed slightly different (the arrows and roads) than in the DIS – but still very useful. We have the HUD on our BMW X5 and the Audi system is much more colorful and graphically interesting. While just as useful in both, the X5 is mostly monochrome orange (I understand that some of the newer BMW 6-Series HUD are bring full-color to their HUD as well…) I’ve also read earlier comments on how ugly the actual HUD hardware is – essentially how it looks “added on” – but it wasn’t something I paid much attention to. The HUD mostly disappears from the drivers perspective but I did notice it from the side perspective, either from the passenger seat or simply entering or exiting the driver’s side door.

The Google navigation was cool to see as the terrain was scrolling by but I’m not sure how much better it is after seeing it in action for a few days. I’ve turned that pseudo-feature off in our BMW X5 as it was more distracting than helpful and didn’t have the tremendous amount of detail that the Audi system has. I really liked the weather, traffic, gas prices, and news – as long as I had good 3G coverage. We got out into some outlier areas that switched to 2G and it was terribly slow to the point of being almost useless. I don’t think that’s specifically a T-Mobile issue (the cellular carrier that Audi selected to power this feature) – just an issue with 2G Vs 3G service. The MMI system pulls up those online systems in something of a mini Web browser which I scrolled to view. The system didn’t seem to cache any of the content so every time I’d revisit the information screens I’d have to wait a few seconds for the page to fill in.

The rest of the MMI system was very responsive and I absolutely love the color DIS between the speedometer and tachometer. Brilliant and very useful – high resolution and very bright. The only gripe I have so far with the MMI system was that the turning of the selector knob seemed backwards. I really hope that have a preference the change that (I’ve heard that there isn’t… ugh…) I also found that the steering wheel controls for the selection of MMI content uses scroll wheels that also function as selection button. Every once in a while I’d go to make my selection and end up scrolling up or down one item just as I clicked it. Not a big deal as it may have been just getting used to the system.

Oddly, I noticed that the backup camera seemed to have very, very poor resolution. This was the same viewing I saw in the A7 – just fuzzy and pixelated. I’m guessing a low resolution camera – but a little annoyance seeing as other backup cameras I’ve seen from BMW and Mercedes look better. And seeing the rest of the content on the display is detailed and crisp including the playback of video – it doesn’t seem to be a screen resolution issue.

The last option to play with was the Bang & Olufsen sound system. I was really looking forward to having a go at listening to a $5900 option and was very pleased with the sound. However, I wouldn’t say I was blown away. My first test drive I used my wife’s iPhone to play back some music since I brought my demo music on a USB memory stick and the USB pigtail wasn’t included in the demo car. I did need to increase the bass & treble to get some semblance of punch and clarity from the system. I couldn’t spend a lot of time tweaking the volume and settings since my wife is not a fan of loud and/or bass heavy music. The second time around with the B&O I was able to get some of my own music played through the system and was definitely more impressed with the ability to reference music I was already familiar with. The natural request would be to compare it with the base sound system as well as the upgraded Bose option. Neither option was available in an A6 at the time I took my first and second test drives, however the dealer has since received more A6 demos with both options. In the meantime I did take a listen to showroom A8L with the optional Bose sound system and the B&O does sound quite a bit better to my ears. I would describe the B&O as having more stage presence, more aural excitement (without sounding processed) and essentially more clarity and separation throughout the full spectrum. The Bose seemed a little muffled but still had a decent low-end to it. Personally I’m not a fan of Bose systems in general and since in the end this is a car experience with all the road noise that goes along with it – it’ll be hard to tell if those listening tests translates well when I’m actually driving down the road.

Exterior

The demo car had the all-new full LED headlight package that includes Audi’s trademark LED daytime running lights (DRL). Notable in this package was that normal and high-beam headlights were LED as well (including the turn signals). Very cool to see in action as the turn signals are embedded within the swooped design of the DRL. It never got dark enough to actually use the LED headlights so I’ll save that feedback for a later review.

The car itself was with the dealer just a day or so and was a little dirty due to the thunderstorms previously in the day. I’d say that for the most part it really does have a lot of similarities with the outgoing 2011 Audi A6 – more than I had originally expected. There are some nice creases in the right places. The view from the front/side is better than the back side. Some reviews mention that the back looks a lot more “Volkswagen” and I’d tend to agree with that. It’s moving in the right direction – more A5 (which I like) but perhaps not dramatic enough (but better than the A7 treatment). Maybe if the tail lights were a little more stretched? Hard to say…

I like the idea of bigger wheels – this model had the 19” sport package and I have to say not a real fan of how busy the spokes on that package looked. Perhaps that will change later on as currently there aren’t a lot of choices in wheel selections. I really like the double-V 18” wheels so I’ll have to wait and see them in person. One thing I was happy to notice was the absence of the “booming” road noise that I felt and heard in the A7 which had the 20” sport wheel package. While I’m also a fan of summer performance tires – I absolutely detest them in winter driving with snow & ice (exactly why they’re called summer performance tires). At the same time, there’s no way I’m going to deal with swapping tires for the privilege. I may just go with all-season and be done with it. There’s way too many “discussions” on the merits of tires for me to add anything useful – but I am looking for convenience. More thinking needed on that on which way to go.

Mechanics

Engine and braking were pretty good. Both had a very smooth delivery and the bakes worked as expected. Not much noise, grunt or excitement – just driving at 60 mph with no real effort. The first time with the A6 it just felt like there wasn’t a lot of drama when dropping a few gears for passing maneuvers – it didn’t knock me in the back of my seat or punch me in the gut – but for highway driving, there’s plenty of power to get me where I need to go. The experience reminded me a lot of the BMW 335/535 in that sense. I might have been a little more aggressive in the road tests if I didn’t have passengers – I kept seeing my wife try and hold onto the door when I tried anything aggressive.

I’ve since gone back and took a second drive with the A6 using the “Dynamic” mode from the Audi “Drive Select” configuration and it was actually a different experience. I believe I was actually using Auto or Comfort first time around which may explain some of the more lackadaisical feeling of performance. The Drive Select allows the drive to modify the driving and handling characteristics such that throttle, transmission, and steering are all adjustable.

Handling was well controlled. I didn’t get the feeling of the front-end pushing at all. I can only refer back to my 300 HP Acura RL with SH-AWD that seemed to push out on hard corners – but not here. I wouldn’t say it was on rails or anything that dramatic – there’s not the sense of a completely flat turning experience – but still very well footed. There wasn’t an easy way to push the quattro all-wheel drive since it was mostly city driving and normal weather conditions. And when I did find myself with some twisting turns available, I started sliding in my seat.

Final Thoughts

In the beginning I thought I had all my configurations settled on before I even test drove the A6. Prestige, Innovation, 18” Sport Package (I just like those wheels better), the B&O and perhaps the Cold Weather Package. Now after driving it the first time I walked away with only one thought on my mind – “It’s really nice”. But it’s not like it blew me away. The second time around I was more pleased with the car and some of my expectations were starting to be met.

I will say that I struggled with this opinion of being “really nice” last year when I went on the lookout for an Audi S6 and test drove both an A6 and an S6. “Really nice” I said to myself again. I also thought that the price range for an 2011 A6 seemed to be a bit inflated for the available technology and performance. (Thinking back – it’s possible that the demo car was setup more for comfort than for performance…) But as I try to wean myself off my 2009 Mercedes E63, I’m wondering if my expectations continue to be inflated and I end up letting myself down. The reasons for looking at the A6 are mostly for the all-wheel drive, technology, comfort, fit and finish, and a little bit of uniqueness. I certainly didn’t say “whoa” with a grin on my face after the driving experience (and to be honest, I didn’t say the same after the S6). But I also am under no delusion that this compares to an AMG car.

Now towards the end of my decision process I have to consider if $15,000 in options makes the A6 fully loaded any better than the base A6. (Seriously – I have to love the German’s and their optioning of cars!) But now that I’ve built up my expectations on a fully loaded A6, I definitely need more time to think about the LED headlights, night vision, and the B&O sound system. And if those cool gadget items are removed – does the rest of the car still compete with what I’m looking for? We’ll see… right?

Well – it seems to be my lucky adventure since after putting these thoughts down, I’ve now custom ordered up my own A6 fully loaded! While ordered with the Moonlight Blue – I’m still vacillating on going with Garnet Red Pearl. More thoughts to come…

Today I made my first car payment on “New” Buddy. It’s actually been a bit more than a month since my Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG joined the family and I’ve been wanting to at least provide an update on how life with a rocket ship has been going. So a few facts:

• 6.2L V8 – 507 hp, 465 ft-lb torque
• 0-60 mph – 4.2 seconds
• Quarter mile – 12.6 seconds, 115 mph
• 4057 pounds
• 155 mph top speed (limited)
• 60-0 stopping – 115 feet

Clearly it’s been a blast to drive. And while Ken thinks it’s a bit sluggish, heavier and slower than his M3 (the stats say it’s almost a dead heat) – we’re all quite fortunate to have the opportunity to have these kinds of cars in our garage. So what’s there to say after my first monthiversary?

It really does take some getting used to the gas mileage! Right now I’m getting about 13 MPG after 500 miles in and I’ve been quite heavy on the throttle. EPA lists 12/18 and it’s probably going to be worse than that. However, I knew this was to be had when looking at such a monster. I suppose this is what it’s like for those truck drivers out there? And really – you don’t buy a car like this for hypermiling…

The engine, exhaust, and acceleration make me smile every time. Just starting it up, having it rev to 2,000 RPM before settling down to idle sounds glorious. Then driving around in 3rd & 4th gear allows for instantaneous throttle response at any speed. I’m quite sure there’s a direct correlation to my gas mileage in there… To the point – when my wife dropped me off at the airport last week I was able to hear her leave the parking stall… From inside the double set of doors.

Speed. Now really – this is a no-brainer and to be expected. But it’s still a little surprising. On the highway you’ll hit over 100 mph before you know it – simply effortless. And that’s still in 4th or 5th gear. There’s 7 in all. If you’re playing in and out of traffic at speed or passing somebody the speed just builds until you know you’re going to be in trouble. Clearly this is why Mercedes-Benz puts a digital readout in the center along with the analog readout. It should just read “too fast – and you know it!”

Now the flip side of the above… You really can’t drive it like the E63 needs to be driven. At least legally and safely on the roads. I think eventually I’ll need to outgrow the throttle addiction (highly unlikely) or find more legal outlets (does anybody track-day an E63?)

Keeping black-on-black clean. Say no more. This needs to be a priority or I’ll surely feel the wrath of other Mercedes-Benz owners…

The interior is absolutely wonderful. The seats are comfortable, along with the active ventilation and heating (no – they don’t cool like the M5 does… But it’s noticeable). The quality of material (including the alcantara seat inserts and headliner) are the best I’ve had so far. The panoramic all glass roof is awesome. Ambient lighting is nice (and is everywhere – even under the front seats!) but I am a bit partial to my RL’s blue lighting rather than the E63′s amber. I am, however, still getting used to the electronics. I paid $45 for the USB cable so I could use my thumb drive. Really? I think the Nissan Cube comes with one! In any case, the audio system is really good. It even plays back DVD video, DTS, MP3 via DVD/CD, memory card, USB, iPod… You get the idea. Bluetooth works really well – even imports my contacts (although I think the iPhone’s contact format isn’t quite right for using address data in the navigation system).

That leads me to the usability of the navigation system. Bleh. Honestly – my 2005 RL’s navigation system is easier to use, navigate, and visualize than the E63′s revamped hard-drive based system. It is quite usable once you have the address in the system and underway – just getting your destination entered for POI’s is simply too time consuming. Time will tell if it gets any better…

So for the most part the E63 has been crazy fun. I have, however, had it into the service department twice now with another appointment on Monday. The first time through simply for the new-car issues… Tiny scratches, paint swirls, updated navigation software. Even an oil change (since the car technically was past a year of manufacture). But a few items seemed troubling. I’ve had intermittent headlight issues where only one lights up. Both assemblies have now been replaced (since there were some service codes in the computer). However, even after an overnight stay to replace them, it has happened again. The alignment was off so the car pulled to the right. This was confirmed and fixed but just today it’s pulling again (or actually it’s the first time I’ve driven on a highway at speed to notice it.) There’s still some interior scuff marks on the glove box and a few driver’s side window glass scratches that the dealer won’t fix. And then after those were last taken care of, the push button starter broke on the gear shifter. That’s probably just a bit more than I was expecting during the first 500 miles but I’m hopeful we’re close to the finish line on individual problems.

Minus the window glass that the dealer won’t fix – the service and sales team have been fantastic. I’m hopeful that will continue… But I’d rather not have to even have to deal with service in the first place!

I’m hoping by next month I’ll have my car wash ritual nailed down and to have the window tinting done. Perhaps a few better pictures are in store as well! I’m also still hunting around for some Saint Louis MB/AMG car clubs… Not that I really want to hang out like Saturn or Mini owners… But we’ll see…

I think I’ll go start it up again just for the heck of it…

I received word this afternoon from Avis that they’re constantly looking for ways to make renting a more enjoyable and satisfying experience. Sweet! Already I’m able to skip the Chevy HHR and Chrysler PT Cruiser options now that I’m a member of their Avis First program. How much more enjoyable can it be?

A 100% smoke free car! Does this mean they’re getting rid of all of the cars that were smoked in before? Not quite… But it’s a start…

We’re excited about this change because it means a fresh, clean, odor-free vehicle every time you rent from us. In fact, we’ve created a new inspection process and cleaning fee (up to $250 if the vehicle is returned and it smells of smoke) just to guarantee that your vehicle really is clean and smoke-free.

Not new car fresh – but hopefully this means they don’t have to smell it up with their deodorizers next time around. A nice addition for sure.

I couldn’t pass this one up… Buckle up, it’s a long one… And so here goes the story…

As you’ve previously read – I’ve been on the hunt for a new car and had even taken a few test rides around  that had me pretty much settled in on a new BMW M3. So much so that I think I probably broke the “Build Your Own” BMW Web site components. Nice Melbourne Red Metallic with the Beige Novillo Extended Leather – of course with all of the extras… Even had invoice pricing lined up and was ready to place an order…

Just had to do one more thing… Take the wife on a test drive.

Well – I still had fun with the second test drive but it turned out that the car was claustrophobic and the seats were way to uncomfortable. To be fair, the BMW interior is pretty much in your face… For me, a good thing. For the wife – a bit too much. In this case it was essentially the black interior (all over the place) that sealed the deal for the no-go disapproval. The M3 doesn’t have the full beige interior (floors, side panels, etc.) like the regular 3-series do and the extended leather helped – but not enough. So what’s next?

I took out the M3′s German cousin – a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG that had come in at a local dealer. Oh yeah – the sound was awesome. That big 6.2L V8 just rumbling as soon as you start it up. It had the awesome power under the hood and was sitting with all of the right credentials… A fast, sporty 4-door with more grunt than you know what to do with. A 15 minute ride around the block and it had plenty of gusto. In reality – I’ve never had a Mercedes-Benz on my list. I’ve always been a BMW, Audi, Acura kind of fan… But I was starting to become a convert. After hearing fantastic stories from a friend that had a few C-Classes and a family member that had a few E-Classes – it required at least a first look. The C63 AMG however, had the most hideous seats imaginable. The side bolsters just stabs you in the side. I knew I hated them – the wife test had already failed before it was taken. So I thanked the dealer and headed on out… but not before providing a glance at a 2008 E63 AMG. The salesman said that it had the same engine but a much roomier and comfortable interior. “Hmmm” I said to myself… Then he told me the price and I moved on.

Price was an issue so to even take a peak at the larger, big-engined sedans I needed to stick to the used market. So with the new cars out of the way, I took on the task of finding perhaps a used Audi S6 and BMW M5. Just happened to be that a local BMW dealer had a 2008 M5 available to test drive… Nice black on black that was the finance manager’s demo car… And a 6-speed with all of the options as well! While priced still too high (don’t they all price too high so that we have to haggle?) – I needed to at least see what it was like. Oh – and it was awesome as well – even if I did wait 45 minutes for them to pull it around. It did reek of cologne… or body spray – or whatever was spilled in the car… But was a blast to drive. At least until the side bolsters reached out and started molesting me. The power came on strong through all the gears – and in the end tt was enough to come back around that evening for the wife test. (Still didn’t like the older generation iDrive – but perhaps I could live with it…) – In any case, it failed the wife test as well. Similar issues which I could also understand. All of the black provided a cave-like feeling – and even though it was a bigger car than the M3 – it still seemed up front and in your face. I was actually thinking more Acura like… I don’t really need the dashboard smacking me in the face if I’m moving up in size. And those side bolsters scared the crap out of the wife as well. Oops…

Now I’m starting to get scared. The used market for the Audi S6 is pretty empty. Nothing around town to test drive… And the more regular A6′s that we looked at over the weekend the less I liked their interior and technology packages. I absolutely love the Quattro All-Wheel-Drive – which is why the Audi was still in contention…

Back to the drawing board. I’m starting to get consumed with this effort… I over-analyze and research just about any purchase these days. Looking through BMW M3 & M5 – Audi S4, S6, RS4, now toss in the Mercedes which I’ve never looked at before and I was keeping myself awake at night absorbing information. AGH!! Loads of Top Gear and Fifth Gear reviews… Along with head-numbing forum posts and review Web sites & videos…

But then I decided to at least try out with the wife the Mercedes E63 AMG. Maybe we could talk down the price A LOT! If anything, see if she even likes the seats, the interior – and to see if it still had the fun-to-drive feeling of the C63. We left work a bit early and headed to the Mercedes dealer once again and they pulled the E63 around for us to drive. Knowing that it had been around for a few years on their lot wasn’t that big of a deal… But they could have at least washed off the grass clippings!

Oh man – was it everything the C63 AMG was and then some. Same smile on my face as the M3 & C63 – but a lot more comfortable and the cabin felt just like my Acura RL. We took it around the test loop, through some back roads and on the highway and clearly a great car. My only fear at this point was looking at too much of a car. Kind of like house shopping where you know what your budget is and yet when you’re out and about and see an open house – you’re compelled to take a look. (Real Estate agents know all about this phenomenon…)

We finished up and then headed out to dinner to discuss. The wife was strangely quiet for most of the ride… Could have been that the salesman was talking the whole time telling us about every little feature and why Mercedes-Benz was a better car than anything else I was looking at. (Please… just be quiet for a few minutes!) But in the end I was looking to simply get feedback if we were heading in the right direction. Was I going to get a thumbs up? Thumbs down?

Two thumbs up!!! Woo Hoo!!! Now we’re getting somewhere! And now it’s time to get some more research done. That equates to less sleep.

So this particular car was a great option as long as you factor out the cost. Even though it was a 2008, it only had 200 miles on it. I liked driving it, the wife liked riding in it! I started a hunt on the used car Web sites for comparable pricing. Now that turned up an interesting tidbit. The dealer’s pricing was a bit too high – even if they wanted to call it a “demo”. I wanted to compare it to a used car and found that it was potentially getting closer to my affordability. I submitted a few requests to these other dealers and even on their lower prices, wouldn’t budge to get into my budget. I didn’t want to raise my budget – so I kept looking.

And then a few more revelations. Come to find out that the model year 2010 was a complete refresh (which I didn’t really care for) but in that the 2009 had a technology refresh… Meaning upgraded navigation, blue-tooth and other connectivity changes. While the 2008 test drive was okay, I hate seeing new technology is similar cars. BMW had that same issue with their iDrive and I’m sure it’s held back some interest in their older cars as well. So 2009? Well…

At this same time a friend of mine pushed again on the Mercedes-Benz connection, but from a different dealer that he had worked with. Knowing that the 2008 option was unique, I still talked with the second dealer to see if they could provide any assistance. Turns out that I received a call from their Sales Manager and right away they seemed much more attentive to listening to our needs. We talked a bit on the phone and he mentioned that he’d look around their options and see if something could be done in the area of used E63 AMG models. A few days later I revisited one of his voice-mails and picked up on his “we might have some options on a new E63 AMG that was still have in our showroom.” I bit and called back.

Come to find out that Mercedes-Benz was offering some crazy dealer incentives on their remaining 2009 models now that they were a few months into their 2010 model year. Hmmm… Sounds good so far. Additional fleet discounts actually brought the price down into a range that was less than what the first dealer was selling the 2008 E63 AMG at and we sealed the deal!!! Granted there were a few days in-between those efforts including a few more test drives and national dealer discussions. But in the end it came down to an E63 AMG with the exact options I wanted, a local dealer that I actually respected, and price that was within our budget.

So now that the decision had been made and “New Buddy” is home tucked away in the garage, I figured I’d try to keep a running discussion on the new car experience. I came across a few posts on the Web from another fellow named Ken Hanscom that outlined his personal experiences with his BMW M3 and really enjoyed the first-hand perspective. Strangely – it’s really hard to find people that actually write about their own personal experiences when you’re searching Google or Bing. You get a lot of car review sites or dismal forum posts from people that don’t even own the car you’re researching. So even though there’s not an custom-ordered M3 waiting for me, I’m not bothered. I’ve got something even better…

The sun was shining, the wind was blowing – yet still a slight chill in the air. It’s been a bit over three years since I’ve been acquainted with new Buddy and I’ve been having a slight new car twitch that’s been bugging me lately. This afternoon, I decided to do something about it. Time to head to a few car dealerships.

About 5 years ago I took the plunge and test drove about everything I could get my hands on – specifically around my price range of $30,000. BMW, Mercedes, Acura, Audi… Just to name a few. It was a good time to really see what was out there and to gauge how far my hard earned money would get me. At the time I ended up going with the new 2004 Acura TL and loved every minute of it. It had a beautiful shape to it, four-doors… Plenty of power and technology goodies galore! (I thank my TiVo for prompting me with one of the first user-selected ads to run for the introduction…)

Flash forward back up today and while I’ve graduated up to an Acura RL (and I’ve truly grown attached to Buddy and love how awesome of a “grandpa” car that it is) – I’m really wondering what else is out there. What’s new… What’s wow… What’s just a few more dollars in monthly car payments. While technically my lease is up in December – the fantastic buying opportunity and low borrowing costs are tempting me to start Christmas shopping early. So what was up for this past afternoon?

BMW 335i & M3

I took my first visit of the afternoon up to Autohaus BMW where C has had great service with her own BMW. Might as well start with the car that I’ve been wanting since I was just a youngster… The magical 3-series. I’ve read too many Internet discussion boards and more than my fair share of TopGear (and other car shows) to know that it gets not better than the king of the hill… The M3. Essentially my goal was to see how different the 335 was from the M3 in terms of driveability and if I’d be happy with the 335… You know – not pine for the M3.

Well… The M3 is just awesome. I can’t describe it any other way unless you’re actually in the car driving it yourself. Having that V8 with 414 HP available in every gear – just waiting for you to punch down on the accelerator and feel it pull you forward just never got old. On the highway in 3rd, 4th, 5th or even 6th I could give it a bit of a flip and just let the noise in. I smiled every time. I mean – 6th gear!!

Granted – I’ve never had a V8. My trek to the top of car mountain includes mostly all 4-cylinders with just the last two really having powerful V6′s. The 300 HP in my Acura RL is no slouch and makes straight line acceleration pretty lively. But that smooth, silky V8 in the M3 is just addictive. I won’t go on here – there’s plenty of YouTube videos and reviews on the Web that nail the M3 experience. So what’s up next?

The 335i. Again, for the most part the “car” is the same – but the components are mixed up with a turbo V6 with 300 HP and in my demo, all-wheel drive. I even had the chance to play with the new iDrive and I was really impressed compared to the 2008 iDrive (which really sucked). The 335i is a great car. But the issue really comes down to… I’m now already under the influence of the M3. I felt I needed to down shift each time in the 335 to pull out the same grunt of the M3. There was a little bit of lag in any acceleration whereas the M3 always just provided the grunt. Did driving the M3 first ruin my 335 experience? Yes. Could I be happy with the 335 and dismiss the memories of the M3… Only time will tell… Only time will tell… Of course, dollars will speak on the real decision. That’ll be for another day. I’m still needing to get back to my M3 blissful happy place…

Jaguar XF time…

I first laid eyes on the XF at a stop light near my house and there was one right in front of me. The rear end is just blissfully beautiful. I snapped a picture of it on my iPhone (and of course, uploaded it to Facebook). My first accidental viewing stayed with me and I kept it on the list of next-up cars to keep in mind. I ran into that same XF at least 3 more times in the next week so my karma was starting to get the better of me.

Since one of C’s requirements for any next-up purchase is to keep it with 4-doors, the XF lends itself nicely. Probably pulling me back from jumping in wholeheartedly this time around is that while, again, the XF is simply a beautiful car – it is a Jaguar. When I headed into Moore Jaguar (the only dealership in Missouri) it had beautiful cars all throughout the showroom. A walk around the back had two XF’s on display for me to poke my head into and to breathe in the aristocrat-ness of the experience. But that’s really part of the issue for some of us “new” buyers into the Jaguar franchise. It was just all to… stuffy! Green carpet on the floors, ponderous wood paneled walls and nice leather furniture everywhere. It was like heading into the Ritz Cigar Bar in Clayton but without the cool people, fantastic food, and well.. cigars! Oddly enough, the place was empty as well. I didn’t see another customer near that dealer for the entire hour or so that I was there. So is this a comment on my driving experience or the dealer? Well – perhaps one in the same.

The sales guy was nice enough. We talked a bit about the XF and I hopped around the showroom display model and even marveled at the size of the trunk. Oddly that Moore chromed out the wheels and vent covers (isn’t that just a Dodge thing?) and slapped on a Jaguar Leaper. Again – old school Jaguar but who wants that?? Really? Next up we hopped into a whilte demo XF and the sales guy drove me out first and took some winding back neighborhood roads quite fast and I will say the XF really performed. It’s own 300 HP V8 sounded great and pulled very quickly… (Sorry Buddy… Your 300 HP just feels… “different”). So doing 80 MPH in a 25 MPH school zone probably wasn’t the best opportunity to show of the XF’s skills – it was grippy, powerful, and amazingly sure-footed. I took my own 5 minute spin back to the dealer and shared in the same gutsy feel of the V8. But this is where my comparisons really start fouling up the XF experience.

If I had never had an Acura TL or RL – the tech, gadgets and quality would have really impressed me. But I’ve had all “that” stuff for the last 5 years and Acura pulls most of it off either the same or better than Jaguar did. The navigation screen is larger and more intuitive (the XF’s screen really looks small… Like an afterthought or from left over, close out technology). The folding open air vents seemed a bit cheesy and I get the feeling would get on my nerves after a while. The pop-up drive control knob was okay… And the remote key fob and button car-start has been done before.

So what I have is a car that’s similar to what I have now… Just 5 years newer and has a sexier back-end to it. At the $55,000 price tag, you can’t fault it, however. It’s a great car. But do I want more of the same? I do like unique. I had a TL before they were on every corner. The RL still stands out as being somewhat unique… But mostly because Acura doesn’t advertise much and most people don’t have any experience with them.

(I won’t even go into the fuglification transformation going on that’s really forcing me to look outside the Acura brand for my next car…)

So overall… It was a great day. The M3 is definitely in the lead from the shear rocket ship potential. But I have time… Let it sink in… Absorb the drives and see what keeps me entertained.