Yes, 2013 is the first year that the Pathfinder dropped the truck platform. It now shares a platform with the Murano. I’d love to get 32 highway, but I can’t complain about the mileage. Nothing else with 3 rows of seating that are actually usable gets anywhere close here except the Infinity QX 60 (same vehicle as the Pathfinder and used to be called the JX) and I think the Mazda CX-9.
Only one I can think of that is not mom mobile is GMC Yukon and Toyota Landcruiser. Landcruiser is a beast, understated luxury at it’s best.
^Seriously? GMC Yukon?
You do know that GMC Yukon, Chevy Tahoe, and Cadillac Escalade are all the same platform, right? Cadillac is luxury, Chevy is mass market, and GMC is “affordable”?
If anything, I think Yukon is mom mobile, and Escalade is BSD.
And I don’t understand the attraction to Landcruiser. It’s no bigger than a Sequoia, but costs 20% more. I think Landcruiser is a status symbol, not a “quality” symbol.
^ I’ve always viewed GMC as the manly GM brand, not the affordable brand. I’ve never owned a GM vehicle though.
The main difference between Seqouia and Landcruiser, other than amenities, luxury and trim, is that the latter car has a superior 4WD system. This is why the Landcruiser is the vehicle of choice for rich Arabs (like a certain Mr. Bin Laden) who drive around in the desert a lot. The Landcruiser purportedly also has better build quality, but I have not verified this. The Sequoia is actually bigger than the Landcruiser and has better third row seats.
I may be wrong but I think of GMC as understated luxury. A Yukon, especially Denali, doesn’t look “douchy” like an escalade might to some, and is luxury compared to tahoe.
I agree with ohai about the land cruiser, i do think i read somewhere they are tested/built to be tougher, for off-road. Also, exclusivity, very few get imported (I think they are made in japan). They are one of those cars that dealers get and it either goes right away because it was ordered or it sits and sits and sits…
After further review…
It seems I was wrong about GMC and Chevy. Chevy is the “mass-market” brand, and GMC is “targeted to professionals”, or “more exclusive”.
The Landcruiser doesn’t exist in Canada, here it only exists as the Lexus LX 470. I don’t understand this though, considering Canada has as much, if not more, of a need for better 4WD capability than down south.
LX 470 starts at $98,000 in Canada.
Landcruiser $78,500 in USA
Anyway, I’m not enough of a BSD to be spending $100k on a car. Nor does a Landcruiser or a Sequoia address the fuel economy piece… I guess the only non-douchey SUV in my price range is the 4Runner or some not so great American POS.
Dude, the F sport IS 250/350 looks so sick with the grill, interior and those LFA inspired guages I just thought it was hard for the S4 to compete. Sick, glad you found something you like though.
agree w/ everything you say about the IS. i was judging solely on performance. question: is there a 350 and a 350 F sport? the one i drove was a 350 but may not have been an F sport. the acceleration felt sluggish and the handling a little numb (in normal driving mode). when i switched it to ‘sport mode’ things were somewhat better.
Sys, are you pulling the trigger soon? IS?
Yes, there is an IS350 F-sport and non, if it had the instrument cluster that slides over, it was an F-Sport (most obvious difference on the inside that I can remember). If it has 2 standard dials for tach and speedometer, it is non- f sport.
I’m going to look into a Range Rover Sport sometime next year. A little pricey though.
Maybe you can get a price break if you pay in rupees.
The most material feature of the F Sport trim is the variable suspension, that lets you choose Normal, Sport, etc. Given that Lexus tends to ride softer than BMW, Audi, etc., if you like a firmer car, the suspension settings could make a big difference in how you regard the car. The moving instrument panel is just a novelty and adds little value, in my opinion, other than to occasionally impress your passengers.
^ So would the fact that he switched it into Sport Mode indicate that he actually did test drive an F Sport?
IS350 F Sport or Infinti Q50S. I went to a site called Trucar and dealers compete for your business, almost auction style. The first quote I got from a deal was for a 350 F sport MSRP at $46.9k for $42.2k… that would’ve taken hours at the dealership.
I’m gonna finance it though, I have like 8K in my checking and I normally only leave 2, I’ll put that extra down then sell my current car after.
Where dem cheap loans at, cu?
my buddy works at karmax, he says range rover is one of the worst cars for the money.
plus biker gangs dont like douches in range rovers…
yea trucar is pretty cool. i’m deciding between the S4 and A6. There seems to be more supply of pre-owned A6s which is making dealers compete, prices are actually pretty reasonable.
go with the GS350 AWD youre gonna LOVE it, best ride i ever had
Here you go Sys, IS 350 F sport is esquire’s car of the year:
http://www.esquire.com/features/cars/car-of-the-year-2013#slide-1