In hills and streetlight drags, the Benz’s V-6 was overwhelmed, and for good reason: It comes up 32 horsepower shy of three engines in this group, 57 horsepower shy of the fourth. And with that, we’ll lay off all further sports analogies.Ī stern German named Friedrich Nietzsche wrote earnestly about “the will to power.” Fred should have willed some to the new E350. We have no idea what that portends.Įven in a group of vehicular all-stars, someone has to strike out, although it’s rare that a top-billed batter whiffs first time up, rarer still if his cap is embossed proudly with a three-pointed star. One last thing: Our five contestants finished in alphabetical order. Here’s how we landed on that issue: One vote for the Benz, four for the Audi. tomorrow, which car would you choose?” It’s a tricky question because traits we sometimes underestimate suddenly take on greater weight: ride, visibility, fuel economy, tank size, number of 12-volt outlets, even all-wheel drive, which could come in handy, say, just west of Denver. “You can’t always get what you want,” sang Mick and Keith, who then went on to get everything they wanted, especially Keith, who received the medical attention he so sorely needed after falling out of a coconut tree.Īt the conclusion of comparos, we sometimes ask, “If you had to drive from New York to L.A. Alas, we must apologize for the BMW’s surpassingly wonderful six-speed manual, which came to us after BMW searched the whole of North America and even parts of Alabama for an automatic but came a cropper. Luxury sedans are purchased overwhelmingly with automatic transmissions, so that’s what we requested. Three came with performance rubber, but the Jag and the Benz, bless their practical souls, arrived with all-weather mud-’n’-snows. The Benz E350 settles for a naturally aspirated V-6, while the Infiniti M45 and Jaguar XF cling to the aristocratic tradition of small-displacement V-8s.
Our contestants’ engines are as all over the map as a senator’s expense account. But there are other, softer-core $50,000 luxo-sporters. We included the five big names-the brands that really lead the niche. Here we’ve gathered a quintet of luxo-sports sedans, with equal emphasis on both adjectives. The last-place car in this group is a seductive gem of modern transport that any of us would love to own if we had a spare $50,000, which we don’t so won’t. Colwell, who then added, “Did I just say that? I sound like one of those parents who tell their ADD-afflicted kids, ‘Just say “yes” to life-winning doesn’t matter.’”īut he was right.
“They’re all winners,” gushed assistant technical editor K.C. It wasn’t until late on Day Three in the Hocking Hills of southern Ohio that various of us ceased saying, “I don’t know who’s gonna win-I like ’em all.”