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Tough Crowd
By Josh Jacquot, Senior Road Test Editor Email | Blog
Date posted: 11-04-2007
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BMW's 335i has dominated our recent comparison tests like Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell would dominate Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens in a face-punching contest. Its reign over counterparts from Infiniti, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz is as well documented on this site as the Iceman's rage-fueled rise to fame was on pay-per-view.
But every great performance must come to an end.
This is exactly why we gathered this group of sport sedans. That is, to find out if the 2008 Cadillac CTS, 2007 Infiniti G35 Sport, 2008 Lexus IS 350 or 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport can topple the Bavarian champ ? the 2007 BMW 335i. In the spirit of the segment, each car in the test is outfitted with sport package hardware ? usually a stiffer suspension and bigger wheels and tires ? and an automatic transmission.
Still, each car has its own personality, as each manufacturer's interpretation of sport, luxury and utility varies widely. So, too, does each car's as-tested price. However, the $11,000 spread that covers the field does so in almost direct proportion to each contender's feature and luxury content.
We've weighted scoring according to the priorities of the sport sedan buyer, giving equal measure to price and performance, followed by feature content and our 31-point evaluation.
5th Place: 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport
The fact that the new C-Class finishes last in this test is a testament to the fierce competition in this segment and the tiny differences in performance. Here's a car that costs less than the class average ($41,935, as tested), makes handling numbers on par with the best in the test and has a superb interface for its high-end audio and navigation systems. Plus it's built, well, like a Mercedes.
It's easy, however, to see where it falls short. It was best at nothing ? bringing home 1st place in exactly zero categories. Perhaps the most costly miss is its powertrain performance. The Benz's 3.5-liter V6 is rated at 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, making it the least powerful car in the test. Seven forward gears offer plenty of leverage on the road, but its acceleration still suffers. It hit 60 mph in a lazy (for this crowd) 5.9 seconds and stopped the quarter-mile clock in 14.3 seconds at 97.7 mph ? the second-slowest car here. The trade-off for this lack of performance is the highest observed fuel economy in the test ? a combined city/highway average of 20.6 mpg.
This isn't a particularly spacious car, with 88.2 cubic feet of passenger volume, although rear-seat room has increased some with 33.4 inches of legroom and 36.9 inches of headroom. Standard feature content, too, is a C-Class weak point. Mercedes either makes buyers pay extra or simply doesn't offer many of the features its competitors make available. Steering-wheel shift paddles, for example, aren't available on the C-Class until next year's advanced agility package becomes available. And let's face it; short of bumping output by 50 hp, nothing is going to make this car as agile as its competitors. Adaptive headlamps, a limited-slip differential and keyless start are also conspicuously unavailable.
The C350 Sport's unique appeal depends on what appears to be good build quality (a reaction to surprisingly poor quality ratings for this car in its previous iteration) and a stellar multimedia package (a $2,950 option) that combines a premium audio system with hard-drive music storage and a brilliant navigation system with an impressively easy-to-use interface.
The bottom line is that there's nothing wrong with the 2007 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport. It's a high-quality ? if dispassionate ? execution of the sport sedan genre. It's antiseptic in its rendering of performance numbers and utterly lacks the flamboyance of the Infiniti and BMW. And that's precisely the problem. It drives well, but there's nothing here that makes us want to get behind the wheel for more.
4th Place: 2008 Lexus IS 350
The 2008 Lexus IS 350 is the reason we put words between every car's performance numbers. It's fast thanks to a 3.5-liter V6 rated at 306 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque and a six-speed slushbox. It gets to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, does the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds at 101 mph and makes handling numbers that are within spitting distance of the best in the test. These dynamics shouldn't equal a 4th-place performance. Here's where those words come in handy.
Not one editor who scored this test was able to find the kind of personal connection with the Lexus that they felt behind the wheel of the top-scoring cars. Its awkward, synthetic steering, soft brake pedal and slow-responding transmission kept us from maximizing the Lexus' man-machine interface. Synthesizing the IS 350's abilities with one's own limits was near impossible, and it earned less confidence in its abilities than any other car in the test. And it's not because the IS is slow ? far from it actually, as the IS's accelerative surge will tear your head off ? but it just doesn't encourage the at-the-limit driving that we think should be a part of every true sport sedan's abilities. If this doesn't matter to you, then you should consider it more highly.
At $47,815, the Lexus IS 350 is the most expensive car in the test and, for the most part, it backs up that cost with a long list of features and luxury amenities. Keyless start and shift paddles that turn with the wheel are standard equipment. Our test car was optioned with $11,145 in equipment, including park assist, Lexus' pre-collision system and radar cruise control, the sport package and the $3,990 navigation system and premium audio package.
The IS's driving position as well as its front and rear seat comfort are lacking relative to others in the test. It offers 88.3 cubic feet of passenger volume, but rear seat legroom is only 30.6 inches, while headroom is 36.7 inches. Its navigation and audio system interface and secondary controls are also less intuitive to use than its competitors. It received high marks for build quality, scoring 2nd to the Mercedes.
In only three model years, the Lexus has become the old man of the sport sedan class. Partly, this is due to the rapid advances of its competition ? both the Cadillac's and the Benz's navigation and audio systems are more refined (and cost less) ? and to its balance of luxury and sport, which keeps it from connecting with the driver as powerfully as its competition does. Put simply, the Lexus is a fast, well-built sedan that lacks the spirit or value of its more engaging counterparts.
3rd Place: 2008 Cadillac CTS
The 2008 Cadillac CTS might just be the best car in the GM stable. In fact, remove the insane Z06 Corvette from the equation and nothing else from the General comes so close to hitting its design target. It's good. But the question remains: How well will the Caddy fare on the world stage?
Well. Very well.
Three-point-six liters of direct-injected V6 motivate the CTS's 3,990 pounds. It's the heaviest, longest, widest and tallest car in the test, which is both good and bad. When it comes to outright interior space, only the Infiniti comes close. There are 98.0 cubic feet of interior passenger volume, and rear-seat legroom is 35.9 inches while rear headroom is 37.2 inches. But with about the same power as the others, the extra pork makes it slower. The benchmark 60 mph comes up in 6.3 seconds and the quarter-mile crawls past in 14.8 seconds at 95 mph.
But when it comes to turning and stopping, the big Caddy has almost as much hustle as its smaller, lighter competition. It recorded the shortest 60-0 stopping distance of the group at 109 feet and tied the Infiniti for the highest lateral grip at 0.89g. It was the only car that didn't exceed 68 mph in the slalom, but its 67.2-mph pass makes it no slouch.
Inside, the CTS is the best-appointed car in the test. Not only have its interior quality and materials leapt ahead of the C-Class and G35, but its design is as striking as it is functional. From the leather-swathed details to the brilliantly capable and easy-to-use navigation and audio system, this is simply a nice car to be inside.
And it drives well, too. Our test car, equipped with the FE-3 Performance Package, not only makes the numbers but also proves genuinely engaging to drive. Drop a few gears before bending the CTS into a turn and it matches revs for every downshift. And when the turn arrives, there's a combination of grip and balance that moves the CTS well beyond the Lexus and Benz on the fun-to-drive meter. It's this combination of on-the-road poise, interior spaciousness and world-class entertainment and navigation options that earn this car 3rd place. At $44,715, its cost ? like its finishing position ? is right in the middle of the group.
2nd Place: 2007 BMW 335i
Known for its unrivaled ability to mix sports car performance with luxury car comfort, BMW's 335i presents the best overall compromise of speed and comfort in the sport sedan segment. But it comes at a price. At $38,900 the 335i has the highest base price in this test. Add in the Premium Package, Sport Package, automatic transmission and several other options and our test car gets a price tag of $46,650, second only to the ludicrously optioned Lexus.
Traditionally, the 335i's acceleration is staggering, and while this car's 5.0-second run to 60 mph isn't as quick as we've recorded in past tests, it's still 0.3 second quicker than the Lexus. Its advantage diminishes to only 0.2 second by the end of the quarter-mile, which comes in 13.6 seconds at 103 mph. It also pulls 0.86g around the skid pad, slaloms at 68.9 mph and stops from 60 mph in 112 feet. Combined, this is the best overall dynamic performance in the test.
Under the Bimmer's hood lies the reason for all the go-fast. The 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-6 is rated at 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque, and it has the most flexible engine performance here. Once it's coupled to the remarkably tractable six-speed automatic transmission, which is as at home on the racetrack as it is on Rodeo Drive, this powertrain becomes the one to beat.
The 335i also brings home the most recommended ratings, which means we would suggest it to a friend over any other car in the test. It even won our lengthy 31-point evaluation, which appraises everything from control feel to cupholder design. It's moderately spacious at 93.0 cubic feet of passenger volume, and there are 34.6 inches of rear-seat legroom and 37.5 inches of rear headroom.
Still, there are some obvious oversights. As the quickest-accelerating car in the group, the 335i stands to benefit the most from a mechanical limited-slip differential ? a feature it notably lacks despite the car's high cost. And for this kind of money, it should have a navigation system. But once you check that box on the order sheet, the price of the BMW rises perilously close to the $50,000 mark.
But behind the wheel, the 335i is the most intuitive and easy-to-drive car here ? not to mention the fastest. It's also the most comfortable. And that's a tough combination to beat.
1st Place: 2007 Infiniti G35 Sport
Put simply, the 2007 Infiniti G35 wins this test because it's outstanding to drive and it gives you the most car for your money. Its $36,800 as-tested price is the lowest in the test. But the real value is what it gives you, because the G35 has the most standard features of any car here and combines this accomplishment with all-around performance second only to the 335i.
All G35 Sport models come standard with shift paddles, a limited-slip differential and keyless start. And for an additional $2,650 our test car featured XM Satellite Radio and the Premium Package, which includes niceties like a power sunroof, a Bose premium audio system and memory settings for the driver seat, steering wheel and side mirrors, plus a mountain of other goodies. This is the most spacious car in this test with 99.0 cubic feet of passenger volume, rear-seat legroom measures 34.7 inches and rear-seat headroom is 37.7 inches.
The G35's power plant is the same 3.5-liter V6 used in virtually every other Nissan and Infiniti product, but it feels most at home here, under the hood of this stellar sedan. In G35 trim, the VQ35 cranks out 306 hp and 268 lb-ft of torque through the best automatic transmission in the class. The G's five-speed tranny not only responds quickest to the throttle, but also has the sharpest, most aggressive gearchanges (with rev-matched downshifts) of any automatic we've ever driven. And it feels as comfortable while blasting between gears with hard-hitting precision at full throttle as it does swapping cogs with a simple switch and slide in commuter traffic.
The G35 is the most stiffly sprung and heavily damped car here. As a result, its ride is busy and its responses walk a fine line between quick and simply nervous. But driven with a purpose, the Infiniti is the most capable car in this test when it comes to handling. Our track numbers confirm this with a best-in-test performance on the skid pad with a 0.89g mark and in the slalom with a 69.4-mph mark.
And when it comes to getting down the road, the G35 is right in the mix. The 60-mph mark disappears in 5.5 seconds and the quarter-mile is gone in 13.9 seconds at 102 mph. It scrubs off 60 mph in just 111 feet, second only to the CTS with its sticky Michelin tires.
If there is a soft spot in the G's armor, it's inside the cabin, where the design and materials aren't always as elegant as other examples in the segment. Our test car was a high-mileage unit and it showed wear on the shift knob and kick panels. Overall, however, these are small nits to pick for a car that delivers in every other area for thousands of dollars less.
The Verdict
With few exceptions, the performance of these five sport sedans is covered by mere tenths of a second or a few miles per hour. The BMW's acceleration, as usual, is striking, while the Cadillac lags behind considerably. Handling numbers, however, are a virtual wash among all the contenders.
This leaves the decision-making to more subjective means and personal taste, which is ultimately what most buyers rely upon in any case. The fact is, all five of these sedans are excellent cars. And it's not hard to find reasons to buy any of them.
We simply find the Infiniti's combination of engaging driving character, high feature content and low cost to be the most appealing. Plus, all great performances must come to an end sometime. Just ask The Iceman.
