I assume their "tested" weights include a bunch of options and whatnot that do not come from factory (sunroofs, leathers, GPSes etc).
I'm going out on a limb here and will agree that the CTS is slower than the 535i, which is mainly because of the difference in torque. However, I don't agree that it's a small car or much heavier. Using the articles you included, the CTS is within an 1" in every dimension of the 5-series and 81lbs heavier.
CTS:
Curb weight, mfr. claim (lbs.) 3,874 (3,990 as tested)
Length (in.) 191.6
Width (in.) 72.5
Height (in.) 58.0
Wheelbase (in.) 113.4
Legroom, front (in.) 42.4
Legroom, rear (in.) 35.9
Headroom, front (in.) 38.8
Headroom, rear (in.) 37.2
Cargo volume (cu-ft) 13.6
535i:
Curb weight, as tested (lbs.) 3909
Length (in.) 191.1
Width (in.) 72.7
Height (in.) 57.8
Wheelbase (in.) 113.7
Legroom, front (in.) 41.5
Legroom, rear (in.) 36.0
Headroom, front (in.) 39.1
Headroom, rear (in.) 38.1
Cargo volume (cu-ft) 14.0
I assume their "tested" weights include a bunch of options and whatnot that do not come from factory (sunroofs, leathers, GPSes etc).
Wait then why is it a factory option to get leather, nav and sunroof. Hell you can get a Fiesta from the factory with a sunroof
Sustaining it? LOL, how's 1 hour of "sustaining" it? Granted, it varied between 100-125 in a wideopen freeways.
My Z rated MICHELIN tires could let it go all day at those speeds.
No, I don't really "know" sports cars aside from what I read. They tend to be too expensive to drive around all day afterall. However, since I happen to drive a million different Rental Cars and Zipcars courtesy of Corporate, I do at least know what a Prius, Volvo, a 328 and a Mini feel like. You know, thousands of miles with them. Hell, sometimes I even drive a Truck, and a couple of SUVs.
Rocketing to a new 600-foot-slalom record for a certified production car, the Elise made us wonder if we'd inadvertently set up a 500-foot course instead. Nope: While the Boxster S is no slug with its 70.9 mph best, the Elise's furious 73.2 mph is peerless. While both mid-engine cars exhibit uncanny balance, the Lotus's non-power-assisted mechanical steering offers the kind of feedback and immediacy normally found in race cars. The next closest rival through the cones is a near-track-ready $193,000 Ferrari Challenge Stradale (also mid-engine) with its 72.7-mph slalom speed.
A funny thing happened on the way to setting that slalom record: We found it pretty darn easy to do. The Elise communicates to the driver every nuance of tire grip, roll rate, yaw, and the necessary amount of countersteer required to enter the cone field at an indicated 80 mph and yet still exit in full control. Mind you, there's a $2480 Sport package available--which this test unit didn't have. It sharpens the Elise even further with lighter wheels, grippier tires, and track-tuned suspension. Oh, the possibilities.
Not sure if it's been mentioned yet (I'm not gonna read through 7 pages of MJinZ) but from the first two pages it looks like nobody's mentioned the Lexus LS. Boring, yes, I know. But the comfort.... oh God the comfort! SO nice to drive. And so amazingly quiet. It's like a plush couch that does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. It's like an isolation room (something that I seriously want to have in my house one day -- a tiny, well-soundproofed room ) that can get you from A to B. It's a driver's car in the exact opposite sense of how an M3 is a driver's car -- it pampers the driver and doesn't ask anything in return. It is the epitome of a true luxury car. Nothing else that I've seen can match it. If I had an Elise or something similar for a weekend car, I would no doubt go for the LS for the daily comfort driver.
For any modern cars, you won't feel a thing going 130+.
City bus. I'm not sure you can get one for $60K though.
Not sure if it's been mentioned yet (I'm not gonna read through 7 pages of MJinZ) but from the first two pages it looks like nobody's mentioned the Lexus LS. Boring, yes, I know. But the comfort.... oh God the comfort! SO nice to drive. And so amazingly quiet. It's like a plush couch that does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. It's like an isolation room (something that I seriously want to have in my house one day -- a tiny, well-soundproofed room ) that can get you from A to B. It's a driver's car in the exact opposite sense of how an M3 is a driver's car -- it pampers the driver and doesn't ask anything in return. It is the epitome of a true luxury car. Nothing else that I've seen can match it. If I had an Elise or something similar for a weekend car, I would no doubt go for the LS for the daily comfort driver.
Right, so you own a camry, are a voracious reader of auto rags, you've driven some rentals a few thousand miles, and you are completely full of...yourself, I get it. I bow to your superior automotive knowledge oh King of the Know-Nothings.
What's really funny is that you claim the Cobalt SS is faster than the Elise but in reality it isn't.
Cobalt SS
0-60mph: 5.5 seconds
Lateral grip: 0.9g
1/4 mile: 13.9 @ 102.5mph
Braking 60-0mph: 116'
600' Slalom: 69mph
Lotus Elise
0-60mph: 5.1 seconds (I've seen some accounts put it at around 4.8 seconds)
Lateral grip: 1.0g
1/4 mile: 13.2 @ 103mph
Braking 60-0mph: 114'
600' Slalom: 73.2mph
I drove over a 5/8" thick piece of rope on the freeway at 70mph (the kind of lines used for handling sails on a sailboat) in a Lotus Elise and I felt it.
Some rentals as in 60+ different models. That makes me a certified Know it All and YOU KNOW IT.
I've already posted the 'Burg ring time and the Cobalt is faster than an EXIGE.
Exige > Elise (slightly) in nearly all aspects.
Some rentals as in 60+ different models. That makes me a certified Know it All and YOU KNOW IT.
I've already posted the 'Burg ring time and the Cobalt is faster than an EXIGE.
Exige > Elise (slightly) in nearly all aspects.
People put too much into 'ring times.. it's a track that favors power, which the SS has over an Exige or Elise.
Take a lot at the track times C/D put up at VIR (http://www.fastestlaps.com/track20.html).. The SS is slower than an Elise S2. Heck, its even slower than a 350Z, 370Z or TTS. The regular SS (not the TC) is slower than a Golf.
I was always a sedan guy myself, but after years and years of driving sedans I've come to realize I almost never ferry around anyone in the back seat. I'm going for a coupe for my next car myself.
Two be fair, the VIR fastest lap times aren't a good gauge either. I love my Vette, but I have a hard time believing that it's really .7 seconds faster than an Audi A8 V10 and 2 seconds for the Ford GT.
You are probably going to think I am crazy fickle, but I don't want to buy an Audi without the LED eyebrow. Same with the new Porsche LED running lights on the front facade. It just screams 'last-gen' when it is absent. And unfortunately, it doesn't look like there is going to be a next-gen RS4 according to Jalopnik.