So, sell the Audi S4 and buy another car. I was starting to think Lexus; specifically, LS400 circa 1998.
Why the '98?
It was this model that gained the largest mechanical upgrade in the range of cars that remained visually faithful to the original 1990 model (The current LS430 is effectively a completely different car.) In 1995 the Lexus gained all-new (but identikit similar) panels, along with some interior upgrades. But in 1998 the Lexus was equipped with variable valve timing on the 4-litre V8 - a change that lifted power to 209kW - and a 5-speed auto was added to go behind it. The front sheetmetal was new, and inside the car a trip computer was installed, along with other important equipment upgrades like HID headlights.
While my fiancé Georgina's LS400 - a 1991 model - was good to drive, I figured that the 1995 model upgrade was just too similar. Mid-Nineties Lexus LS400s are also a lot more expensive than her car's year, all for mechanical changes that were really ineffectually few.
So, a '98 model was my desired option.
But then again, it wasn't really. Huh? Well, I pride myself on not having too many brand biases, so if a BMW 540i or a Jaguar XJ8 or a Mercedes - or anything else for that matter - looked and felt and drove as a better car, fine.
And I was certainly not dismissive of much cheaper - some would say 'more pedestrian' - cars, either. The Magna VR-X, for example, I enjoy mightily. However, in this company its safety, durability, resale and equipment level put it out of contention. The Holden V6 Statesman is a car I drove recently for an AutoSpeed test - and thought it a tarted-up budget car, a very long way from what I want. However, the 5.7 litre SS Commodore is much more fun, and in Calais form also has good equipment. (And the 5.7 Statesman would be another combination.) But in terms of NVH and equipment levels, the Holdens are a long way from the prestige cars I have mentioned. And, since this is an intensely personal tale, I don't think I could enjoy owning a car that has a rear suspension design so closely related to the late-Sixties Datsun 1600...
But if I found a car much better than the LS400, that would be fine - I'd accept it with open arms.
Out, Looking
So Georgina and I headed out one sunny Saturday, intent on driving some cars and forming some views.
First stop was the BMW dealer, who had in stock a 540i. Despite the name, this 1715kg model is equipped with a 4.4-litre V8 developing no less than 210kW and 420Nm. Variably valve timed on the inlet side, the engine is a powerhouse that's linked to a 5-speed auto. Contemporary magazine test figures put the 0-100 time at a flat 7 seconds - it's no slouch.
So we opened the doors of the white body/grey leather '98 model and looked at what was on offer. First sight - an incredible eight airbags! Unlike some car enthusiasts, I don't for one moment sneer at multiple airbags - read the crash test results and their worth is unarguable. A more compact car inside than it first appears, the 540 had however adequate leg- and head-room in the front (though the back was a bit squeezy), and lots of features like a disc stacker and metal sunroof - and steering wheel controls for everything. It was priced at a touch under $80,000 - and how did it drive?
Well, I decided to find that out a bit later in the afternoon - right now I was just kinda looking.
Next stop was a dealer specialising in prestige used cars. They had three Lexus LS400s on the floor, including a '98 model priced in the mid-$80s - one that the MD was currently driving. Inside, the big car was immediately familiar - but at the same time different. The controls were predictable in location and function - but instead of one climate control temp setting, there were both passenger and driver zones. The sound system was similar to the '91 model, but the CD changer was built into an upper glovebox rather than being buried in the boot. There was no 'rear extra flow' button on the climate control system - instead the rear passengers had their own HVAC and stereo controls. There were steering wheel mounted controls that included the new-for-this-model trip computer, and the seats were more supportive than in the older car.
All well and good - but how did it drive?
As I kinda expected, very, very well. Almost noiseless, the VVTi V8 had more torque down low than the older engines, while the 5-speed was better able to make use of that power. The car was quicker, quieter, and had more direct steering. The noise suppression from the suspension was probably the best I have heard in any car, and while the performance felt a little slower than I had hoped for, that was almost certainly simply a perceptual by-product of the incredible NVH suppression. (Road tests put the 0-100 in the mid-Sevens.) Oh yes, and the sound system (when playing the MD's CDs, anyway) wasn't as good as I'd have hoped.
So in summary it was very much like a more sophisticated and more developed version of the car that I had come to like so much - Georgina's 1991 LS400.
Driving the BMW 540i
But, hell, if in comparison the BMW 540i went like a cut snake and had an awesome ride/handling compromise, well, I'd be quite happy to acknowledge that and change my priorities accordingly!
Unfortunately, it didn't.
We'd gone back to the BMW dealer and requested a drive; the salesman had agreed - but only if he could drive us first. All that his gentle snooze through the traffic had told me was that the autobox made lots of whines, the exhaust was fairly loud for a factory car, and that the ride was quite acceptable. But when I got behind the wheel I was disappointed to discover that the low-rpm response of the V8 was subdued, that - more importantly - the steering was extraordinarily slow around centre for a sports sedan, and that the brake pedal had a mushy and long travel. Even worse, a mid-corner bump encountered at about six-tenths had the car feeling quite disconcerted - I don't know with that very brief sampling whether it was the damping or the suspension travel that was insufficient...
[I was so intrigued by how the BMW had been discombobulated by the mid-corner bump that the next day I went back to the same corner in Georgina's 1991 Lexus. Turns out, there is a sudden depression half way around a fairly sharp left-turn through traffic lights. Through at a pace a little slower than in the BMW and you could feel the old Lexus suspension working - that's all. Through at the same pace as the BMW, and a slight bump was felt - but no bottoming-out and the car stayed on-line. Through much faster than the 540i and the front stayed tracking but the back pitched out of line a little as it hit. Hmmmmmmm.]
Now if you're thinking that my criteria are changing as I drive each of these prospective purchases - you'd be right. Why? The '98 Lexus being so incredibly smooth and quiet means that I am prepared to trade off some on-centre steering feel in that car. After all, you buy an overall package - brilliance in some areas can indeed make up for other aspects that aren't so good. So if the BMW was gonna have a much firmer ride and poorer NVH than the LS400, I expected the steering to be geared to that sort of sporty car - quick turn-in, responsive and direct. It wasn't any of those. In fact, after that short drive I actually thought a current Holden 5.7-litre SS Commodore (half price, even for a new one) to be more attractive than the 540i....
Then there's Auto Stability Control. Since I intended forgoing the traction and security of four-wheel drive, it was my distinct preference that I have a stability control system on board. Again at odds with many enthusiasts, I think that a stability control system (where individual wheels are braked to dial out over- and under-steer) is an absolute safety delight. It's there for the many real-life times when you're tired, or inattentive, or simply make a mistake. And the 540i had traction control, but not the next and more sophisticated step of a stability control system. The '98 Lexus? It has it, under the abbreviation of VSC.
No Subaru
Over lunch at Maccas, a chance to discuss things.
And right across the road, there just happened to be a Subaru dealer. As a former owner of a Subaru Liberty RS, I have a soft spot for the cars. And, with the B4 twin turbo Liberty just released, hadn't I better drive one? (At this time, AutoSpeed's Dep Ed Michael Knowling was yet to write our test after having a press car for a week - all I knew was what I had read in other media....The test will appear soon). Given that I have been talking about cars with a new price of $150K - and the B4 is well under half of that - I didn't expect the car to have the same mix of features and quality that I was looking for. But, if it drove very, very well, then....
So we wandered into the Subaru new-car showroom - and there was a brand newie B4. A young salesman arrived and I wondered aloud whether there was a demonstrator available - the car in front of us was un-plated.
But no, there wasn't a car that could be driven.
Ah, when would one arrive?
Oh, perhaps in the next few weeks - or then again, perhaps not...
It was a stunning display of how Subaru dealers continue to simply not understand the prestige car market - it took me straight back to my Liberty RS where the service response to a new-car warranty complaint about wind noise was to tell me to never drive over 100 km/h... The lack of interest and professionalism from the Subaru salesman was in utter and stark contrast to that gained from the BMW dealer, and later in the afternoon the Mercedes salesman - and even from grassroots wholesalers clad in loud Hawaiian shirts...
There was no Subaru to drive, there was no interest in taking our details to arrange a drive elsewhere, and there was a general air of bored languor.
G-o-o-d-b-y-e...
[And before I made a final purchase decision, I talked extensively with Michael about the B4... his views confirmed what I would have guessed. Nice car, but not in the same league of refinement or seamless performance.]
No Mercedes
Next stop, the Mercedes dealer. On this Saturday we were confronted by a live jazz band, a bouncing castle peopled with vertically moving children, and a free BBQ. I am still not sure what that was all about, but we meandered through all the garrulous humanity to the showroom. Here, utter professionalism. Polite, interested, organised and aware. Unfortunately though, no cars that matched my criteria of mid-$80's, medium/large, and with some grunt.
The best that we were shown was an E320 - and I had re-read my very own AutoSpeed new car road test of that car just the night before! That body, but with a bloody big engine - maybe. That car with the 3.2 litre V6 - I don't think so. (And the 4.3-litre V8 E430 is still rather expensive.) Unfortunately, all the other available cars were too slow - and there are an awful lot of slow Mercedes models....
Back into Georgina's old '91 Lexus to get us to the next dealer (my Audi still in having its fuel hose replaced) and I booted the V8 - just to feel how it could still pull hard on this hot day with the air on: so unlike a small capacity turbo engine! To the Audi dealer this time - who had one of those rare-ish late model Volvo V70R four-wheel drive wagons on display. But five seconds of sitting in the cabin simultaneously brought back memories of the Godawful S60 T5 press car that we had a few months ago - and the nearly as bad 850 T5 that I drove when we were selecting Georgina's Lexus.
Call it psychology by association, call it gut feelings - call it what you will - but I just wanted to get out of there.
(And yes, Dave, the doors do open wide, and yes, they are a good shape to allow unobstructed ingress and egress, and no, I am not for one moment casting aspersions on the safety of the car - which as I have already said, I regard as important to my decision. And yes Matt, I know I am a former Volvo owner, and no, I don't ever regret buying that particular car which forever will hold a genuinely dear spot in my heart. But aaaaghhh, you gotta understand... I just had to leave....)
Then the afternoon kinda fell into a hole. There was the Eunos 800M (not really what I was looking for and overpriced at $27K given the 150K kilometres on it - but still a great car), the Honda Legend (but in the company of the BMW and Lexus, lacking in power) - and, well, what else?
Well, what about Jaguars? Despite my protestations of zero bias, I am always attracted to the marques with glorious histories - Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Jaguar... (And yes I know that you can well claim that GM and Ford and Nissan and Toyota have glorious histories - albeit mostly not as long-lived - as these Euros, but somehow it's not the same.) So I could just see myself going downstairs to the carport, spying each morning those sleek Jaguar lines and thinking of Malcolm Sayer's glorious D-type... But unfortunately, just sitting in a 1998 XJ8 was enough to put me off. It felt like a return to the ark - no space efficiency, no modernity in the interior, old-fashioned sunken separate instruments. Not even a body that looked anything more than a mid-Seventies XJ6 with a few aero smoothings and lips....
Unjust, I know. But that's how I felt.
Decision Made?
Perhaps time to go home and consult my magazine collection for 1998 LS400 road tests?
And of course, wait for the phone calls about Audi trade-in dollars from the BMW dealer, and the LS400 dealer, and the wholesaler, and the man in the brightly coloured shirt...
Would you buy a car from man in a Hawaiian shirt with a yard full of de-badged Mercedes models who says, "I've got contacts....!".
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Huge, Heavy and Thirsty?
When I told people I was thinking of buying myself a Lexus LS400, there were several common reactions - all negative. But most of the comments showed that many people simply didn't know the details of the car. For example, of course the 1998 LS400 would be a helluva lot heavier and larger than a contemporary HSV VT Commodore, wouldn't it? But the LS400 weighs in at 1794kg, the HSV GTS Commodore at 1740 - that's a difference of just 3 per cent. (Though that of course depends on the Commodore model selected.) And size? Well, compared again with the Commodore, the Lexus is 111mm (4.3 inches) longer, but is actually 15mm shorter and 12mm narrower! Not much in it is there? Obviously it is the styling that makes the car look large, rather than the actual dimensions. The Lexus even has a smaller turning circle than the Commodore - by 0.6 metres! And performance? Well, Wheels magazine in their April 1998 issue recorded a fairly typical (two-up, half tank of fuel) 0-100 time of 7.5 seconds - not blisteringly fast but obviously quicker than a lot of cars, including all the contemporary 5-litre HSV models tested by the same magazine... And power and torque? With 209kW and 398Nm it's almost line-ball with the larger engine 4.3 litre Mercedes E430 V8, very close to the even larger 4.4-litre BMW V8 - and when looked at on a V8 kilowatt/litre basis, only the Jaguar 4-litre V8 beats it. The Holden and Ford V8s are of course way behind. Fuel consumption? It's always hard to assess consumption with a level playing field, but using the government AS2877 figures as indicative for comparison purposes, with highway/city figures of 7.6 and 12 litres/100 km it beats cars like the smaller BMW 540i (8.5 and 13), Mercedes E430 (7.8 and 13.5) and even Honda's much slower and less powerful Legend (9.5 and 13). Again only the Jaguar's efficient 4-litre XJ8 comes close, with 7.4 and 12.5. Fast forwarding to 2001 models, it's just slightly worse than the 3.8-litre Holden Statesman (7.4 and 12) and of course much better than the Holden versions with the supercharged six and 5.7 litre V8 (8.5 and 13.5). Of course, you can pick whatever comparison cars you want to make another one look good, but the bottom line is that the LS400 is quicker, smaller and much thriftier on fuel than people often suppose. That doesn't make it a small car that gets 7 litres/100 everywhere and wipes everything off the road in performance, but by no means is it a huge and heavy barge that drinks like a fish!
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