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The $30,000 dilemma
(eight recommended cars costing about $30,000)
Motor Trend, August 1996 v48 n8 p84(12)
Author: Nagy, Bob; Van Tune, C.; Keebler, Jack; Karr,
Jeff;
Paul, Rik; Bartlett, Jeff; DeMere, Mac; Sherman,
Don
So you've finally made the semi-big time, and at long last, that near-luxury lifestyle is firmly within your grasp. Gone are the days of trolling for econo-cars and scoping out those $199-a-month bargain leases. One very serious questions still remains, however: Exactly what should your next automotive purchase be? With a budget of roughly $30,000, the opportunities are fairly wide-ranging. To help you successfully complete this quest for vehicular nirvana, we've brought together eight possible candidates for consideration. While each has its own particular advantages, all can be relied upon to provide years of driving pleasure in the hands of the right owner.
Eight great vehicles but only one choice. Which is best for you?
AUDI A4 QUATTRO
If ever there existed the automotive equivalent of a Renaissance man, it would have to be the Audi A4 Quattro. In just a matter of months, this German sedan has become a huge favorite among U.S. buyers who demand style, handling, and a full range of comfort and convenience features in their personal transport modules. Stepping up to Audi's $1550 Quattro all-wheel-drive package transforms the A4 into an all-season go-almost-anywhere player with an exceptional accent on value.
The A4's $26,500 base price includes power windows/locks/mirrors, automatic climate control, power driver's seat, anti-lock brakes, AM/FM/cassette stereo, an anti-theft system, plus loads of real walnut interior accent trim. Even packed with options--including an automatic transmission, power moonroof, all-weather package, pearlescent paint, remote keyless entry, and a sport steering wheel as well as the aforementioned Quattro system--our vehicle stickered at just $31,945, destination included. This tantalizing new Audi drew more unsolicited compliments from a wider range of people than any sedan we've tested in a long, long time. And the most frequently voiced opinion about the A4 is that it has the look and feel of a car that costs thousands of dollars more.
If there is a weakish link in the A4 Quattro, it's the powertrain. Audi's 2.8-liter/172-horse SOHC V-6 can the standard five-speed manual gearbox or a new ZF five-speed automatic, as it was here. The engine seems willing and the transmission shifts smoothly, but the match-up yielded a leisurely 9.8-second 0-60-mph time. That number drops by 1.1 ticks if you opt for the do-it-yourself gearbox, but neither figure is particularly notable.
More than offsetting this dearth of accelerative ability, however, is a comfortable--albeit modestly proportioned--passenger compartment, exceptional cross-country cruising abilities, confidence-inspiring handling, and a three-year/50,000-mile total-coverage warranty (you pay only for windshield-wiper blades and oil) that includes 24-hour roadside assistance.
All things considered, I'd rather have the A4 Quattro as my sole daily driver than any other member of this august group. I doubt that I'm alone in that assessment. --Bob Nagy
BMW Z3
Two-seat sports cars come in all flavors and price ranges, and this one's a steal at its $28,750 base sticker. But, don't make the mistake of only comparing the BMW Z3 to a Mazda Miata--match it up with the head-turning appeal of a $135,000 Ferrari F355 Spider, as well. It only takes one drive through Beverly Hills, Malibu, or along Hollywood Boulevard to be made keenly aware of this ragtop's phenomenal gawk factor.
On the scale where a Bruce and Demi sighting only rates a gawk factor of "2," and bags of money falling from the sky command a mere "7," a single pass by a bus stop in the Z3 pegs the needle with a solid "10." Even without its prerelease publicity as the latest James Bond getaway machine, this Bimmer could hardly be more conspicuous if it were filled with circus mimes, dipped in gelignite, and launched from atop Bob Stupak's Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas.
OK, so it isn't a good choice for the bashful; there are plenty of old Novas and Tercels for those people to drive. What you want is something to match your outgoing personality--something with the searing good looks of the BMW Z3.
Although only about three inches longer stem-to-stern than a Miata, the Z3 rides atop a 7.1-inch-longer wheelbase. This added stretch gives the BMW less of a Matchbox car sort of feel and melds with the masterful frontal styling to create an ambiance of a much larger, more expensive sportster.
And bystanders aren't at all shy about leaning in and asking questions. So be prepared. Here are the answers you'll need to know: 1.) Yes, this is the James Bond car; 2.) No, but I'm Pierce's stunt double; 3.) It's a 1.9-liter/138-horse DOHC four; 4.) Zero to 60 in 7.9 seconds; 5.) Only about $30,000; 6.) Yes, 30 thousand, not 70; 7.) Sure, you can have a ride.
Answers to the questions they're not likely to ask, but you should know anyway are: 1.) It's built in Spar" tanburg, South Carolina; 2.) It matches the skidpad grip of a Ferrari 355 Spider, at a brain-sloshing 0.93 g; 3.) The manual top can be lowered without you having to leave the driver's seat; 4.) There's 70 percent greater trunk space than in a Miata (but even that only gives you 6.2 cubic feet); 5.) It's 2.3 mph faster through MT's slalom course (at 69.5 mph) than a new Porsche 911 Targa; 6.) The cockpit is comfy for two six-footers; 7.) Unfortunately, what the looks portend, the acceleration can't match.
For most Z3 gawkers, that last item won't matter, because this is a car they truly believe is the neatest thing on four wheels. And for around $30,000, nothing can match it. --C. Van Tune
BUICK RIVIERA
The Buick Riviera is an extremely unusual and striking sculptural form. You may hate it. I may love it. But we can probably agree that driving a Riv sets you apart from any other conventionally styled coupe.
What makes the Riviera so odd from a commercial perspective is that it was executed by a GM division that, proudly and practically, embraces tradition and conservatism for the sake of high-volume sales. Frankly, I can't figure out what happened here.
The fact that Bill Porter, exterior design chief for the Riv, pulled off this big coupe in such a buttoned-down environment is a puzzle shrouded in a mystery wrapped in an enigma. The car's overall shape resembles a long, elliptical pipe. But the Riv is saved from the melted shapelessness of something like the Ford Taurus by what designers call a "boneline," or ridge that carves down the upper edge of the body side. This provides an organizing visual element similar in function to the sharp crease in a pair of uniform trousers. This is definitely not a car for those who like to blend in. This is not your father's....
Speaking of Oldsmobile, the Riviera rolls on the same front-drive G-platform as the Oldsmobile Aurora and the upcoming'98 Cadillac Seville. That means an ultrasolid body structure and GM's best large-car, all-independent suspension, steering' and braking systems.
Oddly, tuning these systems to meet Buick customer tastes left the car with a boulevard-style ride and lots of steering boost. Yes' it's soft. Not everyone's cup of tea. Forget about blasting along bending back-road twisties. This ain't your punky neighbor's VW GTI, either.
Most of my Riviera driving was on Michigan's mostly straight' mostly concrete highways, which were deeply rutted after a brutally cold winter. At speed, the car is a rolling sensory-deprivation chamber- except, of course, for the soothing sounds of quiet conversation and virtually every note from the audio system.
The Riviera's interior is tasteful neo-'60s restraint (a la the original Riv in '63) with little brightwork. The dash gauges are huge with large numbers for easy reading. And unlike most luxury coupes, five passengers can ride comfortably during a longish trip. The front buckets are among the most comfortable seats in the industry, and the back bench has enough leg- and shoulder room for three full-size adults on a dinner outing.
But the best part of the Riviera may be the optional supercharged 3.8-liter V-6 and smart 4L60-E four-speed automatic. This powertrain is powerful, virtually vibration-free' and silent-but nail the go-pedal, and this luxocoupe jumps from zero to 60 mph in just over seven seconds. To top it off, the Riviera averaged an outstanding 26.5 mpg commuting between my home and the office. Of the other vehicles in this mix, only the BMW Z3 can even get close to that combination-and let's see you carry five people in that car! -- Jack Keebler
CHEVY TAHOE LT
How many times have you had to say, Of course, I'd love to take you five Hooters girls on a driving tour of the Southwest, but my BMW Z3 is just too small." Or: "Why, yes, Boss, I'm flattered that you've offered me the use of your ski boat and given me a month of paid leave, but there's just no way my Riviera can tow your 7000-pound floating monument to hedonism to the lake." If you're going to spend the rather substantial sum of $30,000, why should you ever have to make excuses or miss out on the fun?
Chevrolet's Tahoe is the can-do champion in this price range. No question, that's a key factor in why the Tahoe is Motor Trend's 1996 Truck of the Year. Along with its identical twin, the GMC Yukon, the Tahoe is a genuine full-size sport/utility--brawnier and more versatile than any of the smaller SUVs on the market, including the new V-8 all-wheeldrive Mercury Mountaineer.
You can carry up to six people in roomy comfort in the Tahoe if you go with the front bench seat, five with the sportier front buckets. Cargo space is generous, and the flip-folding rear seats provide the versatility to creatively mix people and play toys. Great isolation from road and engine noise makes the Tahoe feel a lot like a good luxury sedan. Handling is predictably secure, if not sporty, and around-town maneuvering is quick and easy. About the only tip-off that you're not riding in the lap of sedan luxury is the high vantage point (most people like the commanding view), and a ride that's a bit less civilized over bigger bumps (good aftermarket shocks can help).
Probably the Tahoe's greatest single feature is its marvelous standard 5.7-liter Vortec V-8. With 250 horses and 335 pound-feet of torque, this engine humbles the V-6 and V-8 engines you'll find in lesser SUVs. Coupled with a four-speed automatic and an available push-button-controlled four-wheel-drive system, the powertrain is an endless source of joy, except at the gas pumps, where it's payback time in the form of a 13/17 city/highway EPA mpg rating.
To cheer yourself up again, just mash your foot to the floor, and you'll accelerate to 60 mph in a relatively brisk 9.5 seconds. That sort of power in a big SUV should be enough to pull the Boss's boat, and impress the Hooters girls simultaneously. --Jeff Karr
CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY LXi
Nobody buys a minivan for its image, for the sexy way it makes you feel, the passionate envy it inspires in your friends, or the sense of fun and adventure it imparts to your lifestyle. No, a - - minivan buyer has gone beyond those sorts of fleeting fancies and has maturely recognized that more-realistic needs should play a higher priority in the purchase decision. After all, nothing else does the job of a minivan quite like...well, a minivan. And the Chrysler Town & Country is among the best.
Sure, a sport/utility vehicle offers the same high, see-over-the-rooftops driving position and expansive cargo area, but it doesn't quite measure up to a minivan's easy-driving, carlike feel, and interior versatility. Moreover, if you need to carry more than five people, your usual choices range among a cramped six-passenger sedan, a station wagon that exiles rearmost passengers to a backward-facing gulag, a seven-passenger SUV where the third-row seats are as hard to climb into as they are uncomfortable, or a minivan that actually can carry seven full-size adults in relative dignity.
While everyone knows a minivan is great for toting kids, the Town & Country is just as inviting for adults. With the comfort and ambiance of a midluxury sedan, it's the ideal driving environment for shuttling business clients to power lunches or taking visitors out on the town.
Just like its sibling, the Dodge Caravan, Motor Trends 1996 Car of the Year, the Town & Country offers a strong 3.8-liter/166-horsepower OHV V-6 engine; dual sliding rear side doors; a plethora of storage crannies; a roller-equipped, easy-out third seat; a wonderfully nimble feel; and styling attractive enough to feel as at home at a professional conference as in a Little League parking lot. In addition to all that, our $31,140 LXi test vehicle pampered us with standard leather, eight-way-adjustable power front seats, dual-zone air conditioning, dual airbags, and a premium Infinity sound system.
The open center aisle of our tester made it easy to tend to the kids and communicate between the front and the waaay back. Should you need to haul cargo, there's 167 cubic feet of storage space ready and waiting. Let's face it, if you want to compromise your needs for image, that's your call. But when your needs call for a minivan, the image the Town & Country projects is..."smart." --Rik Paul
INFINITI I30t
Other MT editors may entice you to commute in a four-wheel-drive truck or indulge in a midlife-crisis two-door sports car, but drivers who transport both family members and business clients will recognize the intrinsic value in the lionhearted Infiniti I30t.
The I30t's list of standard features is so long, it barely fits on the window sticker using microscopic ype. Squinting, you see listed such premium items as a power sunroof, automatic climate control, Bose six-speaker AM/FM/CD/cassette stereo, integrated HomeLink transmitter, and remote keyless/anti-theft system. We slid past the 530,000 target price by indulging in the irresistible Touring model, which adds sport-tuned suspension, viscous limited-slip differential, decklid spoiler, and special 15-inch luminum wheels.
Reclining in the leather seats and surrounded by faux wood trim, each privileged passenger has plenty of personal space in the I30's 99.6 cubic-foot interior-not something that can be said about many of the other cars in this group.
The best seat in the house clearly is the driver's. In addition to eight-way power adjustments, the seat provides-most importantly--full command of the I30t. With one hand on the leather-wrapped steering wheel and the other on the five-speed shifter, you can relax in limolike comfort bereft of wind noise, or indulge in deep throttle lunges, rapid shifts, and the magic of the 3.0-liter/190-horsepower engine.
While a manual transmission seems an unlikely choice in such a refined four-door, it dramatically enhances driving pleasure by allowing full control of the 24-valve DOHC V-6 and its prairie-flat torque curve. Zero to 60 mph blinks by in 7.0 seconds, endearing this midsize sedan with the ghost of the soon-to-be-departed Nissan 300ZX.
Not only is the I30t a veritable rocket in a straight line, but its Goodyear Eagle RS-A 215/60HR15 tires help produce a respectable 0.82 lateral g around the skidpad. Despite its impressive at-the-limit abilities, the I30t is a mild-mannered Clark Kent under normal driving conditions, with a softly sprung suspension and mightily assisted power steering.
If there remains any doubt about the I30t, Infiniti includes an impressive four-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, six-year/70,000-mile powertrain warranty, roadside assistance, and a service loaner-car program. The peace of mind provided by the premium Infiniti ownership experience makes buying an I30t a stress-relieving investment. --Jeff Bartlett
MERCURY MOUNTAINEER
Come on en' listen to my story 'bout the new Mercury, called the Mountaineer--it's a sport/utility! It ain't "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," but then we ain't talkin 'bout Buddy Ebsen, or Jim Varney, either.
The Explorer is to Ford as that bubbling crude--oil, that is--was to Uncle Jed. But, across the holler, the SUV-less Lincoln-Mercury division has been ailing. The cure sounds like a recipe from one of Granny's potion books: Take a Ford Explorer XLT V-8, add a Mercury grille and some special exterior enhancements (new bodyside moldings, running boards, rear bumper trim, and paint-color combinations) and interior embellishments (new seat trim, leather-covered steering wheel) and--whee, doggies--you've got a Mountaineer.
There are no functional differences between the Mountaineer and Explorer, which is just fine by us. Like its Explorer cousin, the Mountaineer is a good-looking, strong-performing, smooth-riding, hard-working sport/utility. Consider the Mountaineer's attributes: a 10.7-second 0-60-mph run, seating for five (six with Granny's rocker on the roof), a massive 81.6cubic-foot cargo capacity (with the rear seat stowed), mudslogging all-wheel-drive, and a 6500-pound maximum towing rating. That last cipher means it'll just about accommodate Jethro's lunch. In this comparison, only the Tahoe rivals such all-around capability, but unlike the Tahoe, the Mountaineer will fit in garages smaller than that of the Clampett mansion.
The Mountaineer comes only with a 5.0liter/210-horse OHV V-8 coupled to a four-speed automatic. Two-wheel drive is standard; full-time all-wheel drive is optional. The AWD system, as found on our test vehicle, features a 35/65 front/rear torque split under normal conditions, but when you get to a-slippin' and a-slidin', its viscous center differential transfers power to the axle with the most traction.
Even with the Kentucky-born Mountaineer in their showrooms, Lincoln-Mercury dealers' kinfolk may not advise 'em to load the truck and move to Beverly--Hills, that is--but the sales boost should keep their cement ponds filled and heated.
Now, for the rest of the day, try to resist humming the theme to "The Beverly Hillbillies." Y'all come back now, y'heah? --Mac DeMere
PONTIAC FIREBIRD FORMULA WS6
Thirty grand will buy a wealth of automotive bliss these days, but that's no excuse to squander your cash on a loaded minivan or a luxo-themed sport/utility. My advice is to focus on "fun to drive." Add some sheet metal sex appeal to your daily routine. Pay heed to the power-to-weight ratio. To ensure long-lasting satisfaction, you need a sure-fire formula.
What you want is a Pontiac Firebird Formula decked out with the wild WS6 performance package. This 2+2 coupe is specially tweaked by Pontiac to humble unsuspecting Corvette and Porsche poseurs. The Formula model is your entree to the 5.7-liter LT1 V-8 kingdom, where great heaping bags of torque await your bidding. Adding the WS6 option installs flared nostrils on a Ram Air hood, tauter suspension calibrations, fatter tires mounted to wider wheels, and a low-restriction dual exhaust system. No MIT diploma is required to master this Formula: cool air in, plus the easy way out, equals 20 extra horsepower.
This is the one ride with the mechanical metabolism to command your full attention. You'll need to lock both hands on the wheel to match wits with the WS6-sharpened steering reflexes. In the unlikely event of excessive understeer, booting the throttle is all that's necessary to coax all four tires into the preferred cornering attitude-tail out and smokin'. Wearing a tough Borg-Warner gearbox loaded with six speeds and a top ratio worth a theoretical 230 mph before the revs run out (more like 160 mph, in reality), boredom doesn't play here. Subwoofers are superfluous when you've got the back beat of a big V-8 thrumming the car. And, though the LT1's exhaust gas has been sanitized for our protection, crack the throttle, and it's 1969 all over again-damn the fuel bills and full-speed ahead. Flail the six-speed through its slightly notchy gates with your foot to the firewall and you'll blast 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds and mangle the quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at 102.4 mph.
To fellow critics who suggest that my fine feathered friend fails as a carrier pigeon, I point out the Firebird's 1000-pound trailer-tow rating and a rear seat that folds for lugging bulky purchases home from the mall. But the clincher is that a Formula WS6 makes the best financial sense: Up front, when you write the check for your $30,000 choice, this is the only vehicle in this mix that will return a sizable chunk of change. And 10 years down the pike, after depreciation has riddled many of the other selections, this limited-edition likely will shine as a highly desirable collector car. --Don Sherman
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
Regardless of what specific choice you may make, one simple fact V remains true: A new vehicle is almost certain to be the second most important investment decision you'll ever make. Given the relative magnitude of this transaction and the longstanding ramifications of bungling the call, it truly pays to put some serious time and effort into the prepurchase process.
The first bit of vehicular reality you'll need to deal with involves defining the role your transportation will play in your particular life situation. This becomes especially critical if this mobility module is going to serve as your sole or primary method of daily transport and not just as some weekend toy destined to spend most of its existence occupying Bay 4 of your six-car garage.
An equally important corollary consideration involves the need to carefully assess the various methods available for acquiring and financing your purchase. Should you buy or lease? Do you feel most comfortable working through a conventional dealer or might a broker or an online service provide better results? And don't overlook the impact of insurance premiums, which, in some instances, can exceed the amount of the actual monthly payment.
Last but certainly not least, it's mandatory that you have a meaningful test drive--ideally one that allows you to take the car or truck home overnight--before agreeing to sign on the dotted line. No matter how enamored you think you may be of a given vehicle, only firsthand behind-the-wheel experience will ever permit you to make a truly enlightened purchase decision.