Next car

It looks like the Porsche is gonna sell this week. So looking for a little help on next car choice. Wife drives a Lexus GX470. I'm 40 with three boys who are all active in ice hockey and lacrosse. I'm considering leasing any of the following Infiniti G35 coupe and sedan, Acura TL-S, BMW 335 sedan, and for some reason the Toyota FJ cruiser appeals to me. All thoughts or opinions welcome.

The new Acura RL is nice. Have you thought about that?

JB I just got rid of my wife's G35x and although it was a nice car, my wife found the steering to be a bit "heavy". The RL has some nice gadgets it just depends what you want and how much you want to spend. The new 335i coupe is a blast to drive with the manual transmission. The TL is nice but at the end of the day I'd keep thinking I paid a pretty hefty premium to drive a up-scale Accord. With hockey gear to haul around I'm not sure you are going to get away with a coupe. When I look at the list of cars you want I get the sense you don't have a clue what you want. I say this from experience so I wish you well. If the deal falls through on you car PM me since I am still looking for my next p-car.

What do you want to spend and are you going to buy or lease?

My taste in cars is like my taste in music all over the place. Looking to lease retail of car would max around 50k. I have to look at the trunk in the G35 coupe. I actually used to get my hockey bag in the trunk of the p-car.

JB if you're leasing the selling price could prove to be immaterial unless you will buy the car at the end of the lease. I just leased my son a $32,000 blazer for $210 per month. A G35 with the same sticker might run you twice that. If you're not locked into a particular car you can get a sense of the incentives that are floating around on edmunds.com. Certain manufacturers will use extremley low interest rates or high residuals to drive down the lease payment. It's sometimes easier to start with a lease payment you are comfortable with and work from there. Another site that sometimes can prove interesting if you're set on leasing is swapalease.com. You can find people that are tryiing to get out of thier cars and can often get short-term leases with incentives. You have to be careful however since many of the people that post there have lease payments that are not competitive with today's market.

Of those choices, I'd defitely go with the new BMW. The G35 is uninspiring, the Acura is amazingly dependable but not that sporting....

The BMW all wheel drive 3 series are very nice, in my opinion.

Do the TL's still have tranny problems?

Not since the '04 redesign (current gen).

I drove a BMW 335 coupe at a BMW driving event comparing with a G35 coupe. Previously drove the 3 Series sedan comparison against the G35 sedan. The BMW's were way more sporty. The G35's were powerful and nice cars. They are aimed more for ride comfort than handling. Depends what you want. I know a couple of guys who have Acura TL's and think that they are great. I doubt that they were referring to handling, of course, but they love their cars.

BMW 335i has 300Bhp twin turbo engine and is as fast as an M3, which rivals the P. Nuff said!

I'm always on the lookout for such events. When and where was it?

It was in September in Houston. They travel around the country. The programs are called the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience. I get invitations in the mail. I think I got on their list because of zip code and magazine subscriptions, but I really don't know. They have a website, but they seem to be finished for the year: http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/...dPrograms/UDE/ They put on a fine program. The programs have convinced me that BMW really does built a fine car. Maybe I can convince my wife to buy one when she is finally convinced she no longer needs an SUV for kid hauling.

I'm leaning towards the 335 sedan with a stick, sedan seats 5 coupe only 4.

New G35 coupe will be out next summer if you can wait. The new G35 sedan is quite nice..go with a 6 speed sport (3.5l 306hp) drove it at the dealer launch a few weeks ago.

Used M5?

I'm on board for the FJ - sometimes its good to go a completely different direction. How about the new Wrangler Unlimited? 4 doors, good for throwing sports equipment around in, and you can take off the top on nice days.

you will regret buying a Jap.....I would go for the BMW..335 is very very nice and you will feel right at home.....the Japs look nice for the first 3 months, but it is like the latest hip hop song....you listen to it and it sounds cool, but after a couple of weeks your sick of listening to it....NOW pop music...never goes out of style.....solid!!!

Well, You know the lexus product, why not check out the GS line. It now has the upgraded Nav Gen5 with better Rez. Great car, IMO I have owned 2 GSs. Not quite as sporty as some of the others, but it is something to look at. I also owned a 05' TL"Great Power". The wife loved it, but I still liked the GS more. Completely different

A barely used E39 M5. Classy, sporty, seats 4 very comfortable, and has a sweet exhaust note stock.

also a very good choice, but of the three you mentioned I would pick the 335

Easy choice. go with the 335i. I have been following the introduction of it and with the ne bi turbo engine it is supposed to do 0-60 in the low 5's although one magazine test put it at under 5 sec. Save $4-5k and do ED.

Whats "ED"

I'd stay away from the 335 since it will be the first year of production. On a different note: I really liked the FJ, here is my short review: http://911carrera.blogspot.com/2006/...j-cruiser.html

ED is European delivery. You pick the car up in Munich. Drive it for up to a month and then it is transported to the States. No additional cost for the transport as it is the $695 standard delivery fee on every car. I have a price on a pretty well equipped 335i that is $5,400 below the USA MSRP. There is the cost for air fare and your costs for howerver long you spend in Europe that eats into the savings.

I'm with Dell on the Acura RL. It comes standard with AWD and the inside is nice (not sorta plastic like the infinitis). Acura sucks at marketing their high end sedan so right now you can get an '06 for almost 10K under MSRP (~50K). Its a bargain as Acura doesn't seem to be able to get into the high-end sedan market....and because the TL is so popular at 20K less than the RL. Definitely should check them out as I hear the ride is pretty sweet....

Drive the Volvo turbo R series, ultimate "Q" ship especially the wagon.

BMW 335 or Volvo R series... in that order...

A new, VERY lightly optioned Cayenne S could be had for near your price range and you would be getting a vehicle with great performance and all around capability. Plus, you would still have a P Car.

I second the suggestion for a wagon. Kids and hockey/lacrosse gear and all. Audi S4 Avant. 340hp/5.4(?) 0-60 and really awesome handling in the wet(and dry for that matter). Good looking too.

Great ideas, keep um coming. I'm not so set on a wagon or suv as wife drives suv. Still leaning towards 335 sedan.

If you can wait until next year, the '08 G35 will probably be the best of the bunch, especially when price is considered. The '08 is scheduled to be released mid '07, and it will have a 3800 cc engine producing around 350 HP. Although pricing hasn't been released yet, I would expect that it will cost around $10K less than a comparably equipped BMW 335. If you require a new car this year, you should test drive the Infiniti M45 sports sedan. It provides exceptional handling and acceleration, especialy for a large luxury car. The only downside is that it's not offered with a stick.

Audi S4 or RS4. I play Ice Hockey and my goalie equipment fits great. Great in the snow (with snow tires) and rain and sporty with plenty of performance. V8, 6 speed, makes a great daily driver. If you don't want a new one you can pick up a slightly used 04 with low miles for $35-40k. I leased my 05 S4 new for $500 a month.

I think 335 should be first on your list then its the Acura RL...

S4

i heard the new acuras are having major problems with transmissions?

i've had my fj since april and love it...very sporty to drive[get the mt],great offroad and a real "man's" suv...not one soccer mom concession. great for sports gear,but make sure your boys fit in the somewhat cramped back seat good luck!!!