Top 10 Luxury Rides by Fortune
Chismillionaire thinks there should be a roadster/convertible category as well in this top 10 with the top 3 spots going to:
Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
Jaguar XKR Convertible
Porsche Boxter S
Two-seat sports car: Ferrari F430 Scuderia
If you can stomach the price, this is a scary-fast, insanely competent (0 to 60 in 3.5 sec), sexy purebred that makes operatic engine sounds unlike any other. Oh yes, and former Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher was crucial to its development.
Purists can argue about the superiority of a mid-engine V-8 Ferrari like the F430 vs. the big front-engine V-12 599 GTB, but my money goes to the playfulness of the mid-engine car. For those who prefer German, the 911 in any guise is unimpeachable, while Audi's R8 is the hottest new entrant. The Corvette, starting at $46,1000, is still the best deal around.
When was the last time you were able to watch a g-meter record in real time the lateral forces you were pulling in while cornering, braking, and accelerating? The crazy-quick (0 to 60 in 3.3 sec), capable GT-R offers, in addition to race-car performance, Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle status in all 50 states.
Benchmarked against the Porsche 911 Turbo, this car is serious business on a budget -- and manages out-run its more expensive all-wheel drive competitors, including the 911 Turbo, the Lamborghini Gallardo, and the Audi R8. It may not have the hand-honed feeling of a European sports car, but picking on a little plastic in the interior is like pointing out a small blemish on a supermodel.
It's almost boring to name the M3 the winner -- its engineering and emotional appeal make it a perennial standout. And yet, once in the driver's seat, there's nothing boring about its godlike dynamics, power, and technical prowess, This latest edition is the most serious track star yet, with a carbon fiber roof that not only looks trick to look at but saves weight, too.
Its high-performance pedigree stands out when you drive. BMW has built in multiple electronic systems to tailor the car's performance, from various levels of traction control, suspension sportiness, throttle response, transmission shift points, etc.Large coupe: Bently Brooklands
Bentley wins for its ability to craft a car that is exclusive to the extreme, -- only 550 will ever be built -- graceful in its grand proportions and flashy yet not overly ostentatious. It requires 660 man-hours to build one, and one man one month to match and finish the wood veneers alone.
The performance is no less to-the-manor-born: the 530-hp V-8 is the most powerful eight-cylinder Bentley has ever brought to market. The engine produces a jaw-dropping 774-ft lb of torque -- which produces what Bentley engineers rightly describe as a tidal wave of power.
Ask an automotive engineer -- off the record -- to state a benchmark, and chances are he'll pick an Audi. And then there's a high-water mark like the RS 4, which is innovation-rich, ridiculously quick, and competent at everything from daily driving to track-tough floggings.
Touches like bi-xenon high intensity discharge headlights, an aggressive front diffuser, and a svelte spoiler on the rear deck are icing on a rocket.
If Jaguar's new owners, India's Tata Motors, needed any convincing about whether the British marque was capable of building great cars, the XF surely put those to rest.
The sexy XF is one of the freshest and chicest designs around, and compared to the competition, it's loaded for the money. Remarkably, the XK serves up that ever-elusive "customer surprise and delight" that car marketers drone on about but rarely deliver.
To wit: The start-stop button silently heart-throbs in red -- ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom -- and on start-up, all air vents swing open, while the cylindrical gear selector, which sits flush at rest, rises to the occasion. I applaud moving away from those old-fashioned forms and conventional ideas. Oh, and it drives like the wind, too.
Mercedes is masterful at crafting top-flight luxury sedans, and this latest edition of its flagship sets a new gold standard. The S550, although not as powerful as the super-high performance 518-hp S63 AMG, strikes the perfect balance between power (382 hp), space (109.4 cu. ft. of passenger space vs. 95.8 average for the competition), and relative value (the S63 AMG starts at $127,000).
Throw in the luxury-hotel feeling of the interior -- complete with concierge-like electronic systems -- and it's easy to see why Mercedes still owns this segment.
Luxury? The RX400h is dripping with perks.
Gas mileage? 25 mpg average, 27 highway.
Conscience? It was the first luxury hybrid.
There's also an amazing 38.3 cu. ft. of cargo volume--suitcases ahead of the competition. And impressive refinements and Toyota dependability. Lexus thinks of everything.
Elegance and proficiency are hard to bake into big SUVs -- but Lexus has. From a power-sliding middle row to more over-the-top gadgetry than any other SUV in its class (there is a 19-speaker Mark Levinson stereo, for example, and you can -- get this -- control the speed of the electric windows!).
Dynamically, systems such as Active Height Control and terrain-sensing antilock brakes (they allow the LX 570 to stop quickly even in sand, which normally defeats conventional ABS technology) make the LX 570 a superlative-spewing winner. If you need so many seats, you won't find better.
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