What you think?

12/7/2010 10:40:32 PM

what do you consider "decent"?

[Edited on December 7, 2010 at 11:00 PM. Reason : i mean, i'd be pretty happy with 20]

12/7/2010 10:59:50 PM

define comfortable... low NVH? comfy seats? leather steering wheel?

lincoln town car

12/7/2010 11:00:46 PM

Corvette Z06

12/7/2010 11:31:04 PM

this question is so open ended and poorly defined that it's pointless to offer a response.

12/8/2010 12:00:40 AM

Okay

For example, the Lexus LS series is known for being low noise, and having comfortable seats. Decent MPG would be 18+city and 25+hwy.

12/8/2010 12:09:19 AM

Lexus LS can get 25+mpg hwy?

12/8/2010 2:24:39 AM

^ Reading is key.

^^ You answered your own question.

Lexus ES 350
Lexus GS 350
Lexus GS 450h
Lexus RX 350
Lexus RX 450h
Lexus HS 250h

12/8/2010 2:48:56 AM

Hyundai Sonata.

12/8/2010 6:58:38 AM

He didn't say "Most Comfortable car with the most decent MPG".

Among cars with "decent MPG" (using his criteria), the ones I listed are the "most comfortable" (or other cars similar to them, such as American luxury cars).

Probably the best:

[Edited on December 8, 2010 at 7:31 AM. Reason : Hyundai Genesis]

12/8/2010 7:07:26 AM

A lot of the Lexus hybrids get decent MPG, so I'll go with that if you don't mind looking like a giant douche driving a Lexus hybrid.

12/8/2010 7:26:01 AM

budget?

12/8/2010 8:09:09 AM

^^Only the HS gets decent mileage and it's been a flop.

12/8/2010 8:44:17 AM

Volvo S60 w/sport package seats

Really, drive one.

[Edited on December 8, 2010 at 8:48 AM. Reason : package]

12/8/2010 8:47:44 AM

All the ones I listed get "decent mileage" as per the OP's criteria.

But really decent? HS and the RX hybrid. (in the 30s).

12/8/2010 9:10:27 AM

Jet tdi

12/8/2010 9:34:24 AM

Acura NSX

12/8/2010 10:10:51 AM

Quote :

"Volvo S60 w/sport package seats Really, drive one."

12/8/2010 11:06:45 AM

pontiac bonneville.

12/8/2010 1:23:32 PM

Budget???

I really like the feel and comfort of Ford Fusion seats.

12/8/2010 7:07:26 PM

I will sell my e39 540i sport 6spd with the best seats I've ever felt for CHEAP

12/8/2010 7:34:05 PM

I will also say my old Lincoln Mark VIII was exceedingly comfortable, amazing seats, great cabin design. And it could pull down 27 MPG on the highway at 80 MPH.

That having been said, I doubt you have a 15 year old V8 Lincoln coupe in mind (and the city MPG is decidedly not as good). But just throwing that one out there.

12/8/2010 8:25:20 PM

here you go, have at it:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

^^btw, 2003 e39 540i 6-spd got 14 city, 21 hwy epa mpg

... I was about to gloat about my 2006 Lincoln LS' mpg, since I saw 18, 25 on the 2003-06 v8 here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_LS, but fueleconomy.gov says the 2006 was only good for 16 city, 22 hwy. I wonder if the test changed and these numbers are "estimated" based on what they would have managed on the present test... wow, that'd really make that database useless.

12/8/2010 9:48:41 PM

Golf or Jetta TDI '09+

Older models have like 90hp (though exceptional gas mileage but could be too slow to be 'comfortable')

Jetta only comes in pleather interior, Golf has nice grippy fabric. Golf has more head room in the back seat. Jetta has more rear crush zone.

12/9/2010 12:27:44 PM

I drove my 2010 GTI to Raleigh and back from Boston for Thanksgiving and averaged 32MPG. 12 hour trip was a breeze, this car is fantastic on the highway. good seats, quiet, comfy, good stereo. Its very planted, stable, and solid. It has a really nicely weighted on-center steering feel. It pretty much drove itself the whole way. Oh and its chipped and supposedly makes 265hp/300tq crank. effortless passing in 6th gear at 75mph ftw.

I really like this car.

12/9/2010 8:34:03 PM

^which/whose chip did you get? I was dazzled by the options I found for the vw gti (and bmw 135i, which is what I initially went looking for) when I was goofing off the other day....

12/9/2010 8:40:47 PM

i got 19-20 mpg on my last tank in the z06...some of it was highway driving, but a LOT of it involved me gassing the shit out of it.

12/9/2010 9:19:58 PM

^^ APR Stage I and i put in an Audi S3 intercooler which isn't necessary, but i like the safety net. It must flow better because i noticed more power after i installed it. Its all aluminum like an intercooler should be instead of the plastic end-capped crap that came stock.

12/10/2010 8:50:28 AM

Damn, they don't do anything for TDIs... So what do you do if you need a warranty repair? Take the chip off and just stroll in?

12/10/2010 11:48:19 AM

its a flash, not a physical chip. You can select different programs using the cruise control stalk buttons. There are stock, 87oct, 91, 93,100. valet mode, security, code clear, TB alignment programs. To go to the dealership, you put it in stock mode and then apply the security lockout so no one can detect the software or change anything. To unlock it you tap in a numerical code. Supposedly the dealership can't tell if its in stock mode, even if they "look", but who knows.

12/10/2010 12:05:13 PM

honda accord or acura tl

12/12/2010 12:09:39 AM

Lotus Exige

12/12/2010 8:44:09 PM

You know, this could actually be a really cool thread. Anteck, did you really just mean:

-MOST comfortable car
With
-decent mpg
?

Because, price irrespective, that's a really tough question. Where firsthand impressions are lacking, I know that I turn to the bible... Car and driver. And they haven't sorted by unit comfort per unit mpg in..... Ever. Where car and driver is lacking... "heretic!" consumer reports usually thrives... You know, for things like: "the back panel of the glovebox has sharp edges, a very poor place to keep your infant" and "the spare tire smells weird... It will ruin the marketability of the drugs you smuggle across the border from the Mexican factory it was built in, but maybe improve your chances of getting through undetected," but even they come up empty-handed on something as quantifiable as ride and mpg. What lies in the middle actually runs counter to your query. Sport compact car and European car have annual specials on how to ruin your car's stock underbody and ride, for either too little, or too much money, respectively.... But nobody does ride per unit mpg. Certainly not donk, fourwheeler, or even hot rodder. Lowrider's knowledge of cars equipped with air springs should have given it a headstart here, but that mag's been about the airbags that they put on top of the fender on the cover in recent years, from what I heard.

I look forward to giving this more thought and expanding my horizons....
Does solid rear axle have a de-facto advantage by this metric?

12/15/2010 8:07:44 AM

Quote :

"-MOST comfortable car With -decent mpg ? Because, price irrespective, that's a really tough question."

That's exactly what he meant the way he worded it, and going by that, my answer is the best one so far:

Lexus ES 350
Lexus GS 350
Lexus GS 450h
Lexus RX 350
Lexus RX 450h
Lexus HS 250h
+
Hyundai Genesis

12/15/2010 8:22:46 AM

I refuse to reward Lexus with my agreement to a single-brand list of disparate designs, especially when that badge is far and away the one that is most likely the one seen running me off the road. Ladies of a particular heft and 'attitude' driving rx's are the most likely to be hired to make an attempt on my life by inept merging.

12/15/2010 8:38:45 AM

Ok, so first we need to quantify "decent" mpg.

12/15/2010 8:41:40 AM

^ He did... scroll up to read his quantified criteria for "decent mpg".

And you are bringing in your biases and perceptions (old people etc). Lexus is universally known and praised for comfort and cushiness, and I chose the models that meet his "decent mpg" criteria.

Disparate designs? Doesn't matter... he said nothing about design.
Price? He said nothing about.

Going by HIS criteria (MOST comfortable with "decent MPG"), my list is the best so far.

12/15/2010 8:44:12 AM

Dude... You gave a list.. Unchallenged and unquantified. But which cars really manage this by some sort of formula? Any manufacturer could do better by such a metric by merely dropping spring rate and adjusting damping to suit, letting mass play a larger role in time-sensitive altitude position of the chassis. But do you want to live in a world where that is the only way your tuchus is cosseted? Especially when it's against another, seemingly unrelated variable? Or do you just want the best answer in this thread? Rewarding Lexus blindly is what gave us cut-price scrambling Mercedes Benz niche-filling models in the 90s, and nobody wants to go there. Everyone mourns the passing of the "bank vault s-class".... So please, bear with me... We can uncover a relationship here, man! Doesn't that intrigue you with the promise of a higher purpose?

12/15/2010 8:52:15 AM

It is not unquantified.

MPG: As I said, I only chose the Lexus models (and Genesis) which meet his quantified criteria for MPG, for which you have to see his 2nd post in the thread.

Most comfortable: Again, I went with what nearly every car magazine, website, or reviewer has said when comparing cars. Lexuses are almost always the most comfortable in every review out there. And now the Genesis is also being hailed for comfort and luxury, nearly on par with Lexus.

Any other criteria you want to bring in (design, performance, reliability, brand image, typical buyer, etc), you can, but the OP didn't. In fact, Lexuses are also nearly at the top considering reliability and brand image/loyalty.

But yes, please do bring in other criteria, such as design, performance, etc., to make it more interesting!

BTW, he didn't say Most Comfortable car with MOST decent MPG, as that's much harder because you to optimize the combination of MPG and comfort (in which case the answer would be something like a Camry or a Malibu, among tens of other just as strong candidates). He only asked which cars are the most comfortable among the ones which have decent MPG. (regardless of MPG beyond the decent level, price, etc)

12/15/2010 9:13:00 AM

I'll even be more specific.

First of all... Let me apologize for describing comfort as solely "ride smoothness." I seem to remember that selectively as ive been posting. This time I'm aware of it. Maybe that helps unsettle your confidence in a brand-aligned but configuration-disparate list.

That list includes:

A heavier camry
(once a large-footprint transverse-v6 automatic midsize car that has bloated over time, and in this spec to large-for-midsize curbweight)
A longitudinal v6 and v8 rwd bloat mobile that started out (i'm not counting the very first gs that was designed by italdesigh) as an overweight alternative to a 5-series which subsequently got larger, swoopier and fatter
The hybrid version of that previous car, which has a lighter and smaller engine but with a large battery pack and electric assist significantly altering weight distribution, as well as a continuously variable transmission
An elevated ride-height version of the first car... Suggesting they'd ride similarly, but why would they be just as 'comfortable?' surely rear 3/4 visibility plays a role In driver 'comfort?' as well as wind noise? And if the same by comfort, then not the same by comfort-per-unit-mpg! B/c the more wind-obstructive car (the taller one with more ground clearance) will either be noisier or heavier or get poorer mpg! See... Compoenent arrangement still applies jeer, just like performance! You can't just go by brand!
The hybrid version of that suv... Which ought to do better in comfort per mpg since it does better mpg but with less noise, at least around town....
And then the stylized version of the prius.....

I mean... You can't deny that the part-time silent and mpg-boosting operation of the hybrids doesn't heighten both comfort and mpg to levels well-above the ice-only counterpart and then simultaneously claim that both the ice-only model and the hybrid, as a list, are still that much further along in ride comfort than other brands that offer similar systems that would, on the face of it, seem to deserve them a place on such a list at least beyond the ice-only models on that list! What about the x6 and 7 series activehybrids? What about the fusion hybrid? What about the new Chevrolet volt? Totally silent operation for every day every first 40 miles and without any gallons at all? That must have some quantifiable amount of ride-tradeoff in the word "comfort", right?

12/15/2010 9:15:23 AM

OK, I agree that German hybrids should also be on the list (as long as they offer "18+city and 25+hwy", as per the OP's criteria).

12/15/2010 9:21:18 AM

How about a Jetta TDI sport wagon? Those things are nice as hell. Huge panoramic sunroof, tons of room, very quiet, great mileage, available DSG.

12/15/2010 1:01:28 PM

porsche 997 gt2

12/15/2010 1:14:47 PM