Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I saw an Acura commercial tonight and they said they were a luxury brand.
Acura is a luxury brand (second tier), much more so than Jeep (any basic Acura is much more loaded than a basic Jeep). Have you been to an Acura dealership, it is not much different than the top tier luxury dealerships, and way ahead of a Jeep dealership. I actually liked more dealing with the Acura dealer (curtesy car every time, etc) when compared to both BMW and Mercedes dealers while I had my cars for service.
Sure Acura's vehicles performance is a grade below BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche (first tier performance production vehicles) but all other luxury brands are, when we talk about vehicle handling/performance. However Acura beats them in reliability.
Lexus is the one that falls in between the 1st and 2nd tier, while ahead of the other Japanese second tier luxury (Infinity & Acura), vehicle performance is still a notch below first tier (while holding the crown of most reliable vehicle).
Acura is a luxury brand (second tier), much more so than Jeep (any basic Acura is much more loaded than a basic Jeep). Have you been to an Acura dealership, it is not much different than the top tier luxury dealerships, and way ahead of a Jeep dealership. I actually liked more dealing with the Acura dealer (curtesy car every time, etc) when compared to both BMW and Mercedes dealers while I had my cars for service.
Sure Acura's vehicles performance is a grade below BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche (first tier performance production vehicles) but all other luxury brands are, when we talk about vehicle handling/performance. However Acura beats them in reliability.
Lexus is the one that falls in between the 1st and 2nd tier, while ahead of the other Japanese second tier luxury (Infinity & Acura), vehicle performance is still a notch below first tier (while holding the crown of most reliable vehicle).
It was a tongue-in-cheek response, no harm no foul.
I haven't owned a luxury SUV, so nothing to add, nothing at all!
Be realistic, a lot of people buy SUV's and drive them like cars. You don't need a 4Runner or another truck-like SUV if all you are going to do is drive it to work and back like 99% of the population. I know a lot of doctors who drive their Escalade to work and back and it makes me laugh because it's an oversized station wagon. If you are someone who is outdoorsy and hauls things like a boat, ATV's, trailers, okay getting a big SUV makes sense otherwise, you are better off purchasing the more car-like SUV's which have a better ride, offer better control and still have more room and sit high like an SUV. I recommend the following. I've owned all the vehicles at some point in my life. I'm a car guy
1. Lexus RX - Pros: has no 3rd row but most 3rd rows offer no utility as they don't seat full size adults comfortably. Very reliable, soft ride, not another jazzed up Toyota ie Lexus GX (4 Runner with nicer trim), hybrid model offers 295 horsepower and great fuel economy. Lexus/Toyota offers the best navigation screen out of all vehicles due to it's simple use and nice comfortable seats. Lexus offers great service and they treat their patrons with respect Cons: Generic, everyone has one. Kind of older person's car regarding image. Interior luxury is not that impressive
2. Range Rover Sport -Pro's: very refined. Great Ride but an even better interior that genuine feels like a luxury car instead of a truck with improved trim like most SUV's. In my opinion, it offers the best interior out of all them. Very fast and has enough pick up to drive in the city and pass people if you need to. Also unique and not too many people have this car. Cons: overpriced, unreliable, service is not that friendly
3. Porsche Cayenne - Pro's: very well priced. Base model can be had for as cheap as 60K. Sports car feel for an SUV, fast, handles well, corners well. Stylish with handsome interior and exteriors. Unique: not too many people own it so it has the bling factor Cons: unreliable, upgrades are expensive and to get many of the same features that come standard with other SUV's means you will pay between 80-100K. Still the base model with some upgrades is really nice and affordable
4. Buick Enclave - Pro's: fully loaded for 50K. Great technology, Great design-has a third row with room behind for loading but still offers great compact size so you don't feel like you are lugging a big truck around. Great soft ride and ridiculously quiet interior Cons: It's a Buick, you just payed 50K for a Buick! Regardless if Shaq and Peyton are on its commercials, it's an older person's car and still carries that image. No Bling factors to this at all. Very common, theyre all over the place
5. Ford Flex - Pro's: hidden gem. Best Technology of all the SUV's, Has the carrying capacity and roominess of a large SUV but the size of a mid-size SUV. Great for large families and road trips. Great engine, it's Eco Boost V6 offer great fuel economy with the power of a V8 330+ horsepower Cons: It's appearance isn't for everyone and can be seen as an oversized Scion in terms of its appearance; some consider it flat out ugly. Pretty low to the ground even for a compact SUV-almost station wagon level.
6. BMW X-5 - Pro's: Sedan car-like ride, handles exceptionally well, can be fast, includes full service for the first 4 years so for the first 4 years, you pay nothing. Nice technology overall except for it's navigation. Cons: Overpriced- When you add same options which come standard with most other luxury SUV's, it's expensive. Horrible Navigation screen which is difficult to use. Not that roomy and not great for families, Unreliable after 4 years, they start falling apart.
7. Mercedes ML- Pro's: Priced well, hard to believe but with options, it's one of the better pricing deals out there, Sedan car like ride, safety features and overall safety, Reputation, Unique, Safety again-if I had to choose which of these SUV's to be involved in an accident, I would take my chances with this car Cons: Several: poor warranty and service is always expensive, poor technology with arguably worst navigation of all them, not a fun car to drive, very stiff with stiff acceleration, sure it's great on the freeway but very stiff when driving in the city.
I disagree. I'm on my 3rd X5 and this one is over 100,000 miles and has been great. I find the navigation/I-Drive to be extremely easy to use, the voice command is excellent and the shortcut keys make it even better
Not the SRT8, but a GC Overland. They're both good vehicles, but they are vastly different vehicles.
lol, I didn't mean it like that. Someone searching for an SUV like the Cayenne won't consider a GC at that time for what they are specifically looking for, because as you said they are so different. Not that they couldn't own both as they each have utility in different situations.
Acura is a luxury brand (second tier), much more so than Jeep (any basic Acura is much more loaded than a basic Jeep). Have you been to an Acura dealership, it is not much different than the top tier luxury dealerships, and way ahead of a Jeep dealership. I actually liked more dealing with the Acura dealer (curtesy car every time, etc) when compared to both BMW and Mercedes dealers while I had my cars for service.
Sure Acura's vehicles performance is a grade below BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche (first tier performance production vehicles) but all other luxury brands are, when we talk about vehicle handling/performance. However Acura beats them in reliability.
Lexus is the one that falls in between the 1st and 2nd tier, while ahead of the other Japanese second tier luxury (Infinity & Acura), vehicle performance is still a notch below first tier (while holding the crown of most reliable vehicle).
There are three semi-official "tiers" when looking at brands in the luxury field...
Tier One: Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus
Tier Two: Infiniti, Cadillac
Tier Three: Acura, Buick, Lincoln, Volvo
Also considred "tier one" but generally not listed do to being low volume or not offering full product lines are: Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover and Maserati. Brands like; Rolls Royce, Maybach, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, etc. occupy another "tier" of "ultra luxury".
This is the ranking the industry uses when looking at the brands. Tier Two is usually where the action occurs. Currently Cadillac is viewed as transcendent in that they are moving up to Tier One, the CTS redesign and/or the launch of a true flagship sedan will probably see most people agree that they are firmly a Tier One brand again. Infiniti on the other hand is rather stagnant and much of their newer products have them leaning towards Tier Three, what keeps them out of that category are the G and M which unlike the other Tier Three brands represent something unique in Infiniti's product line versus the Nissan parent brand.
The tiers are also loosely based on the price spheres that the brands occupy. All of the Tier One brands have vehicles that sell in the $100k range. That is pretty much a requirement to enter that grouping. The other brands all cap out lower then $100k on their most expensive models, occupy a lower low end and have lower average transaction prices. Part of the tiering or brand cachet is being able to command high prices.
So, that's how the brands themselves are arranged. However, it doesn't mean much when you get into individual models of cars. At that time people are shopping price more then anything else. People will cross shop an Acura TL with a Lexus ES, Infinti G, Cadillac ATS and BMW 3-series. All of those cars occupy a similar price sphere regardless of their parent brands "tier". For that reason people will often shop a "non-luxury" brand against a "luxury" brand. People will cross shop a VW Touareg against an Acura MDX and a Lexus RX because they are all in a similar pricing sphere.
For that reason people do in fact consider the Jeep GC when shopping in the luxury SUV world. Given that non-SRT8 upper trim levels ring in loaded at $50k, there is plenty to cross shop with. Now, that doesn't mean that many buyers end up choosing the JGC over other vehicles with similar pricing. The main reasons being that most are looking more for onroad manners then offroad capability. So, regardless of the fact that Jeep is a non-luxury brand, when you sell $50k-$60k+ JGC's they are in fact competing against all the other $50k-$60k SUV's out there regardless of the brand.
I disagree. I'm on my 3rd X5 and this one is over 100,000 miles and has been great. I find the navigation/I-Drive to be extremely easy to use, the voice command is excellent and the shortcut keys make it even better
I agree!! Once you get used to it there are no problems navigating through everything. I reach for the I-Drive when I get into my wife's car even though it is not a BMW, old habits lol
Traded my 08 Turbo for an 11 Turbo. New one has a tune, Plenum, exhaust, etc... pushing high 600's in power, I absolutely love it!!! Has all the options I wanted, meteor grey, non black interior, rims, upgraded seats. Next is to tint windows very dark, as I have a letter from my wife's eye doctor approving it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
