M/T: No-down $399/mo entry luxury comparo

[kevm14]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/alfa-rom ... 54E989EBA8

I like the premise of this.

Let’s be honest. The compact luxury sedan is an irrational car. It’s the size of a Honda Civic but costs twice as much. People are willing to pay a substantial premium for the experience of owning, driving, and of course being seen in one of these premium cars.

So think of this not as a Big Test but instead as a Big Picture Test, where the judges turn into bit actors, spending even more time than usual in the mindset of actual shoppers looking at this class of vehicle.

Like any in-market consumer, we looked at the whole picture, including price, depreciation, reliability, dealer experience, safety, infotainment features, and cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity. But given the nature of this category, subjective criteria also come into play, so things such as styling, brand image, overall appeal, and driving enjoyment are major factors in this test.

Volvo sent too expensive of a trim level and they had to rent the Q50.

I predict the ATS will not do well. It drives awesome, but this class is literally about making your friends and neighbors think you have more money than you actually do.

[kevm14]

I thought this cost of ownership blurb was worth quoting. Satisfyingly to me, the ATS seems to actually lead on lowest cost of ownership over 5 years (if you buy out the lease):

Per our partners at Intellichoice, the Cadillac is the car whose lease you might consider buying out. Although not the cheapest in any category, low costs across the board keep the Cadillac’s five-year cost of ownership to $45,592. Conversely, the Lexus suffers high insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs, giving it the highest five-year cost at $52,254.

There’s also the matter of complimentary scheduled maintenance. Sometimes it’s baked into the lease price, sometimes the manufacturer eats the cost as an incentive that changes from year to year based on the marketing department’s whim. At present, Jaguar offers five years/60,000 miles of free maintenance; BMW, Cadillac, and Volvo offer three/36,000, and Lexus gives the first two services in the first year for free. Alfa Romeo, Audi, Infiniti, and Mercedes still charge for routine maintenance.

We would also point out that the difference between the most and least expensive car to own over five years is less than $7,000, illustrating again just how evenly matched the competitors are.

[kevm14]

Wow the ATS actually finished mid-pack! I am impressed and delighted. Except sales don't reflect that. Which brings me back to my initial prediction/statement.

[kevm14]

The 3-series in 7th place is a bit of a slap in the face. I get the Audi. And I get the Mercedes. I don't think sales will follow the Guilia's positively glowing press.

[Bob]

The ATS finishing mid-pack with one of the oldest platforms here is pretty good. If it wasn't for the small back seat, it would still be on my list as a budget contender. It's getting to the point where I could almost swap my Prius even for one.

[kevm14]

Wow! See the look of surprise on my face? No? Me neither.
*Yawn* - MT is infatuated with Alfa. Thanks, Top Gear, for getting people aboard the "Alfas are junk and that's why they're so good" train. Has an American Alfa lost a competition on MT, yet? Maybe the 4C lost one?
Come on, MT. Just because it's Italian doesn't mean it's automatically the best car in every competition.

Very interested to see if they make a comeback in the US market, or not. Too early to tell.

[kevm14]

The ATS is the only vehicle in the test with SAE-certified HP and torque.

Despite this being a fairly uninteresting segment for car enthusiasts (performance per dollar isn't that great) or regular people (size/utility per dollar), there is a lot of data here. I'd at least like to see the specs side by side, rather than have to scroll up and down constantly to compare things.

[Bob]

Wow! See the look of surprise on my face? No? Me neither.
*Yawn* - MT is infatuated with Alfa. Thanks, Top Gear, for getting people aboard the "Alfas are junk and that's why they're so good" train. Has an American Alfa lost a competition on MT, yet? Maybe the 4C lost one?
Come on, MT. Just because it's Italian doesn't mean it's automatically the best car in every competition.

Very interested to see if they make a comeback in the US market, or not. Too early to tell.

With BMW clearly not interested in creating a driver's car, there is an unmet need in the market for a car with superior driving dynamics. I would argue that Cadillac was making the best effort to meet this need. Unfortunately the buyers in this segment are also very image conscious and even a European brand with a mediocre reputation is somehow better than a Cadillac.

[kevm14]

The cramped back seat is the only thing I really think is wrong with the ATS. Not that everything else is perfect but I think the back seat is the only true flaw. But somehow I think the market would come up with a long list of other things.

Some people like to drive something "different." The Cadillac theoretically fills that niche. But when Alfa comes along (and the product appears to be good, aside from a probably sketchy reliability experience), you get to drive something "different" AND still European. I have my doubts about their US comeback however.

[bill25]

So... I am going to be a little out there on this one. I don't think people (actual buyers of the cars) actually want "track performance" in their luxury car.

I think they want a nice badge, posh interior, and decent power. I think the performance envelopes of most M/V/AMG etc. are way above what the luxury market wants or needs. I think even at the M level, people are buying a badge. How many of these cars are tracked? I would bet a very small percent. So at the end of the day, yeah the car has to drive well, but that is not the primary buying criteria, or even secondary... That is where Cadillac is still having trouble. They may be excellent to drive now, but the badge, and poshness isn't there yet. Unfortunately better track performance isn't the answer, because GM is capable of that. Can they be capable of bringing prestige back to the badge and having super elite interior/infotainment? That will determine if they can win this segment.