Selected "Luxury" vehicle for my rental car. Ended up with a Buick Envision SUV, a Chinese built, American Designed small (supposedly luxurious) 4 seat thing.
The Good: Drove well, with good steering feel, good throttle response, had comfortable seats and the active noise cancelling system means it's very quiet. Cornering power was fair, but control was quite good. It's said that the AWD system vectors torque in hard corners and during hard (haha) acceleration to eliminate torque steer. It did it's job as I absolutely could not tell this thing was based on a FWD vehicle. Quite simply, good driving dynamics matter, and this thing drove well enough. I averaged 20MPG in mixed driving, and was able to get 24MPG for a bit, if I drove carefully and, yes, slowly.
The Meh: I found the window sticker in the glove box. $42,000+ for a sub 200HP, normally aspirated, 4 cylinder, 4000 pound, wheezy performing, non luxurious vehicle, built in China, is insane. Yes, it had leather seats. That's the only thing about it that had any luxury. The fit, feel, switchgear and layout of the vehicle was GM cheap, of the very same quality you find in the bottom of the line Chevy Cruise. The reason this matters is the price, it's marketed as luxury, and it's not. Period.
The Bad: Wheezy 4 cylinder sewing machine smooth engine, with good throttle response. But, oh, that 4 cylinder sound and utter lack of power (active noise cancellation or not) is downright cheap sounding and feeling. I mean, Chevy Chevette cheap feeling. The throttle is responsive, and power "feels" good at first, but when more is asked for, it's clear the throttle is already all the way open. All you get is a downshift or three, 6000+ RPM and a normal rate of acceleration that will keep up with city traffic, but not a bit more. Sorry, but $42,000 should get you more power, more room and more luxury. Furthermore, the audio system was not great. Not a bit better than the Cruise I rented the other week. Capable, but down on power and sound quality when compared to modern luxury vehicles.
Sorry, but active noise cancellation does not make this a luxury vehicle.
Note: Chinese build quality: I popped the hood, and much to my surprise, it looked like it was built in China. Sub-par workmanship, such as a junky-looking cross beam tack welded across the front of the engine bay, already starting to rust.
For the same MSRP, one can purchase a far more capable, larger, more comfortable, more luxurious better driving and yes, considerably better built, AWD Ford Explorer. Sorry, the Buick name does not warrant a premium price on a Chinese shoe-box sized SUV.
The Good: Drove well, with good steering feel, good throttle response, had comfortable seats and the active noise cancelling system means it's very quiet. Cornering power was fair, but control was quite good. It's said that the AWD system vectors torque in hard corners and during hard (haha) acceleration to eliminate torque steer. It did it's job as I absolutely could not tell this thing was based on a FWD vehicle. Quite simply, good driving dynamics matter, and this thing drove well enough. I averaged 20MPG in mixed driving, and was able to get 24MPG for a bit, if I drove carefully and, yes, slowly.
The Meh: I found the window sticker in the glove box. $42,000+ for a sub 200HP, normally aspirated, 4 cylinder, 4000 pound, wheezy performing, non luxurious vehicle, built in China, is insane. Yes, it had leather seats. That's the only thing about it that had any luxury. The fit, feel, switchgear and layout of the vehicle was GM cheap, of the very same quality you find in the bottom of the line Chevy Cruise. The reason this matters is the price, it's marketed as luxury, and it's not. Period.
The Bad: Wheezy 4 cylinder sewing machine smooth engine, with good throttle response. But, oh, that 4 cylinder sound and utter lack of power (active noise cancellation or not) is downright cheap sounding and feeling. I mean, Chevy Chevette cheap feeling. The throttle is responsive, and power "feels" good at first, but when more is asked for, it's clear the throttle is already all the way open. All you get is a downshift or three, 6000+ RPM and a normal rate of acceleration that will keep up with city traffic, but not a bit more. Sorry, but $42,000 should get you more power, more room and more luxury. Furthermore, the audio system was not great. Not a bit better than the Cruise I rented the other week. Capable, but down on power and sound quality when compared to modern luxury vehicles.
Sorry, but active noise cancellation does not make this a luxury vehicle.
Note: Chinese build quality: I popped the hood, and much to my surprise, it looked like it was built in China. Sub-par workmanship, such as a junky-looking cross beam tack welded across the front of the engine bay, already starting to rust.
For the same MSRP, one can purchase a far more capable, larger, more comfortable, more luxurious better driving and yes, considerably better built, AWD Ford Explorer. Sorry, the Buick name does not warrant a premium price on a Chinese shoe-box sized SUV.