Can beige be beautiful? Are German luxury sedans pointless? 

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt) 01/25/2016 at 13:48 • Filed to: None

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If you’re a car enthusiast the answer is no, obviously not. You appreciate the premium design and cutting edge engineering German marques bring to the table. But what if you aren’t the type of person who compulsively raps their knuckles on every reachable surface when you enter a new car? Could you tell the difference?

I’m not sure. Midsized Japanese sedans have come a long way in the past few years. I bet if you swapped all of the badges on a new Accord and told the Average A4 buyer that it was a new model, they wouldn’t necessarily know the difference. The gap between German luxury and Japanese practicality is a lot narrower these days. Customers who buy something with an Audi badge because they need to pilot a status symbol are often clueless elitists with zero interest in cars. They’re the rich counterparts of the guy at the bus stop who asks you if your red MR2 is a Ferrari.

It’s all about the options list. In a new Accord, you can spec a 278 horsepower V6. Now you’re blowing the doors off of many 90s and early 2000s sports cars. In other words, it’s fast enough to merge and pass like a 535i or an E350. Sure, the Accord’s 40 to 80 sprint won’t be executed in an effortless and refined manner, but remember - we aren’t thinking about this from the perspective of a car nut. Most midsized sedan customers won’t be hooning their vehicle through the twisties. Capable highway acceleration is enough to successfully tick the “driving dynamics” checkbox.

Extensive luxury features are available too. Backup camera? Check. GPS? Sure. Simulated wood to look at, and heated leather to sit in? Most definitely. And the ride is great too. Hop into a Accord after driving a Civic and you’ll be blown away by how luxurious the car feels. The seats are exponentially more comfortable, the wind noise is negligible, and the interior is massive. Of course, the Accord’s suspension is no match for the air ride you’ll find in an E Class, but once again - we aren’t analyzing these characteristics from the perspective of a car nut.

The same can be said for the 2016 Legacy. It looks even sharper than the Accord and the interior is just as nice. I’ve ridden in one of these too, and I was once again surprised by the ride, luxurious interior, and decent acceleration. Spec a new Legacy with the big flat six or a turbo 4, and you’ll give an old WRX a run for its money.

Japanese interiors aren’t necessarily incoherent, cheap copies of their German brethren anymore. Accent lines flow across the cabin, conforming to the contours of the shapes they encounter. Comfy leather seats sandwich a wide center console with a clean, modern layout. If you changed the Subaru badges to BMW roundels and sold this to a Junior sales rep, would he know the difference? I really don’t think so. That’s why I recommend midsized Japanese cars to anyone shopping around for a new German luxury sedan. If they can deal with a less prestigious badge they’ll save at least $15,000, maybe more. A new Legacy with leather seats, GPS, the big motor, and a sunroof costs $34,000. A 528i starts at $52,000, and you’ll be paying that much to drive a new BMW with 4 cylinders and cloth seats. Now that’s embarrassing.

So, if you want a quick, luxurious midsized sedan, Japanese cars are a legitimate option these days. Badge snobs will never buy a Subaru or Honda over a BMW. But will they actually appreciate the premium build quality, driving dynamics, and luxury features? I’m skeptical. I laugh when I see smug yuppies tearing around Boston in their A3s and CLAs. They think they’re on top of the world. But the reality is that the old man in the new V6 Accord sitting next to them at a traffic light is in a faster, more spacious car with the same exact luxury features.

As a hard core German car nut, I never thought I’d say this: If you’re in the market for the cheapest new car you can find on a Mercedes lot, just ignore the badge and buy a Legacy. That cramped “compact executive sedan” is an exercise in badge engineering, and you’ll pay way too much for it. Furthermore, if you’re in the market for midsized German luxury, cross shop an Accord. If you don’t have your heart set on toys like parking sensors, 360 degree parking cameras, and radar cruise control, you’ll save thousands of dollars. And when you sell the car, you’ll save even more, because nothing depreciates like used German luxury.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 13:54

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IMO the bigger problem is the German brands are pushing downmarket, so that more people can get on the $300 lease special and scream “I bought a Masayyydees!”

I know people think it’s as sporty and premium as an affordable FWD sedan can be, but IMO the CLA is a horrendous product and offers no content over, say, a similarly priced Accord or even a base 3-series. But MB is laughing all the way to the bank, so I’m all for milking these people.

I’m not sold on the Legacy interior, but the Accord’s is very nice and all one could ever ask of an affordable commuter car.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 01/25/2016 at 13:59

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Absolutely, that’s a great point. The CLA is designed to be a ripoff. I forget which auto journalist said it, but his point was “you don’t buy the cheapest car sold by a luxury marque because they’re horrible at making cheap cars.”

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 14:04

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Where can I get one of them AWD Accords?

Otherwise, I see your point and it’s a good want. But it leaves out an important detail that even non-enthusiasts consider: emotion. Emotion fuels purchases and it can be influenced by a number of things

Noah - Now with more boost. > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/25/2016 at 14:07

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WHOOPS. Time for an edit... thanks haha

Milky > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/25/2016 at 14:07

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At your local Acura dealer.

Steve in Manhattan > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 14:09

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Watch a blindfolded VBH figure out what car she’s in ...

Noah - Now with more boost. > Steve in Manhattan 01/25/2016 at 14:13

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She’s a car nut and that’s an American car! This is all about the average consumer and Japanese cars. Still funny though, it would be interesting to do this test with a normal person and a Legacy / A4

Ash78, voting early and often > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 14:13

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I distinctly remember Honda getting pissed that the Passat was beating the Accord in almost every comparison test in the early 2000s. They benchmarked the Accord to the Passat for build quality and interior, and within a couple years they had reached it — that’s what Honda does. It also helps that VW started reducing their content around the same time. The trend continues — the European marques aren’t necessarily slacking off, it’s just that everyone else has figure out how to do it just as well, and usually in a cheaper package.

I spent some time in a new Kia Sedona a couple months ago and was impressed with interior. It blew away the Honda Odyssey (in most ways) at almost twice the price.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 14:16

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No problem!

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Milky 01/25/2016 at 14:16

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Oh, you cheeky bastard

Noah - Now with more boost. > Ash78, voting early and often 01/25/2016 at 14:17

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Maybe that explains why I never see Passats anymore? It’s definitely hard to justify buying a VW over all the stiff competition hailing from Japan.

The Koreans are doing some incredible things these days. I don’t have any experience with Hyundai/Kia so they weren’t included in this piece but I’d love to check out a Genesis or a K900.

Ash78, voting early and often > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 14:24

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Well, I think VW sold 17 Passats in 2002 vs Honda’s 471 million Accords. That always figures into it :D

Steve in Manhattan > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 14:36

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I’d like to see a few of us enthusiasts shown a new car, devoid of badges. My guess is we’d get the country of origin, but miss the marque. And yes, I did that.

Klaus Schmoll > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 01/25/2016 at 14:58

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Well, the CLA offers style as a USP. While being small, impractical, expensive for its size, and all in all not a very competitive product, all it offers is good styling and a brand name. Now where have I seen this before?

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Klaus Schmoll 01/25/2016 at 15:04

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Man, nothing screams “I couldn’t afford a CLS” like a CLA. I’d rather roll around in a B-class; at least that is a practical car.

The CLA’s blunt nose just accentuates the impression of very contrived styling.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Ash78, voting early and often 01/25/2016 at 15:07

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WOW Passats tanked hard I guess, that’s hilarious.

Ash78, voting early and often > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 15:13

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Nonetheless, I’ll still put my 2001 model up against our 2015 Honda Odyssey and show you how the Passat is better 9 times out of 10 (just speaking to interior quality and overall build/finish). Both are low- to mid-$30k mass market cars going after the same general demographics, 15 years apart.

My suspicion is that VW’s expensive, fancy Audi-like interiors were just unsustaintably expensive against the competition, so they had to start cutting.

I’ll just keep enjoying it while it lasts...

Klaus Schmoll > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 01/25/2016 at 15:35

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I’m not saying that it is a good looking car. It is styled to scream “style over substance”, which enough people confuse with something that actually looks good.

Chariotoflove > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 15:43

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This idea speaks to how that annoying new Malibu commercial , fake as it looks, could actually reflect real behavior in that people could mistake a more plebeian model for a luxury marque if badges were removed.

wiffleballtony > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 15:57

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The main reason for being with a German sedan in America is to corner the real estate agent and mid level manager market on leases.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Klaus Schmoll 01/25/2016 at 16:27

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That’s what the market wants these days. Same with the huge wheels on mainstream cars exposing the tiny disc brakes behind them.

Rico > Chariotoflove 01/25/2016 at 16:36

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The problem with that commercial is one line “It looks like a BMW”, no this car does not look in any way, shape, or form like a BMW and anyone who’s seen or been inside of a BMW in the past 15 years would know that. He’s either never been inside one or has seen one on the street or he’s an actor.

Chariotoflove > Rico 01/25/2016 at 17:57

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I know, that’s what I loudly proclaimed to my wife next to me when I first saw it. But on second thought, there might actually be people who have no clue and think that a really nice sedan above their expectations must be one of those BMWs they’ve heard so much about (maybe they’re used to driving a beat-up Citation with 150K on it).

But the people in that commercial probably are actors.

Vicente Esteve > Noah - Now with more boost. 01/25/2016 at 21:52

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Why not both?

Also, the V6 in this sounds great.

(Not same car but same engine)