Not to red rag the bulls of our Best and Brightest oil-burning automotive acolytes, but iafrica.com pits the Audi Q7 4.2 FSI V8 against the BMW X5 3.0sd and the Lexus RX400h to find out which is the best way to propel a big ass five-passenger SUV with no off-road chops whatsoever. In case the suspense might have been killing you, scribe Michele Lupini rosebuds this sled from the first ‘graph. “The result is a bit of a shock, if you would excuse the pun.” OK, so, irony-free, Africancentric perspective on the hideous Audi Q7: “Its styling divides opinion — personally I like it but we have debated this one long and hard in the office and, to be quite honest, I doubt it’s an argument that will ever be quite resolved. Yes Q7 is bold, big and imposing — and it’s selling by the dozen so it must be popular…” Apparently, the turbo-diesel Bimmer sells by the two dozens. “As noted above, X5 is a pretty sharp driving tool and this is one of very few cars these days that still has a waiting list on it. And its premier turbodiesel driving experience is quite a hoot, let alone a most gratifying experience…” And now, the winner… (I love elipses too!)
“The Lexus Performance Hybrid kills both its V8 petrol and high tech turbodiesel rivals here in every aspect of performance. It’s three-tenths of a second quicker than both to 100km/h and demolishes them over the quarter mile. And when it comes to elasticity, well it’s in another class altogether – you’ll need something with an M, AMG or RS badge to match this thing…
A bit of a shock from this electric car, hey…?”
Even my five-year-old knows not to repeat a joke twice to the same audience. But hyperbole and hilarity has its own rewards. Especially when you go for the close.
“Yet the turbodiesel, albeit that its fuel consumption is all but an identical match for the hybrid’s, burns a dirtier substance and is thus not quite as squeaky clean as its current-assisted rival. And that the petrol-electric car somehow conspires to drive away from the turbodiesel on top of it all is quite an astounding revelation. Shocking, actually!
But here we’re championing progress and performance in a world that frowns ever more on doing it dirty… So, while the diesel car is a dynamic delight to drive; it may be the newer option and has all the kudos of its Bavarian maker, that the hybrid is faster in every respect, just as frugal and even cleaner, the hybrid wins this one by a nose.” Geddit?
It wins what by a nose? 0-60? What? Everyone and their mother knows that the Lexus cant hold a candle to the Germans in steering feel and handling along with braking as well. Everyone already knows the Toyota (Lexus) builds quick cars thats easy. But they also build some of the most boring to drive when not in a straight line. Only the IS doesnt suck when the road gets twisty. This article was not very informative.
Congratulations.
You guys keep digging deep to “prove” that diesel engines are a bad idea and you did it again.
Where this blatant bias came from is anyones’ guess, but now seems to be deeply ingrained into TTAC culture (if that’s the right word).
I have another one in mind, but it qualifies as flaming.
Go read the original article (I did). TTAC didn’t write it.
Are you suggesting TTAC should only post pro-diesel links?
The Lexus was the fastest, cheapest to buy, most fuel efficient (thus cheapest to run).
So it won. I don’t see a controversy.
Well, settle down, people. First of all, having been around here a while I have not noticed a preference for hybrids by the conductors of this site. And second, this is a blog of a report written by someone else. And given the morass of reports on the D3 bailout, it was nice respite.
As for the results it does appear that the report gave the nod to the Lexus because of it’s (pardon the pun) “green” card. It could have just as easily given the nod to the diesel for it’s theoretical dependability and longevity (sp?).
Interesting though, that what these vehicles really are are (be quiet, Mork!) luxury family haulers (grocery getters) and not off road, or particularly green, or particularly fuel efficient or particularly reliable. So, I don’t care anyway. =O)
Where this blatant bias came from is anyones’ guess, but now seems to be deeply ingrained into TTAC culture (if that’s the right word).
Well, if it offends you, there’s always AutoblogGreen.
You know, ABG? The green site that only grudgingly admits that ethanol may have a slight net energy issue?
The lexus is lighter and smaller than the 2 others, though, so the contest is a bit skewed.
The Lexus is not nearly as comfortable. The closer competitor to the Lexus would be an X3. I therefore call “Bullshit” on the whole comparo.
As a diesel fan, I have to admit that modern diesels will not necessarily live up to their unflappable grand parents in the longevity area. The modern TDI is a complex beast, rivaling the hybrid, and likely has similar reliability and longevity.
Personally, I would rather have a plug in and a diesel, and skip the hybrid as a poor compromise. At least until they have been around another 5 to 10 years.
I still stand on my prediction of diesel-premium price parity. I suspect next summer we will be back there.
You know, just because the article comes to a conclusion you disagree with doesn’t mean you cannot buy something other than the Lexus. I hate all three vehicles – I’d rather have a fuel sucking Land Rover Discovery II with all the options. My choices have never been based on purely rational criteria.
I sense that the sarcasm of that last “Geddit” is lost on some people here…
It’s a pretty preposterous conclusion on iafrica’s part… ignoring the fact that the CRDi in the Bimmer is actually squeaky clean (as most modern diesels are) and that the hybrid ain’t no electric… it’s a hybrid. Still burns dino. Still emits carbon dioxide… and is, by the way, a smaller car… and not really mentionable in the same breath as the X5… or even more bizarrely, the Q7…
I hate it when people give free passes to hybrids because they’re “the in-thing”…