MDP wrote:

tf9 wrote:

...... and it cost allmost the same as i.e. a6 4.2 !

not here it doesn't = A6 4.2 costs a lot more

And I bet the value 3 years down the road is a lot more on the A6 than on the 300! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Thu Jun 08 2006 8:01pm. Edited 1 time in total

Ther 300 body looks real sharp, no doubt about it. It's got that stately but aggressive stance to it that makes it look like a poorman's Bentley, but in a good way. The 300C is very fast but is a gas hog (even with the 4-cyl deactivation gizmo) and breaks down all the time - at least my friend's car, who is starting to get sick of it. The SRT8 is ridiculously fast and leaves most super-duper, big-engined, exotic import sedans in the dust, just like the Jeep GC SRT8 does with nearly all super-duper SUVs - RRS SC included - that cost a ton of cash more.

To me, the interior of the 300 feels like a cheap rental car, even in C trim (haven't seen the SRT in person, but it doesn't sound much nicer by the reviews I read.) Also, if you suffer from claustrophobia good luck to you, and those tiny windows make it almost impossible to see anything outside that's not directly at eye level, like an overhead traffic light for example.

Here in the US, the price/performance/looks combo of the 300 is hard to beat, which is why the car is selling like cupcakes. 

what's the price of 300C 5.7 and... 550iA bmw in US ? 2014 Mercedes-Benz S500
2014 Range Rover Autobiography, Causeway Gray, Ivory/Ebony
2013 BMW 530d
2008 Range Rover Supercharged Vogue S\E, Java Black, Ebony. SOLD
2006 Range Rover Sport Supercharged, Java Black, Ebony. Arden body-kit. SOLD
2005 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 Buckingam blue, Ivory. - SOLD.

$100K for a 300c???!!!! That's insane!

They start in the mid $20K here and top out in the very very low $40's for the SRT-8. In that light they are a very very good car, but for $100K? No way.

The BMW 550 is right around $60K. 2006 RRS Silver/Black

I remember how jealous my Italian friends used to be when I owned a very ordinary Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited a dozen years ago or so... It was like $25K here and $50K+ in Italy, plus tax, supertax, luxury tax, value added tax, rich bastards tax and large displacement engine tax (for gasoline engines over 2 liters, and I am not kidding about this last one.) And that was waaaay back when the greenback was actually worth something abroad, unlike now. I don't know how that is, but $100K's for a 300C on the Old Continent does not surprise me one bit. 

There is a spate of "new" American cars being launched over here. Dodge is starting shortly with something called the Calibre and will sell their cars on the "loads of metal for the money" principle - most American cars are just too big for our roads, but you do get something the size of Texas with loads of toys for the price of a low spec VW Golf. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

texas911 wrote:

$100K for a 300c???!!!! That's insane!

They start in the mid $20K here and top out in the very very low $40's for the SRT-8. In that light they are a very very good car, but for $100K? No way.

The BMW 550 is right around $60K.

Oh yeah... you guys lucky there BMW 550iA price here is 88k Euro, that is aprox. 114k usd we have very high import taxes... but as far as I know, base price for 550 in Germany is aprox. 60k Euro, that is almost 90k$, how do you get prices lower then in country of origin?  2014 Mercedes-Benz S500
2014 Range Rover Autobiography, Causeway Gray, Ivory/Ebony
2013 BMW 530d
2008 Range Rover Supercharged Vogue S\E, Java Black, Ebony. SOLD
2006 Range Rover Sport Supercharged, Java Black, Ebony. Arden body-kit. SOLD
2005 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 Buckingam blue, Ivory. - SOLD.

http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/toptens/off-road/suvs.html

Best off road SUV's.. Lr3 is number 4, Range Rover is 6, and RRS is 8 RRS S/C Special Edition, Vesuvius

Thought 1st 2 were going out of production, ignore 3rd (never liked Japanese 4x4s) & start list from 4th. For the rest, delete any entry without word "land" in it & then list will be sorted.

Minor gloat at the result would be appropriate.

IT's interesting to read a similar test from this side of the pond...........
The July issue of 4x4 magazine tests 11 larger Family sized SUV's available over here and several are in both the Forbes and their test. There are no Hummers in the 4x4 mag test.
1) LR3/D3
2) Land RoverDefender
3) Land Cruiser
4) Nissan Patrol
5) Land Rover Range Rover Sport
6) VW Toureg V10Tdi
7) New ML320cdi (with out Offroad Pro pack)
8 ) Mitsubishi Shogun*
9)Jeep Grand Cherokee
10)Kia Sorrento

4x4 Mag also had a Santana 110 on the test as the bench mark as that had been the winner in the previous test. Interesting that Forbes rate the Grand Cherokee as highly as it does because 4x4 mag down rated it because it's ground clearance is poor. The Mitsubishi Shogun is downrated for having long overhangs and poor wheel articulation in the 4x4mag test. Maybe American offroad testing is done on dusty tracks with no rocks and mud whereas 4x4 mag took their fleet through forests, mud, rivers and into a quarry

*have to put a space in here as 8 bracket comes out as  2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

forbesauto.com isn't exactly a 4x4 magazine. 2006 RRS Silver/Black

Would that be the same Hummer SUV that was used during Desert Storm?

If I remember correctly 'Stormin' Norman Schwartschopff (excuse the spelling) had to ask the British army to rescue his army from the sand dunes with our Defender 110's.  Arctic Frost TDV6 SE. Aspen Leather, Cherry Wood, Privacy Glass, PTI, Tow Pack, Mudflaps, Tasmods, a new Fuelflap, a RRSport.co.uk umbrella in the boot & a RRSport.co.uk sticker on the rear glass.
__________________

Some people accuse me of thinking the world revolves around me, but I'm not stupid . . . I know it revolves around the sun. Which shines out of my @rse!!!

Yes on both counts TB....................... I believe the reason given for the Hummer doing so badly was that it was originally designed for high speed "stormin" over central Europe and the Steppes where there isn't a lot of desert, so show it some sand and it coughs and gives up! I believe that the Pentagon placed one of the biggest orders ever for military Defenders after a lot of pressure from their troops who had also been known to "borrow" Defenders from our troops! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Sat Jun 10 2006 5:42pm. Edited 1 time in total

The defence rests its case Your Honour . .  Arctic Frost TDV6 SE. Aspen Leather, Cherry Wood, Privacy Glass, PTI, Tow Pack, Mudflaps, Tasmods, a new Fuelflap, a RRSport.co.uk umbrella in the boot & a RRSport.co.uk sticker on the rear glass.
__________________

Some people accuse me of thinking the world revolves around me, but I'm not stupid . . . I know it revolves around the sun. Which shines out of my @rse!!!