Jump to content

The Answer to all "What luxobarge?" Questions.....


BavarianRetro

Recommended Posts

I have thought about S90 / 960 but they are all cow and tree and electric gadgets which is what I want to avoid. 740 / 240 nicer place to sit but ride not very good.

I dislike estates though, which makes Volvo finding difficult.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Ford Granada mkIII managed to be extremely comfortable without feeling luxurious.  If you could find a roadworthy 2.0L that would probably be your ideal car.   

 

I've never driven one, but I'd imagine a Nissan QX would combine great comfort with a miserable minicab interior ideal for the hair-shirt comfort seeker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, even without leather, that one looks lovely.  It's even the same colour as the one I drove.  Prety sure that was a 2.0 as well, it was certainly a V6, the boss used to complain about the petrol bills!  (But she had a Smart, so what does she know about fuel consumption?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The answer to a "What luxobarge?" question, I'm sorry to say, cannot be, Toyexus - nor indeed any other Nipponese rubbish. (Though my pal's JRG LS460 is an amazing car, it's still Japanese, so excluded) It cannot, by definition, be a middle class, middle manager's Volvo and it most certainly cannot, under any circumstances whatsoever be propelled by an engine capable of running on central heating oil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why not a Japanese luxobarge? A friend had a Toyota Camry when it was still fairly new and it ticked all the boxes as far as passengers were concerned. The interior was trimmed with an adequate supply of dead cow, and I think a modest amount of tree also put in an appearance. The toy count was high, electric seats for example, but most importantly you felt insulated from the outside world, comfy seats, absorbent ride, nearly silent  3 litre V6 and barely noticeable gear changes. It may not have been the 'ultimate driving machine' but then that's not the purpose of a luxobarge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why not a Japanese luxobarge? A friend had a Toyota Camry when it was still fairly new and it ticked all the boxes as far as passengers were concerned. The interior was trimmed with an adequate supply of dead cow, and I think a modest amount of tree also put in an appearance. The toy count was high, electric seats for example, but most importantly you felt insulated from the outside world, comfy seats, absorbent ride, nearly silent 3 litre V6 and barely noticeable gear changes. It may not have been the 'ultimate driving machine' but then that's not the purpose of a luxobarge.

I don't know. It just can't. It doesn't feel right. Apart from the LS, they're all a little on the small side too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's something else against that BMW above.  Look at the tyres.  "What tyres?" you might justifiably ask.  What's that profile, 35%?  Luxury comes with nothing below 70% profile.

 

BMW's legendary concrete-bench seats also exclude the entire marque by default.  OTOH a Lexus LS has almost (I said almost!) as much right as a Jag XJ6 to be included, though really, the XJ is the minimum entry requirement.  As for a Camry: show me one with RWD.  Comfobarge yes, luxo no.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Historically cow was reserved for the driver, as it was hard wearing. The passengers in the rear would have had something much softer, warmer and comfortable.

 

I previously discounted diesel as being completely wrong. HOWEVER I remember Bentley testing diesel engines and justifying it by pointing out that with the far greater range, sir would not need to deal with the bothersome business of refueling quite as often.

 

So, diesel and fabric seats. That'll be my XM then ;)

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Separate driving compartments and West of England cloth to the rear are well beyond even the most highly specced Luxobarge. If you want that sort of thing it's coachbuilt Duesenberg territory.

Bristol doesn't count either as Lodekkas aren't very comfortable despite being exceptionally roomy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...