Photo: MotorTrend
The guys from Motor Trend took the best 5 Sport Sedans out to see which is which. After autoguide did a somewhat similar test, the S4 came out victorious in front of BMW's 335i xDrive Liebermann and co. decided to see for themselves if that's true.
They had a different approach though. The cars they tested (aside the Audi and BMW) were the Cadillac ATS4 3.6, the Volvo S60 AWD T6 and the 2014 Lexus IS350 instead of Mercedes-Benz's C350.
All cars have almost the same engine configuration: 6-cylinders, around 3-liters of displacement and power outputs close enough to make them comparable. Furthermore, all of them have all-wheel-drive system and automatic transmissions but that doesn't mean they're the same.
In the ride and handling department, the ATS won, surprisingly. Everyone was taken back of how good the chassis of that car is but then the problems started showing up for the Caddy.
Change gears and you'll immediately notice what's wrong with this car: the 6-speed automatic transmission. It will make you want to keep it in manual all the time, it's that annoying. Furthermore, the Cadillac and the Lexus were the only cars with naturally aspirated engines and that is a big no-no.
Since we're at the interior, the BMW clearly won the comparison. The cabin is welcoming, well built, the seats are perfect and the driving position is the best in the segment. The iDrive system evolved so much that it's miles ahead of Cadillac's CUE and even Audi's system.
This test was also about practicality, maintenance costs and value as much as about straight up performance. That's where BMW wins again, having the best fuel consumption out of the 5 and the best value.
A lot of other different factors influenced their decision too but what we mean to say is that the BMW is still the winner. In Liebermann's own words: "There's a reason every other car in the segment is measured against the 3 Series. Even with AWD, it remains the benchmark".
Our suggestion - read the full test, you won't be sorry!
All cars have almost the same engine configuration: 6-cylinders, around 3-liters of displacement and power outputs close enough to make them comparable. Furthermore, all of them have all-wheel-drive system and automatic transmissions but that doesn't mean they're the same.
In the ride and handling department, the ATS won, surprisingly. Everyone was taken back of how good the chassis of that car is but then the problems started showing up for the Caddy.
Change gears and you'll immediately notice what's wrong with this car: the 6-speed automatic transmission. It will make you want to keep it in manual all the time, it's that annoying. Furthermore, the Cadillac and the Lexus were the only cars with naturally aspirated engines and that is a big no-no.
Since we're at the interior, the BMW clearly won the comparison. The cabin is welcoming, well built, the seats are perfect and the driving position is the best in the segment. The iDrive system evolved so much that it's miles ahead of Cadillac's CUE and even Audi's system.
This test was also about practicality, maintenance costs and value as much as about straight up performance. That's where BMW wins again, having the best fuel consumption out of the 5 and the best value.
A lot of other different factors influenced their decision too but what we mean to say is that the BMW is still the winner. In Liebermann's own words: "There's a reason every other car in the segment is measured against the 3 Series. Even with AWD, it remains the benchmark".
Our suggestion - read the full test, you won't be sorry!
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