EX35 one of the best cars for the money in 2010

[jmess]

http://usnews.rankingsandrevie...oney/

[Marconelly]

I figured this out on my own, it's the reason we're getting one. Seriously, I think this car simply blows away even the much more expensive competition. The wheat beige interior looks and feels more like something Bentley or Maserati would make, than something you should be getting for this kind of money. Simply astounding quality of materials and craftsmanship, and sense of taste in design.

Then there's acceleration that's not that much slower than representatives from the aforementioned companies, and better than anything I've seen in the class. Hell, this thing even beats V6 Challenger and Mustang in that area, and seems to lag just a bit behind BMW 335i. An SUV that does that? For this price? To me that's just ridiculous, in the best possible way of course.
Modified by Marconelly at 2:22 PM 2/11/2010

[chefmark]

That's good news...

[waltaz]

I completely agree. I just leased my second EX, a '10, after leasing an '08 for 24 months. In both cases, I looked at all the usual suspects - Acura RDX, BMW X3, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5, Mercedes GLK, etc, and you simply cannot load up any of those as you can an EX for anywhere near the same price. And then, factoring in the residual and money factors, an EX lease is at least $200/month LESS than any of them (except maybe the Acura).

I find the luxury and fit and finish of the EX just superb. Love the cockpit-like feel, and all the goodies. Beautiful inside and out.

Also, the back seat is roomier and more functional than is often mentioned, but I have the back seats down most of the time for mountain biking and camping, and find a TON of utility and cargo capability with it. I rack my bikes up top on a Thule rack.

[inteller]

i could have told you this back in 2008. only shortcoming is they dropped the Luxe Elite package which has the best leather seats ever.

[Marconelly]

i could have told you this back in 2008. only shortcoming is they dropped the Luxe Elite package which has the best leather seats ever.

Dropped it? I thought that they have integrated that into a base configuration? At least the one I test drove had seats that looked just like the one from the pictures from 2008 'Luxe' model, and if those were not the same thing, I cannot even imagine what the luxe ones must have been like. I was really impressed with materials in general.

[jonkarn]

Bottom Line is this is the perfect vehicle for those looking for a Luxury/Sport CUV for a decent price point. There is nothing even close. Has everyone seen the new Acura ZDX? its $50-60grand, with the same horsepower as the EX. Are you kidding me? My brother has an X3 and is jealous of us. That BMW is a BORE.

The only way to perfect this car would be to utilize the adjustable back seat that Ive seen in the commercials for an SUV which i cannot remember the name of. (Maybe the KIA?). And as you can see other than that movable(slideable?) back seat row, it was not memorable. However, this would give a couple of extra inches in the back seat when carrying more than 2 passengers. This should be an option in the future. i would hate for them to make this car larger. This would also make it heavier and bulkier and slower. Keep it the way it is and figure out other ways to increase back seat space.

[Marconelly]

Oh jeez, don't even get me started on ZDX. Not only that thing is butt-ugly inside and out, but the price here in Canada is ridiculous, starting at $58K. What the hell happened to Acura's front mask? That, and the interior center dash, both looked like something puked out of new Transformers movies...

You're right, it has the same amount of horse powers as EX, but it also has a bigger engine to do that. It's crazy, the more I look at other vehicles in luxury segment, the more I'm amazed what's packed into EX. New Merceds E-class cost $61K, has 3.5L engine as well, with just 268HP and slightly worse acceleration and fuel economy. At least it has the styling that blows ZDX away.
Modified by Marconelly at 12:56 AM 2/11/2010

[waltaz]

i would hate for them to make this car larger. This would also make it heavier and bulkier and slower.

Then it would be an FX...*yawn*...

[inteller]

Dropped it? I thought that they have integrated that into a base configuration? At least the one I test drove had seats that looked just like the one from the pictures from 2008 'Luxe' model, and if those were not the same thing, I cannot even imagine what the luxe ones must have been like. I was really impressed with materials in general.

They were not the same thing. There were two Luxe packages. VERY VERY few cars had the Luxe Elite Package. Most had the Luxe Style Package which didn't do much. In Canada they called this option 'Custom Leather' or something to that effect.

"Luxe Elite Package $1,650Leather on front center console armrest, door panel and textured leather seat inserts;Premium stitching on meter hood; driver’s seat headrest-mounted coat hanger;18-inch wheels, 225/55R18 all-season tires; xenon auto-leveling front headlightswith Adaptive Front lighting System (AFS)"

I also have to add that it sucks that they don't offer Chestnut interior with Platinum graphite. And what is up with not being able to get 18" wheels with the tech package (per Infiniti.com)? Considering you could get this in 2008. I guess that makes my car like 1 of 1.

Modified by inteller at 9:25 AM 2/11/2010
Modified by inteller at 9:26 AM 2/11/2010

[Marconelly]

They were not the same thing. There were two Luxe packages. VERY VERY few cars had the Luxe Elite Package. Most had the Luxe Style Package which didn't do much. In Canada they called this option 'Custom Leather' or something to that effect.

"Luxe Elite Package $1,650Leather on front center console armrest, door panel and textured leather seat inserts;Premium stitching on meter hood; driver’s seat headrest-mounted coat hanger;

Hmm, everything you mention there was in the car I was test driving, at least here in Canada. Premium stitching on meter hood and coat hanger is now part of Premium package. Also, I'm pretty sure there was leather on console armrest, door panels and elsewhere, but I'll look again when I get the car. One of the cars in the showroom had what the dealer described as "Custom Leather", but he mentioned it only comes in that one color (Dark Red/Brown) that I didn't like. When I was sitting/touching it, it didn't feel any different than the wheat leather interior in the car I drove (which he said was Italian leather as well) - it seemed like it was just different color.

They shuffle these packages and color combination a LOT, I was really confused for a while because website was telling me one thing, and brochure he gave me was slightly different about everything. Then I noticed brochure was for 2009. The thing is, colors and everything stayed the same, they just shuffled them into different combinations, packages or standard configuration.

Keep in mind, in Canada this car comes only as one model (AWD) and then you can get "Journey Package" to make it I guess like US Journey model - and then all the packages and options are similar but again different than in US so I have no idea anymore what exactly is same or different from Canadian to US models.
Modified by Marconelly at 12:31 PM 2/11/2010

[EX35_bernard]

This is like a breath of fresh air. A lot of people have been complaining of the EX and its nice to read a post like this.Reminds me of why I fell in love and got the Ex in the first place.

[Marconelly]

This is like a breath of fresh air. A lot of people have been complaining of the EX and its nice to read a post like this.Reminds me of why I fell in love and got the Ex in the first place.

Seriously, I don't think I've ever liked any car this much, at least not in the price range that I can afford. As for complaining, on internet forums in my experience, people are always much more likely to sound off if they are unhappy with something than if they are content, and even then, the main complaint I've seen for this car has been that high pitch buzzing noise that happened throughout G series as well, and that they allegedly have fixed in 2010 (I really hope, fingers crossed...)
Modified by Marconelly at 6:56 PM 2/11/2010

[JCL622]

here's another reason to like the EX35,

crazy snow from yesterday-today in NY, the EX35 handled everything like a champ. I mean the snow was as high as probably the fog lights and i ripped through all of it...

the next best handling vehicle in these conditions that i've driven was probably my dad's GL550

[jonkarn]

And another reason...right after I plowed through the snow to get out of my driveway and drove 2 miles on the highway in a NYC blizzard under total control with my butt nicely warmed on the luxuriously heated leather seats, I went into the empty parking lot at Toys R Us, turned off traction control and pulled amazing donuts tokyo drift style.

Best combination of performance/practicality/power/luxury out there. Plus it looks good(side and 3/4 view as nice as any car out there. Not AS big a fan of the straight on view or the back view, but still looks great coming or going.)

[JCL622]

And another reason...right after I plowed through the snow to get out of my driveway and drove 2 miles on the highway in a NYC blizzard under total control with my butt nicely warmed on the luxuriously heated leather seats, I went into the empty parking lot at Toys R Us, turned off traction control and pulled amazing donuts tokyo drift style.

Best combination of performance/practicality/power/luxury out there. Plus it looks good(side and 3/4 view as nice as any car out there. Not AS big a fan of the straight on view or the back view, but still looks great coming or going.)

haha wordddd, BK all the way anyday

i carved up the belt pkwy yesterday and today like it was nothing

[OneOfOne]

they could improve this car by including privacy glass and having at least a 6 speed automatic. also it should be quieter. having said this it is the right size as you will see when the new touareg and cayenne are downsized [see youtube for 2011 touareg]. the person who complained about the lack of the luxe elite package described what I got in my 2010 journey awd and what is featured in the brochure so it hasnt gone away its been integrated into the pkg.

[JCL622]

they could improve this car by including privacy glass and having at least a 6 speed automatic. also it should be quieter. having said this it is the right size as you will see when the new touareg and cayenne are downsized [see youtube for 2011 touareg]. the person who complained about the lack of the luxe elite package described what I got in my 2010 journey awd and what is featured in the brochure so it hasnt gone away its been integrated into the pkg.

i'm not sure this engine would benefit much from a 6 speed auto to be honest. It would end up with a lot of gear hunting on the ECU's part i think. If you're not driving like an a**, the gears are very smooth. And the only time they may hang/rev match is cuz you're driving like an a** (myself included) and you hit a slow section of traffic, then the HR in our engine really lives up to its name.

btw, what isnt quiet about this car? Granted all my other cars i own have been pretty loud, you can't hear the exhaust on the EX, there is barely any wind noise....it's pretty much like being in a cocoon in these things!

the down sized tourag/cayenne is basically a little smaller than the ML now, so it's still going to be big.

I think the EX for what it's worth doesnt need to be changed. of course there are things i would LIKE to be altered for MY convenience, but that's ME, not the general mass haha......

[Marconelly]

Yeah, I don't get that comment either - I was very impressed with how silent the car was. I don't think I'd like it to be any more silent to be honest. I want to hear the engine a bit, it really purrs along nicely :P