How different do they need to be? The V90 XC, S90, and XC90 are all based on the same scalable platform architechture (SPA), and yet are reasonably unique. I don’t see any reason they couldn’t pull the same trick with the XC60.

Call if false bravado if you will, but were I in that fathers position and the kid survived, he would not live long enough to enjoy his freedom. Wife and child taken from me? Fuck it, I no longer have anything to live for, your ass is going to burn.

I’m going to have to disagree with #1. I think this is way worse:

They squeezed 325hp/350lb-ft out of the just recently discontinued 3.0T 6-cyl without too much trouble. I can’t imagine that 400 would be out of reach with the right motivation.

You make a good point, but I would make the argument that it’s a different market. In the US, my impression is that increased emphasis is given to 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, where the non-AWD Golf falls behind.

Fair enough, I didn’t take a hard look at the pictures.

Hondas have torque?

I don’t think it’s the bodystyle so much as the ride height and command seating position (or lack thereof). A CUV is just a lifted wagon with slightly different proportions (sometimes). Lifted wagons that have a command seating position seem to do well.

Ok, I will say it: I, nor any other American, want a wagon. They are not sexy/ cool/ desirable in any trim level.

If you throw CUV’s into the ‘wagon’ category (because IMO that’s realistically what they are), then it’s the second best selling segment in the US at the moment.

Because it is no longer offered as a 5-door/wagon, so therefore cannot be considered a ‘hot-hatch’.

Neither of which are available state-side. I maintain my original statement with that additional caveat.

GTI, FoST, FiST all have 250hp or less. This is over 300hp.

Wasn’t it a 370Z Nismo that got put into the wall by C&D because its stock brakes were so terrible that they failed abruptly?

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, but what constitutes ‘enough’? How about the 200hp that the BRZ/86 have? You could make the same argument.

True, the Mustang costs more than it did in 2005, but it’s not as if you’re not getting anything for that extra money.

The CPO warranty helped mitigate significant fears of outlandish costs of ownership. 7 years, 100k miles bumper-to-bumper from original date of purchase (so I get 4 years, 80k miles, for 40% off MSRP).

At the end of the day, I very nearly pulled the trigger on the Outback, but couldn’t justify spending that kind of…

I did a #3. Bought 3-year-old XC70(with only 20k miles and a CPO warranty) in top trim and engine for less than a brand new top trim and engine Outback ($31k vs $35k). While Subaru interiors have come a long way in recent years, even in Limited trim you can’t really consider them semi/near-luxury cars, and it shows.…

I guess that’s another win for XC70 over Outback. The Volvo accessories are similar in price to those of Subaru, but they’re much more solid feeling and better designed than those of Subaru. In addition, there is a much larger variety of them, which I guess is a benefit of them producing the same model without…

You assume there’s any credibility left to ruin. I generally don’t associate the Eclipse name with positive qualities. I may have once, pre 3rd and 4th generation, but that’s ancient history now.