Close. It’s two inline-sixes mated at the crank. BMW doesn’t do V6s. Pretty much never. Unless...https://jalopnik.com/did-you-know-bmw-builds-v6-engines-all-the-time-1633734035

But this is true of almost any vehicle. A collector will pay a fair bit extra for, say, a preservation-class ‘91 Ford Explorer.

When this Merc was made, pretty much *every* SUV was BOF. A faully unitary body crossover like Lexus’ RX was the rare exception.

Volvo’s textile option for its V60 is one of the few alternatives. And it is excellent though probably only available with the blond interior and maybe even only on the lower-spec Momentum models.

The Chaser is interesting but the S190/Aristo was better suited to the task. Similar size and weight to the X100 and had the big advantage of carrying the V8 from the LS. No brainer for the U.S. market, which at the time had fallen out of love with turbos. The IS, when it launched, was a much smaller car than the X100.

I agree. Which is why the Supra is the base model Z4.

Which is telling because deep down inside the Journey is at least part Mitsubishi.

The premium is from condition and spec, not any inherent desirability of a Saab. It’s simply a regular car with GM guts and some Saab stuff mixed in. The Saab fetishists don’t really want this transverse Ecotec crap anyway.

These handle quite nicely, esp. at higher speeds. It’s interesting that you chose to track yours; I never did that with mine though I still have the Aero V6 SC with the Aisin sport shift trans that might fun there. The Aero has good grip but at the expense of comfort—the suspension is quite stiff.

Torque vectoring was phased in for the 2.0T with the 9-3X model, I think. But I totally agree about the AWD being a hassle. I’ve had both FWD Aero V6 and 2.0T cars with snows and they do quite well. Having done lots of miles with both, the turbo V6 was quite a lot faster and more refined than the thrashy LK9. In the…

The T6 V60 (new version) was I think only offered for the 2018 model year. I did find one when we were considering a V60 but it was white on ivory leather. I later drove an XC60 with the T6 and while the extra oomph was noticeable it really wasn’t all that special compared to a turbo six.

I agree. I always thought the Alltrack was overpriced. If you need a super-practical small wagon the standard S with manual and FWD did the trick. Add snow tires on steelies if necessary. The base model (either 1.8T or 1.4T depending on the year) is the lightest, has more delicate handling, gets the best gas mileage…

Wonderful car, but adding a performance package to a base car makes it not base. Heck, not even the regular 330i is a base car since BMW sold the 325i during the same time frame.

Yes. Even with a streamliner body that Aston most likely used for the Brooklands speed attempt 11 hp would not be enough for 84 mph. And despite a low compression ratio and side-valves, the Coventry-Climax engine would generate much more power. By the 1930s Aston had gone to overhead valves, twin SUs, and was getting…

California car, desirable wagon/stick combo, new clutch and tires, excellent condition, all repair receipts, 2nd owner, decent color combo... and in this market? At least $5K and it’s priced such that he’ll probably get at least 6.

Yes, it’s good to remember that Lotus basically dismantled the drivetrain, replaced some stuff with their own stuff, put it back together, attached its own electronics and ancillaries to it, and built a labor-intensive car full of expensive suspensions bits and limited-production trim around it.

Not only that, you could buy one with a 4-speed automatic.

One advantage that the IPS Evora has over a dual-clutch is simplicity. These are robust transmissions and service is usually as simple as a fluid change. Which you won’t need often in a car with far less torque than what the transmission is rated for. And of course it’s going to be less clunky in traffic than an…

Yeah, obviously that’s limited to the Iso-era cars since the later BMW Isetta used a regular single-cylinder motorbike engine. Functionally, the split-single is a single-cylinder powerplant but it does physically have two cylinders and two pistons. 

I think the iconic “double bubble” was based on the four-cylinder 600. But Abarth did make tuned version of the 1960s two-cylinder Fiat 500, called the 695SS. Also definitely on the ‘cool’ list.