Good question, if I get a chance to properly test the F30 I'll let you know. Reviews on the steering have definitely been mixed. I haven't driven the new X3, but I absolutely hated the last one. The steering was lousy, throttle programming was lousy, and the auto transmission was horrendous. In the initial years the suspension used concrete blocks instead of springs, and the final years were only slightly better. Pretty much everything you can get wrong on a car, BMW got wrong with the first X3. They were just lucky that the competition's cars were nearly as bad.

From what I've read, the Q5 is still the drivers car in the segment. It's too bad we won't get the SQ5, as that's currently in a class of one. They'd have to do a version for us with the S4's engine though. The big diesel is super cool (479ft.lbs!) but sales here would likely be microscopic. 

AFAIK the design was originally created by Lotus but they never built it.

This is a bit of Urban Legend according to an interview I read w/ the original designer.  Another source:
http://www.octane.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=51075


Yeah, people put Chevy 350s in everything....

Bah. You should be fine. Jaws of life or field amputation will get you outta there no problem.

This is an interesting test and I hope it pushes car makers to do better, hopefully while avoiding the negative consequences of things like the IIHS' new roof crush standards. If your car has A-pillars so wide you can't see around them, you can thank the IIHS for that.

The best crash is also the one that doesn't happen, which is why I'm glad I have good brakes, excellent steering, and one of the best AWD systems in the biz. My car won't go sideways just because of some big puddle.

started by me. not trolling at all. seriously confused... always have been.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5792586-Pony-cars-high-horsepower-but-high-weight...-what-s-the-draw

I think you got your answer.  Big, lazy, comfy, obnoxious, stupid American fun at stoplights.  Yeehaw! 


Now the origins of the real Pony car are more interesting.  Back in the early 60's there were lighter cars around 3000 lbs like the original Mustang.  It was basically a cool looking chick car/chick magnet that was cheap and became popular.  Not too big, not too heavy, just right for the time.  Being America, you couldn't walk out the door w/o tripping over a V8.  So 'Pony car' got started when they figured out you could drop a Big Ass V8 into a relatively small Mustang and get a quite nice power/weight ratio.  Though the term Pony car obviously derives from the Mustang, the practice spread to Camaros, Darts, etc.  The pinnacle of P/W for a normal off the floor car was the Dodge Dart in limited trim w/ acid washed windows that weighed 2400lbs and had a big honking Hemi in it.  The ultimate expression was the Shelby Cobra.  Could still be tbh.


The other cars aren't really true Pony cars but really Lead Sleds.  A heavy car w/ a big motor, that's what we have today.  Sure they don't like the term and you can do some nice suspension work to get them trackable but not true pony cars.  The spirit of the pony car was to find the smallest car and stick the biggest motor in it.  A tradition that was rekindled by import tuners.  They were not appreciated by the traditional pony car community because the cars were foreign/boosted/small displacement/aerodynamic/front-wheel, etc.