Comparison Tests
Let's face it: Getting to the top in any field of endeavor entails stress. All those meetings. All those mine-is-bigger-than-yours power lunches. All those political-minefield boardroom conferences. Endless e-mails. Constant vigilance to avoid stepping on your, well, on your career.
It's clear that even young guys unmistakably anointed for the corporate fast track sometimes need to distance themselves from the daily in-fighting that goes with getting ahead and staying there. And aside from the rather remote possibility of getting lucky with, say, Shania Twain in a chance Saturday-night encounter, we can't think of a better stress antidote than massive jolts of self-administered adrenaline.
When it comes to massive adrenaline generation, it's hard to imagine a more reliable source than a member of this upscale trio. It's V-8 power in mid-size packages, and enough grunt to stretch the corners of the mouth, whether the owner of that mouth feels like grinning or not.
Of course, there's more involved here than mere straight-ahead thrust. There's the style issue, and sophistication. If it were just about speed, all these young-gun execs would be driving Mitsubishi Evos. But what does an Evo say to the beholder? Future CEO? Fortune 500 wannabe? Not exactly. A ride falling into the executive adrenalator class has to say, "I've made it," although it shouldn't make that statement too strongly—can't be upstaging the big guys in the top-floor corner offices, after all. That's why these three are essentially perfect. Not quite front-line execumissiles, à la BMW M5 or Audi RS 6. But your car-savvy contemporaries will still recognize that these aren't middle-class sedans. Not with prices straddling the 50K latitude.
This existential dilemma—sorting out the almost-supersedans—isn't new to us. In fact, what we have here is essentially a rematch, a sequel to a three-way showdown we held last year ["Compact Adrenaline-Delivery Systems," C/D, May 2003]. The defending champ—the Audi S4 Quattro—is back for its first title defense, but the challengers are new. Mercedes has replaced the C32 AMG with the more formidable C55, Cadillac has become a serious player with the CTS-V. And what's this? No BMW? Right. We included an M3 last time, but the M3 is a hard-edged sports coupe and this party is for four-doors.
The agenda was a little more demanding for our sequel event, beginning with a day of racetrack lapping at Nelson Ledges Road Course near Warren, Ohio. And we're pleased to report that this challenging course, which has suffered from years of neglect, is undergoing a revitalization that includes extensive (and much needed) repaving, as well as improvements to its facilities. It's a fast circuit that demands precision and a keen sense of how much speed is enough, as distinct from too much. We got a solid reminder of that distinction during our lapping—more on that later—as well as some other interesting results.
When the tires and the brakes had cooled, we moved on from Nelson Ledges to revisit some of our favorite back roads in southeast Ohio, then motored home to world HQ in Ann Arbor—600 miles, plus racetrack mileage, which was substantial.
Each element of our test program—track, back roads, freeways—seemed to bring a new favorite to the fore, and we can tell you that adrenaline was abundant, the voting was close, and the decision was not unanimous. For the rest, well, buckle up.
