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Nearly two decades ago the Honda/Acura NSX shook up the performance car scene.

This year, the Nissan GT-R is said to be doing the same.

But could the two cars be any more different?

Looking at this picture I stumbled across on the web – is the NSX is too much like a Formula 1 car or is the GT-R is too much like an SUV?

Up to now, I’d thought there were five basic types of stare. The Truly Gobsmacked (Veyron, Zonda, Koenigsegg), the Knowing Nod (Audi R8, Nissan GT-R, Merc CLK Black), the Cute As Hell Grin (new Fiat 500, old Fiat 500), the Call That A Car Smirk (Vauxhall Tigra, Toyota Prius, Fiat Croma) and There’s Something Nasty on The Sole of My Shoe (BMW X6, SsangYong Rodius, Merc R-Class). But the Clubman has created a sixth category: the Huh? It’s neither approving nor dismissive, just the facial manifestation of a question mark. As in “I wish I could put my finger on it, but why hasn’t this worked?”... [Compare this with the] very tidy previous-generation Cooper S hatch, a car that actually seems to get prettier with age, though I’ve no doubt this has something to do with the comparatively bloated appearance of its larger successor. Inside, too, the earlier car’s leaner, edgier, less clunkingly exaggerated architecture seems far sexier and more inviting. – evo

The problem is that the Ralliart is a heavy machine, what with all that transmission, and the SST transmission has an annoyingly tardy getaway. All would be forgiven were the Ralliart a rousing drive, but for all its claimed power the engine never really lets rip. You find yourself revving it to death to goad it along, easily done given the strange shortness of the intermediate gear ratios, and it’s much harder work than a torquey turbomotor should be. It sounds nondescript, too. But it will all come good in the corners, yes? No. This Lancer really misses its tougher brother’s AYC and the resultant favourable torque distribution to each rear wheel. There’ll be no lovely powerslides here; go too quickly into a tight bend and it understeers like the nose-heavy car it is. – evo

Although the [Ridgeline’s] entire engine is carryover, the all-aluminum 3.5L V-6 does have a new Magnesium dual-stage intake manifold that bumps the horsepower and torque up by three and two, respectively. Additionally, Honda keeps the current five-speed automatic, but does offer slightly different gear ratios, in some cases changed only 0.2 percent, to help to improve overall responsiveness. Of note, throttle response off idle is vastly improved, making it feel like the truck has more power off the line because of how strongly it jumps from a stop. A new computer software program works with the new gearing strategy to make it feel like there’s more power than the small gains in hp and torque would suggest. – Motor Trend

I’m referring of course to the Motor Trend long-term update that has a lot of people talking…

Now granted, automotive journalists are an agressive bunch, but I can’t see how a company known for products that don’t require much in the way of care and feeding can spec brakes and tires that wilt so easily… Not that soft tires and brakes are a bad thing – they usually bring with them better handling, stopping and feel from the driver’s seat. It’s just that in the LS’ case it has no excuse – no one’s every penned a flattering word on the car’s handling or braking; it’s not the car’s M.O…

today’s engineers understand they are designing cars that have to be appreciated at different levels, that the straightforward goal of pure performance is no longer practical in an era when cars can easily be designed that are faster than you can reasonably drive them on the road. We see the focus of design shifting to the experience of performance… Even Ferrari tunes its exhaust to sound racy — at the expense of power. – Sam Posey, Road & Track

Today I had to correct a field of experts that claimed that an adaptive suspension increased active safety. Not your self proclaimed armchair expert but one charging a sum with a number of zeros behind a 1 – 6 to be exact.

I disagreed, and minutes later – coincidentally – stumbled across one of many examples.

Mercedes limited chassis revisions to a light retuning of the adjustable Airmatic suspension system and a 10-percent quicker steering ratio. The results are a very heavy sedan that feels a little lighter on its feet. Still, this sport sedan is not as athletic as its rivals. Its test track performance numbers …are very good, but not great. Both the 550i and A6 4.2 S-Line outhandle and outstop the E550, but the more relaxed ride and handling compromise of the Mercedes feels better at anything short of the most fevered pace. Even in the stiffest of its three suspension settings, the Mercedes is sprung more softly than the BMW or the Audi, putting a higher premium on a smooth ride than ultimate agility. – Edmunds

(In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s not the hardware, it’s the software – or more specifically how it’s written…)

UPDATE: Angus Mackenzie’s blog entry after first driving the X6 is a great read and can be found here.

ORIGINAL POST

“Perfectly pointless.” After taking the X6 xDrive 35i home for a night, that’s how editor-in-chief MacKenzie summarizes the X6. It’s a damning critique of BMW’s latest as a flawless execution of a worst-of-both-worlds concept: sport-coupe practicality with SUV-like handling… While you don’t exactly flop and flail about in the BMW, there’s… a feeling of sitting on top of the car, rather than in it, especially as it leans into corners. Reynolds was ultimately displeased by this driving machine: “The X6 wobbles, shudders, plows at the limit-and does so much damage to BMW’s reputation for building fine driving automobiles, it’s almost obscene… “They’ve missed the target with the X6,” he continues. “It’s ungainly and awkward to drive.” the X6 tends to toss people around… Kiino sums it up: “Unless I really wanted one of the X6’s new engines or was completely smitten by the styling, I can’t figure out why would I buy the X6 over the X5. It’s basically the same car-just less practical and more expensive.”...Slaves to fashion will look no further than this boulevard strutting beauty queen. Shame she doesn’t drive as good as she looks. – Motor Trend

Hard to say whether it was a matter of the chassis not being happy with the needlessly large 20” wheels or that the XDrive with Dynamic Performance Control doesn’t wake up fast enough for quick 5000lbs and sitting this high is going to feel sporty but never sporting.

Actually as a fan of cars in BMW’s past, it’s hard to say what BMW was thinking other to point to this:

says Vance, “I guarantee that for the first six months they’re on sale, the X6 will be the hottest ride in L.A.!”

The [TSX is] not necessarily an easy car to drive, however: there are several blind spots (the rear windscreen is shallow and strangely angled… and the new dashboard layout is confusing and over-complex. The driver is faced with banks of switches, LEDs, dials within dials, display screens, electronic gauges and levers – it’s a case of information overload. – 4car

“As soon as the asphalt cracks up, the ride shifts into hammer time-way too stiff for comfortable motoring, even if you’re in attack mode,” carps St. Antoine. Technical editor Kim Reynolds opines, “Over many areas of non-smooth surface, the car just goes into a blur.” In addition to its intolerable ride over patchy pavement, the 550i disappoints with fatigue-inducing front seats, a still frustrating and unintuitive iDrive, a dark and cold cockpit, and a monster engine that somehow doesn’t feel that monsterlike out on the road. – Motor Trend