R I C H

Once you're here, you'll appreciate the cost of servicing in Canada. Many vehicles are on 5 or 6,000km scheduled intervals. My SUV's on a 15,000km interval and that's generally considered as particularly long.

JonboyE

BMW do not sell diesels in Canada.

vaughant

Again,your definition of a sports car.As google says "generally" so effectively there is no true definition of a sports car,after all,the e type had 4 seats so does that then make it a grand tourer?strange then as it's often described as the most beautiful sports car ever built?

I did say "modern" sports car,and I'm sure few would disagree with a car such as an m3 BMW being considered sporty,your insurance company certainly will.

Ford recently made a vehicle in the uk called a "sport Ka",which was a 2 seater convertible.sports car?I don't think so!!

Google a diahatsu cuore,2 seater convertible again,yet I'd say less sporty than any diesel x5!!!

Here in blighty we have diesels putting out 300hp stock and 500-600lb/ft of torque,that's chevvy v8 power yet returning 30-40mpg!!!

R I C H

The 2011 X5 is available as a diesel here.....just in case you want one

vaughant

Wow,that's short!!I'm assuming due to the harsher winters etc?$150 for an oil change seems excessive IMHO,although not unheard of,thank god I can service my own vehicles,perhaps there's a gap in the market,although you start getting into warranty difficulties etc then.

R I C H

I don't care if it's modern or old, the definition remains the same. I didn't provide my own definition, just the consensus of hundreds of websites, all of which you seem to be disagreeing with.

An M3 is sporty, but NOT a sports car, by the most commonly used definitions. If you read the definition again, it includes the term 'high powered', so there's no suggestion a Ka or a Cuore are necessarily sports cars.

I spent 10 years in marketing working for Aston Martin, Ford, Volvo, Rover, Land Rover, BMW and Mazda. If you want to argue about what's essentially marketing derived terminology, fly at it.

R I C H

Here in Canada, that diesel engine wouldn't be considered powerful enough to grace a work truck. Ford's most recent diesel engine for the F-series is the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 which has 735 ft.-lb of torque and 390 horsepower.

vaughant

Yeah,derv hasn't really caught on out there yet has it?I heard that the USA are just starting to get into diesels after the massive petrol rises of a few years ago,but that may have been a false dawn?

In Britain I'd say they probably outsell the petrols even though retail is higher.I know the x5 diesel was until recently the only vehicle in it's class to be below the high emission threshold(225/g per km) compared to a range rover at nearly double (450 odd per km),meaning x5 was £250 per year tax and rr was £450!!!ouch!!!!

el_richo

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sports+car

"a small, high-powered automobile with long, low lines, usually seating two persons."

vaughant

Oh yeah,but they put that in a 3 series BMW!!!

That's big power for a work truck though,don't suppose you want to get stuck in the snow etc out there!!!

Vw do a 5.0 litre v10 diesel over here with the same power figures as that ford f series,it was shown on tv pulling a combine harvester!!!my mate has one and a 200mph skyline and he reckons the vw is quicker low down!!!

vaughant

Usually?

el_richo

Dunno. Maybe it's referring to the likes of the 2+2 variants of E Type or 911, for example.

Atlantic Xpat

Oh, don't I know that 'I got done, son. However for dealers servicing a small market (Diesel Liberty's accounting for no more than 25% of total sales for that vehicle and being the only diesel vehicle that they sold other than Dodge Cummins trucks), economies of scale and the good old Canadian rip off factor drove the price. I did check out alternative service providers but costs were similar. The price of the oil, rather than the labour seemed to be the thing.


Isn't the real argument that the rise of the hot hatch, rally derived saloon, 'executive express' and sporty offroaders, have catered to those looking for sporty yet practical vehicles? Sports cars per se. are either classics, modern interpretations of classics or supercars.

Not a sports car no, but a clever marketing ploy, playing to a desire for wind in the hair, more sprightly motoring.

Yes indeed, in the UK sales of diesel vehicles recently overtook sales of petrol vehicles. The availability of diesel SUV's and smaller trucks is something we Canadian residents can only dream of. Who wouldn't want a Toyota Hilux with a diesel compared to the bloated-almost-full-size-rig that is the Tacoma? However, emissions standards, being further behind in the move to low sulphur diesel than Europe and consumers with a strong preference for petrol, preferably V8 engines, mean that diesel powered vehicles remain a rarity in North America. Hopefully this will change in time but I wouldn't bank on it.

Oakvillian

I know RICH has already answered, but you seem to be deliberately misunderstanding. Nobody has denied that M3s, Lancer Evos, Impreza WRXs etc are "sporty" but they are not, by definition, sports cars. BMW may try to sell the X5 as some sort of sporty crossover SUV thing, but that doesn't alter the fact it's the wrong shape entirely to be considered a sports car.

And that's quite apart from the fact that the whole crossover phenomenon doesn't compute for me in the slightest. Have a vehicle that has less interior room than a regular wagon or minivan, poorer road manners and a less fulfilling driving experience than a regular car, worse (read non-existent) off-road capability than a proper off-roader, and what have you got? A bag full of compromises dressed up in shiny paint, low-profile tyres on big rims, tinted windows, and an owner who's all about badge snobbery and keeping up appearances rather than the practicalities of getting from A to B.

For the sake of full disclosure, there are three cars in my household which all accomplish the jobs they're designed to accomplish very well. A Honda Odyssey minivan to cart the brood around and fill to the rafters for holidays. A Hyundai Accent to get me to work and back - it never goes anywhere more exciting than the highway through Mississauga. And a Morgan 4/4 (not a sports car, it has too many chairs and not enough horses for that designation - it's a sports tourer at best, an anachronistic lump of wood when not co-operating...) for fun.

Atlantic Xpat

Indeed. In North America the phenomenon has progressed to the extent that the entry level crossover/softroaders are 2WD. Vis Escape, Torrent etc. All the disadvantages of an SUV without the offroad ability? This type of vehicle, together with the ubiquitous mini-van seems to have replaced the traditional estate car. Ask yourself this - what wagons can you buy in Canada? VW Golf/Passat. Mercedes? Subaru Legacy, Volvo V50/70. That's about it!