[1gkek]

The lease is ending on my car and I'm looking for the M235's replacement. I've got a 40K budget, I need car that has more back seat, is comfortable, not boring, and ready to cover some miles. I've been looking online mainly at CPO 5 series' (must have DHP) and CPO Cadillac CTS V-Sports. All well and good.

But then GM dropped another 20% off sale on the Chevy SS and knowing that this is it for those cars, I was sorely tempted. I used to have a G8. It was a tremendous car that I absolutely loved, but it was the wrong car at the wrong time for us, so we didn't keep it long. I've always regretted getting rid of it. So with the longing to re-live my experience with the G8, I headed over to the local Chevy dealer for a test drive ready to put money down and pull the trigger. And then I drove it.

It sounded fantastic - I'm lost for superlatives to describe it - and the magnetic ride suspension was uncanny in its ability to be seamlessly both firm and compliant without feeling artificial. Even on harsh city streets, it just gets on with the business of keeping the car planted comfortably no matter what. But it was missing the engagement, liveliness, and (for lack of a better description) sophistication of the M235. I know it's much bigger and heavier, but it was so unsatisfying to drive. There was just no engagement there like I've got with the M235. I was bitterly disappointed that my old hero, the Holden Commodore/G8/SS just doesn't hold up.

So I drove home and reconfirmed that this M235 I'm about to get rid of is, to me at least, Goldilocks. It's so damn satisfying to drive, whether I'm pushing it briskly or just loping along in traffic. Man they got this car right.