With many families now having two or more cars, it’s worth thinking about the ideal combination.  One could be sporty; the other practical.  Or, as in this pair, both can be stylish, very sporty and still complement one another.

Think of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the very essence of a thoroughbred sports car, but also economical, durable, and small enough to park anywhere.  Combine it with a new Mini Countryman, a 3 ½ door mini-station wagon, and you have carrying capacity for the bulk-shopping at Costco, or four-seater capacity for meeting friends at the airport.

This new Mini isn’t cheap; the test car was almost $30,000.  But robust sales figures prove that people want more than just fuel economy.  The Mini suggests that we see value in fast, stylish, “happy” cars.  The Mini is even smaller than the Miata, but its clever and practical shape make it extremely versatile.  And it’s one of those rare, “classless” cars.  Buyers come from all income, education and psychographic sectors.  It’s not unusual for a Mini owner to have traded in a Mercedes-BMW-Audi-class car, because the Mini is so charming!

These are not just city cars. They’re quite pleasant to drive on the highway, as recent SF-LA-SF roundtrips in each proved.  For around $50,000, or perhaps $600 + in monthly lease payments, you could be riding in style (twice), and taking advantage of sleeper parking spaces.

Jaguar XF / Audi S5

At around twice the price of the Mini-Miata duo, this pair is equally complementary.

After driving the S5 for a Nob Hill Gazette article, I bought one.  It’s been everything Audi promises; bold, handsome, quick, quiet and aggressive.  With 368 horsepower, a six-speed manual gearbox, and Quattro all-wheel drive, it’s the master of any situation.  Like most two-door styles, the rear seat is only for short, infrequent occupancies.

That’s why, if you’re a two car family, you’ll welcome the new Jaguar.  A thoroughly contemporary take on the Jaguar DNA, this car puts Jag in the thick of the premium sedan fight.  Compared to the Audi, it’s more cosseting and silky.  A six speed automatic, driving through the rear wheels gives the Jaguar unquestioned capability.  But somehow, this new model retains the unequalled Jaguar combination of sports-car like chassis control combined with a serenity that other makes can’t quite equal.

Consumer surveys consistently rank Audi and Jaguar in the top tier of customer-pleasing brands.

Intelligence

By now you’ve noticed some Smart cars on the road.  New to the US, but they’re yesterday’s news in Europe.

Smart was the automotive project of the Swatch watch group in Switzerland.  The idea was to do a super-short city car, for two passengers only.  The car looks unlike anything else, and is sold (in Europe) from novel, high-rise, all glass see-through showrooms.

The company is now owned by Mercedes-Benz, and like Mercedes other brand, Maybach, has never been profitable.  A redesigned car, and an attack on the US market are the two pillars of a strategy to make this long-struggling project turn a profit.

The Smart has been well-received in the US, but the car that obsoletes it will be on the market next year.  That car is Toyota’s clever, and cleverly-named, IQ.  The authorative, and influential British magazine, Autocar, recently featured the IQ on their cover, with the caption “It Makes a Smart Look Stupid”.  The IQ is only a foot longer than a Smart, and over two feet shorter than a Mini, but due to careful space utilization, it seats four people.  And instead of a two-cylinder engine, Toyota will offer IQ with three choices, depending on market; a three cylinder gas, a four cylinder hybrid, and a four cylinder diesel.  These powerplants are in the front of the IQ, rather than the less-desirable rear placement of the Smart engine.

It’s not certain the IQ will be offered in the US, but it does vividly illustrate how Toyota’s superior design skills and strategies have make them such a winner in world markets.  While US and European companies ponder hybrids, Toyota has been selling the Prius for ten years (!) and will soon introduce their third generation.  The mini-suv segment (Toyota Rav 4) was pioneered by Toyota over a decade ago.  BMW is now considering an eight-speed automatic – they scoffed when Toyota’s Lexus introduced an eight-speed two years ago.

No Hand-Held Car Phones

In yet another example of legislators “doing something” instead of thinking through a problem and doing something intelligent, we now have the new car phone law.  It doesn’t solve the problem, if indeed, there is a problem.

This law forbids holding a phone while you’re  talking on it.  It does not forbid thinking about your conversation, which is what takes your attention away from the driving task.  It takes no thought to hold a phone.

But there is a new source of revenue to be mined by safety (?) minded cops – the same ones who snag “speeders” on the Golden Gate Bridge northbound on that very high traffic period – early Sunday morning.