Hi

i've had a 2.5 SE for 2 and a half years, done 54000 miles and I love it. I
didnt test a 2.1 but did test a manual and auto 2.5. In my opinion the
manual was much quicker and more of a drivers car,,,so thats what I bought.

I do a lot of motroway driving but not what you'd call slow and I get about
26MPG (UK)...if i'm careful on the motorway I can get 30MPG...but i'm seldom
carefull :-o

for what it's worth, my car has been prettyu faultless and the faults it did
have were sorted by my dealer under warranty...heater vents lifting,
steering pump leak, roll bars (front and back) duff...

The only thing i'd doubt are jags quoted 0-60 times...unless you get it
right it's hard to launch the 2.5 quick because it can get bogged
down...that said I know it's quicker than the 2.1 and the 2.0d by quite a
bit and i can drive nearly everywhere in top gear as it's quick torquey

Pete

p.s the 2.5 did really well in the snow last xmas...i passed loads of other
cars with ease on hills etc when they were stuck and all on std tyres...I
use avons by the way...

We bought my wife a new 2.1 Auto this year, it's slow, but she's delighted
with it all the same.

There is a huge performance difference between the 2.1 and 2.5 (infact they
no longer make the 2.1 petrol).

Fuel consumption difference is negligible.

We're delighted, we will be replacing it with the same car when the time
comes but we'll buy the 2.5 this time.

Alan M

The 2.1 is underpowered for automatic transmission but OK in manual form - a
bit lighter handling than the AWD but obviously not as good in slippery
conditions.  2.5 auto is just about OK - the autobox, AWD and extra weight
bring its performance down to towards the 2.1 manual though.  2.5 manual is
quite good, although the clutch is a bit quirky.  I have a 3.0SE auto, which
is excellent, and on wet roads in particular the AWD means that it will
out-accelerate almost everything.  I've averaged 24.5 mpg over 30,000 miles
in 3 years, and I tend to use the performance (its rock steady at 135 mph,
even on bends).  You might also try the diesel engine versions.

Paul A.
paul~~at~~midcreek.com