THINK perfect drive

Follow Ed Crane from KFBK News Radio (92.5FM / AM1530) as he tours The Niello Company dealerships on his journey to find the perfect drive in his video series The Perfect Drive – In search of the best cars money can buy.

His most recent review is from Niello FIAT, a franchise recently added to The Niello Company line-up. Ed drove the 2013 FIAT 500 Sport, “A car that’s been around the globe… now being driven in 80 different countries.” After driving around town for a while, he stated, “This is perfect car if you live in the city. A perfect car if you live in Sacramento. Easy to park, good on mileage, comfortable if you’re in stop-and-go… If you’ve got friends at the gas station, write to ’em.”

While at Niello Porsche, he took a test drive of the 2014 Porsche Cayman S, which he calls, “A real sports car… This thing’s a rocket. Plenty of power if you need to pass, plenty of power if you need to do just about anything. It’s got that great Porsche styling… If you don’t like a sporty ride, if you don’t like two seats, if you don’t like a lot of fun on the road, this might not be your perfect drive, but it is mine.”

He stopped by Maserati of Sacramento to review the 2013 Maserati GranTurismo Sport and its convertible counterpart. “You’re gonna like it. The muscular lines and attractive profile command attention. An object of refined beauty that combines sportiness, elegance, and increased performance. The GranTurismo Sport redefines the top of class in appearance and performance… Where’s the luxury? This just screams it. This is a very comfortable rocket ship.”

In a previous review, Ed Crane visited Niello MINI to check out the 2013 MINI Countryman. “You used to see these MINI Coopers on the road and I’d think to myself, ‘it’s like a Matchbox toy that’s come to life,’ but I’m walking the lot here at Niello MINI and I realize: not all the MINI’s are all that… mini.” After taking the Countryman on a test drive, he stated, “This is the kind of vehicle that screams ‘I have a personality, and this is why I drive this vehicle.’ This is about fun.”

He also stopped by Niello BMW Elk Grove where he met with Matt Ryan, General Manager, to take the 2013 BMW 328i on the road. “It’s engineered for somebody who really likes to drive. And it’s especially good on the highway. You have no fear of acceleration. You get it… A nice car if you’re driving around town, a nice car if you’re driving the long haul. If you want luxury, but don’t want to pay a fortune for it, if you want performance, if you want state-of-the-art technology, it could be your perfect drive.”

“It’s no trick finding comfort in an SUV, but if 60 years of SUV evolution, reliability, and a global track record where the track often unpaved, uphill, occasionally underwater, or buried in snow, you don’t want some prissy SUV; you want the original, the warrior. Your perfect drive could be a Range Rover.” This is what Ed had to say after sitting in the back of the 2013 Range Rover at Land Rover Rocklin‘s all-terrain test track. “Substantial!”

In another edition of The Perfect Drive, involving a trip to Niello Volkswagen, he had this to say about the 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI: “Volkswagen has come a long way. Luxury styling, great gas mileage, and a great price… With the diesel version of the Passat, you can drive that baby down to Los Angeles and back before your first gas station stop, 800 miles plus!”

Niello Audi provided Ed a look at the 2013 Audi allroad. “Somewhere, you might see a bumper sticker that says ‘Crossovers Are for Soccer Moms’. Well, the person who put it on their bumper never drove this vehicle… Is it a wagon, is it a crossover, is it a luxury vehicle that just can travel on all surfaces? It might be all three.” After cruising surface streets and driving business 80, he called it “An all-terrain workhorse.”

“You remember the 90’s?” he asked at Niello Acura. “Bigger was better when it came to the automotive world. So many of us had these big SUV’s. They rode like trucks because they basically were ‘tricked up’ trucks and they got truck mileage… It’s all about luxury in the crossover. Acura has one of the best right now, the RDX… Soccer mom with style, or just an all-seasons, all-needs driver who appreciates value, this could be your perfect drive.”

The first video produced for Ed Crane’s Perfect Drive series was at Jaguar Sacramento with the 2012 Jaguar XJ. “You don’t want to get out of this car. It’s that comfortable… It’s the performance and the comfort that I would buy this car for, and they have everybody beat on those two scores.”

* Follow Ed Crane on Twitter @EdCrane1 or @ThePerfectDrive, or on Facebook at facebook.com/ThePerfectDrive.