It’s a gorgeous sunny afternoon in upstate New York. I don’t visit here often - I’m usually just in the city of the same name - but I can see why Rennen choose to use it as their backyard. I’m in the little town of Middleburgh, which sits in a river valley surrounded by thick forest. There are plenty of twisty roads here and not much traffic - perfect.
The Angeles R is the ultimate version of the company’s premium mid-size saloon. $56k of bright blue performance car, mixing the fine details of the standard car with the most subtle hints to the fact that this a performance car. Seriously, this thing barely makes a song and dance about what it is, and I kind of like that. We need some balance in this part of the market, and there are bound to be customers who want a fast car that blends in well. It’s not boring though, especially with those quad exhausts at the rear.
Still, I can’t deny that looking at the front of this thing, the expression it has on its face is one of arrogance. It knows you know you don’t want to like it. And yet that subtle smile in those lines says “Yeah, but I can do 0-60 in under 4 seconds”. Speaking of specs, this thing is a powerhouse. 472 horse powers are made by its 3.3 litre turbo V6, which it sends to all four wheels via an AWD system and a 7 speed DCT.
How that feels on the road is quite something. The turbos don’t kick in until 3500 rpm, but boy do they kick in, meaning there’s tremendous amounts of thrust right up to the very top of the rev range. Which is a good thing, because that means you’ll get to hear that great 6 cylinder soundtrack. Better still, it can be made quieter or louder via a bypass valve, which really benefits this car at lower speeds and when you’re cruising. It can adapt very easily, and still deliver.
The power delivery is solid. It doesn’t waste time or ever break loose (so long as the traction control is on); it’s beautifully efficient in getting up to speed. Stopping too is something else thanks to its carbon ceramic brakes. Rennen seem to like assuring you that your car will always accelerate and stop perfectly every time, which makes the car feel very serious, but at the same time, makes you feel very professional for being able to utilise such a powerful tool.
Handling, however, is where things get interesting. Like other models in the range, the Angeles R has air suspension, which, simply put, doesn’t feel as sharp as properly mechanical suspension. But, that is a given for any car with such a system, and it does allow the Angeles R to balance itself through the corners and raise and lower its ride height as necessary. But, it softens the whole car considerably. It doesn’t feel quite right for a performance car, however cool the sensation of the ride constantly adjusting and balancing itself is. The setup also feels a little soft too - it rolls more than you’d expect, though the steering is precise and tactile.
Thankfully, the predictable weight balance and good chassis do make up for this softness. Maybe it’s better to see this as a more rounded car in terms of cornering, though I feel like that’s avoiding the issue a bit.
There is a bit of an elephant in the room though; the weight. This car is a mere 13kg off from being a 1.9 ton vehicle, and while it can certainly manage that weight, it cannot ignore it. One wonders whether not using air suspension might have been better. Which such a system is much more adept at working with heavy cars than normal shock absorbers, not having it would save quite a few kilos, which I reckon would benefit this thing. Perhaps though that’s a consideration for an even faster version of this car…
When you aren’t blasting it about, the Angeles R is just as good as any other trim in the range. Comfortable, well designed and very well equipped. It’s as practical as you’d expect it to be, and as a mile muncher, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better car with this much power.
In some cases though, all that equipment does feel a bit much. A weird comment, I know, but it feels like Rennen are trying to ensure that you cannot and will not find a fault with this car by catering to absolutely everyone, so that that one buyer who might not have gone for an R-spec model just because it didn’t have the fancy sound system is catered for. And not having that fancy sound system might have saved a bit on weight too…
This is not to detract from the Angeles R, though. It’s a remarkably capable machine, that delivers well beyond what you would expect. And how it delivers that power and performance is delectable; it’s efficient, precise and flawless, and you’ll find that when you drive it, it’s very easy to make the most of that. More to the point, it knows you know. You can say what you like - “ooh but I wish I could get it to break loose once in a while, ooh but I wish it would feel a bit more frantic” - but Rennen have absolutely owned this car’s ability to go fast. The handling is softer than you’d expect, and coupled with the air suspension and high weight of the car, will leave some buyers wanting a sharper experience. Then again, other cars in this market* offer that; the trick is, the Angeles is the balance to that, and it does it brilliantly.
For me then, the Angeles R is the safe bet of the mid-size performance market. So long as you can put up with the serious amount of badge going on here, and accept its softer feel, you’ll be pleased you got one. It keeps you comfortable and catered for when you are just driving normally, and then likes to show off its power and thrill you in an ever so slightly arrogant way when you aren’t. That doesn’t make it quite as interesting or as special as it could be, but it does give you a middle ground for what to expect from cars like this. Buy one of these, and you’ll always be able to say “yeah, but do you have a < insert premium car feature here >?” I don’t want to like this car, but in the end, I just kind of have to. It’s the jack of all trades, and the master of smug.
- Gavin Anderson