Autobild: Mercedes-Benz S450 vs Lexus LS460 (PART II) - Page 2

Bruce

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirage77

Although I say that Lexus deserves a soft-biased suspension, I do see the merits of striking a balance between sportiness and comfort which the S-Class has perfected. Benz certainly deserves a lot of praise there.

Agreed. It appears Mercedes has done a great job as combining a soft comfortable suspension with sporty handling and what not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirage77

I'm perturbed about the luggage space too Bruce... But what I'm more curious about is the load capacity.

Yeah, that is a little strange ..

cawimmer430

Quote:

Originally Posted by TycoonGTR

So their (Lexus') brakes ain't that bad, like in one of the previous tests...

Was that that French test? I tried some Google searches and couldn't fine anything from Auto E'quipe. I've only seen that review posted at Autospies and of course here.

cawimmer430

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirage77

You wrote this, Chris?

I don't understand the weight thing - is there a weight limit of some sort? A Phaeton weighs 2.4 tons (2.7 tons for a W12, give or take) and I haven't heard of such problems as not being able to take extra weight.

Otherwise, I agree with most of the review.

Hi James,

Yep, I gave you guys the rundown of the review.

About the weight limit, most cars have a max. permissible weight limit. For example, car A weighs 1,700 kg and has a load capacity of 300 kg making the max. permissible weight 2,000 kg. In the case of the Lexus, it weighs a little over 2-tons already and can only carry 355 kg of extra weight. So that's around 5 adult males - and no luggage.

About the VW Phaeton, different cars have different limits. The Phaeton W12 probably has a max. permissible weight of something under 3 tons.

cawimmer430

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7.3 AMG

As expected, Lexus has seriously got to work on that issue. While Autobild found the LS has a number of weakness', they also said it had a number of good points. However, I just don't understand this lack "luggage space" which nearly every new Lexus model is suffering from.

Thanks for the test Wimmer.

No problem Bruce.

They liked the LS, but a poor load capacity and brakes are serious problems for a car in this class. The 15,000 km service checks wouldn't be a problem for me, I suppose.

BTW, if the LS460 has a load capacity problem, I don't even want to know about the heavier LS600h.

Bruce

Quote:

Originally Posted by cawimmer430

No problem Bruce.

They liked the LS, but a poor load capacity and brakes are serious problems for a car in this class. The 15,000 km service checks wouldn't be a problem for me, I suppose.

That's not an issue for me either..

Regardless of the LS' shortcomings, I of course, still want one. Can't wait to see some tests for the LS600h.

cawimmer430

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7.3 AMG

That's not an issue for me either..

Regardless of the LS' shortcomings, I of course, still want one. Can't wait to see some tests for the LS600h.

I wonder what the load capacity will be on the LS600h though.

If you recall, the GS450h has a pretty dismal load capacity compared to the regular GS430. Hybrid systems sure weigh a lot.

YoUhimhER

is the permissible weight thingy for real? then a lot of people in the us need to get on diet before buying this car.

Mr. Mercedes

It's soooo nice to read that the build quality and finish of the Mercedes trounces the Lexus after years and years and years of hearing otherwise.

I'm also really surprised that the 450 was so incredibly close to the 460 in terms of performance despite having less power and one less gear. Another case of Japanese horses being smaller than German ones?

The load capacity and poor trunk space are glaring oversights on the Lexus's part as well.

And finally, I had the chance to see the Lexus in person a few weeks ago and what I saw was typical of the brand. Bland, boring and derivative inside and out. You wouldn't be hard pressed to notice the resemblance to the latest line of Camry's, Avalons and Aurions.

RICHBOY

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Mercedes

It's soooo nice to read that the build quality and finish of the Mercedes trounces the Lexus after years and years and years of hearing otherwise.

I'm also really surprised that the 450 was so incredibly close to the 460 in terms of performance despite having less power and one less gear. Another case of Japanese horses being smaller than German ones?

The load capacity and poor trunk space are glaring oversights on the Lexus's part as well.

And finally, I had the chance to see the Lexus in person a few weeks ago and what I saw was typical of the brand. Bland, boring and derivative inside and out. You wouldn't be hard pressed to notice the resemblance to the latest line of Camry's, Avalons and Aurions.

I'm more impressed with the S-Class than the LS but come on lets be honest now, if you were looking for a car that's gonna last you 10 to 15 years even though we no that wouldn't be the case, their's no way in hell you'd pick the S-Class!

Merc1

Why not? Neither car is going to be cheap to maintain once the warranty is gone and the new S is built much better than the W220 was. Every car in this class now has a nightmare of electronic systems that will be very expensive to fix once they go bad and they will at some point, even in a Lexus. I'd rather have the Benz and enjoy the look, drive and feel for those 15 years than the LS because of its projected this and that.

M