German Car Zone

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

Yeah, that is a little strange ..

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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