German Car Zone

Wimmer, thanks for the excellent summary.

I agree with the review in every aspect.

I own a W-12 Phaeton, so I am biased. Here are my comments:

1. The Lexus is heavily influenced by the Phaeton, but the latest Toyota Avalon is almost a direct copy, at least externally. Shameless!

2. The Lexus might "outclass" the Phaeton, but it is still a kitchen appliance with wheels compared to a handcrafted German automobile.

3. I live on the west coast of the United States, and have driven my Phaeton several times along twisting California Route 1. In doing so, I use sport transmission mode and sport suspension mode, and pass motorcycles with ease. The Phaeton is a very large car, but in sport mode the handling is nothing short of stunning.

4. I haven't seen the trunk of the Lexus, but I can say that American gangsters of the 1930s, who were loyal to large Ford sedans because their trunks could hold several dead bodies, would have approved of the Phaeton's cargo capacity.

Nice nose-to-nose journey & results are not surprising at all, thumbs up for VW ...!

P.S; Looking forward for comments of "Phaeton" ...!

Welcome to GCZ Willy

I agree with Willy's comment 100%, you can not beat the Phaeton with a kitchen appliance

Welcome to the forums, Willy.

I agree with you on point one. The front of the Lexus LS460 does look a lot like the VW Phaeton, almost as if the Lexus designers took the front of the Phaeton and molded it into something new while still retaining the Phaeton design cues. The LS is still a nice car though.

And I have a secret admiration and fetish for the Phaeton. Although I am a Mercedes-Benz fan, the Phaeton is an excellent alternative in this class for those who want a true luxury car and who'd like to stand out with something difference. You can enjoy the Phaeton despite the VW badge since it is an excellent machine with top engineering and quality standards.

Welcome to the forum! We have a V6 Phaeton, nothing fanciful but nice to meet another owner here.

What kind of options do you have on the Phaeton? I reckon you're a member of VW Vortex, too?

(oops, duplicate)

My Phaeton is stock. Can't think of any options I'd want. I found this site through a link from VW Vortex. I am a member there.

I agree that Lexus makes a good car, but they don't make a great car. What really surprised me, though, was the Toyota Avalon. It is a direct copy of the Phaeton.

I have a mixed feeling about the "badge" issue. It enabled me to buy a lightly used Phaeton for an outrageously cheap price, but the reluctance of luxury car buyers to buy a VW is stupid. It's especially stupid in the case of the Phaeton, which is the same car as a Bentley Continental Flying Spur except for turbocharging, a leather upgrade, and a different skin.

It will set you back $150,000 for a Continental Flying Spur with as much wear as my $53,000 Phaeton. I was happy to take advantage of the vanity of the rich, but it does make me scratch my head and wonder how people who are so dumb could have so much money to throw around.

Nice thrashing by the Phaeton !

I'll take a high-end VW anyday over a high-end Toyota.

I'm also a member of VW Vortex. PanEuropean's a friend of mine...

Well the Phaeton is also costly to service once the warranty is over, so there's some justification about it being not really an ideal used buy. But of course if we go by price alone, we're seeing no car that comes close to good value as the Phaeton. I still miss it a lot after we replaced it with an A8.