German Car Zone

Auto Motor und Sport compared four luxury cars with AWD against each other. The results were as follows:





1st Place: Mercedes E350 4Matic (515/600 points)
The first choice from the bunch for long distance driving - and still sporty. The balanced package of the E-Class can currently not be beat.

2nd Place: BMW 530Xi (510/600 points)
The BMW is the sportiest of the bunch - which affects its comfort. The engine is pure fun.

3rd Place: Audi A6 3.2 FSI Quattro (492/600 points)
We expected more from Audi, especially with Quattro and an air suspension. Against the E-Class and 5-Series, the A6 rarely shines, but is not really outclassed either.

4th Place: Honda Legend 3.5 V6 (442/600 points)
The Legend is too biased towards the American car market to seriously compete with the three top Germans in this comparison. (Basically the poor fuel economy according to the main article. -Wimmer)

Audi: 0-100 km/h = 8.4 s, 255-hp, 6-speed A/T
BMW: 0-100 km/h = 7.9 s, 258-hp, 6-speed A/T
Mercedes: 0-100 km/h = 7.7 s, 272-hp, 5-speed A/T
Honda: 0-100 km/h = 8.3 s, 295-hp, 5-speed A/T





Interior Captions:
Audi: Excellent build quality and easy-to-understand buttons
BMW: High-quality impression, but confusing i-Drive
Honda: Confusing controls, no real logic to them
Mercedes: The COMAND system is easy to learn

Engine Captions:
Audi: Rougher than the Mercedes V6
BMW: Smooth and refined, a dream
Honda: Hardly noticeable, very refined
Mercedes: Strong midrange power and smoothness

5-speed for the 4-matic??

If I remember correctly, the 7Gtronic doesn't fit into the transmission tunnel of 4Matic models because of the extra machinery needed for the 4Matic system.

Ok that clears it up, but I'm assuming the newer cars such as the W221 will have been designed with this in mind? Or will the 4-matic W221 get the 5-speed as well?

Thanx for the post!
Im a little disapointed on the A6 3rd place.
It feels like the 3.2 engine needs to be renewed.
But still, interior is the best out of those by far

Definitely. MB wants to offer their best transmission in their cars.

No problem. The air suspension of the Audi was too soft and the A6 lost its balance between sport and comfort and became totally biased towards comfort. The BMW and Mercedes were essentially better balanced between these two ideals.

Very nice comparo Cawimmer

I've got a complaint though Why the hell did they include the Legend? Do they not sell the AWD Lexus GS350 over in Germany. That in my opinion would have made a much better comparison.

From these, i'd go home with the E350.

The legend is honda's first attempt to get in this class of car...Its priced that way as well. 5th gear does a comparison between the 530, A6, and Legend.

Thanks.

No Lexus GS350 AWD overhere. The only Lexus GS's we get are the GS300, GS430 and GS450h. In the next Auto Motor und Sport, there will be a comparison between the Audi A6 4.2 FSI vs Lexus GS450h vs Mercedes E420 CDI.

The Honda Legend is basically an Acura RL and comes with AWD be default. It's a nice-looking car. I saw one in person a few months ago but could not get a shot at it. Like always, the Honda Legend will sell in small numbers. Honda hardly creates awareness for this car anyway.