I just picked up the May issue of Automobile and read through their review of eight $50-60k Luxury Sport Sedans. I found the review a fairly entertaining read, but found some of the performance numbers a bit "off" to put it lightly.

They are somewhat vague about the finishing order of each vehicle with the exception of the Lexus GS430, Mercedes-Benz E500 & Audi A6 4.2. They picked the A6 as the best of the bunch, but they also had some nice things to say about the GS430 & E500.

Here are some quotes from the article:

For us the Mercedes-Benz is certainly of the elite. As Gillies says, "After a strange hiatus, we have a Benz that feels the way a Benz should. It's solid, planted, and poised, and it doesn't make any excuses for being a German luxury car." We rate the Lexus GS430 just a notch higher than the Mercedes, because it maintains its standard of extraordinary refinement in a package that drives with captivating enthusiasm. "The GS should finally get Lexus the respect it deserves," says Lerner, "because it competes with the European marques in terms of emotion, elan, and prestige."

They also said the Lexus was the easiest car to drive quickly and praise the engine for its refinement and midrange power.

Here are the 0-60 times (notice the times for the GS & STS, they have to be typos IMO):

-Acura RL: 7.3
-Audi A6 4.2: 6.9
-BMW 545i: 5.9
-Cadillac STS V8 AWD: 7.0
-Infiniti M45: 5.8
-Jaguar S-Type 4.2: 6.7
-Lexus GS430: 7.1
-Mercedes Benz E500: 6.1

I'm not trying to say the GS430 is the fastest V8 out there in this class, but those times are barely better than the RL! That doesn't seem likely to me.

On a side note, they didn't seem overly wowed with the M45. They said it was fast and quite BMW-like in its handling, but they felt it was uncomfortable with overly light steering and brakes that exhibited noticable fade. They also said, and I quote "It feels like a case of premature removal from the development oven." & "The Infiniti M45 promises much, but as Lerner says, The standards have changed since the Infiniti planners benchmarked the M45."

(Let's keep this nice and try not to let the GS vs. M bickering close another thread)

 

Aaargh, I meant to type "May '05 issue", obviously I am tired.

 

Wow, those numbers are quite strange. Weird. Must be a typo. But you never know the conditions these cars were in. To me I think all the numbers are quite off. Whatever.

Do you think you can scan the article so we can read it?? That would be awsome. Thanks!!

 

They all seem so slow, but the GS only doing 0-60 in 7.1 secs?? Seems odd... maybe each of the test cars were loaded with a family of 5??

 

Good job to the GS in this comparo!!! Any chance of a scan or article later on?

 

Thanks jwaters, what was the final order of those that competed?

 

With the exception of the top three cars (Audi, Lexus & MB) they don't really specifically say. They just start naming off each car and say what they like and don't like about it, but one could logically assume that the order in which they are listed at the end of the magazine is the finishing order. In that case, this is the order in which they are listed (from last to first place):

-Acura RL
-BMW 545i
-Cadillac STS V8 (AWD)
-Infiniti M45
-Jaguar S-Type 4.2
-Mercedez-Benz E500
-Lexus GS430
-Audi A6 4.2

...as for scanning the article, I will do my best, but I really have to pack this weekend (I'm moving the 18th).

 

Wow! The S-Type didn't finish last for a change! (although I guess it's not an "official" ranking). Ford execs should be out partying and uncorking champagne!!!

 

lmao, this is a first I've seen too. I cannot believe the 545 finished second to last! Who would have thunk

Thanks again jwaters

 

Here are some more details from the article:


1/4 mile times (Seconds):

RL: 15.6 @ 93 mph
A6: 15.3 @ 96 mph
545i: 14.4 @ 102 mph
STS: 15.3 @ 95 mph
M45: 14.3 @ 100 mph
S-Type: 15.2 @ 96 mph
GS430: 15.4 @ 94 mph
E500: 14.6 @ 99 mph

Cornering (Left/Right):

RL: 0.94g/0.91g
A6: 0.98g/0.92g
545i: 0.89g/0.85g
STS: 0.91g/0.90g
M45: 0.99g/0.94g
S-Type: 0.88g/0.86g
GS430: 0.92g/0.89g
E500: 0.93g/0.87g

Braking (70-0 mph):

RL: 177ft.
A6: 161ft
545i: 168ft.
STS: 196ft.
M45: 157ft.
S-Type: 178ft.
GS430: 175ft.
E500: 173ft.

 

I can believe the 2nd to last finish for BMW. The bangle style is a love or hate it design and many people believe that things like i-drive and active steering take away from the driving experiance that BMW's of old used to offer.

 

Yeah, I thought pretty much the same thing. In fact they seemed to like the S-Type quite a bit. Here are some quotes from the article:

"The Jaguar S-Type's road manners have the same relaxed elegance you find in the styling.....the steering is lovely and accurate, and the car rides broken pavement in a supple, controlled manner."

"The Jaguar S-Type unexpectedly wins us over, proving to be a great car for daily driving, but it still needs to shine a little brighter in quality before it becomes an elite ride."


As for the 545i, they didn't like the steering and the floaty suspension of the non-sport package. They also criticised the stark interior.

 

Maybe it was a typo and they meant 6.1?

 

I really doubt that's the finishing order because of the RL finishing last, the A6 finishing first and the S-Type finishing mid-pack.

 

Maybe they just want to name their top 3, but does not want to embarass the rest by specifically placing the others to show which is last . . . Seems like they have something nice to say about the Jag.We'll be able to read the article ourselves soon anyhow.