Neo

iTrader: (3)

If you also want the whole thing to turn red, drive with the parking brake engaged.

I also love the 3-blink turn stalk. It's great for changing lanes/passing. I find I start to use it on my other cars only to be disappointed that it is not there.

It's about the little things.

STIG

When I was driving the LS and S class, I was constantly reminded that I am driving a huge luxury sedan, more so in the S550. 7 series drives like a compact car, and I was really surprised. The ride was firmer than the S class. The car I drove has sport package and optional 20 wheels on it, so that probably doesn't help much for the ride quality. As a previous M3 owner, I think you will like the way it drives, and will appreciate how much BMW spend time trying to get the driving dynamic down. Other amenities are pretty barbaric in the BMW, as usual. Seats are firm, navi is quite useless, etc.

I am ready to give up my M3 and move on the camry hybrid or BMW diesel. haha

Interesting thing is that my dad who is the biggest Toyota Fan (never had any car outside of Toyota and Lexus, and currently has 10 LS) drove the 7 series as well, and guess what his next car is going to be? It just shows that how Germans are closing the gap rapidly.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

My son in law who had the LS460L and now a S550 saw the thread after I emailed him about it and emailed me this.I think the new gen LS is coming out in '13,though.

Very interesting. He is right on most topics. The one I disagree with is the trunk. The LS trunk seemed larger (it holds more office supplies for sure) and it did have the power close options etc....that he says it didn't. My LS also had heated steering wheel and the Benz doesnt. ML in LS better also.

On style, I give the Benz the edge. On features the Benz also wins. Ease of ride, the Lexus wins. The Benz does feel "heavy" by comparison--not bad, just different. He seemed to be in the Benz corner.

After 3 months of driving the Benz now, if the cars in 2013 had the exact same exterior stying, I would sacrifice a few features and pick the LS because of the reliability and the ML sound system. Those 2 items are more important than massaging seats but both cars are really great. All I know is 2013 should be great to see the new flagships for both Titans.

Dave

He's always been a Toyota/Lexus guy.My daughter drives a '10 LX570.Both their vehicles are owned and not leased.He doesn't buy new.Usually 1-3 years old with low mileage.
His S550 is an loaded with every option '08 with 17K miles he bought CPO for $58K from a MB dealer in MA.$108K new.

Blackraven

Should we bring the Jaguar XJ (X351) in this discussion as well? I think that car is also something that fits well into this league (with the Lexus LS, MB S-class, Audi A8 and BMW 7)

Btw
Some people mentioned that the HARMAN/KARDON system (I'm guessing the Logic 7 audio system) didn't sound nice on the S-class? How come?

Now, the newer versions of the S-class (like the AMG models) now come with BANG AND OLUFSEN as the flagship. I think the difference will be like night and day I guess.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I guess it's just the ML system in a LS is better than other systems.
Magazine articles have stated that the ML in a LS460 is the best sounding system available in a vehicle up to maybe a year or two ago.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

man that's a bummer on the nav upgrade. now you make me wonder if i should do it, hehe...

i don't know if i should say mb is behind in tech. they have some features lexus don't, but of course short on some others. lexus didn't even have ipod and bt stream until 2010, but like you said mb ipod is quite silly. lexus traffic is through xm ($$), bmw is on fm (free) and mb on fm until 2010 i think

yeah the cl and s are so similar but the cl is definitely ahead imho (everything considered). on the gas, lol i guess the v12 twin turbo is treating you well

yup luxury is all about the little extra "unnecessary" things it's funny when i had all 3 cars (m3, gs350, s550) together. every time i got into the gs350 i forgot to hold the turn signal stalk...

hahaha you are ready to give up your m3? how come, it's only been around 3 yrs. my m3 is going in within a month, lease ends, and i can't wait to move on to the next car

hopefully one day i get to experience more on the 7, really interested in seeing how that car is. never liked the e65, but the f01 seems to be a great improvement

joe, thanks for the feedback, it's always great to have more voices

the LS trunk has close button, but you can't close the trunk by using the trunk button inside the car by the driver seat to close the trunk. on the S you can do that. it's something some LS owners complain about. also the S trunk lid there is the close and lock button, on the LS after trunk closed you have to arm the car separately

i think the new S is due around 2013, but not sure if it's 2012 as 2013 MY or 2013 as 2014 MY. either way around that time both the new LS and S would be out so it's going to be another great time

so the 08 didn't have heated steering option? i know both wood and heated wheel are options on the S class now. no idea if that was option on 07-09 though. mine doesn't even have wood wheel

most definitely, i don't follow jag as much but it's definitely a great contender

yes it's the HK logic 7. i tried all the settings, left disappointed.

you are right that the new facelifted S has BO as their sound system. i guess they do that for a reason. curious to see how that compares to lexus, but then again that didn't happen until 2010. i wanted to do the same year comparison

the ML in the LS is FAAAR better than the HK in the S550. in fact, i pretty much think the system in my old sc430 sounds better as well. the s550 system lacks clarity and base imho

07grIS350

Congrats on the MB. I too looked at the S550 when shopping for my DD a month ago. Beautiful looking vehicle, but the thought of feeding its gas tank turned me towards Lexus Hybrids...

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

My dad's GL350 Bluetec is running well

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

You just got unlucky and bought the wrong ones, that's why I never had an Euro car before, don't want to deal with those issues, no image is worth that kind of hassles.

But now they are good and Japanese cars are going down, maybe it is time to switch. Unless Japanese cars bounce back in a huge way...........like Lexus is saying "engineer amazing", I haven't seen it yet, but it takes a while. MB was in the dump from 99'-06', a good 6~7 years. Lexus started going into the tube starting around 06', so the next generation in 2~3 years might be good again.

mmarshall

Good job, Henry. That's a better review than I've read in a lot of car magazines.

As for the swirl/scratch problem in Lexus paint as it ages, this should easily take care of it, as long as the scratches aren't too deep. It's a product I highly recommend....and use myself. It not only costs less than other over-the-counter scratch-emovers, but, IMO, does a better job.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

I don't like to pretend I am rich or comment that say "you must be rich to own that car". But I like being seen in a cool car. Does that make sense?

Euros are always superior in suspension tuning and steering feel, they always have drive better. They are just bad at electronic to make them not reliable.

I think the same way too, reliability is not a concern if you can get a new one every 2 years/25k miles.

I still think the W140 is the high point of the S-Class. I just think a proper flagship sedan should look tall and bulky, like the Phantom. The current trend of making everything sleek is wrong in my opinion, making everything look one class lower.

The LS430 is a copy of the W140 with Japanese electronics, making it the king of all world. Is funny how both MB and Lexus went down hill after the W140 and UCF30.

mmarshall

Actual steering feel, yes, I'll admit......BMW, IMO, is the undisputed king. But in suspension-tuning, some non-Euro nameplates are catching up. Subaru models, for example, are well-above average in this area, some new Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep products are also rapidly rising, and a truly superb new addition is from an unlikely nameplate......the Buick LaCrosse. You won't believe the level of ride/handling/steering compromise in the new LaCrosse until you drive it.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

Very interesting, because i've heard the same kind of things from other sources as well. I guess the Buick name and price tag is what sets the car back the most in people's minds? I find it looks pretty good, and if it handles as well as everyone says those would be the 2 biggest things that leave most buyers skipping over the car i guess.

rogers2

Nice write up:

I almost 100% sure the S550 came with heated steering wheel as an option b/c it’s on my full loaded cl550. 2nd please update your telematic/Nav ASAP with the new firmware. I receive the upgrade with no problems and it’s amazing. Sound like RXSF dealer didn’t know what they were doing. But truthfully I wouldn’t even compare an S class to a C class. I’m driving one right now as a loaner while my CL gets service. Yes, the exterior is nice and the handling is precise. But the interior so so ….. I really wish you would have purchase one with the AMG package. It really makes the car look so much better. From your write up it sounds like you’re missing a lot toys. As far as compares MB reliability has improve a lot but I think Lexus still got them in that dept for sure. As for the radio I guess that’s up for debate now since MB switch. Anything else BENZ all the way but I’m bias.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

haha come on, you are getting the lfa, you can't be worrying about gas

to be honest though getting 22mpg in the s class that's not a very bad thought already. i mean, considering i am getting a nice 16mpg in my m3 now

the GL.... prices on that car is getting so ridiculously attractive!!!!!

yeah, those years i didn't really dare to get any mb at all, nothing but problems. bmw was holding up pretty ok with the e39 and e46 during those time, but their interior design was on the inferior side. recent years they have improved that.

i have a feeling though lexus quality will bump up again in the coming 2-3 years. they have learned their lesson.

yeah i didn't say lexus paint is unfixable. in fact for detailers, lexus paints are so great to work with since they are soft and easy to polish.

but then i am pretty sure most of the owners, they just wash their cars and hardly worry about detailing.

man if anything i have to say lexus did a world of wonder with the ucf30. if it's a copy of the w140, lexus really took it to a whole new level because the car is just nothing short of fabulous. i still love that car so much

funny you brought up the w140. indeed going back to a lot of mb fans, they still prefer the boxy style and stance of the w140. of course the car is "old" by today's standard, but the way it's built, the quality and strength

when it comes to suspension, i think up front is what you want the car to ride like. i know plenty of people who doesn't want to feel one bit about the road, and that's why they love lexus so much. i totally respect that. but for me, i guess i prefer some kind of road feel and somewhat tighter suspension, thus why from a driving perspective german cars go better

haha if we talk about all mainstream cars, i probably would say porsche has even better steering. but yes, bmw does that very well too imho.

in the end, i think the truth is most cars nowadays are far more capable than what the drivers can do. i will never agree with people who say lexus cars don't handle well. i have had my share and even the ls460l, the car can handle very very well.

but the key is how confident the cars make the drivers feel about pushing it "further". on that, some cars do it better, some don't