In the current June issue, R&T compares 7 six-cylinder luxury sedans.
They purposely opted for the 6's even if 8 cylinders were available for this
particular test. Prices ranged from the $34,000 Chrysler 300 (not 300C)
to the $54,000 BMW 530i.

Here are the models in their respective placings:

#1 - Cadillac CTS - Suprise! I'm happy for Cadillac. Cadillac's the only thing good coming from GM.

#2 - Mercedes-Benz E-320 - Newer than the CTS and still loses.

#3 - Jaguar S-Type

#4 - Chrysler 300 - The easy bargain here. Beat the Bimmer which cost 20 G's more. I'm very happy!

#5 - Audi A6

#6 - BMW 530i - Not doing so well these days. This doesn't even factor in the poor quality!

#7 - Volvo S80 T6

As you can see, there were some suprises with the results. I'm happy for Chrysler and Cadillac's
impressive placings.
Let me know what you guys think!

 

they call it luxury seden comparo w/o lexus??
umm interesting...

i would vote E #1 in this bunch since E quality is way better than that of caddi's

 

I also wondered why a Lexus wasn't included. Would they include the ES or the GS for this test?
The ES is priced with the Chrysler but out of place against the others. The GS is at the end of
it's cycle but still would have done well. It would've had to be a GS300 because of the 6 cylinder
rule. Notice there's also no Infiniti, Acura, or Lincoln. I guess they can't always include them all.

If it was my money I'd go with the E320 as well in this lineup. It is $51,000 though.

 

i think all the readers getting sick of seeing lexus,acura, and infiniti winning all the time in all those comparo test. that's probably the main reason why they exclude them.IMO

 

one more thing, i dont think BMW 530i deserves that 6th place. it's a great car after all. i mean it's not that really bad. i m not a bimmer's fan but IMO it's at least it's better than a jag or CTS.

 

I really want to know how they did the comparison!! I cant even believe the Chrysler showed up there.

 

Chrysler should be given a lot of credit. The 300(C) is an excellent car.
It's certainly better than any comparable Ford or GM vehicle (aside from CTS).

I hope people can put Chrysler's past to sleep and judge them on today's products.
A handfull of their models also have above average reliability which isn't to common.

It's saying something when the $34,000 300 is chosen over the newly redesigned
$54,000 5-series.

Go Chrysler!

 

WOO HOO!!! GO JAG!!!!! (I had an s-type 3.0 for a little over a year so the results of that is pretty cool to me. )

 

I can't agree with this line of reasoning.....look at all of the pre-Chris Rangle BMW's that routinely won almost every comparo test done in any of the enthusiast magazines. They didn't stop including Bimmers just because Chris Bangle screwed them up or because people got " tired " of seeing them in first place all the time.
One interesting question: why the V6 Lincoln LS was not included...it is probably the CTS's closest domestic competitor. Perhaps because of its close alliance with the Jag S-Class...they are based on the same platform. Still, there are significant differences between the LS and the Jag.

 

true lexus is left out of a lot of comparos but did anyone by chance catch the luxury comparo on Car and Driver TV on Spike TV? the 2004 LS430 pulled a big win over all luxs even the Merc and Benz

 

The LS430 is the finest car ever built. Just check out any automotive publication for proof.
This excludes Bently's, Rolls Royce's, Maybach's and other exotics. But actually, the LS430 is
superior in many ways to even these cars (especially quality wise).

All for only $65,000. Simply amazing.

 

If you read the story, there really wasn't a lot of indication why the bimmer did so poorly. Hard to believe that the toned down screwball i drive and the styling knocked it down that much. Looks like some things went unsaid. But then, bimmer finally had a knife at a knife fight, no manual for the 530, just an automatic like the rest.

They probably didn't think it was fair to compare the GS300 to this crowd with a new one coming out shortly, although you have to wonder about using the old A6. Still, hard to overlook the fact that it is not great news for the new five. Seems like bimmer is dulling the edge of their handling reflexes and hoping some combination of electronics will keep that wonderful handling. Bangle may not be responsible for the only bungle going on at bimmer.

 

That's probably true. Iv'e read so many reviews of this car, and every single one voted it the best built car ever to be driven, and "it would be selected even if we had $200,000 to spend on a car" I recall consumer reports only found two flaws with the car: 1 Price is high, but very much justified. 2 Excessively silent engine.

Maybe in a few years I'll try out an 01 LS430 and see if its what im looking for. Do these cars develop any squeeks and rattles whatsoever? My SC400 tends to have at least one tiny squeek or rattle that drives me nuts.

 

I know someone that just bought a 04 LS UltraLux and attests that its a much better car than the 600 M/B and even the Bentley, from a ride and luxury standpoint

Good job Lexus

 

The CTS interior is worse than the G35 interior. How in the hell could it have placed first? That interior is horrible, belongs in a CAmero. The GTO has a better interior.

I am SHOCKED the 530 finished so low. But then again, BMWs stronghold is no longer there. As a matter of fact, it's about to be up for grabs, who is the #1 luxury car company. BMW has FORGOTTEN what a BMW is. Simplicity and the best driver's cars. Not overcomplex systems the current cars have. And ugly will ALWAYS hurt your scores. Their new cars are ugly, period.

The GS is old, no reason to bring it and a new one is around the corner. No M45 either, though no one misses that car. It shows how crowded the segment is about to be and how CRUCIAL a car must be to be #1.

BTW, with BMW no longer having a STRANGLEHOLD, the new GS has a GREAT chance of being #1.