I can't make up my mind.

Well well, it is time for me to purchase another car. I am giving up the coupe world for a while.
After much research the two cars it has come down to is a MB CLS or LEXUS GS.
It's obvious I value everyone opinion here b/c I seem to visit the website everyday. Everyone let me know your honest opinion. Remember the cars cost about the same used, so price is not a problem.

MB CLS:
PROS:
Exterior
Prestige
Nice Acceleration/a blast to drive

Cons:
Small for a 4 door car/Not a big deal
Poor Radio
Below standard interior, compare to my MB CL500
Insurance a little higher


LEXUS GS
PROS:
Reliability
Radio
I like the interior
More room
Low Key

CONS:
I do not care for the exterior.
Feel sluggish
Less prestige
Not that exciting to drive

 

Would that be the 350 or the 460 for the GS? If it's the 350, I do love me some v8 That being said, I'm not too fond of either exterior, but I don't remember sitting in the CLS so I can't really judge it's interior as opposed to the GS which I didn't think was that bad.

 

If it's the 09 GS, then it's fine.

I wouldnt get my 06 GS again.

They both have their good and bads but I personally dont like the stiffer ride of the CLS. I like cloudy ride of GS but sometimes it gets a bit "boaty"

 

CLS... My friend owned a black on red CLS500 and that car was awesome IMO. 46K on it and the only issue was with a parking break component making a clunking noise over bumps, which was fixed - they even gave him new break pads and tires when this happened! GS is just too bland IMO...

 

What's the car's purpose?

Weekend fun car = CLS.

Daily driver = GS.

 

CLS550 for me ...

 

The aftermarket support for the CLS is beyond belief. The list of companies are endless compared to that of the GS.. Just check out youtube & see which one of these cars has more exposure. I love a car that has road presence & can boogie on the back roads.. CLS gets my vote.

 

I think just about every car company has more aftermarket support then Lexus with their current crop of cars

 

cls every day out of the week!!!

 

unless you really need the rear room, i would seriously consider the cls

 

This is truley a tough choice. My vote is CLS. I had to make the same decision when I bought my GS, but lack of AWD sealed it for the CLS, and that may have to be a factor for you.

The CLS feels more like a coupe inside, which is both good and bad. The rear seat space is really bad for 4 - 6ft adults compared to the GS, this is more to the sloping roof of the CLS than leg room. Here the GS wins for me. Also, the interior, features of the GS, seats and trim are just all around better IMO.

With that said though, my next car, probably at the end of this winter, will be a CLS AMG (55 or if I can find a good deal a 63). They command more attention on the road, people still stare at them and they are more fun to drive. (Never driven the CLS500, but the 550 is very nice and the AMG is SICK!)

From your pros and cons list, it seams like you want to go CLS. So do it. It is a nice step up from a coupe, without feeling like you went to a Caddy STS, and just as sporty. I also think it does get a little more respect in the street than a GS. Both great choices though. Good luck!

 

The CLS would get more footprints on the headliner and hand prints on the rear window as well compared to the GS.

 

get a CLS, way way better than a GS

 

lol must be smaller than the g35? hahhaa.....

i have checked out the cls extensively (most people know why), but to be very honest, except that it's a bit harder to get in and out (the opening), when sitting inside it's not much worse than the gs.... that's how bad the rear room is in the 3gs. of course with the cls you miss the 5th seat, but fwiw, i don't think anyone would really want to sit in the middle seat in the 3gs neither (it's stupid, trust me i tried)

between the cls and the gs, i think the biggest problem i have with the cls is the nav. it's small, works like crap, and doesn't make much sense. also that big piece of wood on the dash is a problem to me too (ugly imho).

since you are considering a used one, so i tend to think you are comparing gs430 to cls500? i don't think there are many gs460 and cls550 used out there

good thing about cls500 is that you can get a very good price, coz' of the depreciation. just make sure you get cpo so you don't have to worry about all the problems

 

I wouldn't get either of them. But my vote goes to GS.