Although it cannot be proven 100%, there is some evidence to suggest otherwise. The first LS400s sold for roughly 35K. Mercedes, even more than BMW, with the huge price of German labor, had to compensate...and quality became part of it, though the major decline in M-B quality was not really noticeable until the late 1990s.

Apples and oranges, to some extent. Porsche, until the Cayenne, was a sports-car-only company. BMW as not.



Right now, it's getting harder and harder to really tell the difference between the 3 brands, though BMW, to my senses at least, still has a unique driving feel that the other two cannot match.

 

Yes agreed, all are equally expensive, all very refined, all very similar in feel, and represent the best of premium sedans (which is what they sell in volume).

Subjective steering/handling feel is slightly better only in some BMWs and as they all adopt electric steering that is diminishing. All these cars become closer too in this department when equipped with the same BMW sport tire/wheel (large diameter wheels, low profile/ high performance summer tires).

Subjective structural integrity is slightly better in Mercedes.

Subjective luxury and refinement is slightly better in Lexus.

Quality and reliability is objectively measured as best with Lexus, with new Mercedes models coming in second as they step up to achieve average reliability. And here really is the only objective category that shows large differences.

 

When I drove the E550 I wondered one thing. How can a car with 380hp feel so slow around town. Mercedes has not engineered their cars to be responsive. While Lexus is not a performance brand, my GS460 is a car that feels nippy and can be driven in a sporty way around town. You can zip between lights, in a way a non-AMG benz just can't.

That's why I think, if you enjoy driving and you want a quality car, its a BMW or a Lexus.

 

But the comment really was a back-handed compliment or recognition of what Lexus has accomplished.

 

Good observation. Over the last decade Mercedes had tended to purposely use rather stiff and long-travel accelerator pedals. Initial tip-in caused little to happen, which makes for smooth luxury-oriented driving around town, but forces you to jam your foot down to make it really go. This was typical Mercedes driver interface, but the newer models today feel a bit more normal.

 

Here are some quotes on a long-term test of the latest 2010 E550. Which reinforce my own impressions.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/2010...IEWS/100319896

If I were to draw an analogy to dancing, the BMW 550i is a ballerina, the Lexus GS460 is a promising salsa dancer and makes up for less finesse with passion, and the Mercedes E550 is trained to dance, and can do so when commanded but would rather just sit on the sofa.

 

I think this statement is completely off the mark. Mercedes is the only Tier 1 manufacturer that has an answer for every segment of car. Coupes, convertibles, off-road, compact, mid-size, full-size, etc...Mercedes has an answer to it all plus they have a performance variant of just about every segment as well. They go even further with their Black Series and the SLR/SLS that gets into supercar/exotic territory. BMW, Lexus and Audi have no answer to half of MB line up.

You can argue about their ability to design reliable cars, but Mercedes certainly knows how to make fun ones.

 

Common complaints with a lot of cars today as transmissions try to maximize gas mileage. But many late model Benz's have software updates available to address these same complaints.

 

I am talking about the current 2010 E550.

 

Agreed, and making sweeping generalizations about any of these top 3 Top Tier lux brands is meaningless. These 3 brands have earned their place at the top because of luxury/performance/safety/refinement available throughout the product lines.

 

By now there is probably a software update for that car, if the customer asks for it.
See my comments above about gas pedal "feel" too.

Note: the car you drove wasn't broken-in.

And cherry-picking out some more comments from the Autoweek long-term article:

SENIOR WEB REPORTER GREG MIGLIORE: "I think the E550 has a lot of mojo and is a well-done performance coupe. It felt (even) more expensive than it is."

But lol, this is not an M3. Needs more zippy/nippy/whatever.

 

http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-...025_208152.htm

 

I got a taste of that M-B throttle when I reviewed an E63 AMG a couple of years ago. You could drive it like Grandma if you wanted to. But, with that 507 HP and 469 ft-lbs of torque.........good heavens . Punch the pedal and, if it wasn't for the traction/stability control (which can be adjusted or switched off), that car could burn up rear tires in nothing flat. If I had wanted to (which, of course, I wouldn't do with a brand-new car), I could have laid a rubber patch a quarter-mile long, like an old HemiCuda or 454 Chevelle SS. I kept the T/C on during my test-drive, but, with a heavy foot, it still flings you back into your seat hard....and I'm no lightweight. It was arguably the fastest 4-door sedan I ever drove, though the Mitsubishi Evo, being much lighter than the E63, was also up there.

 

I was (not) surprised to see a thread with the title "Jeremy Clarkson praises Lexus".

Why? Because Jeremy Clarkson is one of the most ironic Englishmen out there. And the English have a saying that the Americans don't understand irony.

And that is completely what has happened in this thread. To title it as Jeremy Clarkson praises Lexus is a mis characterisation. As somebody else pointed out, he was making a back handed compliment.

In any case, since Clarkson's viewpoint seems to carry some weight, I'd encourage those of you who haven't read his articles to google his Lexi reviews. There's always a very unique point of view on everything with him. Overall I would say there is no doubt he doesn't notice or appreciate the technical excellence in Lexus, but there is always much more to what he is saying. So read carefully. Just as with this interpretation that he was praising Lexus, he is often being ironic.

Below is the caveat part of his GS review once he has acknowledged that technically it's a good car:

Unfortunately, I didn’t like it at all, partly because it’s about as attractive as a sponsored town centre roundabout and partly because Lexuses these days are driven by people who play golf, or people who like to slap their hos and drive around at night shooting at business rivals with submachineguns. Gangstas? Golfers? I don’t want to look like either.

Mostly, though, I don’t like this car because it feels like a facsimile of the real thing. And that’s hardly surprising because that’s exactly what it is. A copy. A Mercedes clone.

Cars sit in the Japanese psyche along with spoons and mashed potato. They don’t come naturally. Oh sure, they can copy a Mercedes and use it to earn vast lumps of foreign currency, but how do you copy flair and panache and feel? The simple answer is: you can’t, so you end up with a completely soulless driving experience.

It’s a bit like those vegetarians who insist on eating hamburgers that are designed to look, feel and taste like the real thing. But they’re just not.

Technically, this new Lexus is probably better than a Mercedes, in the same way that a golden egg made by laser is going to be technically better than one of Karl Fabergé’s originals. But which one would you rather have?

 

I respect Clarkson's reviews and opinions (and occasionally enjoy some of his humorous touches). But, overall, I personally think, in his written reviews, that he spends too much time on politics, fantasies, similes/metaphors, his emotions, the countryside he's driving through, and not enough time on the object of the reviews....the cars themselves.