LS460 vs Cadillac XTS
 

I have a 2007 LS460 with 90k miles that I am planning to upgrade. My local Lexus dealer has a 2013 Cadillac XTS with only 3k miles priced in the mid $30's. On paper (and photos) the XTS appears to be a legitimate alternative to an LS460 at a much lower price (a low mileage newer LS460 will cost $50k+). Does anyone have any experience or perspective on how the LS460 would compare to an XTS over the short and long term? Most likely if I drove it I would like it but how would it hold up over time? Is Cadillac reliability as good as recent reports? Approaching Lexus reliability? For $35k, I am looking at an almost brand new Cadillac XTS or a 2010 LS460 with 50k miles.

I think you might have to drive it and see if you like it. I have seen em they look nice but are they nicer than the cts and will you like cadillacs characteristics???? I would look at other forums and see if there are any issues..

All other things being equal (age, mileage), there's a reason the LS450 is more expensive..............

:)

Every Cadillac I've ever been in and looked at, have been nice from far away. Inside they were no different from any other GM car as far as fit and finish go. But that's my opinion. I'd much rather have an older LS over anything GM.

That said, I don't think I would upgrade from an 07 to a 10. At 90k miles, your 07 is still being broken in.

Tell me about it. If you want to buy American then I would say yes but other then that it's like comparing cheap and unreliable vs refined and sophisticated.

Dang it...ya stole my thunder. :p

I was just at the Vancouver International Auto show and looked at a lot of "comparable" vehicles to the LEXUS', but none WERE comparable, least of all the Cadillacs. At the end of the day, it really did look like a gussied up Chevrolet. Before you say that the Lex is just a fancy Toyota, no it really is not. You will find the caddy to be cheap-feeling. Look at the details and you'll see, right down to the feel and sound of the door closing.

Same with the Hyundai Equus and Genesis. Half the cost, but you quickly see why. My wife agreed, and she's VERY good at this sort of thing (noticing details). The German brands were the only cars that truly felt comparable, but far more money and far less reliable and costlier to repair.

Knowing how American cars handle, if I had to buy one and my choice was limited to GM, it would be a nice new Impala V8/V6 with tons of goodies. If I had more flexibility I personally would go Mopar before a Cadi, I love the Chargers and would get one with a sick package, the last one I looked at the dealer told me they'd throw in a full lifetime warranty no additional charge and it covered everything including the tranny.

Because I have no life I looked at that car online and read a bunch of reviews.

This first new XTS was not well reviewed.

I predict that the Lexus is more reliable and that the total cost of ownership in money and stress will be less.

For the people who do not like our NAV interface the XTS is better however.

The XTS is competition with the Acura RLX..both are FWD, V-6 and offer AWD. The LS is a premium D class flagship ala S-class, 7 series, A8 etc.

The XTS is a very nice car, but no LS thus why its priced less, it should be.

Well, I went and drove the XTS. Very nice car. If I did not own an LS, I would really like it. But (as ther other wise men above have correctly stated), the XTS is no LS. My LS is a much better riding, handling, and looking car at 7 years old and 90k miles than the nearly new XTS. No comparasion. So my only real option is to upgrade to a newer LS. I would keep mine but it has the dreaded wind noise issue that was not resolved with the McRaney fix (I did it precisely per directions and made no difference). Having previously owned LS400 and 430's that were very quiet, the wind noise on my 460 is very noticeable and takes away from the overall experience of the 460. I guess I will look at newer 460's.

Newer LS, ahh that's the ticket :thumbup: I never hear any wind noise in my 08, I do however hear my Girlfriend mouth yacking all the time, thankfully there's my ML system to override that :woot:

Ive been in over a hundred vehicles and while a lot are impressive, have their own perks, a few things here and there that the LS might not have, when it comes down to it long term the LS is the best car by far its the complete package with very little comprimise.

Reviving an old thread as I have a LS460 and happened to spend a week in a 2013 XTS (rental from Enterprise, a AWD with 27k miles)

XTS wins on technology integration, being a newer car their navi/audio/BT ease of use and options clearly outclasses an older LS

Other than that, however, I faced some visibility issues when looking at the back (smaller window due to streamlined design), my driving experience in the XTS reminded me of a 2014 Impala I recently drove..turns out same chassis and same power train. XTS also powered by a capable but underwhelming 3.6L V6 (common GM engine across many cars like the SRX, Impala, Lacrosse, etc) whose sole benefit was able to take regular gas and not premium.

Lastly with 27k miles it was significantly noisier and "rougher" than my LS with 100k miles, which forebodes how this car will fare after several years of ownership.

KBB recently ranked the XTS among the worst in depreciation (to follow the lineage of the Deville and DTS I assume) but it is a nice GM car...used ones range in the high $20s nowadays. Not comparable to a LS, however worthy if comparing to a MKZ or something...

the Lexus is made in Japan v the Cadillac is made in the USA ,,,, end of story . Lexus by a country mile :)

I've waited for over 40 years for America to wake up and join the true luxury division. While a Cadillac is as good as American automotive gets, it still doesn't feel the same as Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Infiniti and Acura. I've driven them all and for me Lexus IS my ride.

I was looking at buying a CTS (I know it's not the same car) before I bought my LS. Well my brother in law was a service writer for Caddy and he told me flat out that I would find out first hand what it means to own an American luxury car and that he had warned me and that I couldn't come running to him complaining about the poor choice I had made.

He said the 3.6L eats timing chains...the oil gets a little low...the chain stretches a little bit...you get a misfire code and BOOM! You're in for a $2,500 job to replace that chain. And he said it will happen, that it wasn't a matter of if.

And he said that all those nice little features and things I loved about the car will not be working in two years. The heated steering wheel? It will break. The nice leather? It will look like crap. The nice lights on the dash? They will be out. The knobs and switches? They will break...then they will break again...then you will just learn to live with everything on your car not working. Needless to say that after a little research, I took his advice.

that is solid advice - to get the opinion of the service writers who know these cars literally in and out....like the XTS I drove had 27k miles but it really wore down quicker than expected (some members with over 100k miles on their LS still feels no rattles, has smooth and quiet rides, which I'd imagine is not the case with most Caddy's or Buick's)

My wife and I test drove the caddys last spring. We found the ride to be terrible and nothing at all like the glassy smooth ride of the old caddys. In fact (due to my wife's back) we actually drove every other car out there including mercedes, audi, etc and the last car we drove (and I was figuring we would never get a good smooth ride) was the Lexus 460 and it was the best car ever. Long story short my wife can now again ride in a car and in the front seat no less, being on this forum has made me really appreciate what a great car we have.

I got to be honest, I almost bought a loaded 2013 Chrysler 300 before I decided on the LS. I liked the 300...it looked nice, it was quiet, it got great reviews, but a friend of mine said to me...do you know what that car will look like in three years? C'mon, you know what's going to happen, the wheel bearings will be shot, the interior lights won't work, the door hinges will be sagging, the dash will crack, you'll have transmission problems, etc. Buy the Lexus, it's a great car...so I did.

The XTS and LS460 are two completely different cars. And I'm a big Modern Cadillac fan. Their latest interiors are incredible. Build quality is very good as well. Sorry, but "just a GM car" doesn't ring true anymore.

Having said that, my guess is you are not looking at the XTS V Sport model (AWD), which means the XTS you are considering is likely to be FWD unless it is the XTS4...with the non-twin turbo engine.

The LS460 OTOH, is RWD. Therefore, two completely different animals. The XTS platform (Shared with the LaCrosse) is designed as a FWD car. The LS460 is designed (and equipped) as a RWD automobile.

Personally, I would consider only the VSport variant of the XTS...or the XTS4 if the performance satisfies you. If you don't care about FWD, then this is a nothingburger.

YMMV. You know about Lexus already... BUT I WOULD GET CPO and the extended warranty if you buy a used LEXUS.

Caddy doesn't make a comparable car to the LS460. The new CT6 maybe that car, big RWD and hopefully V8.

XTS VSport FTW!
 

I purchased a used XTS VSport Platinum and on a highway trip I averaged 32.2 mpg with the Adaptive Cruise Control set 65 mph, over both directions of 300 miles each. I no longer wish for a 2.0T in this car and it's efficiency of about 40 mpg in my Verano Turbo on the same route.

The seats are nice with enough room to move around and adjust for 6.5 hours in it. Plenty of room to relax the left foot behind and to left the brake pedal which is missing on some front wheel drive cars today. The trunk is huge and very deep. So much so I might consider a divider to keep myself from crawling toward the back of it to fetch things. But the width is on the small side that my, smaller than a staff bag, full of golf clubs has be turned slightly to fit the driver.

I love CUE! The navigation allows all the tablet/smartphone finger movements also allowing just everything inside the car to be controlled by voice commands. Once you get CUE's haptic feedback timing down I don't even have to wait for the vibration and the command is taken. Plus it looks dazzling at nighttime as does the led interior lights. The lighted door handles and lighted ground under an opened door is the cherry to top the sundae. The adaptive cruise control works perfect and is seamless to passengers as is the lane departure warning when switched from audible beep to a vibration to the butt cheek of the side if the car that needs attention. The automatic braking, front or rear, can surprise but works well to stop the car. The rear climate control is great for when Fluffy wants it cooler than us in the front.

I like the semi-short wheel base length for missing the curb on tight turns and the window height when looking out the back and side is perfect compared with today's car designs of shorter height windows. The backup camera, with steering wheel guided lines, has me centered in the parking spot on the first try.

I really like the ride quality and steering. When I put it into a turn it holds the line with plenty of feedback. Blame it on the magnet shocks or traditional hydraulic steering(today's electric steering is void of any feedback) but it goes where you put the wheel. Maybe it is the height but avoiding things on the road at highway speeds is easy. Put it Sport mode and it really stiffens up where you can feel allot more bumps. Though I switched modes over slow speed bumps and only the front end changed. The rear end is riding on airbags. Nonetheless it performs well.

I have to disagree. The switchgear and much of the rest of the car feels like the Buick Lacrosse I rented and the Chev Impala I also drove. My partner bought a Caddy recently and it feels the same - just more glitz.

Indeed. Go to a dealership and look at a 5-10 year old Caddy. Then do the same with a Lexus, Acura or BMW, MB etc. The Caddy will look and feel much, much older.

I had Cadillacs my whole life now I drive LS460L and not a problem. I love the styling of the Caddy but Lexus hands down is dependable as your going to get. If your only going to keep the car 2 years I guess it doesn't matter I like to keep cars 10 years. Lexus is built to last.

With Cadillac CUE there really isn't any switch gear remaining. So I'm not sure what you are referring too.

Probably not a fair comparison to compare one car with another that costs twice as much. The XST VSport Platinum AWD ends where Lexus starts based on MSRP. But it goes to show you how far Cadillac has come. Looking at cargurus and comparing advertised, discounted prices for both the LS and XTS I find the LS is two times the price.

The XTS is not comparable to the LS. The LS is a V8 RWD a large luxury car, the STS is a V6 FWD large car that shares a downmarket platform with the Chevy Impala that ranges from near luxury to mid luxury in terms of price, quality, refinement, etc. I like the XTS, but the LS is more car and feels like more car on the road.

I do wonder why you've joined a Lexus forum just to post about your Cadillac norm. There are Cadillac forums.

Turn signal stalk
window switches
windshield washer stalk
headlight switches
seat adjustments
gear shift

etc

Also trim pieces and that sort of thing.

I do agree with that, the GM switchgear I dislike, the font they use for displays is always the same old looking square block font. The script used on a $65,000 XTS or CTS shouldn't be the same as on a Chevy Cruze.

Cadillac is an OK luxury alternative. The exterior is legitimate, however, inside the interior you can still see remnants of cheap american car plastics. The attention to detail is lacking, and I hate the CUE multimedia system which is unresponsive and leaves fingerprints everywhere. The only car I would ever consider investing in would be the CTS-V Coupe.

The only plastic available on an XTS from the front seat is the map pocket and speaker surround if I remember correctly. There is one piece of padded vinyl on the door and more padded vinyl on underside of the dash. Both the doors and dash finish with leather, aluminum, and wood. The seats are fully wrapped in Opus leather, not just seating surfaces.

The XTS interior is Cadillac's best effort yet (better than their allegedly more upmarket CTS). It's legit. I'm looking forward to seeing if they can keep it going with the new CT6, which will compete more directly with the LS, being larger and RWD.

But Cadillac has a long way to go before they can match Lexus's reliability and durability record.

That may be so from the back seat, but the driving that most of us do Lexus is falling behind and resting on it's laurels.

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Super-Luxury-Cars/

Again, Lexus forum. If you want to talk to a bunch of people who agree with you?..join a Cadillac forum.

What do power and driving engagement (the two main criticisms against the LS460) have to do with durability and reliability?

For a car used as a freeway cruiser, rather than a canyon carver or shotgun accelerator (although I don't think anyone would complain about the ease of merging into freeway traffic or passing other vehicles), the LS460 does a great job. One could argue that some of its European counterparts handle better and have a better road feel, but the interior comfort, ride quality, fit and finish, material quality are top-notch.

When you add the LS's reliability and durability, and (at least for the LS460, pricing), it's easy to understand why the LS460 is a desirable choice among cars in its class.

IOW, I'd compare the XTS to the LS460 based on the merits of each, rather than trying to show that the LS460 is inferior to other luxury cars. IMO, it isn't, and the argument doesn't help the case for the XTS.

Not to mention there is nothing dynamic aBout a FWD CTS, V Sport or not.

If resting on it's laurels places it in the number 5 position after an almost 10 year run where the others have built new cars from the ground up twice over is quit astonishing for any car.

If there are going to be compromises to be made it should be tilted towards towards luxury not sportiness. Most car manufactures have lost sight of this philosophy including Lexus.

Laminated glass
 

One thing to note on an older 460 like yours and mine is that they don't have the laminated side window glass. Your next one might be better on the side window buffeting noises...