chromedome

One area, albeit a niche, where Lexus excels over the Germans is in hybrids. The CT and ES hybrids sell well, a lot more than performance-oriented German hybrids or pointless mild hybrids like the E400h or A6 Hybrid. I think Lexus hybrid owners also face less maintenance issues than German hybrid owners.

In terms of interior materials quality and design, I'd say MB has everyone else beat. The C-class interior is amazing especially given the price.

Mr Bond

Agree, but unfortunately it fells like Lexus has halted the evolution of the hybrids completely. Same kind of batteries ( with no plug-in options ) and same "boring", but in many ways good engines, year after year with only minor changes. Its basically the same technology they had 10 years ago, i can´t tell any difference at all when I drive them.

It looks like the hydrogen ( Mirai /new LS ? ) is what they put down the money on. But hydrogen wont be avaliable for the general public for many years to come. It feels like Lexus is living in a vacuum right now, their battery technology is outdated and hydrogen is for the next decade at the earliest.

Trump2016

The first test a car has to pass before I buy it is the wife test: is this the car I would let my wife drive on a cold winter day on a desolate road when it's dark. Poor reliability is dead-in-the-tracks show stopper, and nothing else matters. Not advancements in engineering, funky iDrives, technology, fun driving, great radio, corner carving ability at 40 miles per hour, etc. Nothing.

In fact, Lexus being "old" technology is the most appealing part. This is why the '06 LS430 is superior to '07 LS460. When I first turned an 07 on, I would swear I was in a 4 cylinder car. That old 4.3 liter engine is pure joy to hear and run. Forever. And I don't need 12-speed transmissions, either. Half-a-dozen is just fine.

doge

Good thing lexus isnt building the car just for trump, they wouldn't have much of a future. you dont need a 12 speed just like you dont need a ls, a regular car will get you from point a to point b just fine. Luxury is about options and being ahead of the curve, stagnant car wont sell. there is a reason mercedes sells so many s classes even though they are all north of 100k

mmarshall

I have to agree with Trump. The LS430 was arguably the best pure-luxury car Lexus ever did. It rode like a classic luxury car is supposed to.

You bet there is. The reason Mercedes sells those S-Classes is because (at least with the non-AMG versions) they ride silky-smooth and quiet, just like the old LS430 that Trump likes.

doge

Exactly, and Mercedes achieves that using the latest technology such as the magic body control. With the use of cameras and senors, mb can see speed bumps and other obstacles on the road which lets it adjust dampening on the fly to help improve the ride.

mmarshall

You do bring up a good point about the suspension technology. The S-Class is the only car I know of that actually adjusts damping and spring-rates based on camera-input ahead of time. Sometimes, though, you have conflicting requirements.....like when the suspension has to be firmed up for sharp cornering and smoothed out at the same time for bumps and road-irregularities encountered in the turn.

Trump2016

Way too smart for me. Also, I like my machines to be predictable, so having a suspension manager riding along with me would probably result in an argument sooner or later.

On the other hand, as we all know so very well, software never goes wrong.

mmarshall

Murphy's Law is often Mercedes' Law LOL.

MattyG

But maybe that brings up the real question. German cars are always original for the most part. Asian designers have usually been part of a hierarchical society that doesn't see a lot of outside influence.

What if there was no B.B. King or Carlos Santana or Elvis... Frankie Valli. Or K-OS etc. Originals come in many flavors but imitators always fade away. It's the reason we have Corvettes, Camaros and Shelbys. Or Ferraris and Jaguars.

It's okay to love a 10 year old flagship because it was one of the best cars of its era. But did it stand out? Yes on luxury, quality and reliability. No on originality. Japanese car culture demands no rocking of the boat for salarymen. You don't take chances.

To me the problem is that Lexus likes to tell Mercedes Benz customers you have a reliable Mercedes Benz.. And subsequent models are trying to tell you that their tech matches German tech. And it's more reliable. That's about it.

dseag2

So, Lexus is like a really good cover band that takes the songs from the original artists and makes them sound even better?

Toys4RJill

Yikes! I would say capabilities and safety is right up there with reliability. The only car my family EVER had that failed while going 60+ MPH was my sisters IS250awd. Half way between Toronto and Ottawa in December.

While we had some America cars that did not start, or needed major repairs, no other car EVER failed while driving, especially at + highway speeds.

mmarshall

I wish I could say the same about the Chevy Citation or Plymouth Horizon I once owned, but those were first-generation, unperfected FWD compacts in the days (late-1970s/early-80s) when transverse-engines and FWD had not been perfected in American-badge designs. I went through a lot of grief back then, which finally taught me that (at the time) Japanese-brands were the way to go. That's not necessarily the case now, but it DEFINITELY was back then.

Aron9000

That's funny because I had the same experience, my 1993 Toyota truck is the only one of my vehicles that has up and quit while I was driving it. TWICE. None of my old junky GM cars ever did that.

Granted I do blame the problem on O'Rielly's selling me the wrong alternator belt, I think they sold me one that was too big so it wouldn't stay tight.

mmarshall

A neighbor of mine had a 4WD Tundra that went up in flames on the Interstate while he was driving it....without any kind of a warning (he often used it for deer hunting or work with a boat). He was lucky to stop and get out with only minor burns. His insurance company, of course, totalled the truck, even though it was only about a year old. Then his insurance company did an investigation (as events like this with a Tundra were highly unusual) ...they had had three Tundras totalled by fire in the same manner, and it turned out that all three had been worked on at the same dealership by a questionable technician. I'm not saying it was sabotage, but...........