Hey all, I currently have a GTI which I actually like quite a bit, however, its a kid car and I am getting into old man territory and looking for something with a bit less boy racer attitude. I actually own an LS400 but a family member is driving it and I rarely even see it, but I drove it for about a half hour the other day and love how buttery smooth it is. My question is..... I like the ES, GS, AND the RX, can I get some feedback on narrowing that down? I love Mercedes, and like the C and E class, so ES and GS are probably the obvious choice. I do a lot of driving, a lot of freeway driving. I drive between SD and Phoenix and want something that can cruise fairly effortlessly at 90 but able to go faster too, 100 here and there. Don't give me a hard time, that is just the flow of traffic out there on a Sunday afternoon. In town, I want something that can get out of its own way, it doesn't have to be outright quick, just able to pull away from a stop with some authority. I need bluetooth and prefer premium sound. Looking at the Lexus for drive quality, straight line comfort, and for low maintenance, long term ownership benefits of owning a Toyota product. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

If you find a good one, my vote is for a 2nd gen. GS430.

 

 

well it sounds like you described the LS 400 haha... world class comfort and ride quality, toyota reliability and maintenance, practically leaps off the line, and makes driving at 100 on a major road almost boring. driving way upstate coming home from montreal, my friend and i made it from the canadian border to albany in just over 90 minutes with the cruise control set. it's about 170 miles so i'll let the math work itself out here. as long as the suspension isn't totally shot it'll be very stable, not quite like a E, S class or 5, 7 series as was mentioned but the LS is definitely the most comfortable and smooth. also EASILY the least annoying and expensive to own (statistically speaking, i'm sure someone has owned a trouble free bimmer or benz that they could point out).

i totally don't blame someone for not wanting a 20 year old car so maybe a slightly newer LS would be better but i'm very biased toward the 1999 style lol...

 

I regularly, I mean almost never hit 100-110 mph and my car, 2002 GS430 is more straight than me.

 

Dramatic overstatement. Having owned two ESs and having driven them at 100 MPH, they are not scary. Are they as confidence inspiring as a GS, or LS, no...of course not those are much more substantial and sophisticated vehicles.

Anyways, no reason to be driving 90-100MPH on US roads anyways.

 

Sure there is. When passing other vehicles.

 

In the effort as to not appear like an old fuddy duddy, I'll agree LOL

 

I agree. Not that I regularly drive 145 to 160 km/h (90 to 100 mph), but I have driven at speeds approaching that in all my Toyotas and Lexus (and all FWD models), from my 1987 Corolla up to my current ESh. I found it quite easy to approach those extra-legal speeds and found them all -- without exception, even that tiny first-generation FWD Corolla -- to be surprisingly stable at those high speeds.

 

it very much depends on the vehicle... I have found IS more stable than 3GS at 100mph. Recent TMC models have been all tested specifically at over 100 mph for straight line stability, so even Yaris is fine.

Heck my wifes 90hp Nissan Note is fine at 100 mph (almost max speed).

 

 

There is not a single car that can compare to high speed stability of the S class Mercedes. 120 miles per hour, changing lanes like whoa...