doug_999

Mike,
I have not seen them compared side by side - I have not even seen a road test of the 545. I'm curious where you got the numbers from.

Doug

gs400998

Select the 5 Series Sedan Brochure at BMWUSA:
http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/5/545...sedan.cdefault

BMW listed 5.8 for the A/T and 5.7 for the manual (0-60). Car & Driver and Motor Trend got 5.8 and 5.7 for the GS400 back in October and November 97 respectively.

doug_999

Let's try this again
"I have not seen them compared side by side"

You can NOT compare numbers of cars unless either
a) they are compared side by side
or
b) the test result is adjusted for altitude and temp - of which only Car & Driver does as far as I know.

In comparisons side by side, the GS4xx has never been faster than the E39 5-series. I suspect the new 5 is faster than the old one (E39), therefore, I find it hard to believe that the current GS is faster than the current 5. However, until they are either compared side by side, or compared by an organization that adjusts for altitude and temp, I don't think we can say one is faster than the other.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Who cares, the new 5 series is FUGLY. I'd take the Cadillac CTS-V before I'd buy a new 545.

00lexondub

iTrader: (2)

hey buy the new vette i a m selling my lex tobuy one. thans
rick

LexFather

EVO and CAR magazines. No side by side. It seems the new 545 should be a tenth of a second or so quicker than the GS. I always avg out times of all the reviews (internet/newspaper/magazines etc).

gs400998

September 2001 Motor Trend did a comparsion of E430 Sport, GS430, 540i Sports and A6 4.2:
E430: 0-60 6.3, 1/4M 14.7
540i: 0-60 6.6, 1/4M 14.6
GS430: 0-60 6.0, 1/4M 14.4
A6 4.2: 0-60 6.7, 1/4M 15.0

Hameed

I couldn't agree with you more!!

chicagoblknazn

I just saw a BMW 5 on the road recently, and the new design is kind of cute. It's different but not as bad as I thought it would be. I have no plans on ditching my GS though. It might not have as much power as I would like, but how much would be enough. I'm spoiled and I know that, so I know I could be just a bit greedy.

The GS has the right amount of style and power and with my etronic, it's a blast to navigate through the city and cornering. I feel like i'm on an episode of cops when I dash out in front of general traffic. Now, is my inline 6 the fastest out there? Hardly, but it's faster than a lot and I am not a street racer so realistically I don't really need more than I have. Is it the most gorgeous car downstairs in the garage, though. Well, when that Phaeton and that 2004 SL isn't parked in there.

doug_999

Ok, now I have to say "with the exception of the 2001 Motor Trend article", I have never seen the GS4xx faster than a 540. Now don't make me get out the 7 other comparisons where the 540 beat the GS

SCWells72

Auto to auto, I've definitely seen #s in favor of the GS4, even if only by a narrow margin. When you throw in the 540i-6M, I've rarely seen the GS4 take it, though.

SeattleGS400

iTrader: (1)

I was about to say the same thing: BMW 540i automatic vs. Lexus GS400 (obviously automatic), the Lexus is always the faster of the two in acceleration tests in car magazines. Now in the handling department, that's a different story, although the GS4 is supposed to be a better handler through the slalom (based on some magazines), all of us know that it sure floats around the corners. . .

If you had a BMW 540i 6-speed manual, I've seen it marginally faster than an automatic GS4 (about 0.1 to 0.3s faster to 60)--which makes sense given the automatic powertrain losses, and having 1 less forward gear.

In any event, I'm sure the new 6 speed automatic, V8-equipped BMW and MBs are fast accelerators (at least a little bit faster than their previous generations). How much faster remains to be seen in a full comparison among the 3 mentioned cars on the same day/conditions/track. I'm sure that the new 2006 GS will be right where it should be for a performance luxury car (mid 5's, not bad for a car that's luxury first, performance second). Considering that the newly facelifted 04 LS430 w/ the 6 speed auto goes 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, the lighter 06 GS430 should cut a bit off that (0.1-0.3 s off).

Wait a few more years, I'd speculate that a new V8 will be released in the 2008 GS model. Why? In 2007, another new body LS is supposed to be released, and considering that it's the current flagship (but will be usurped by an even more luxurious model) it would befit it to get a new, more efficient, and more powerful engine in there to be on par with (or better than) the competition. Naturally, it would be transplanted/shared with the GS, as the current 4.3L 3UZFE does now. Also, as Lexus will be starting up a brand new performance vehicles division (the recently defunct "L-tuned" division was mostly for appearance and not horsepower gain), we could very well see higher horsepower "L" versions of the normal car lineup (ala "M" versions of BMW, or AMG of MB) even before 2008. One thing that I think will be very interesting in the future years will be the hybrid cars--some of the prelim info I've been reading (and some others here have read) is that the hybrid engines can be quite powerful- having the extra electric engine as an "electronic supercharger" of sorts to boost the normal gas engines for excellent performance.

Of course, this all speculation on my part from what I've read. We'll see when things all come out. . .

Kbueno

You guys make me laugh....when you compare the GS with the 540, it all comes down to driver at those miniscule acceleration time differences. I'm glad Lexus is planning a "AMG-type" segment in 07, but I doubt I can hold out that long. Note to Lexus: Do you want sales like you had in 98' ? Then do what you did in 98' i.e. build a car that walks away from the rest. Where the f is my GS500!!

doug_999

Guys, I have to tell ya, the 540ia, at least the 99 and higher is faster -and is faster in every test of the two cars compared side by side, with the exception of that silly motor trend article. I've owned them both as well and can tell you the 540ia is faster - a LOT from 0-30 and actually a bit slower from 30 on.

GS430lvr is however correct - in almost every test, it is only a couple of a tenths of a second. Not a lot.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

...when it's not in the shop getting fixed. I have 3 friends with 540i's, 2 auto and 1 6spd and they've all had numerous gremlins putting them in the shop much more than my GS has been.