1111GS

I have to admit though, I always want an S regardless how unreliable it is. I don't see as many S around here as in SF when I saw new S stopped on the freeway more often that one wants to see. In my view, LS is not a luxury sedan or at least not as much compared to the S. And I wonder why they didn't add rolling massage to the 18 way adjustable seats.

justcrave

http://autos.aol.com/article/car-sound-systems/

since sound systems were mentioned

natnut

Popularity does not equal quality. In that case McDonald's makes the best burgers in the world.

I judge the car by its inherent qualities and not by how many of my co-workers/neighbors drive it.

Any honest man who has sat in both the current E-class and 4th Gen GS will tell you which car drives/handles better and which car has the interior with the better fit-n-finish and better quality.

tomd comes into the GS forum with his 2013 GS and claims that Mercedes is far away from Lexus. We have to assume he is talking about E vs GS. In that case he is so far off it is laughable. Even most current comparison tests hardly include the E class as it is so far off the pace, it is no longer part of the conversation. So he's wrong on this count. Converse is most probably true : E class is nowhere close to 4GS.

If he is making a general statement of Mercedes vs Lexus, the fact that only certain Mercedes models are (arguably) better than its respective Lexus counterpart shows that he tomd is guilty of the most egregious hyperbole and exaggeration and is most probably trolling or baiting this forum.

natnut

That's the B and O in the Audi and not in the Mercedes. And Mark Levinson is ranked second after it. Right sound system, wrong car lol.

Not even close to what tomd is claiming.(that MB is far away from Lexus). At most this shows that both sound systems are competitive to each other.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I had interest in the 535 and A6.Wasn't even interested enough to look at a E Class.
The only Benz is the S Class which blows away the LS.Comfort, amenities but has a $30K+ price difference but if you have the cash and dump a vehicle every 3-4 years....

SW17LS

The GS is never going to sell as many units as the E class and 5 series, nor does Lexus intend it to. You have to bear in mind that Lexus has the ES and GS, and if you look at who is driving 525's and lower end E350s, its older people/older women that walk in, want a midsized car and thats what they buy. In a Lexus dealer those buyers wind up in an ES, not a GS, so comparing sales figures with the GS only tells part of the story.

As for the S class...I just don't get it. Yeah, its a huge car and has a ton of road presence, but at $30k more than an LS (we're talking about a comparable S class being $120k!), or even moreso an A8 or 7 series, I just don't see it, and yes I have sat in and driven them. Back when you could buy an S class for $85k and an LS was $70k...maybe...but $80k for an LS vs $120k for an S Class?

Mercedes do have nice material quality, but the design of their interiors is so angular and stark, just doesn't do anything for me.

Just sitting in the E class was enough for me to cross it off the list, a lumbering test drive was just a formality.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The difference is the extra luxury options that you can't get in a LS.
I've driven an LS many times as my son in law had one before the S Class.I drove most of a NJ to Chicago trip in his '11 S Class ($125K sticker) and it was unbelievable.
Those extra features were great.You just don't seem to get tired driving that car.
Yes,$30K+ more but if one can afford to own or lease and don't keep a car past basic warranty,it's worth the extra bucks to me.Depreciation is bad,though.Better off leasing or buying used.
My s-i-l paid $82K for his at the time 18 month old 14K mile '11 with a $125K list.

I don't like the E Class design.Never even looked at it.
The 535 comparably equipped with the GS is thousands more on the sticker.
I actually preferred the A6 w/Prestige pkg over the GS a bit but not at Audi's crazy lease number.
Dec was a great month to buy or lease a GS.Great discounting and incentives.

SW17LS

What kind of luxury features are we talking about?

I personally never got tired driving the LS on a road trip. Haven't taken the GS on a real long one yet, 250 miles was about the longest.

You have to bear in mind the incredible depreciation too. I was looking at 2-3 year old S550s, which were comparably priced to 2-3 year old LS460s, when you factor in the price difference when they were new...the cost to own difference is staggering. I was very excited to drive the S class, since I had not driven one since 2001 or so, but like my other experiences with Mercedes...I was disappointed. If you've got the cash, maybe, but the value proposition is just too extreme for me given the other incredible options at such a lower cost.

As did I, I preferred the GS' interior, but liked the exterior styling and the drive of the A6 a little more, but the lease was $200+ more per month.

Have you driven the A8? The A8 is a pretty incredible car...and again $30,000 less than an S class.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Side bolsters on the seat back and bottoms power up automatically when making a turn,massage and roller massage option,open the door and where ever it's opened to it won't close on you,car stops if under 20 MPH and door is opened,choices of ambient light colors,PCS stops the S Class,position NAV screen to face passenger and have NAV directions in video gauge area,more that I can't think of now..

I edited with the depreciation issue and the deal my s-i-l got.

I like the front of the A8 and the interior.The A8L I like is loaded and at $110K list.

Go on Edmunds and you can get a LS460L to the high $90's.

SW17LS

That A8L compares to a $130k A8 though, still a lot cheaper, although knowing Audis leases it might cost more per month to lease LOL

But for $30,000 more than an LS? Maybe its that I've never experienced any of those features in a car, but thats a lot.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

No doubt in both points but if one has money to burn and with the S Classes on the road,it seems some do.....
The S 550 with AMG pkg looks so nice too.
A8's and S Classes are discounted big.The '13 LS not so much.

SW17LS

You definitely see a *lot* of S classes on the road, a shocking amount IMHO. They have a pretty good lease actually.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I bet over 90% are leased.

SW17LS

Oh, for sure. MB has that balloon financing too that I've never really figured out...

zc1

Thanks for your impressions. I was wondering if you were comparing the E Class and GS. My father has an E Class right now and was very impressed by my GS. He was so impressed, actually, that he started looking at an LS for himself. For a while he debated LS vs CLS. He has decided that he'll get a CLS now, then retire with an LS. He hasn't said anything specific that swayed him that direction, but where he works and because of his current position, 'status' seems to be a big deal. I suspect that the choice of CLS while he's still working and LS once he retires is largely driven by that.

I have sat in his E Class, but haven't actually driven in it. My impression of the interior was that, despite the difference in design philosophy, as far as materials and build are concerned it is similar in quality to the GS. I found COMAND to be far less intuitive than the Lexus' system. I don't remember how the switches, dials, buttons, etc physically felt when operating them, though, and the Merc may differ from the GS in that regard.

As mentioned earlier, the two vehicles are very different in their design language. The E Class is very angular, cold and more 'aggressive' looking, vs the somewhat smoother/flowing and warmer feeling of the GS interior. The E also had a ton of buttons that just seemed 'dropped' into place with no real effort put into trying to find an attractive arrangement or other means to the same end. I'll have to check it out more closely next time I see him.

Merc:



Lexus: