GS4Will

putting aside the styling/exterior factor as "beauty is in the eyes of beholder/owner", i think when buying cars, esp the expensive/luxury ones, i would look at price, performnace, reliability/customer(in random order) as the utmost important criteria...price along, the s500 is waaayyy too much compare to the LS430. but as Brad said, a fully loaded s430 is still many thousand more than the ls430....

the conclusion: if you have to get that 3-point mark on the hood for any reason, get the S430/500, if not, the LS is still the champ in the "decathlon race among luxury car", IMHO. i have friends who only want benz, but they can only afford the c-coupe....at $30k, is it worth the $$$? not in my book...

BadBtsz4u

IMO the s430/500 with the larger rim option 'looks wise' is better looking stock than the ls430. Other factors do prolly make the ls430 a better selection considering moddability and the obvios,like reliability and cash savings.

rd8a

Lots of places, especially in America, Lexus gets a bad rap on styling. I don't know what they are talking about. I love the styling in all the LS models, the 430 included. I don't think it looks like an Avalon (a bit ugly), it's more like the 430 succeeds in
achieving what the Avalon doesn't.
Mercedes? They're just a bunch of teutonic metal boxes...

Kaban

To me it all depends on how much money you want to spend. If you want to spend $60k and looking for the best quality on everything anywhere go for LS430 (you won't be disappointed). If you feel like spending $90k and looking for tank like protection and safety then go for the Benzo.

Ultrasonic

I bought the LS over the Mercedes. I didn't see the value in paying more for less.