Beowulf

Enjoyed the forum, but it's time to move on. Bought the LS 430 for my wife as an anniversary present, but after driving it a while, she's decided she likes our '04 Acura MDX Touring better. Might have been different if the dealer had been able to source a car with the sports suspension, but I was told that as of January 2004, that could no longer be done.

After usurping the MDX, she urged me to trade the Lexus in on something I really wanted, so I made the jump to an '05 E55 AMG last saturday. Really enjoyed the Lexus, but it just wasn't "us." I'll miss a lot of the conveniences (the M-B NAV sucks in comparison, no back-up camera, no bluetooth, etc.), but 469 HP & 516 lbs-ft of torque have a way of blurring your memory of such things.

Regardless, best to all and thanks for sharing info!

LOTC

Congrats, I would enjoy the 469hp/516lbs-torque as well

Nice having you around, stop by from time to time.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

I tell the Mrs. that if we had one of those we could get to our favorite places soooo much faster. She looks at me and

Enjoy...

Losiho

You sold the Lexus for a German Taxi Cab ?

ivesGS400

Post some pics of that new bad boy. We'll still talk to you

Beowulf

Go here to see some quick shots I've taken over the last few days (Note - large file warnings - NOT for dial-up!): http://webpages.charter.net/drm400/~drm400/index.html/

You may note that I replaced the oem leather steering wheel with one that is made from the same black birds-eye maple used in the E55 cabin trim.

During the 1K mile break-in period I'm limited to 4500 rpm and 85 mph max, with no use of the manual shift gear changing options. I've been looking for excuses to put on some miles!

nk1983

wow congrats on one beautiful beast!
i imagine id be more than satisfied with those numbers as well! congrats on having enuff restraint to properly break it in.. stick around we dont mind the occasional E55 owner...lol

nthach

The E55s are my favorite Benz, i'm not much a fan of the newer gen MB products. And what kind of camera do you have, I like the DOF on the AMG engine nameplate shot.

AggieLS

Congrat's on the choice - it looks fantastic. Stop by again and let us know how you are doing.

Gojirra99

Congrats !! E55 is my favorite Benz sedan, great choice

-J-P-L-

Congrats!

At least you picked the right Benz. An S430 for example would have been a step down even though
it's more expensive than the LS (just check any comparison tests between the two).

How could your wife like the MDX over an LS? It must just be the added cargo space because the LS
is far superior in every other way. Please explain.

Mandingo

Beowulf - I'd be interested to hear your thoughts as you get used to the E55 - pros and cons - when compared to the 2004 LS430.

My LS with modern luxury and euro tuned suspension was about $30,000 less than a similarly equipped E55 - what does that additional money buy (apart from 200HP )?

I am sure the performance of the AMG weighs heavily in its favor but there aren't that many times I can even use the LS430 to it's maximum (joining freeways, overtaking).

What do you miss about the LS430 (if anything)?

Beowulf

Nikon D70 - wish I had focused the shot better to show the entire nameplate.
My son asked me if I was going to send an Xmas card to "Florius Audija", thanking him for his work.

Beowulf

Agreed on the S-class - I had no interest whatsoever.

As to the wife's decision to prefer the MDX? Who knows? I've been trying to second-guess her for 30+ years with little success. Her previous car was a rare '95 BMW E34 540i M-Sport - basically an E34 M5 clone in every respect except it had the 4-liter V8 instead of the 3.8 straight 6. Only 200 were made. After the somewhat hard edge of the BMW, silence and smoothness were big on her list at the time and she kept mentioning the LS 430. Make no mistake - the LS was a fine car - never a glitch or malfunction, but it was a bit "too smooth." for her. The steering seemed to lack feel and the car's handling reponses could have been more sharp for her tastes. Not knocking the LS in any way here - it's drive dynamics just weren't what she was ultimately looking for.

As for the MDX, I'm shocked that something based on the Odyssey minivan (or ANY minivan) handles as well as it does. Steering is very crisp and direct, with good road feel, and it's unibody construction make for a very quiet driving environment. I never liked the exterior styling of the MDX, but I don't have to look at it when I'm behind the wheel. The 265-HP V6 has surprising pickup and the list of standard amenities/passenger room/ cargo room made it a bang-for-the buck choice for us.

Beowulf

As I mentioned previously, the LS has a far superior NAV system, with integrated backup camera - the E55 lacks the latter. Likewise, the LS has integrated bluetooth and the Mercedes requires hard-wire. Xenon headlights are standard on the LS and optional on the E55 (only in the US - they're standard on the E55 everywhere else in the world - poor decision on Mercedes' part). The M-B Harmon-Kardon is fine, but I think the Mark Levinson was better, especially in terms of customizing the sound to the cabin. The LS also offers more passenger and trunk room, but it's also a larger car.

All that said, it'd hard to ignore the E55's raison d'etre - that monster under the hood. If you have a chance to drive one, you'll know what I'm talking about. At the same time, be advised it's not one-dimensional - all of the car's systems - braking/suspension/steering are designed to accommodate that power. It is, plainly and simply, a four-door rocket, which also has a great level of fit, finish and luxury (Alcantara headliner, Nappa/Nubuck seating standard, quad-zone temp controls, etc).

While I am still observing the 85-mph limity during break-in, I have never driven a car which is so secure, competent and yes, quiet at an 80-mph cruise - even quieter than the LS! Around town, that's not the case - the E55's exhaust definitely makes itself known.

The LS 430 & E55 are really apples & oranges - each has a different mission that they fulfill extremely well. I wouldn't try to talk anyone "into" or "out of" either one - just depends on your priorities.