Did anyone read the latest LS 600hL review that's linked from the reviews sticky in this forum:

The Link is:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...pressions.html

Comparison:

2008 Jaguar Super V8 vs 2008 Lexus LS600hL vs 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550 vs 2007 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT

The key points in the article......

"The all-wheel-drive Lexus (600h L) exhibited pigheaded understeer in most corners, often attended by the beep-beep nagging of the stability nanny. Switching it off kills the beeps, but never allows one scintilla of chassis slip angle. And despite being fitted with $3000 worth of active anti-roll bars, the LS 600hL seemed to roll as much or more than the other cars here, even when set to "sport" mode (it's borderline nautical in "comfort"). Charging hard up the hill depleted the battery quickly (actually, pressing the gas pedal on any type of road kills the battery quickly), and horsing the CVT through its eight virtual gear ratios with liberal doses of carpet-crushing throttle provoked an unseemly "hybrid system overheat" warning. We didn't find the hybrid gear equal to sacrificing a golf-bag's worth of trunk space for and, after this session, all editors were ready to red-pencil the 600 badge down to a 500"

In the end, the Lexus strikes us as ideal for CEOs who've made their fortunes plundering the earth's resources and want to appear to be making amends. It said little to us beyond "Forgive me; I'm not quite the guzzler I appear to be." Its smugness irked us almost as much as its undeserved 600 badge. We'd all sooner drive the tire-smoking LS 460L for $33K less, so it finishes fourth.

 

It's really weird how they didn't select the LS 460 L, the rightful competitor to the S550 and Jaguar XJ.

Anyhow, it boils down to the fact that they liked outright performance, hence picking the smallest car out of them all, the Maserati Quattroporte, while the Lexus hybrid's stability control beeped at them too much. And then they got bogged down on the hybrid argument. Why not get an LS 460 L and avoid that discussion? The 600h L is better suited for a values analysis comparison with its gas-guzzler V12 rivals.

 

I believe the 460 would have scored higher than the 600 if not winning the comparo.

Pat

 

I think they considered the 600 instead of the 460 because of price and the fact that ( I think?? ) Lexus said it was going to be a little more sporty with all its anti-rolling suspension gadgets, bigger brakes and engine.

Could care less what they think, its still the car to have IMO for straight up luxury which is what I would want from this class of car. That interior especially with the Executive package is to die for.

 

Frickin hypocrite tree-hugger. Yet he doesn't mind booting it to excess draining the battery in the process.

His Mom forgot to change that idiot's diaper long ago, and now he's just full of it.

 

I don't know whats up with MotorTrend lately. They have been giving Lexus cars
the last position in Comparison tests. Remember the Hyundai Veracruz vs. Lexus RX350 test?

 

im sorry, but if ibuy a 110,000 dollar lexus, i don't think ill be racing in it, kiss mine motor trend and actually test the car for what it is meant for

 

Am with you brother totally agree...

motortrend

 

They couldn't use the Touring Edition LS460??

 

Evidently Lexus sees Motor Trend as a low-brow rag catering mostly to red neck tastes... So they get the basic model...

 

Motor trend blows. They sent me a collection letter when I canceled them

If it weren't for the free 1 yr subscription in the good deal section, I wouldn't ever subscribe to these magazines.

Thank goodness for CL

 

I'm a Motor Trend subscriber and also thought the comparison was ridiculous. I realize that they need objective criteria to compare vehicles, but why do they insist on rating luxury sedans based on how fast they can carve up a mountain road? If that was the type of driving that I intended to do, I would have bought an M3. What a joke!

 

I don't even put MT in the bathroom anymore, its not worthy...

 

I wouldn't disagree with their top rating for the Maserati based on their criteria.

What I did find interesting is that their ranking of Maserati, S550, Jag and then LS600 is the exact inverse of the reliability ranking of those four vehicles.

 

The LS600hL would probably do better if it weren't so darned heavy.