A member of German Car Zone was nice enough to translate an article from German car magazine Auto Motor Und Sport pitting the Volkswagen Phaeton against the Lexus LS 460. (The full text appears on Autospies, if you don’t feel like signing up for GCZ account.)
Now, whether it’s a case of German bias or a truly objective comparison, the Phaeton wins the contest handily, in every aspect, from interior quality to handling. The Lexus beat down, the interior is called “cheap” and “inferior”, the trunk “useless”, and the load capacity “pathetic”. Definitely sounds like an unbiased comparison, nein?
Of course, it’s impossible for me to compare these cars myself, as the Phaeton was pulled from North America due to poor sales, so I guess I’ll just have to take this German car magazine’s word. With a grain of Verkauf.