In their November issue, Consumer Reports has compared the Lexus LS 460L and Mercedes S550, which the LS 460L handily won, scoring 99/100 versus 86/100 for the S550.
While I certainly wouldn’t argue with the outcome of their comparison, I think Consumer Reports has gone off the deep-end, listen to this logic:
The Lexus LS 460h easily outscored the Mercedes S550 in CR’s tests of the ultra-luxury cruisers. Both cars provide the highest levels of comfort, quietness, roominess, and luxury features. The Mercedes had more agile handling, better steering feel, and a slight edge in ride comfort and acceleration. But its score was hurt by its much lower fuel economy (21 mpg in the Lexus vs. 17 mpg in the Mercedes) and complicated controls that can be frustrating to use.
Think about this, the S550, according to CR, has better handling, steering, ride comfort and acceleration, yet the LS 460L scored 99/100, which is essentially perfect. I’m as big a Lexus enthusiast as anyone, but that’s just not right.
(I’m sure that price (the base S550 is $26,000 more expensive) and reliability came into play, but it went unmentioned in the press release.)
[Source: Yahoo!]