MotorTrend Comparison: BMW 550i, Jaguar XF SC, Lexus GS 460, and the Mercedes-Benz E550

1st Place Jaguar XF supercharged
Bold, complex, luscious: a vintage worthy of celebration.

2nd Place Mercedes-Benz E550
Full-bodied and smooth: a standout effort for everyday consumption.

3rd Place BMW 550i
Strong fruits produce sharp, fast flavor, but the finish is rough.

4th Place Lexus GS 460
Commendably competent, but lacking crispness and character.

And the Lexus GS outsells any of those cars listed.

Silver, Just because something sells well, doesn't mean it is the best in it's class.

Exactly. Just because a few people from Motor Trend thinks that Jaguar XF is the best the consumers might think other wise. They should let the people vote and test drive. If 1,000,000 people where to vote out the 4 of these cars who do you think will win?

Sales just show you hit the soft spot in the middle. Good value for the money, but not always the best car by any stretch.

"Agent009"

So this goes for BMW & MB world wide sells? They have Good value for the money? And not always the best?

ARE YOU KIDDING??? The BMW 5 series totally dominates this segment, with the E-Class close behind. The Lexus GS IS NOT the sales leader in this category. That's one of the most retarded things i've ever read on this site.

You know about as much about cars as I expect a Lexus proponent to know: very little.

Dumbass.

FYI,

the BMW 5 series sold 15,673 cars in 2008 as of April,

the Lexus GS sold 6,138 copies in the same period. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

And that's just in the U.S., not worldwide.

Silver its not all about sales. Jaguar will never be a 1, 00000o car seller. Thats not what we are we are a Prestige bran. Not the Mac Luxury cars that Lexus and BMW and Merc. are. Its more than that. You don't get it. Thats fine. Just know that there are more people using Windows PC's than MAC's. Clearly Mac's are better so what does that tell you! Just because your friends are doing it, doesn't make it right or smart.

I will have to say that this is the second comparison test I have seen online, one from Edmunds.com/insideline and the other Motortrend.com.

I will have to agree with these results.

The New Jaguar XF definitely has the best combination of size, handling, power, comfort, Ride quality, and last but not least PRICE.

The Mercedes E550 is a great car for everyday which has all the attributes of the Jag XF but is starting to be an oldie in the styling department and it is a bit more expensive.

The BMW 550i is a great car indeed with the most synchronized feel coming from the steering/suspension/brakes But it has a lot of compromises such as a to firm ride quality over less then perfect roads (which are definitely encountered everyday), and an interior that does not seem as if it should belong to these car's with their high price tags.

The Lexus basically has nothing on these cars. The Interior is way to small for it's exterior size, The ride is to firm and giggly, a big minus for a Lexus with no real advantages in handling. And does not have any performance gains on any of these cars, such as 0-60, 1/4mile and Gas millage that should be better for a car being slower and with it's new 8-speed automatic.

Exactly, I was about to say that the GS doesn't sell anywhere close to what the 5 or E sell every month.

what are you smokin' silver. the GS is OUTSOLD by the 5-series and the e-class by 2-3 times.

Yeah right, oh come on now, who are you kidding. You and me both know America's favorite luxury car is Lexus.

still a huge GS fan, but Lexus really piss me off how they did the hybrid and the 460 smh.

as for the comparo, good shit jag, i more comparo to go, M45 and A6 are left...

hey silver... lets just put it this way... you are a lexus fan... case closed

Even though Lexus GS came in last place it still outsells anything in the comparison. So it's something that the Lexus GS have that the others don't, because it outsells them all so it has something that the customers want that the others don't have or lack. And we are not going to even start on retention rate.

The GS has traded sales with the M35/45 for the last 3 years. Actually, it is only recently that that has happend. The M35 was outselling the Gs for quite awhile

Boy, are you wrong the only car the Lexus may outsell is the Jaguar(I doubt I will this year) But the Lexus doesn't sell close to the BMW or MB U.S. or worldwide.

Lexus has been the #1 Selling Luxury Brand in U.S. for the past 8 years....

^^^thanks for giving me a laugh silver1 and michaeltaylor!

Yeah you guys,,,,stop picking on Silver1,,,just stop it......

"Lexus has been the #1 Selling Luxury Brand in U.S. for the past 8 years...."

But you know that doesn't mean anything in terms of segment-to-segment. The two cars that have given Lexus this position are, as 1995 said, Camry-based: RX and ES.

The IS is not the sales leader in its class.

The GS is not the sales leader in its class.

The GX is not the sales leader in its class.

The SC is not the sales leader in its class.

I have no idea about the LX, but I would be surprised if it outsold the Range Rover or GL.

Whats your point? Lexus is still the #1 choice among American buyers no matter how you put it.

The most powerful country in the world love Lexus. Is it that it's so powerful and no other auto-maker can match it's quality and dependability?

I know of at least one--lexusis350.

Speaking of which, I saw a black IS-F on the road today. Looked great!

Wow! really? I have yet to see one of these....

The Ford explorer was the #1 selling SUV for years and it was one of the bigges POS I've ever driven. They are so unstable on the highway, and the slightest crosswind sends the rear end left and right. The interior is horribly cheap, and had squeaks and rattles when it was driven off the lot Bran new. My father had two of them back in the 90's and they were complete trash. Rode like $hit, tons of road noise etc.

"I'd go as far to say that the GS has interior space on the level of the LS and above. Yet these qualities are not even mentioned here."

its quite small there dude. oh and it sounds like you haven't driven the 5 series yet. oh thats right, your biased to lexus.

michael Taylor

Been hitting the pipe much??? I owned a gs430, very good car, reliable, nicely laid out interior and ok power. Have you even driven a 550i to say that a gs430 can out handle it? is more fun to drive than a 550i??? Look, if you argue the point that a gs430 is more of a performance car than a 550, your just delusional.

Michael, I have test-driven the BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes sedans reviewed in this MT article. Even though I am 6'4" tall and long-waisted, I fit comfortably in the driver's seat of all three cars without a problem.

I have not test-driven the Lexus GS. Do you know why? Because when I sat in a GS in the dealer showroom, my head hit the ceiling! Why bother test-driving a car you won't fit into?

So much for the "roominess" of the GS!

Your only point that is right: Jags tend to break.

HAHAHAHA you are stupid I wish I was there so I could beat the hell out of you for being so damn ignorant. Enough with the ignorance!!! Damn! Okay lexus is not a bad car. It's not on par with BMW , Benz and the likes when it comes to performance. And styling, It has nothing on the XF or benz. Although I am a BMW is fan, I would have to say stying wise, although the BMW has a much more take a chance, and risky, outgoing styling, the lexus is more conservative, fluid but also blends in and doesn't stand out. like the girl wearing glassed in high school who was really hot, hotter than alot of the popular hotties, but no-one knew because she didn't stand out enough for people to realize it.

HAHAHAHA you are stupid I wish I was there so I could beat the hell out of you for being so damn ignorant. Enough with the ignorance!!! Damn! Okay lexus is not a bad car. It's not on par with BMW , Benz and the likes when it comes to performance. And styling, It has nothing on the XF or benz. Although I am a BMW is fan, I would have to say stying wise, although the BMW has a much more take a chance, and risky, outgoing styling, the lexus is more conservative, fluid but also blends in and doesn't stand out. like the girl wearing glassed in high school who was really hot, hotter than alot of the popular hotties, but no-one knew because she didn't stand out enough for people to realize it.

Three out of four had 18 and 19's with summer sport tire's and the oldest of the four had M+S winter tires and was just as fast and faster in some test but dead last in braking because of the tire combination,why dose it seem that MB so often get's the short end of the stick in these test's?? Testing against the best in the world with winter tires?? This shows what a great car it really is....

That is a very good point. I am surprised that MT didn't insist that the Mercedes be fitted with summer tires.

These biased reviews say nothing about what the car is like to live with day in and day out. All the testing done show nothing more than the fact that all 4 are equally capable and performance difference is negligible between them. Lexus has been #1 seller of luxury cars in North America for quite awhile now, and lead in customer satisfaction surveys for the last decade. They even placed #2 as the most prestigious marque, behind Porsche. So they verdict is this, if you want the most reliable/stylish/easy to live with vehicle that performs just as well as the competitors while saving thousands less, it's gotta be the Lexus - no brainer in my opinion.

Did you read the article? They did talk about how the cars are to live with day to day. They said the BMW is a great handling but rides horribly and should be avoided as a daily driver while the other cars are all comfortable. It goes into more detail than that but you get the point.

Go drive on then get back to me. I have been trading GS's and E's like mad.
You'll change your mind I promise. It's that good.

yeah, the Jag is nice I have to admit, very classy looking car (as are all Jags), but let's see how well it holds up first. I love the Benz interior but the exterior looks too dated. And the Bimmer? how well do you want to get to know your chiropractor :)

The Lexus GS, fine though it is, is hardly in the same class as the others as far as being a driver's car. In fact the Infiniti M has consistently out classed it in that regard as well (Why they didn't include the M here is puzzling). You can talk about sales and day to day ownership all you want but this is about the enthusiast aspect of driving. That's why the Lexus lands in last place.

And the GS does, indeed sell in the middle of the pack in this class. The BMW 5 and MB outsell the GS almost 2 to 1. I'm no Lexus hater by any stretch but a little reality check is in order here.

They're all good.

My ranking; Merc, Jag, BMW, Lexus.

I love Lexus, but I put the GS last because the design isn't as nice as the first generation GS, and it's not as exciting as the V8 second gen. It is just too bland.

Jaguar is the second most reliable brand in this test. Have been the most reliable European brand for years now.

Thanks Urban you saved me the trouble. How are you by the way?

Hey! Doing well. Jag is great too. May trade up to an 03 or 04 for that 4.2L V8.

Let me know I will see what I can do for you. Call me and I'll try to find a cherry for ya.

The new Jag is exceeding my expectations. Congrats Jaguar!

The E550 is doing amazingly well for being quite old compared to the others (yes, even w/ winter tires)....

Not surprised with the outcome, the Jag is a great car. I wonder why they did not include the M45?

Motor Trend invited the winner of the last such comparison, plus any new contenders, including recently & significantly upgraded contenders in the last test. The Infiniti came in second place last time, but the car has not significantly changed since the last test, thus it was not included this time. They did not include the Audi A6 for the same reason.

The Cadillac CTS could have been included, but this was a test of V8 sedans only, and who in their right mind would pay $4,000 for a Cadillac V8 with only 20 hp more than the direct-injection V6? The otherwise-excellent CTS with the DI V6 would have a significant power disadvantage versus the other cars.

I dont ever remember the M45 coming in second. Could he get me a link.
thanks..

I love the M45! Even with no changes in the car it would still do pretty good against these great cars.

The Lexus is a ladies car.

Nuff said :-/

Why? Cause it's a car where men don't have to sit in the BMW or MB service area 364 out of 365 days a year?

CONGRATS silver1 you have successfully become then next EL34!

too many errors to even respond too. you are wildly misinformed.

I'd still get the GS for exclusivity, but that 5.6 sec 0-60 is not good, atleast it's cheapest. Toyota should've put the direct injection in it, atleast it would've had 5 sec. times.

Hey, u could call me a Lex. Fan, I'm not leavin - Can't wait for the Direct Injection GS 460 and the
GS-F, BTW I love BMW 550i 6spd Manual (only 6spd Manual RWD V8 in its class)...exhaust sounds much nicer than M5.

Whats a lexus?

I think that they compete with that other brand, what's their name?...MBW??

I would not expected a different cresults from motor trend. They hate LEXUS

Maybe they do but this is a definite step in the right direction. Plus it just gives buyers a unique new contender to consider other than the stereotypical luxury sport sedans from MB and BMW.

audiphile your logic on the cadilac makes no sense why pay 4k more for 20 more horsepower then why add the 550i why pay all that extra money for 3tenths of a second over the 535i

Bravo. I would rather have the 535, Plus an inline 6 is much more durable than a v8. an inline 6 has 7 main bearings on the crankshaft, a v8 only has 5. Why do you think all the 18 wheelers here use inline 6 engines. More bearings less cylinders. There is a main bearing between each connecting rod, where on a v8 and a v6 there are one main bearing between every two connecting rods. the crankshaft has much more support when you have more bearings and less cylinders, plus the inline 6 requires much less work to balance because of it's already balanced nature.

to be spacific its 2 tenths for 8k the comparison of the 550 and the 535. I know the comparison was for the v8 versions but this was response to why someone would pay 4k for 20 more horse power.

still a huge GS fan, but Lexus really piss me off how they did the hybrid and the 460 smh.

as for the comparo, good shit jag, i more comparo to go, M45 and A6 are left...

Good for Jag. This car is starting to live up to the hype. I can't wait to see how BMW and Mercedes will answer this new challenger with their new models coming out soon.

Here's a question to stoke some fires, why wasn't the A6 in this comparison?

because front wheel drive cars suck. oh, quattro? please...

No, because it and the Infiniti M have already been included and haven't changed much from the last mid-sizers test. All three of the other cars besides the Jag that were included have received new engines and styling updates.

@ Silver1: It's obvious you love Lexus, but denying its right place when it comes to prestige, brand, looks, class, refinement, history, etc... is actually backfiring for you (and Lexus). I prefer a Merc and a Bimmer over a Lexus, but still give Lexus a whole deal of respect. I guess it's just about not going overboard.

Too bad, Toyota has been makin fine RWD cars, straight 6 turbos and V8's for a long time - and refinement is what it's about. I'll take that red Lex any day over the other ones...just cause less ppl have it. BTW i have a BM smg lets just say it's seen better days - waiting for the lease to end.

The Jag XF is one amazing motor, blows the competition away in every aspect, well done Jag.

Why did they not include Infiniti or Audi. The M45 would have stacked up pretty well in this case.

Just seen a Matthew McConaughey driving a black Jag XKR in the new Dolce & Gabana advert , seriously hot motor!! I wonder if they will use the XFR in the next TV ad?