Audi A7 Quattro vs Lexus GS350 F Sport - Can Either One Take The Crown From The BMW 5 Series?

For as long as many of us have been around, BMW has been the brand to beat in terms of dynamically sorted luxury saloons. Whether you were a fan or detractor of cars in the Bangleized Bimmer era, you could, at the very least, expect a consistently good driving experience behind any wheel emblazoned with a blue and white roundel.

However, with the current BMW 5 Series seeming to emphasize luxury and technology over outright sporting ability, we decided to wring out a pair of credible alternatives that continue to create new styling trends while pushing the sporting side of the envelope in hopes of creating a new benchmark.



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DuDE - 3/24/2012 12:28:04 PM

+4 Boost

Should've been Audi S6 vs Lexus GS350 F Sport

dlin - 3/24/2012 1:39:25 PM

+6 Boost

Another 'we really like driving Lexus, let alone knowing it won't cost you $3000/yr after warranty up, but we just have to give the prize to a understeering 4WD that doesn't drive better, and will cost lots of money after warranty, because it's European!' kind of review.

Yawn..... I don't mind you give it to AUDI, but at least try harder to convince me.... :)

Willis - 3/24/2012 3:26:47 PM

+6 Boost

Who cares? There is no such thing as a "crown" in this class because the best car for people depends on what they're looking for. I am so sick of magazines basically telling car companies to make their cars sportier to please the small 5% of enthusiasts over the 95% of people who actually buy these cars and could care less about sport and handling.

MeanVulcan - 3/26/2012 3:05:53 PM

-2 Boost

these performance luxury cars sell because of their brand name and image. This image is built upon racing, styling, power bragging rights, dynamic performance, etc. This is the image lame-os buy into even though they will only drive 35 mph on the street on their way to the library. They may be the 95% (more like 60%) but they are still lame non-enthusiasts.

SSP350 - 3/24/2012 6:16:04 PM

+7 Boost

LOL...This is why I don't read R&T. Clearly, if the Audi was more fun to drive, it would've been a no brainer and the Audi would've gotten the win regardless if it had inferior interior and no so sporty seats but, this time, the Lexus was definitely more fun to drive, but the win still went to the audi for other reasons not elaborated on. I always find that R&T always find it hard to give any kind of win to a car coming out of anything that's not European.

MeanVulcan - 3/26/2012 3:13:14 PM

-3 Boost

The Lexus model was a sporty version, against a std Audi A7 without sport seats. The criticism of the Audi was the lack of supportive seats and its lack of variable suspension. Performance-wise Audi still dominated this comparison with more available power/torque and better grip.

chewy - 3/25/2012 5:34:13 PM

-2 Boost

And how many did the GS sell last year? A grand total of 3,746. Beggars can't be choosers.

Mason3Robert - 3/25/2012 12:24:52 PM

+1 Boost

Exactly...they can mix and poorly match these comparisons all day long, but the real world "Share-Grabbers" are the GS350 vs E350, etc.....

This is a waste of time and clearly trying to poor tar over what EVERYONE is talking about...THE NEW GS..sorry, it true. Folks I know that don't really get into the hype cars (real consumers, not critics)
keep asking me what my thoughts are because they are highly impressed. Good Marketing? or Good product? Who cares!!!

Aye, the is just another day in a $200+ billion dollar net worth corporation.

Mason3Robert - 3/25/2012 12:26:19 PM

+1 Boost

***I meant pour tar** LOL and **"its** but you get the point.

MeanVulcan - 3/26/2012 3:20:35 PM

-2 Boost

"WORLD share grabbers"? first off, Lexus is not a WORLD brand, it was only recently introduced to Europe as Lexus, before that these cars were Toyotas (now they're rebadged as Lexus... to no one's surprise). Europe, US and Japan is not the world. Lexus has lost 15% luxury market share in the US in the past 6 years and Audi has made most that gain, so the big players in the US are still the big three GERMANS. Infiniti and Acura have also lost market share to the germans big time.
Some Japanese fanboys would like to keep pretending Lexus is the reliability, cost-to-own and sales leader, all of which it has lost to the germans!!!

FromThePassengerSeat - 3/25/2012 12:41:35 PM

+4 Boost

Wait... did they just compare a sedan to a wagon? What are they smoking? The GS should have been compared to the A6, not the A7.

chewy - 3/26/2012 1:03:03 PM

+2 Boost

Car and Driver did, the results were excatly the same.

FromThePassengerSeat - 4/2/2012 8:37:18 PM

+1 Boost

Regardless, comparing a wagon to a sedan while a sedan variant of the A7 is readily available is bizarre.

BondMI6 - 3/26/2012 11:54:04 AM

+1 Boost

The point is- as usual, that the Lexus loses for having an engine that is not quite up to snuff in terms of power, etc....

Is it such a crime to ask Lexus to put an ever so slightly more powerful V6 with some actual low end torque in such a nice auto instead of say, oh an engine coming from a previous generation????

ThierryHenry14 - 3/26/2012 12:42:19 PM

+2 Boost

Bottom line is, people who loves Lexus will never accept that Lexus comes in second, no matter what...

And if the results were the other way around, Audi lovers will never admit that a Lexus is better...

Its a waste of time to argue because you will either be in one side or another, and theres no convincing the other side...

enthusiastx11 - 3/26/2012 5:20:32 PM

0 Boost

bottom line: the GS sells sells a fraction of 5-series and E-class sales and at a heavily discounted MSRP. they simply couldn't sell any if they were prices near the 5 or E.

it's also sadly similar to a 5-year old acura TL from the rear and the 2006 IS from the side. and the grill, well, it's just plain ugly.

YeeeHa - 3/27/2012 12:14:14 AM

+3 Boost

HAHA. I love these German vs. Japs arguments. Different strokes for different folks. Such ferver among the respondants. Personally, I just traded in a German lux for a Jap lux car and BOTH gave me the same proud feeling to own when I drove it home for the first time.

BUT... To those German Fanboys... Where are the headlines about BMW having a recall of millions of cars? It was on CNN and every other auto news website. Surprise, surprise, not here!

knowitall1985 - 3/28/2012 10:49:07 AM

+3 Boost

The 5 and the E only sell because of subvented leases and big discounts. They sell like american cars put a big sticker price and discount it heavy to trick stupid people into thinking they are getting a deal.....

enthusiastx11 - 3/28/2012 2:04:48 PM

+1 Boost

actually, all the luxury makers give very similar incentives...most with $1,000 of each other.

and if bmw and mercedes are giving the cars away, please explain why they are among most profitable automakers in the business.

knowitall1985 - 3/28/2012 2:32:57 PM

0 Boost

Because that is only one segment. You really don't know anything about the car business do you....