The Utimate Chauffeur Showdown: Who is the Best?

That photo looks like the interior of a Hummer limo.

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 10:58:13 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

GO mercedes..
Lexus in fifth place.. uhoh.
id rather it have done better just so i dont have to hear all the bitching that will follow.

— StepYaGameUp (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 11:31:06 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

This comparison must be for American chauffeur driven cars. The A8L is a limo in Europe, while the MB S-Class is rarely seen. Lots of E-Class taxi's. Anyway, I can understand how this could be a super close match between the S-Class and A8L. However, so much more car in the A8L. Aluminium body, Quattro, Intuitiveness.

— 1uberaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 11:42:13 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

1uberaudi..."the S-Class is rarely seen".....you must be smoking crack....but then again, you being biased towards Audi, it's no wonder that you don't see any other car. BTW, the S continues to be the number one selling car in it's class worldwide.

— SixxFive (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 12:06:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Why did CNET rate the LS460L a perfect "10" and here it is in last place?

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 4:30:30 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

I think the LS460L was ranked last because it was all flash and no dash. Certainly luxurious & well-executed but 'Buick-like' in its dynamic responses.

Look especially at the long, long braking distances. Lexus has engineered a powerful car that is very sub-par in braking capabilities. The trunk is tiny too.

— nybimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 4:53:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

How come you Lexus guys say that about every test a Lexus is placed last in?

"Oh, the GS they tested was a pre-production..."

"Oh, the IS they tested was a pre-production..."

Stop the excuses. The LS460 tested by C&D was a standard mass-produced LS460. And it was ranked last. Live with it.

— Bill (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 8:34:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

always crying foul...

— NARunner (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 10:11:54 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

What exactly is pre-production? You are either produced or not produced. Is this the same as pre-boarding a plane?

— 1uberaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 1:40:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

pre-production car is a test vehicle used for the purpose of testing production assembly line. There may be many cases where they will remove and attach many components over and over again to run through the same assembly procedures to study the efficiency of the production.

— sracekili (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 2:05:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

the interesting thing is that in the Vehicle category the Lexus came out among the best but in got trashed on every subjective category. To me that seems biased. I'll never renew my subscription to C&D.

— GS450h (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 2:30:45 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

And the Audi was the oldest car with the slower 2006 engine not the 2007. I think if they would have tested the 2007 they would have won

— IamEvilHomer (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 5:45:09 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I think that C&D ranks these cars reasonably well based on their objective to find out which car has the sportiest driving characteristics. This is sort of “out of scope” comparison objective, if you ask me. I would be more interested in how useful these cars are given their purpose: luxurious accommodation for the rear seat passengers.

Speaking of “out of scope” comparison, I would love to see one of these publication to do a comparison among 2-seater mid-engine sports cars for which one can pack the most groceries or which one is more versatile when going to the Home Depot for your weekend home improvement project. Now that will be very interesting but useless comparison, wouldn’t you think?

— sracekili (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 5:50:11 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Misleading title: "Chauffeur"? I would DRIVE an S, A8, 7, LS, BUT to BE DRIVEN IN, I am going to say the extended length version of the Lincoln Town Car.
1. People will know I am important.
2. Very reliable. Many places to get it serviced quickly.
3. Strong engine that will last a very long time.
4. Very comfortable, and a large, open airy interior.
5. Good, solid ride. I'm not driving it, so why would I care about the handling?
6. Gigantic trunk. I think it's one of the largest ever.
7. Fairly good legroom, and an easy to take care of interior.
8. It's cheaper in the long run.

— mstangpny07 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 5:52:05 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 9   

Again a very doubtable test from C&D!!!!!!!
I'm just thinking to don't consider C&D tests anymore. And this because what they explain sometimes, the reason why a car is first or other in third, sound ridiculous and when you test the cars yourself you ask yourself why the hell are they telling such unreal an sexagereted things about some cars. Go and drive the MB and AUDI A8. And you'll see that A8 is much better car for everyday life. And so on...
The BMW is much more pleasant to be in than MB also. The LEXUS L nad MB SL are very close together in term of feeling inside. And for god sake, just remove the JAG from this bunch. It's a tone under LEXUS, MB, AUDI and BMW in this range.

— AUDBMLEXMRC (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 6:12:59 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

CarAndDriver always makes Lexus the lowest grade.

— mkt1982 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 6:34:01 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

last i checked the mags name was car and driver, not car and passenger.so based on that, its clear that they're going to focus more on the driver and handling habits of a car more than anything.

— Boss8can (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 7:08:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

I can maybe understand the Mercedes in the top two, but the Lexus. Save thousands, go buy a Cadillac or Lincoln.

— 1uberaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 1:50:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

now you're contradicting yourself.

you already rated the LS two steps ABOVE the audi.

lexi were also ABOVE CADILLAC from the start.

no lexus was EVER offered with a 4-cyl engine. and even their V6s were always state-of-the-art in design, and superior to all others in reliability.

— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 12/16/2006 2:14:34 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

The LS460L and S550 are easily the best chauffer cars of the bunch- they have new seat technologies and giddiness-inducing features.

However, the A8L has a close second (the two above tie), and the 7er is in a distant third, with the XJ8L trailing behind.

If it were my car, I'd most closely look at the A8L and S-Class. LS is nice, but not my style.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 8:24:21 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Late 1960s-1981 Mercedes 600. Still untouched by cars like the Maybach or RR Phantom in terms of class and elegance.

— Bill (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 8:38:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Dangerous braking by the Lexus. Good job for the Audi, with the new engien it would have probably won.

— chewy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/13/2006 10:55:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

I will say the Mercedes S550 is the best car to be chauffeured about if you're a very busy business person that must have your hands free to perform.

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 12:20:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Another thing that the rest of these cars do not have that wealthy people that are chauffered around will want that is an Audi exclusive, the Bang and Olufsen sound system. The A8L is catered to wealthy people, not the wanna be rich people. Bang and Olufsen is in there homes, so Audi brings it into there car.

— 1uberaudi (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 1:58:06 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

If C&D had got its priorities right, it would have placed the LS at or near the top. After all, when you title a comparo "ultimate chauffeur showdown", you are focusing on luxury, not sporty character.

To understand how ridiculous this review really is, look at the concluding sentence of the Audi A8 review, which reads "Your chauffeur will love it". That single line just about sums up where C&D's priorities lie. Theyre more concerned if the lowly chauffeur in front will enjoy the driving dynamics than whether the person being driven has the utmost comfort.The more you read this article, the less it makes sense.

— starfox (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 6:07:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Wow, the same article posted again. That must mean the Lexus has placed 5th twice. Amazing, even the data sheets are identicle. If we hurry and post it again, Lexus could have a hat-trick.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/14/2006 7:45:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

as far as how much "power" and "handling dynamics" REALLY matter, for a car you'll just be chaffuerred in, recall that before the bmw takeover, Rollers were powered by the old pushrod GM V8.

— XYZZ (View Profile)

Posted on 12/16/2006 2:21:36 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Homer,
It's still the same review.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/16/2006 12:15:40 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0