Luxury Institute Study Finds Porsche, Mercedes and BMW Most Prestigious

[Big Daddy]

"Mercedes edged out Porsche as the brand that delivers consistently superior quality, a fundamental requirement in the luxury automobile category. BMW earned third place on superior quality. "

Read the entire article here: New York Business Wire

 

[Steve176]

Finally a survey that takes emotion into the calculation. The Consumer Reports reviews are nice but in the end you buy the vehicle based use and how it makes you feel. Otherwise everyone would buy the best quality, car, suv, van or truck.

 

[Tom]

Good find Dan.

 

[codex57]

I like that article. No matter how much I love a car's actual driving dynamics and stuff, when talking to my family and relatives, I can never get them to look past status. Let's face it, most luxury car buyers aren't total car enthusiasts. Status and reputation matters a great deal to them.

That's why we ended up with an E320 instead of the Lexus LS430 I was pushing for. Also why my uncle moved from a 7 series to an S class cuz the Merc had the "image" he wanted to portray to the world even if it wasn't as fun to drive (which he actually admitted).

 

[bmw046series]

You know a lot of people I know that have test driven a Mercedes (any given model) and nobody liked them, its' odd, they've said they ride hard and didn't feel good, there was plenty of power but they just didn't like the way they drove, I can't explain this, I've driven my share of Merces and never cared for them myself strange phenomenon.

 

[bmw555]

I drove E430 Sport and didn't like it at all, I like my BMW for the way it drives, period, I don't care about so called status, Benz is boring

 

[Nataku]

Im curious, what do mercs said about their cars and as compared to BMWs.

 

[codex57]

You know a lot of people I know that have test driven a Mercedes (any given model) and nobody liked them, its' odd, they've said they ride hard and didn't feel good, there was plenty of power but they just didn't like the way they drove, I can't explain this, I've driven my share of Merces and never cared for them myself strange phenomenon.

You're not alone. That's why BMW can win over people once they take a test drive. Mercedes cars don't drive the same as they used to. Before, they were super solid even if they weren't fun. Now, they've lost that bulletproof train feel.

And yeah, some of the models have really hard seats. My parents originally tried to get a ML320 when it first came out. But, they took a test drive and left ride away. THey said the seats were harder than a wooden church pew.

 

[DRWWE]

It was a test drive of 2002 Mercedes E, Audi A6, and 530i that made up my mind. Audi took 2nd place after my 530i (that was for looks, I liked the way it drove). I felt like I was just gliding over the road in the Mercedes and did not like it at all. However, I must say I really like the looks of the E and S class cars much better than the current bimmers.

 

[///M SPEED]

What it really comes down to is this; "What are you looking for in a car?"

There are many demographics of people and what one want’s from a car. Some will want performance, some status symbol, some a good commuter, some luxury, some economy and some don't give a rats a$$ about cars at all. They just want something that gets them from point A to point B.

It really depends on the individual. I test drove a few MB's and I like them a lot, but I have always liked the sportier feel and always have love BMW's. I wouldn't mind owning a MB at all, but not for status, performance, etc.... I like the looks and feel of some of their cars, but wouldn't own one of each (not practical for me). It's a "too each his own" sort of deal.....

P.S. I agree, nice find Dan....

 

[bmw046series]

You see a lot of older Merces, like 85-95 E and S classes sometimes older sometimes newer, very popular strectch of cars, seems most people like the older truly pop-culture Mercs over others.

I see my local MB dealer has a new CL65 AMG 604 HP (the car mr. Clarkson describes as there is so much hp that half the rubber gets transfred onto the road before you move), think I might have to try it out, but would never consider buying one.

 

[deutsch100]

You see a lot of older Merces, like 85-95 E and S classes sometimes older sometimes newer, very popular strectch of cars, seems most people like the older truly pop-culture Mercs over others.

Obviously I love BMWs....but a 1986-1995 Mercedes E-Class (W124) will outlast any bmw ever built, or ever to be built. They are truly bullet proof...a literal bank vault on wheels. Perfect reliability mechanically and electrically. There are not tons of computers controlling computers.