7, A8, S, quattroporte, LS, XJ...which one would you get?

[BENZ BOY15]

That's a hard one. I'd say the S8. The Quattroporte is nice and cool, but it's not that big...the legroom in back is lacking (then again, I wouldn't be sitting back there) and the ride isn't really smooth. But it sounds amazing and it looks great....one of these days I wanna drive it instead of just be a passenger.

But the Audi is the shit. It looks great and Audi interiors are the absolute best. The 7 is nice, but it just doesn't look as great as the others inside & out. The S is obviously amazing, but it's kinda been around awhile. I don't like the XJ or the LS.

Now, the old XJR is amazing....but I'd pass on all of the above and just wait for the new S. When the fuck is it coming out?

[CALL_911]

To be honest, I couldn't give two shits about any of the above. I'd never be in the market for one, but if I were, I guess I'd take the Panamera.

[850CSi]

Quattroporte by a mile for me.

[MrH]

Well timed post.  I pretty much sat and went through every car there at the Detroit auto show this week.  And this segment is an interesting one I think.  I thought for sure I'd prefer the XJ or A8L or S8.  Nope, Panamera hands down.  I think the back seat of that is the most usable and comfortable out of all of them.  The layout of the interior was my favorite, and it's pretty hard to touch Porsche right now when it comes to execution on these things.

The Audi was beautiful, but honestly, the rear seat room of the S8 is pretty lacking.  It's not drastically more than the S6.  There's a huge difference between the A8L and S8, but I still felt the Panamera was the best laid out and most comfortable rear seat.

Not to mention, the Porsche is supposed to be the best to drive too.  I'll admit, I did skip looking at the S-class much.  It's been around for awhile now, but it always had some of the best rear seat space.  I'm excited to see what the new one brings with it.

[BENZ BOY15]

The problem with the Porsche is the rear. The rest is so great and I want to love it....but I just don't.

Which interior was the nicest? Hopefully we'll see the new S at NYIAS.

[Payman]

Quattroporte. 

[Rupert]

The Maserati, duh! Like there's any other choice.

I guess the Panamera is a great car to drive, but fuck its styling.

[Payman]

[MrH]

The problem with the Porsche is the rear. The rest is so great and I want to love it....but I just don't.

Which interior was the nicest? Hopefully we'll see the new S at NYIAS.

Yeah, not a big fan of the rear either, but it does look soooooo much better in person.  The whole car is lower, squatter, wider.  So it's not all that bad.  In dark colors it's better too.

Depends on what you prefer I guess.  The Audi's got more "wow" kind of features I suppose, but the Porsche is cleaner.  Both are done almost flawlessly.  The Porsche has more unique little things to find that just blow my mind with how much effort went into it.  For example, on the new 911, there is literally leather wrapped around the side windshield HVAC grills.  There's stitch lines around each speaker grill.  Giant french seam going across the valance panel along the front.  It's just ridiculous.

The rear seats on the Panamera are so cool though.  Super comfortable buckets.

[Lebowski]

Probably the quattroporte.

[Laconian]

Since this is all hypothetical and I don't have to worry about nitpicking choices into oblivion, I'll take the Quattroporte - it looks great and has a Ferrari V8, mama mia.

[BENZ BOY15]

Yeah, not a big fan of the rear either, but it does look soooooo much better in person.  The whole car is lower, squatter, wider.  So it's not all that bad.  In dark colors it's better too.

Depends on what you prefer I guess.  The Audi's got more "wow" kind of features I suppose, but the Porsche is cleaner.  Both are done almost flawlessly.  The Porsche has more unique little things to find that just blow my mind with how much effort went into it.  For example, on the new 911, there is literally leather wrapped around the side windshield HVAC grills.  There's stitch lines around each speaker grill.  Giant french seam going across the valance panel along the front.  It's just ridiculous.

The rear seats on the Panamera are so cool though.  Super comfortable buckets.

I love the 911....it's such a great looking car and I love the interior. I want one so bad!

[SVT666]

Quattroprte, no question.

[2o6]

XJ L

[MexicoCityM3]

Alpina B7 or Quattroporte

[hotrodalex]

I love the new 7er design, inside and out. The Audi is great inside, but I don't like the outside as much. So between the normal 3 German makes, the BMW wins for sure.

Throw in the Porsche and the Maserati and I'm not sure. Not as big a fan of the new Quattroportes styling, but the Porsche isn't perfect either (though I agree with Mr.H, it's much better in person). I'd have to drive them back-to-back and rank them then.

[CJ]

I'll have the Mercedes.  If I'm going to have a large car, it's going to be the benchmark.

[TBR]

I'll have the Mercedes.  If I'm going to have a large car, it's going to be the benchmark.

Probably the XJ, but this has some merit. The S-class just has an aura about it. It's the "best in the world".

Of course, reality is I would never buy any of these because, well, why would you unless you were riding instead of driving?

[68_427]

XJ supersport.

[GoCougs]

The Maserati would be an absolute nightmare to own. Google the $20k just-out-of-warranty transmission repairs. The XJ looks very oddly proportioned in person. The S is stodgy and a bit old. The LS is anything but "all new" and I've really never been a fan of the LS460.

M/T has a comparison between an S8 and B7 (tarted 750i). The S8 absolutely destroys it with 0-60 in 3.5 sec and 1/4 mile in 11.8 sec @ 118 mph. I'd have to go S8.

[Cookie Monster]

If I don't have to pay for maintenance, Quattroporte. If I do, LS.

[Madman]

Quattroporte, followed by the XJ.

[Colin]

New S Class is slated for launch at the Frankfurt IAA in Sept, so pretty unlikely we will see it at NYIAS.

There's a lot more space in the back of the new Quattroporte, and although I don't like the looks of it quite as much as the outgoing car, it would be hard for me not select it.

That said, when Autocar compared it against the Jaguar XJ in LWB guise with the 5 litre supercharged engine, they picked the Jag as the better car. And I did enjoy my weekend driving an XJ (it was a 3.0 D but it went well enough)

Of the others, the 7 Series generally comes last in any comparison of these cars, even though I am sure it is a very agreeable car.  I preferred the styling of the last generation S8 to the current one, and the loss of the V10 engine is a bit of a blow, even though the 4.0 V8 is a pretty decent substitute.


As to the Panamera - sorry, but it is hideously ugly outside and the inside is just a button fest.. it looks far too complicated and fussy. I am sure it drives well, but it is not the car for me.

And the Lexus? well, you Merrycans might still buy the thing, but less than 100 are sold in the UK each year and this has been the case for the past several years. It might be supremely able, but it is also utterly dull. It did its job, which was to force everyone else to raise their game in quality standards, and now they have done that, I can think of no good reason to buy one at all.

[Raza]

Well, let's see.  The 7 is pretty ugly, the XJ is a hideous monstrosity, and the new LS is just the old LS with the new face.  So those three are all out.  The S class doesn't do it for me; despite using it in my mom's CLS, the column shift is still stupid.  So that's out.

That leaves the A8, the Quattroporte, and the Panamera.  All great cars, no doubt.  The heart wants the QP most, but my head says Panamera. 

[SVT666]

Well, let's see.  The 7 is pretty ugly, the XJ is a hideous monstrosity, and the new LS is just the old LS with the new face.  So those three are all out.  The S class doesn't do it for me; despite using it in my mom's CLS, the column shift is still stupid.  So that's out.

That leaves the A8, the Quattroporte, and the Panamera.  All great cars, no doubt.  The heart wants the QP most, but my head says Panamera.

When it comes to cars, the heart is always right.

[Raza]

When it comes to cars, the heart is always right.

Yeah, but it wants the old QP, not the new one. 

[Colonel Cadillac]

I think I'd go for a V10 Audi S8 and throw on a Milltek exhaust on there for extra V10 awesomeness.

The new QP is probably second on the list, although I don't like how huge it got. Then either the new A8 4.0T or the XJ supersport.

The 7 doesn't do it for me. The S-class is old. I can't get over how ugly the Panamera is (its driving prowess does not make up for how ugly it is). The new LS looks pretty cool, but I dislike Lexus enough to cross it off.

An off-lease S63 AMG would be cool too, it sorta fits in here.

[CJ]

I've got a customer at work (Branden) who bought an '09 S63 a few months ago.  That car is absurdly fast and seriously well built.

[Rupert]

When it comes to cars, the heart is always right.

I beg to differ. 0_0

[S204STi]

The Maserati, duh! Like there's any other choice.

I guess the Panamera is a great car to drive, but fuck its styling.

Who gives a fuck when you're driving it?