Could the least-expensive car be the quickest in this handling test? Yes. The Seville feels amazingly pinned down when really pushed and delivered a class-leading 61.9-mph performance through the cones. But it felt the least precise in doing so; the steering is not particularly sharp or communicative, and there's too much body roll. The front seats offer too little side support for aggressive driving. Ride quality is more than acceptable, if not as polished as any of the others. Still, the Seville played this game well, considering its less sophisticated, but less costly, underpinnings.
All six sedans offer adequate interior room in all dimensions, but some go even further. The Mercedes wins the "most limo-like" category; the rear cabin is simply palatial, with more than enough room for Shaq-size passengers. Its trappings are of high quality, the seats extremely comfortable and supportive, and the interior attractively designed. There are a few ergo flaws: The window switches are placed uncomfortably low on the door, and both the radio and HVAC controls take some getting used to.
The A8 L comes close, though footroom was a bit more compromised. Every inch of the Audi cabin feels "designed"; the use and coordination of wood, leather, aluminum, chrome, and plastic are high-tech yet elegant. The dash is attractive, and seven air vents allow custom HVAC system adjustment. Audi employs a screenless nav system that uses voice commands and an orthogonal dash readout to guide the way, and our staff is not convinced this is the best method. While you don't have to deal with watching a map on a screen, it doesn't tell you where you are. Lexus, Infiniti, and Mercedes all do a better job here. Other A8 niceties include six-level, front and rear heated seats, and privacy window curtains that enclose the entire rear cabin.
There's no way the Vanden Plas' svelte, elegant roofline couldn't compromise interior room a bit-and it does. As the VP rides on Jag's long-wheelbase XJ platform, there's good rear legroom, but the front area is just tighter all the way around than in most of the others. Both front and rear lower seat cushions are on the short side, to maximize room, but that comes at the expense of some thigh and leg support. The Coventry crew still finishes its wood and stitches its leather better than just about anyone, and the cabin looks all the richer for it. But the center stack is a sea of black plastic buttons that look a bit downmarket, and the nav system screen is small and hard to see.
Conversely, the LS 430's tallish greenhouse makes for considerable room for all passengers. Our tester had the $12,505 Ultra Luxury Selection option package, which includes reclining memory rear seats with heaters and massage-truly a new level of hedonism in the luxury-sedan business, and we don't even have room to describe it all here. The rear console packs its own multifunction control panel (see Special Features Menu), and rear seaters get their own HVAC vents with an air filter. Lexus has done a particularly artful job in terms of interior design, materials, and ergonomics. The large, multifunction touch screen is as intuitive as these things get, and the use of chrome/leather/wood is craftsmanlike; every control and surface feels good to the touch and operates with precision. It's an industry-leading cabin, for sure.
While the Q45 doesn't offer quite the space of either the Lexus or Benz, it's still plenty roomy and comfortable. All attention seems to focus around its prominent center-stack control area, which looms large and is placed high on the dash. It eschews the LS 430's touch-screen logic in favor of a more mega-remote-control set of buttons; it all works, and controls an amazing number of functions, but it takes a lot of learning. One aspect that makes it easier, however, is its optional voice-control-recognition system: Press a button on the steering wheel, and voice your commands to the cell-phone, nav system, HVAC, or audio. And it works very, very well, which saves a bit of button hunting on the dash. The high-mounted screen easily and quickly cycles back and forth between the nav system and back-up camera. Curiously, Infiniti designed an almost shrine-like bezel for the cassette player, yet buries the CD unit in the glovebox (which gets used more these days?). Our Premium Package-equipped tester also offered an impressive list of rear-area goodies, which come very close to the Lexus' level of sophistication.
We've said it before, we'll say it again: The Cad is smaller and less expensive than the others and doesn't quite compete. No massagers, reclining rear seats, or any of that, and we don't expect it. The pinhole leather and Zebrano wood trim are attractive, though several staffers complained that they never could quite get the seating position right. There were also some ill-fitting or noise-making plastic bits here and there; not in keeping with a $50K-plus pricetag. Switchgear and controls are reasonably well placed and easy to use, while the overall room front and back is probably better compared with an E-Class or GS 430.
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