On the other hand, the engine offers an unexpectedly lean athletic note when you tilt into it, along with enough scoot to propel the STS to 60 mph in an impressive 6.1 seconds. The automatic shifts are quick, though exploring manumatic mode is undermined by unpleasant plastic-on-plastic scraping sounds. At a more serene pace, the STS is a comfortable and handsome capsule for spinning away the miles, with plenty of room to sprawl, nice carpet, well-shaped rear seats, and a positively ear-opening Carnegie Hall-in-a-car Bose sound system. Only the marginal dash materials and lowest-bidder-looking nav system cause you to double check the price tag.
For a sport sedan, the Mercedes-Benz E500 also has issues. Most notable, the sluggish steering is inconsistent with the Airmatic's crisp sport ride setting. We're fond of this suspension, although in the comfort setting it can be downright wallowy; in S1 (one step firmer), it feels better controlled while S2 (sport) pins the car down.
Above debate is the E500's acceleration, which can touch 60 mph in a sizzling 5.7 seconds, although the sensation is more like a building avalanche than a dynamite blast. Inside, the Benz's cabin is Pullman-car elegant, with beautiful interior appointments and just the right amount of wood, though the chrome striping (a nice touch) can occasionally glint sunlight into your eyes. If this comparison were about taste and power alone, the Mercedes would romp home the winner.
The mini-fracas that erupts between the M45 and 545i is like a replay of Bush versus Gore 2000--hanging chads, finger waving, everything. It must be said the zesty Infiniti's full name is M45 Sport Sedan. In other words, it has a fistful of sportiness fermented right into the basic recipe, including prodigious grip (0.84 g) and suspension firmness that equates to the E500's Airmatic on full tilt. In fact, it never stops being a sport sedan, even when you politely ask it to. Although the M45 threads down Old Creek Road perhaps even more fluidly than the 545i (with particularly natural-feeling brake action--kudos), the suspension aims an undue volume of tire howl directly into the cabin. And while the styling is attractive, the car's materials and presence suggests more of an opulent Nissan than a BMW equivalent. The dash's unique plateau design is, well, creative. The heat/ventilation and A/C buttons are pointed skyward, the nav screen is washed out by bright sun, and the interior's metal trim reflects enough sunlight to bring down small aircraft.
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