In the opening years of the 21st century, a brace of new luxury sedans cruised into Tuxedo Junction.
Easily the most controversial was the BMW Seven Series, entirely reinvented by chief designer Chris Bangle to give the Bavarian brand a new visual character. If its chief rival from Stuttgart was crisply conservative, the biggest Bimmer was in-your-face, flauntingly extroverted, confronting rather than alluring. Mercedes-Benz had learnt a stern lesson with its excessive 1992 S-Class and had reverted to a more conservative game.
Seven would be followed a year or so later by a new generation Audi A8 with pretensions to being the world's first true luxury sports sedan. And by this time the aluminium-bodied Jaguar XJ had also glided into the contest.
Arguably, Jaguar had been the biggest loser among the luxury marques in the foregoing decade and this lighter, swifter, more efficient model was intended to restore the marque's competitiveness at the top end of town.
The fifth contender came from Japan. This was the Lexus LS430, direct descendant of the original LS400 of 1990 -- a car that rewrote the rules of automotive quality. Unfortunately the 2003 Lexus LS430 still looked rather too much like the 1990 model, whose design drew inspiration from mid-1980s Mercedes themes. The UCF30R model made its Australian debut in November 2000.
All five marques carried a negative or two into the 21st century. Mercedes-Benz had lost some points for quality issues during the mid to late 1990s. This coincided with the decision to reduce engineering costs (as if conceding to the wit who turned Mercedes' advertising theme 'engineered like no other car' into 'over-engineered like no other car').
Meantime BMW's sedan models had been criticised for looking too much like each other, so that a 3 Series presented as a dramatically downsized 7 Series.
Audi was dogged by poor resale among its dearer models and the previous A8 had not been a sales success despite undoubted virtues such as an aluminium body and Quattro all-wheel drive. Jaguar's principle issue was the perception of being an 'old man's car', with styling that looked back to the 1960s rather than forward to the new century. And Lexus, having effectively rewritten the ground rules in 1990, was dogged by conservatism and lacked style.
Since 2003 only the S-Class and the Lexus LS have moved into a new generation. So if you buy a four-year old example of the 7, A8 or Jaguar, your acquisition will still look pretty much like a current model -- though you'll pay significantly less than half of the new car price. Depreciation is a gift to the canny used prestige sedan buyer.
While the perception may be that Jaguars and Audi depreciate more rapidly than Mercedes, the reality is that all five of these cars shed a high proportion of their value in their first four years with the majority of their usable life still ahead of them.
When Toyota developed the original LS400, the car was said to be good for 1,000,000km. The irony is that an early model in fine fettle with just 250,000 to its credit now has little commercial value, while those few already approaching 500,000 have none.
MERCEDES-BENZ S430 (more here)
There can be no mistaking an S-Class for any other car, except perhaps a Maybach. Indeed, it is almost impossible to imagine Mercedes-Benz risking such a radical restyle as Chris Bangle performed on the flagship BMW sedan.
If anything, Stuttgart drove in the opposite direction, the 1999 W220 being lithe and understated compared with its W140 'Schwein Klasse' predecessor, a car developed on the 'Nothing Succeeds Like Excess' principle.
From all angles and in most details the big Mercedes asserts a tradition dating back to the original S-Class of 1972, while the Seven has little but the trademark grille kidneys and spinning propeller roundel in common with its predecessors.
The S430 cost $205K in 2003 but arguably felt less lavish than its new rival from BMW, despite a similarly comprehensive list of standard kit. The interior is elegant but not as sumptuous as you might expect, with less wood than you find in either the BMW or the Jag -- although some buyers might welcome such restraint.
A maze of buttons requires familiarisation but does not confront in the manner of BMW's iDrive control system.
The 4.3-litre V8 engine develops 205kW of power and 400Nm of torque, whipping this 1855kg sedan from standstill to 100km/h in 7.9sec and through the yardstick 400 metres in 15.8sec.
Fuel economy averages 13L/100km. (The five-speed automatic was superseded by the world's first seven-speeder in March 2004 with a marked gain in fuel economy.)
A switch on the dashboard provides a choice of three suspension settings, with the softest ideal for urban wafting and the firmest best for the autobahn. Like most big Mercedes, the W220 rewards keen drivers and non-enthusiasts alike.
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LEXUS LS430 (more here)
It was not until the LS460 was previewed at the 2004 Tokyo Motor Show that it looked as if the premium Lexus model had made much headway since the original made such waves in 1990.
The LS430 sold in 2003 was the fourth generation but its deeply conservative exterior styling suggested uncertainty at Toyota about where to go next: this was barely even evolutionary. Nevertheless, like its predecessors the big Lexus offers deep satisfaction in its quality, quietness and refinement.
Where the S-Class satisfies enthusiasts, this car may not; there is an impassive, unengaging feel to the driving experience, although the Lexus is highly competent all the same.
The performance is especially good. With 207kW of power and 417Nm of torque, the 4.3-litre V8 pips its Mercedes rival. Zero to 100km/h comes up in 7.4sec and the standing 400 metres in 15.4, while fuel economy is notably superior with an average of 12L/100km.
Handling is sharp enough and the ride is plush at all speeds, but there is less feel to the steering than in the BMW, Mercedes or Jaguar.
This is the quietest, smoothest car here, as well as being the most userfriendly in typical Japanese fashion. But the Lexus' slab-sided styling does not deliver the bling for your bucks you get from all the others, including the equally conservative but more gracious Jaguar.
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JAGUAR XJ8 4.2 (more here)
Arguably, the writing was on the wall in 1986 when Jaguar proudly introduced the XJ40 to the international motoring press. One key criticism of the outgoing XJ had been the shallowness of its boot. The XJ40 overcame that problem but lost much of the traditional Jaguar elegance in the process.
Ever since then, Jaguar has been chasing its tail, trying to rekindle the old magic. In 2003 it was truly difficult to believe that the fourth-generation XJ was a new car, so reminiscent were its curvaceous lines of the 1968 original, although, alas, not as pretty.
But this was about the only bad news because the 2003 XJ is a driver's delight. The aluminium body brings an impressive saving in weight (around 200kg) which translates to better fuel economy and superior performance.
With peak power of 224kW and 420Nm of torque, the Jag's 4.2-litre V8 gets the car to 100km/h in 7.3sec on its way through the 400 metre mark in 15sec flat. Typical fuel economy is less than 12L/100km.
And the Jaguar's dynamics are even more impressive than its V8 performance. While the 21st century XJ Jaguar rides as well as any of its predecessors, it handles with much more aplomb. In terms of overall ability, it is as much sports sedan as limousine.
The interior retains a typical Jaguar feel albeit with more space, although it cannot quite match the BMW or Audi for pure class. A simple-to-use touch screen controls sat-nav, climate, sound system, etc, but basic functions (changing the station, or modifying the cabin temperature) can be controlled without recourse to it… This is the opposite extreme to iDrive and proof that luxury does not equate to complexity.
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AUDI A8 3.7 (more here)
Launched here in August 2003, the A8 immediately set a new standard for formal elegance in this class.
As unmistakably Audi as the S-Class is Mercedes-Benz, it combined all the marque's traditional strengths with some new ones, including a formidably simple array of controls accessed via the so-called Multi Media Interface (MMI), whose LCD screen is housed behind a wood panel between the centre-dash vents.
The A8's interior exudes a warmth not found in either of the Audi's German rivals, although arguably it is the Seven's cabin that is plushest. In 3.7-litre Quattro guise the A8 also significantly undercut the S430 in price while offering slightly better performance.
Obviously the 4.2-litre model (246kW, 430Nm) is even swifter but the 3.7 shapes as quite a bargain, delivering 206kW of power with 360Nm of torque. This is a cracker of a V8, revving with alacrity to 6800rpm, teaming beautifully with the six-speed automatic transmission and sounding wonderful in the process.
Despite the weight of its elaborate all-wheel drivetrain, the A8 tips the scales at a reasonable 1770kg -- substantially less than a V8 Commodore. Zero to 100 takes 7.8 ticks of the clock and the 400 metres exactly twice as many.
In typical Audi fashion, handling is superior to ride. The adaptive air springs offer four settings but even the gentlest mode gives a firmer ride than you get in most of the other cars. Thus such are persistent reminders of the road surface, especially at suburban speeds, that you wonder why the Ingolstadt engineers did not provide a fifth setting in keeping with the desires of many prestige sedan buyers for a truly plush ride.
Traction on slippery roads is superior to rivals, thanks to all-wheel drive, but the A8 shortchanges the driver slightly on steering feel.
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BMW 735i (more here)
Unsurprisingly, there is less controversy now about the appearance of the E65 BMW 7 Series than there was back in January 2002 when the car made its Australian debut. These days it no longer arouses astonishment but it still has remarkable presence: it looks expensive.
New, the least expensive model, the 735i, cost $174,100. The weighty appearance is no illusion because mass is 1935kg, so the 735i's 3.6-litre V8 (200kW of power, 360Nm of torque) does a good job in accelerating this behemoth to 100km/h in 8.2sec and through the 400 metres in 15.9.
This the 735i is slightly slower than the Mercedes S430, while its 4.5-litre sibling (245kW, 450Nm) is handily quicker. Fuel economy averages a little less than 13L/100km, helped by its six-speed automatic transmission but nevertheless reflecting the car's considerable weight.
The interior is a tour de force -- handsome, imposing, plush and excessively complex.
The traditional floor-mounted gear selector makes way for the iDrive controller and is replaced by a column selector. Ask a casual acquaintance first to start the engine (there's a button) and secondly to drive forwards or backwards, and you may have to wait a minute or so. Userfriendly, it ain't, though BMW has 'humanised' subsequent models.
That said, if you spent the money to buy one of these cars, then or now, you would surely study the manual hard until you had begun to master the iDrive as well as the starter button and gear selector.
The 7 is not a vehicle for those faint of either heart or wallet. You have no sense of any compromise between ride and handling, both being outstanding.
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THE CARSALES NETWORK'S PICK OF THE BUNCH
The Driver's Choice
Keen drivers will choose between the Jaguar, Audi and BMW. But it is the British car that deserves first place because of its agility born of outstanding suspension design and light weight.
Simply, no dynamic compromises are evident. Both ride and handling are brilliant, while the V8, already the most powerful in this company, does a superlative job in this much lighter (by some 275kg than the 735i) car.
The Sensible Choice
At this end of the market there is surprisingly little 'shopping' among new car buyers. Each marque has its devotees and there is little crossover between Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Lexus has won converts from the German makers but probably more from disenchanted Jaguar owners; certainly the rise of Lexus has corresponded with the decline of Jaguar sales. Audi, meantime, has finally joined its two arch rivals on the same perceived status level in the Australian market, having long enjoyed such a rating in Europe.
So nominating the 'sensible' choice in this sector is tricky and depends on several factors. But assuming you were buying a car for the long haul and you could accept its styling or lack thereof, the Lexus LS430 gets the nod for its extraordinary quality and proven durability (with low maintenance costs).
If golf club credibility counts for more then maybe you should choose your favourite German brand, although the BMW will involve some conversations you might not wish to have about one, C Bangle esq. The Jaguar will not inflict the heartaches of earlier models but you'll be forever explaining its dated appearance because it just doesn't look this century.
Too few of these cars come to market to offer a definitive guide on price but all are now available below $100K with occasional examples of the Lexus, Jaguar and BMW below $80K. Comparing cars of similar mileage, the Lexus and Jaguar are likely to be the least expensive and are likely to depreciate more quickly than the German cars, especially the Mercedes and BMW.
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