A6 3.2 FSI vs 530Xi vs E350 4Matic vs Legend 3.5

cawimmer430 · Oct 25, 2006

Auto Motor und Sport compared four luxury cars with AWD against each other. The results were as follows:

1st Place: Mercedes E350 4Matic (515/600 points)
The first choice from the bunch for long distance driving - and still sporty. The balanced package of the E-Class can currently not be beat.

2nd Place: BMW 530Xi (510/600 points)
The BMW is the sportiest of the bunch - which affects its comfort. The engine is pure fun.

3rd Place: Audi A6 3.2 FSI Quattro (492/600 points)
We expected more from Audi, especially with Quattro and an air suspension. Against the E-Class and 5-Series, the A6 rarely shines, but is not really outclassed either.

4th Place: Honda Legend 3.5 V6 (442/600 points)
The Legend is too biased towards the American car market to seriously compete with the three top Germans in this comparison. (Basically the poor fuel economy according to the main article. -Wimmer)

Audi: 0-100 km/h = 8.4 s, 255-hp, 6-speed A/T
BMW: 0-100 km/h = 7.9 s, 258-hp, 6-speed A/T
Mercedes: 0-100 km/h = 7.7 s, 272-hp, 5-speed A/T
Honda: 0-100 km/h = 8.3 s, 295-hp, 5-speed A/T

Interior Captions:
Audi: Excellent build quality and easy-to-understand buttons
BMW: High-quality impression, but confusing i-Drive
Honda: Confusing controls, no real logic to them
Mercedes: The COMAND system is easy to learn

Engine Captions:
Audi: Rougher than the Mercedes V6
BMW: Smooth and refined, a dream
Honda: Hardly noticeable, very refined
Mercedes: Strong midrange power and smoothness

bum-man · Oct 25, 2006

5-speed for the 4-matic??

cawimmer430 · Oct 25, 2006

bum-man said:
5-speed for the 4-matic??

If I remember correctly, the 7Gtronic doesn't fit into the transmission tunnel of 4Matic models because of the extra machinery needed for the 4Matic system.

bum-man · Oct 25, 2006

Ok that clears it up, but I'm assuming the newer cars such as the W221 will have been designed with this in mind? Or will the 4-matic W221 get the 5-speed as well?

Tumbo · Oct 25, 2006

Thanx for the post!
Im a little disapointed on the A6 3rd place.
It feels like the 3.2 engine needs to be renewed. :t-hands:

But still, interior is the best out of those by far :usa7uh:

cawimmer430 · Oct 25, 2006

bum-man said:
Ok that clears it up, but I'm assuming the newer cars such as the W221 will have been designed with this in mind? Or will the 4-matic W221 get the 5-speed as well?

Definitely. MB wants to offer their best transmission in their cars. :usa7uh:

cawimmer430 · Oct 25, 2006

Audiholic said:
Thanx for the post!
Im a little disapointed on the A6 3rd place.
It feels like the 3.2 engine needs to be renewed.
But still, interior is the best out of those by far

No problem. The air suspension of the Audi was too soft and the A6 lost its balance between sport and comfort and became totally biased towards comfort. The BMW and Mercedes were essentially better balanced between these two ideals. :usa7uh:

Bruce · Oct 25, 2006

Very nice comparo Cawimmer :usa7uh:

I've got a complaint though

Why the hell did they include the Legend? Do they not sell the AWD Lexus GS350 over in Germany. That in my opinion would have made a much better comparison.

From these, i'd go home with the E350.

Matt · Oct 25, 2006

The legend is honda's first attempt to get in this class of car...Its priced that way as well. 5th gear does a comparison between the 530, A6, and Legend.

cawimmer430 · Oct 25, 2006

7.3 AMG said:
Very nice comparo Cawimmer

I've got a complaint though Why the hell did they include the Legend? Do they not sell the AWD Lexus GS350 over in Germany. That in my opinion would have made a much better comparison.

From these, i'd go home with the E350.

Thanks.

No Lexus GS350 AWD overhere. The only Lexus GS's we get are the GS300, GS430 and GS450h. In the next Auto Motor und Sport, there will be a comparison between the Audi A6 4.2 FSI vs Lexus GS450h vs Mercedes E420 CDI. :eusa_danc

The Honda Legend is basically an Acura RL and comes with AWD be default. It's a nice-looking car. I saw one in person a few months ago but could not get a shot at it. Like always, the Honda Legend will sell in small numbers. Honda hardly creates awareness for this car anyway.

Bruce · Oct 25, 2006

cawimmer430 said:
Thanks.

No Lexus GS350 AWD overhere. The only Lexus GS's we get are the GS300, GS430 and GS450h. In the next Auto Motor und Sport, there will be a comparison between the Audi A6 4.2 FSI vs Lexus GS450h vs Mercedes E420 CDI.

That's a shame you guys don't get the GS350 AWD. :eusa_doh:

Regarding the next AMS, i can't wait :usa7uh:

cawimmer430 said:
The Honda Legend is basically an Acura RL and comes with AWD be default. It's a nice-looking car. I saw one in person a few months ago but could not get a shot at it. Like always, the Honda Legend will sell in small numbers. Honda hardly creates awareness for this car anyway.

I know about the RL, it's just over here in North America (or at least in Canada) Acura is thought of as a "near luxury brand" which would place it below those other three, but i suppose Canada means little right now

bmer · Oct 25, 2006

A typical AMS test, the Merc at the top...

warot · Oct 26, 2006

Hey Wimmer, thanks for the article. Did it mention about the 4wd system of each cars? I would be interested to know what they thought. Cheers

Yperion · Oct 26, 2006

Audi A6 needs the rear biased (Torsen C) quattro.

BTW what happenend to the instrument panel of the E class? Is it an option with the avantgarde model?
Ayway it doesn't look good at all.

Deleted member 182 · Oct 26, 2006

cawimmer430 said:
1st Place: Mercedes E350 4Matic (515/600 points)
The first choice from the bunch for long distance driving - and still sporty. The balanced package of the E-Class can currently not be beat.

Lately Mercedes cars have gotten these kind of reviews saying MB is a complete package. MB just has the whole package in control and they know what they are doing. Thanks for the review. :usa7uh:

Monster · Oct 26, 2006

Yannis said:
BTW what happenend to the instrument panel of the E class? Is it an option with the avantgarde model?
Ayway it doesn't look good at all.

Yes it is an option with the avantgarde.

vedjo01 · Oct 26, 2006

So,basicly,BMW kicks ass in 4x4 competition as far driving pleasure is concerned

?Interesting,especially if we have Audi quattro and 4-Matic in comparison..It seems that BMW from now on will be taken much seriously in 4x4 waters,don't you think?Anyway,kudos to BMW and X-Drive :bowdown:

!

CAR-NNOSSEUR · Oct 26, 2006

They have this same comparsion on (edmunds.com) where the A6 and RL finished 1st & 2nd, now I'm totally confused

EnI · Oct 26, 2006

CAR-NNOSSEUR said:
They have this same comparsion on (edmunds.com) where the A6 and RL finished 1st & 2nd, now I'm totally confused

Such comparison tests depend on what kind of criteria are used in testing (eg. performance, price, maintenance costs, fuel consumption, image, quality impression, all-roundness, roominess, ergonomics, fun-to-drive factor, ride comfort etc). You can see some of them are very subjective. And also very often magazines use scoring tables - where some criteria are more important for them than the others.

So, that's why different magazines get different results when testing same cars.

CAR-NNOSSEUR · Oct 26, 2006

Thank's for clearing that up Eni :eusa_clap

A6 3.2 FSI vs 530Xi vs E350 4Matic vs Legend 3.5

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