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High-Tech Luxury
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| Learn more about the flagships from Lexus and Infiniti |
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| Updated |
Jun 10, 2004 21:51:28 |
| Rating |
 18 ( -6 -33.33% ) | | Author | Phil Ruth |
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Description:
Profile: Lexus LS 430 vs. Infiniti Q45
Luxury-car Technology
Welcome to the latest battle in the luxury-car war. Since their introductions in 1990, Lexus and Infiniti have competed neck-and-neck to win the hearts of upscale buyers. Through the '90s, Lexus positioned itself as an answer to Mercedes with S-Class-like styling and a hedonistically luxurious interior. Infiniti's course has meandered a bit, but its new flagship returns to its roots as a sportier BMW-fighter. Both sedans represent the latest thinking in high-tech design. But which one comes out on top?
That's a hard question to answer. In terms of luxury features, both the Lexus and the Infiniti are crammed tight with advanced features. Take something as common as headlights: Lexus equips the LS with xenon lamps that adjust their height automatically to ensure a straight and steady beam. Infiniti goes a step further: it boasts that the Q45's seven-lens xenon headlights provide "the most effective illumination on the road today," and the driver can manually adjust their height to four different positions.
Other common features get the hi-lux treatment as well. The cruise control in both models is adaptive, which means that it reads the position of the vehicle ahead and adjusts its speed accordingly. The Infiniti can also see out the back; the optional RearView Monitor places a camera up and to the left of the license plate. The camera beams a full-color image to the navigation screen whenever reverse is engaged, so you can see exactly where the car behind is while parallel parking. The Q45's side mirrors also tilt downward in reverse to give a full view of obstructions on either side of the car.
Inside, the features lists become overwhelming. Back seat passengers are treated particularly well; both the Lexus and Infiniti offer power-operated sunshades that rise from behind the seat to shield passengers from the sun. Both back seats recline with power adjustment. Both have available controls to alter the climate-control and sound-system settings. Add the LS 430's massage feature, and you have probably the most sybaritic rear cabins this side of a limousine.
Up front, the atmospheres are equally opulent. Both models have heated seats, and the LS 430 goes a step further by offering seats that can also be cooled; they cycle heat away from the seat's surface to keep driver and passenger feeling fresh. Rain-repellant front windows in the LS keep visibility high on rainy days, and the Q keeps your hands on the wheel by responding to voice commands for secondary controls. Acres of real wood ribbon both cabins, and the plastics are finely grained and almost perfectly matched across the panels.
In terms of the driving experience, well, neither Lexus nor Infiniti have skimped there. Are they driver's cars? Both seem as if they would be, with all-aluminum V8 engines and advanced suspension systems - the Lexus has a racing-type, double-wishbone arrangement, while the Infiniti offers an optional setup with huge 18" wheels and driver-adjustable suspension settings.
Over the road, though, the shades of sportiness that the Infiniti claims over the Lexus are difficult to discern. Starting out, both the LS and the Q feel big, with a forbiddingly bulky dash and high door sills to peer over. Engine performance is a dead heat, despite the Infiniti's claimed 50-horsepower advantage over the Lexus (see the Two of a Kind sidebar). They're both swift and refined, and their size seems to shrink when they're called on for, say, a spirited charge up an exit ramp. Push them, and the LS and the Q hunker down and do the job.
Are they sport sedans? Nah. Their unrestrained luxury indicates their real mission - to coddle and cradle as safely and unobtrusively as possible. The $50,500 base Q and $54,205 base Lexus undercut their respective competitors from BMW and Mercedes by similar amounts, although that margin dissipates once the options are checked off. No matter, though - the LS 430 and Q45 handle the messy tasks of driving as their occupants settle deep into basks of luxury. It's freedom of a kind, and that's hard to put a price on.
Two of a Kind
So you're considering the LS 430 and Q45 and looking for a clear advantage: The Q's sport suspension feels buttoned-down in tight corners, but the same could be said of the LS. The LS has an inch more room for heads up front, but both are stretch-out roomy, especially in back. The advantage must be in the engine room, right? On paper, the Infiniti beats the Lexus by 50 with its 340 horsepower rating. That's a wide gap made even wider since the Lexus hauls around 150 more pounds than the Infiniti. You'd think the Q would trounce the LS, right? We figured as much. But when we drove the two back-to-back, we ended up wondering where all those extra horses are hiding; the Q and the LS felt equally powerful. A Road and Track comparison test revealed a 0.1 second advantage in the 0-60 mph acceleration test - and the Lexus had the advantage. Adding to the LS 430's surprising agility is a transmission that feels more responsive at low speeds. Of course, the Q45 - particularly with the Sport package - is no slouch. Its V8 engine hurtles the Q down the highway with otherworldly smoothness, and its suspension handles corners with deft compliance. But then, the same is true of the LS 430. They're similarly refined and competent. It's too bad that the Q doesn't score a clear advantage over the road. Pricing aside, the decision between the Infiniti and the Lexus comes down to this: voice-activated controls or air-conditioned seats?
-By Phil Ruth |
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