Firstly, I have to congratulate you all on some very, very good writing; for a long article, I was captivated throughout (and I do not tend to pay attention to things for longer than 2 minutes). With that being said, you all managed to take vehicles that could inspire 30 page theses, yet provided a very thorough review in a few short paragraphs. Not an easy task, indeed. Well done!
It's interesting, too, that with all the choices on where to spend your $150,000 in pocket change, one does not have an outright winner. There are flaws with all of the vehicles, yet at the same time, anyone would be privileged to spend a day in them. Hard day at work for you lads and lassies, hey
?
I find that both the Lexus and the Merc fall short in terms of styling - only as to say that they're hard to distinguish between the rest of their corporate offerings. I look at the full-frontal shot of the LS and think, "is that the IS?" Good for the IS, bad for the LS. I do love that spindle grill, though. Same with the Merc - they are all starting to look identical to me (BMW has this exact same issue where I can't tell the 5-series apart from the 3- any more). A flagship should look similar, but not identical, IMO. Case-in-point, the XJ's front may be similar to the XF, but the derričre is unique. I like unique.
It's interesting, also, that of the 'flagships', none of these were the loaded models. There are options missing, and some put in that I wouldn't throw $15,000 at (better to buy Baby's First Spark?).
In the end, the S-class has always been about prestige and coddling, but I don't think it's the one I'd opt for. The Panamera, to me, is a mess as a 4-seater - for 5, sure, but for such a big car, you don't get big space - why bother? The Macan will be far better, IMO. The Range Rover is sinister, moreso than the Merc. It just screams Gangsta, which is a shame since as an offroader, it's sublime, and as a "I'm a gonna pass yo as$" it's too much fun. Sometimes, an excellent car appeals to the wrong people (Escalade? Rob Ford?) and it just ruins the image. The Lexus is a bit too "HOWARD, I NEED TO GET TO FLARADA" (if you watch the Big Bang Theory) and appeals to a crowd too old or too bland.
I, like Sir Jacob Black, would opt for the Jag - I still don't like that it's a 4-seater, though. At this price point, I'd probably also opt for the V8 instead of the V6 (though you then lose the AWD, shame) since the 'eco' engine choice returned such disappointing fuel #s - why not just get the true beaut? The Jag has the look, the comfort, the size, and the prestige, all in a package that's easy to live with. Hard to argue with that (assuming you're me).
