Interesting time - 5 Series, A6, E Class, M35, XF + GS

[Andy665]

Worked earlier in the week with pro drivers to set-up the dynamic driving exercises for the new Lexus GS launch at Estoril, was surprised with what we found, the exercises are:

Sudden lane change at 75 mph

Slalom - cones 45 ft apart at 75 mph

Emergency braking from 85 mph


Audi A6 3.0 TDi Quattro - lane change was pretty good, felt very nose heavy in slalom, safe but lots of understeer, braking was awful, grabby and car actually skipped to the left

Mercedes e350 CDi - so far behind the others that it has been left out of the event

BMW 530d with rear steer and M Sport suspension - massively disappointing, felt heavy, lots of bodyroll and no discernible benefit from rear wheel steer, good under braking though

Infiniti M35h - so dodgy it even frightened the pro drivers, traction control cut in very early and was very imprecise

XF 3.0d- decent at everything,not best or worst at anything

Lexus GS250 F SPORT - I was absolutely gobsmacked, not the fastest but the only one that encouraged you to accelerate through the slalom, great body control, rear wheel steer really helped to balance and stabilize it at high speed, very good brakes too

Obviously I was there with Lexus but even the pro drivers who work with a lot of manufacturers were surprised at how much better the GS was, especially when compared to the BMW

Edited by Andy665 on Wednesday 18th January 17:54

[frosted]

What's a gs250 ?

[Jez0099]

im guessing you work for lexus

[Matt UK]

Unexpected

[T5R+]

I want your job

[williamp]

frosted said:

What's a gs250 ?

Its the old Citroen, isnt it??



Always liked these bizarre cars...

[Andy665]

Jez0099 said:

im guessing you work for lexus

No, a mercenary who works for whatever manufacturer is offering work, no particular preference to vehicles at all, I do have opinions though

[Andy665]

Jez0099 said:

im guessing you work for lexus

No, a mercenary who works for whatever manufacturer is offering work, no particular preference to vehicles at all, I do have opinions though

Have done work with all manufacturers mentioned and I was not expecting the Lexus to be as good as it is

[Stedman]

All were rubbish bar the Jag and Lexus then.

[OdramaSwimLaden]

Andy665 said:

Jez0099 said:

im guessing you work for lexus

No, a mercenary who works for whatever manufacturer is offering work, no particular preference to vehicles at all, I do have opinions though

Have done work with all manufacturers mentioned and I was not expecting the Lexus to be as good as it is

GS250?

[LongLiveTazio]

Why were you comparing petrol vs diesel?

[Andy665]

LongLiveTazio said:

Why were you comparing petrol vs diesel?

Petrol competitors used on the road drive and circuit drive. Manufacturers no longer lend each other cars anymore so a case of hiring what you can and trying to allocate them in the most appropriate manner, sportier chassis set-up for dynamic and circuit work, comfort oriented for road drive.

One thing that always surprises me is how manufacturers work hard to provide genuine comparisons rather than automatically weighting everything in their favour