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The Battle of the TitansThis threesome has been made the pages of practically all the European automobile magazines, which is not surprising. Daimler Chrysler, BMW and Audi are now competing for leadership in the F market segment. It is only fair to mention that there are other strong fighters in the world market besides the three named above. This is true for Volkswagen Phaeton and Jaguar XJ that emerged recently and for Lexus LS and Cadillac STS. In the past ten years however major forces have been distributed in way that predetermines leading contestants, which include monsters like Mercedes-Benz S-class, BMW 7 Series and the new Audi A8. The latter has a powerful weapon in its arsenal – quattro all-wheel drive standard in all modifications. Although in the process of a recent modification Mercedes S-class also acquired that characteristic, versions S 430 4Matic and S 500 4Matic are significantly pricier compared to their competitors. Of course some may insist that cars like these are targeted to buyers worried exclusively about image and design, the three titans are still in the lead. They so alike and so totally different! The principal similarity is the proportions and dimensions. But that is where the resemblance ends because in style and design these automobiles have nothing in common. Mercedes that appeared more than four years ago and lately underwent a minor face-lifting procedure preserves its elite elegance status. It combines smooth lines, a headlong silhouette and thorough work on details of the exterior. Only the wheels according to present day standards are a bit small. BMW design has been commented on by hundreds of experts breaking description templates time and time again. Despite its multiple advantages the design lacks harmony in composition. Some car body solutions are also disputable. Audi is surprisingly similar to its predecessor and by all means not breathtaking. But this may have been the provisioned effect because not every potential buyer wants to stand out in the crowd and losing old clients accustomed to the traditional four rings was unreasonable. An overall examination of the exterior resulted in competitor parity with a slight Mercedes-Benz advantage. On the whole the designers of A8 in their strategic strike decided to focus not only on the all-wheel drive, but also on upgrading interior attributes. Judging by appearances the inside is not very impressive, just a derivative of A4 and A6. But it takes a more accurate examination and a discerning eye to see everything there is to it. It is hard to believe that modern technology could provide for such meticulous perfection of all parts. Superior production and installation quality is visible in everything from dashboard design to a neat roof console. In addition to that there is a smooth sliding LSD monitor, dimmed lighting in the lower rear part of the saloon at night and many other elements. On a background like that the S-class looks like a slightly blown up Volkswagen Golf. Individual features like included wooden parts, center console large information display, and High Contrast technology hardly help in creating a luxury car feel. The 7 Series on the other hand is an eclectic piece integrating bulky wooden parts and rather cheap brush-metal indicator frames and iDrive system dial that shrink it to the level of Mazda 6. Even the sideboards finish in texture reminds the surface of a basketball that downgrades the overall image. Finding a comfortable position behind the steering wheel was not a problem in either of the sedans. Except it took different amounts of time to do that. Mercedes was the most effortless due to an upper sideboard control panel with switches in the shape of a driver’s seat. Regulating Audi levers located in the traditional place, on the side of the seat proved very straightforward. Tuning in the BMW takes up somewhat more time. The procedure includes an additional function of choosing the right option to regulate a particular part of the seat. An important ergonomic aspect is that adjusting the position of the steering wheel in the S-class is considerably easier than feeling for tiny competitor dials. But getting used to the only under the steering wheel regulator is not simple. The 7 Series has a different problem, the steering wheel column carries an abundance of buttons. Many times trying to set the selector of the automatic transmission into Drive regime and accidentally hitting the wrong switch activated the windscreen wipers. Two simple traditional steering wheel switches make A8 trouble-free in comparison to competitors. Modern trends have influenced the development of automobile multimedia interfaces. Their primary goal is to simplify the driving process. Unfortunately the godfather of these systems the BMW 7 Series and its complex iDrive did not live up to the hopes of consumers. Loaded with a massive amount of electronic wizardry it takes several hours to master. The iDrive works by pushing it in any of eight directions to make selection and then rotating it like any other dial to select what you want on the on-screen menu. However finding the right option in more than 800 different functions consolidated in one spot may require extra patience. Audi engineers took into consideration their colleagues’ experience when designing a similar system, abbreviated to MM1. In this car making the right selection is a lot easier because the system’s options are grouped together and correspond to the different buttons readily activated. This algorithm appears to be working better than the iDrive. Mercedes on the other hand prefers to stick to traditional distribution of secondary operating devices. Learning to work center console button scales takes the minimalism out of the approach especially on the highway. Moving to the back seat area of the car. It is not a secret that many people buy luxury sedans not to extract pleasure from the actual driving process. More often they travel from point A to point B comfortably relaxed in the back seat. BMW is a paradox that feels tight in the front seats and luxuriously spacious in the back. Mercedes is less comfy in that respect and Audi although an outsider in these particular characteristics is very close to the two competitors, losing however in most points. Consequently the boss will be happy with either of the cars. Technologically speaking Audi could probably be the winner of the battle. But when choosing a car most people rely on personal preferences and find minor technological differences to support their point of view. If you can afford a car like that detailed calculations can be disregarded.
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