It should be common knowledge that the Lexus RX 350 and the Hyundai Veracruz Limited are in different classes, bought by different people for different reasons, but that didn’t stop Motortrend from comparing the two vehicles in their latest issue.

Let me save you the farce, the Veracruz is declared the winner of the two, simply by placing inordinate weight on a questionable concept of value.

Compared, the Hyundai rings in at $10,000 less than the Lexus, yet it lacks a navigation system, a backup camera, adaptive HID headlights, to speak nothing of the lower interior quality. These are not small differences: the Navigation feature alone would add $1500-2000 to the price of the Vercruz — that is, if it was even available as an option.

Perhaps the strangest part of the comparison was the criticism of the RX 350’s safety features:

Is the Hyundai chassis that much superior? No. It’s the RX’s insistence in keeping you overly safe that electronically inhibited its performance. It sensed that our max-handling performance testing was impending accident doom and lit up the stability controls at anything more than the slightest provocation. Beepers beeped, brakes braked, and the throttle was dialed out until the RX 350 knew we weren’t going to crash. This also was the case on our mountain road loop, even during moderate cornering. The Lexus computer wizards need to dial the electronannies back a notch or two.

Makes absolutely no sense to me, this vehicle isn’t a sports car, it’s a people mover. Wouldn’t the additional safeguards be considered a plus rather than a minus?

Really, dragging the RX 350 into a comparison with what is essentially a cheaper knockoff, then basing the final verdict strictly on “value”, seems inappropriate for a major car magazine. How would the Veracruz compare to the BMW X3, I wonder?

It’s now almost two years old, but I’ve seen few comparisons as detailed as Autoweb’s head-to-head showdown between the 2006 BMW 330i and the 2006 Lexus IS 350.

No stone is left unturned as they pit the two cars against each other, comparing them in convenience, design, comfort, and driving. The results couldn’t be considered all that surprising, but the thoughtfulness in the examination certainly was. Not to play spoiler, but here’s how it shook down:

Convenience

1. IS 350 2. 330i

Design

1. IS 350 2. 330i

Comfort

1. IS 350 2. 330i

Driving

1. 330i 2. IS 350

Like I said, not all that surprising, though it did raise my eyebrows to see the IS 350 top the 330i in the Design category. Here’s their justification of the result:

In the end, our editors gave a slight edge to the Lexus’s aggressive, muscular stance and look-at-me styling that was just one massive rear wing shy of being over the top. But, without that hopped-up Honda Civic add-on, the 2006 Lexus IS 350 makes a powerful statement, something that should be required of any sport luxury sedan with an as-tested sticker in the $45,000 range. The 2006 BMW 330i, on the other hand, represents with a powerful stance, but the off-the-shelf look of the taillights, for example, relegates the Bimmer to the Lexus IS 350’s shadows.

As you probably guessed, with a 3-to-1 margin, the IS 350 came out on top of the comparison. The BMW will perpetually win any battle when it comes to the driving experience, but when the main concern is commuting, as it is with most drivers, the IS 350 has the 330i beat.

Bruce McCulloch over at Autosavant asked the question “Does the 600h really offer any true advantage over the lesser LS460?” and came away with a resounding “NO!”

Let’s summarize his major points:

• The 600h costs $35,000USD more than a similarly equipped 460.
• People buying a car in this price range ($100,000USD +) don’t really care about gas mileage, which is the most practical reason to buy a hybrid. 600h is only marginally better than the 460 in MPG.
• The 600h has a reduced trunk size due to the hybrid engine, leaving it with less room than a 2007 Jetta.
• Both models have virtually the same 0-60 mph time, even though the 600h has 50bhp more power. This is due to the extra weight of the hybrid engine, which adds 887 lbs.

With these points in mind, it’s hard not to agree with his conclusion. However, little weight seems to have been given to the LS 600h’s exclusive features: LED headlights, All Wheel Drive, multi-zone climate control with infrared body temperature sensors, more wood and leather, and an optional Active Stabilizer Control system which provides better stability. With the exception of the ASC, these features cut directly into the price difference between models, and definitely put the 600h a cut above the 460.

McCulloh’s comparison also dismisses the environmental impact of driving a hybrid, which can not be discounted as a motivator to buyers in this price range, with their jetsetting and yachts sucking up fuel.

Really, it’s a debate for debate’s sake, as most of the 2008 production run of the 600h/600hL is already spoken for. Someone’s buying them.

Edmunds has published a head-to-head battle of the 2007 IS350 vs. the BMW 335i, and while the results are fairly predictable (Shock! The 3-series wins again), a point must be made that the test itself was skewed in favor of Bavaria.

With performance being the main point of the comparison, the 335i was equipped with an optional $1,700 sports package, while the only options given to the IS350 were luxury appointments like the $3,990 navigation package and safety features like the $2,900 pre-collision system/dynamic radar cruise control. Considering this, is it any shock that the 335i outperformed the IS350 or that the Lexus was more expensive?

How can you draw proper conclusions when the test subjects are uneven?

[Via: BMW Blog]