A test crew has arranged a series of ‘moose tests’ with the opulent Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, which passed it at a higher speed than the Lexus LS ever could, but still did not manage it at the benchmark speed of 77 km/h (47.8 mph).
The team took an S 400 d turbo diesel spec for the test, complete with all-wheel drive, normal Airmatic suspension and no 4WS. During the run at 77 km/h (47.8 mph), the driver was able to successfully evade a sudden obstacle on the road, but could not steer the car back in the lane fast enough afterwards.
Turning on the Sport+ mode helped things somewhat, and the car ended up doing one successful evasion maneuver at 74 km/h (46 miles per hour). In case you forgot, the Sport+ mode lowers the ground clearance by 17 mm (0.66”) while making the handling sharper and the suspension stiffer.
An attempt at 76 km/h (47.2 mph) was not bad, but a couple of road cones ended up hit. The crew still praised the steering predictability of the bulky sedan and the high performance of its ESP system.
In another recent test, the same reviewers drove the Lexus LS 500, which also felt rather safe and reliable, but never managed to evade an obstacle at a speed faster than 71 km/h (44.1 mph).