Well, I can honestly say that I am UNIMPRESSED by motortrends review
Or maybe I should say more precisely, I am unimpressed by the reviewers/authors intelligence!
I test drove all 3 of the above listed cars, the 750i almost fully loaded except the sport package but with the integral active steering and the roll stabilization system, next was the S550 AMG 4Matic and then the A8, all of them were the latest versions available at the time I test drove them (back in February). I took all of them along the exact same route to be able to compare the ride comfort, suspension, performance and handling. The route included some freeway/highway, city streets and some twisty back roads for a total of about 1 hour drive plus about 30 minutes before the drive to get to know the car a bit. Now I obviously didn't have any gear to test acceleration/performance like some of these magazines have. For acceleration, it was the good old 'seat of the pants' feeling and the new 750 felt the fastest (and to that extent, I guess the above article confirms that). Handling wise, I would say the 750 handled best, followed by the A8 and the S550 last (I didn't like the 'sofa/couch soft ride of the S550). Overall, I rank the 750i first place, the S550 second and the A8 a distant 3rd. I do like the external looks of the S550 but as hard as I tried, I just can't stand the interior of the S550...
I was really disappointed with the A8, I found the car to be overpriced for the materials they chose. If they asked half of what they are asking for that car, that I would be willing to pay for! It most certainly does not feel like you were sitting in a $100k+ car that's for sure. I had a good friend of mine with me on all 3 test drives and we sort of 'compared' notes after each test drive and he pointed out a few things and details from a passenger point of view that I as the driver didn't see, feel or hear during the test drives. Interestingly enough, his conclusions were almost the same as mine and that was very interesting for me as he is a total MB fan. He told me that he was really impressed with the new 750!
Now in regards to the the guy that wrote the review, if he couldn't figure out the new iDrive system, it speaks volumes of how low is IQ is
That system is by far the easiest of all 3 car manufactures to learn/handle. I had no issues figuring out all 3 of them but do have to praise the new iDrive system over the other two. You would sort of expect that since it is the newest of all of them and BMW has (thankfully) learned from the shortcomings of it's previous generation iDrive systems.