Industry Report: New Lexus GS and Infiniti M Go Head to Head in Midsize Luxury Shootout

As far as reliability goes, the two brands have long played on top of the independent survey hill. For instance, in the 2004

The M's interior shifts the brand upmarket in a major way, thoroughly inviting while now offering much higher quality materials. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

J. D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey (IQS), Lexus is the top rated brand while Infiniti comes in a solid eighth, out of 37 nameplates. More important, the two brands managed to beat out tenth placed Mercedes-Benz and twelfth placed BMW, although a strong performance from Jaguar, of all manufacturers, displaced Infiniti out of third, a position that it held last year. Cadillac took second for its second year, showing it is also a brand worth considering.

Infiniti fared better in the 2004 J. D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), although it dropped from a second place standing in 2003 to third, right behind GM's Buick division. Lexus, as usual, takes first place. Any of the top three positions is far above the industry average, however, making either Japanese brand a safe bet.

In the end, the rivalry between Lexus and Infiniti is more on the sales charts than it is at the dealership level. Like

Lexus has never suffered from tactile quality problems, yet the new GS ups the ante even further by improving interior design and execution. (Photo: Lexus)

Mercedes-Benz and BMW, customers don't tend to cross-shop from one brand to the other, but history shows a tendency to drop one of the German brands in favour of either Japanese - Mercedes-Benz for Lexus and BMW for Infiniti.

Lexus has been the clear winner in the profitable large car segment, however, with its LS 430 far outselling Infiniti's Q45. BMW has been the clear winner among the German brands, not having a competitive Japanese brand to deal with until the superb G35 arrived on the scene a few years ago.