In terms of public perception of prestige, are these two brands seen as more prestigious than the German big 3?

 

depends on person does it not?

 

I agree that it depends on the person and I also think it depends on the model. I have zero interest in Range Rovers (or any other SUV) and would prefer any of the other marques/models over any Range Rover model. I also think that the Porsche Panamera, BMW 7-Series, and Audi R8 are more impressive than a C-Class.

 

Personal perception. As mentioned, I don't like RR's, or SUV's either. In fact, with as diluted/watered down as MB has become it's kind of just sad and stale what MB has been doing....slapping AMG badges on all their cars......adding model after model for example. Pcars are still very desirable and have gone up in price even though they added the Macan, I really like Porsche. If you're considering prestige, look into Rolls Royce or Bentley.
And welcome to the forums

 

Happened upon this "fun" thread...must be slow for me today...hahaaa...

I agree - person and model. Here's mine:
Love RRs, but they're waning in the later model lineups...for me
I've never had, nor will I ever have an ounce of love for any Porsche, of any kind. They could gold plate one and I still wouldn't be interested...me...
ONE Audi is cool in my books...guess which one? None of the rest of the line does much for me....me again...
Same with MB. Only one is "king" in my books - The rest of the entire line is too large and washed out...as mentioned above.
BMWs, been there, done those, they're uninspiring to...me...

So, I guess, my stack out of the offerings in the first post:
MB AMG GT with Audi R8 right next to it...this is prestige...
RR a fading maybe...
BMW, a yawn.....
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Any Porsche model, down here.....

And, BTW, one honorable mention for Bentley. I had a Continental GT and it was a "bad boy" for sure.

 

I used to live in one of the top 5 zip codes for per capita income, had dealers for all 5 of these marques within 2 miles of my house (also Bentley, Rolls, McLaren, Lambo, Ferrari, more), and was embarrassed to be seen in my 2015 328i when it was brand new, as that's the car 16-year-olds get for their birthdays in the highbrow communities. Perhaps I can offer some insight, at least as far as it applies to the affluent.

As the OP correctly assumed, MB/BMW/Audi are generally seen as equals when it comes to prestige. As for who prefers one brand to the other, and who each manufacturer's target markets are, they're a little different, but not so when it comes to prestige.

Range Rovers are a little more prestigious, so long as you're driving the full-size Land Rover or Sport model. The Evoque a little bit of a joke, and comes across as a car for 20-something women. Say what you will about 20-something women, they don't reek of prestige when it comes to automobiles. But back to Land Rovers: they are prestigious because everyone knows they're expensive and they [used to] not offer a version that retailed for below about $80k, unlike the big three German car marques. They DO, however, suffer a little bit from being seen as a bit of a try-hard brand, and their reliability is so famously bad, they are prestigious only when obviously brand new. Once it's old enough to be out of warranty, you're assumed to be too broke to afford a new one, and thus it's not so prestigious after all. Conclusion: more prestigious when new, but you come across as a poser trying to flex when not new.

Porsches are a hair above the big three marques because they, too, have no affordable "beginner" model. Well, this was true until they released their own Evoque, the Macan. Thing is, they are affected a bit by their sporty branding, as every teenager wants a Porsche, but the same teens wouldn't give a second look at an S600, S7, or 760Li. Although Porsches are generally luxurious, only some models are seen as luxury cars, and therefore prestigious. In a town where 911s are as ubiquitous as Camrys, your $150k Turbo is no more prestigious than a base Carrera 2, except among true German car connoisseurs. The average person rolling in a GL450 will see your 911 GT3 as just a nice sporty little car, but not as a sign of having made it, as uninformed as that thinking is.