German Car Forum

Enjoy Gentleman

New S-Class W220 for Autumn 1998:


Slim into the next century: New S-Class W220 is only 4,99 m long and 300 kg lighter than it's predecessor W140



Mercedes-Benz is set to re-establish itself as maker of the world's best luxury car with the launch of its new S-Class this autumn. Pictured here for the first time without any disguise during a photo shoot in
Australia, the fifth-generation S-Class departs radically from the nine-year-old model it replaces with sleek new styling, reduced dimensions and an extended range of petrol and common rail diesel engines, among a raft of high-tech innovations aimed at seeing off the BMW 7-Series and its other big luxury car rivals.

Codenamed W220, the new Mercedes flagship is charged with the task of restoring the German car maker's long-held image for world-beating engineering in in the wake of last year's A-Class rollover debacle, production delays with the new Smart city car and recent recalls with the heavily touted Brake Assist system on the CLK.

The new S-Class is expected to make its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in September, with the first deliveries of right-hand-drive cars due in mid to late November. Despite improved equipment levels right across the range, prices are not expected to rise by more than five per cent, suggesting a range from British Pounds 44.000 to British Pounds 107.000. You won't have to look too far to recognize the new S-Class. Clothed in a new body that has been cleverly designed to hide its bulk, the new car immediately looks a lot sleeker, tauter and more muscular than its predecessor. Big Xenon-charged headlamps, a heavily raked chrome grille, steeper screen angles, flowing C-pillars and exterior mirrors that house indicator repeater units are just some of the highlights distinguishing new from old. The new car is said to boast a drag coefficient of just 0.26 in skinny-tyre form.


The face we'll see in our rear-view mirrors from October on.

Acting on criticism that the current S-Class is too big for the world's more congested cities, its designers have shaved almost 120mm from its overall length, bringing it down under the politically sensitive five-metre mark at 4990mm in short wheelbase guise. Width and height have also been reduced by 40mm and 31mm respectively. Despite these dimensional changes, the new car retains the same 3040mm wheelbase in a bid to provide it with class-leading levels of cabin space. As a result, the new model boasts much-reduced overhangs front and rear.

Along with the slimmed-down exterior, the new S-Class has also shed as much as 300kg compared with today's models - a remarkable achievement given the safety requirements it now has to meet. Stuttgart engineers credit the reduced weight to the use of a high percentage of aluminium, magnesium and light weight steel. Another reason is that the number of components used to build the car has been reduced - achieved through a closer relationship with key suppliers, many of whom were brought in at the very outset of the new S-Class`s 38-month development cycle.

Another factor that has helped Mercedes fight S-Class flab is the adoption of a new range of all-aluminium V6 and V8 petrol engines, each featuring Mercedes' unusual twin-spark ignition and three-valve per cylinder head arrangement for reduced emissions and class-leading fuel economy. The new 90deg units replace the old in-line six and four-valve V8 powerplants, both of which have been pensioned off because they are unable to pass tough new EC emission standards.



The initial line-up will consist of three petrol engines and one diesel: a 224bhp 3,2-litre V6, a 279bhp 4,3-litre V8, a 320bhp 5,0-litre V8 and a 170bhp 3,2-litre six-cylinder diesel. About ten months after the first cars reach British customers, Mercedes will add a new luxury-packed 400bhp 5,8-litre S600 range-topper to its ranks. At the same time, it also hopes to launch its impressive new 4,0-litre V8 common rail diesel engine under the bonnet of the S400 CDI. With 239bhp and 413lb ft of torque, it is claimed to set lofty new standards in diesel performance while economy on a par with petrol engines of half its capacity. It is still not yet clear whether Mercedes will offer an entry-level model underneath the S320 as it does now. A likely scenario is that a new 204bhp 2,8-litre V6 S280 will enter the line-up soon after initial sales have wained a bit in a bid to keep showroom interest up. Whatever the case, all models destined for the UK will feature an electronically controlled five-speed automatic gearbox with a slick new aluminium shift lever.

Along with its new engines, the W220 also boasts an all-new rear-wheel-drive platform aimed at providing the big German saloon with the sort of ride and handling qualities to bury the Audi A8 Quattro and BMW 7-Series, which are currently considered more sporting than the serene S-Class. Kicking off the changes from an enthusiast's point of view is a long-overdue switch from



recirculating ball to rack and pinion steering, a move that promises sharper responses and a better off-centre feel. The suspension is an adoption of the current car's double wishbone/multi-link arrangement with one important change: the addition of new air-filled dampers right across the range.
Engineers say a lot of work went into defining pick-up points in a bid to provide the best possible base for the new suspension set-up, which shares none of its geometry with today's car. Work is also continuing on a new anti-roll system dubbed Active Body Control (ABC). However, it is not expected to feature on the new S-Class until the V12-powered range-topper enters the fray later next year. Similar in concept to Citroen's pioneering Activa system used on the Xantia, it uses a series of hydraulic pumps located at each corner in combination with yaw sensors scattered throughout the bodyshell to first detect changes in the car's attitude and then set about correcting them. The result is dramatically reduced body roll during hard cornering, less pitching under heavy braking and more even ride characteristics over deeply rutted bitumen.

Complementing ABC will be a host of other electronically controlled driver aids, combining to make the W220 a real technological "tour de force". They include an improved ESP stability control system with even faster reaction times, the latest five-channel anti-lock braking system with a Brake Assist booster fro reduced stopping distances in emergency situations, intelligent Xenon headlights that vary their pitch according to the road conditions, and autonomous cruise control that uses radar sensors mounted behind the grille to judge the distance to other cars and then brakes the car accordingly, thus helping to avoid collisions.


Dynamic already at standstill: The designers cleverly knew how to keep the rear low by oblique lines.

Helping the new S-Class to improve on its already impressive refinement levels is a new weight-optimised bodyshell designed using the latest in computer-aided design and manufacturing technology. Fashioned partly from a new lightweight steel, it is rumoured to be up to 40 per cent stiffer than that of the current model in certain areas, particularly bending, reducing vibrations at associated noise levels. The stiffer body also plays a crucial role in ensuring that the S-Class retains its reputation as one of the world's safest cars, providing an improved safety cell for its occupants and larger crumple zones.

Improved cabin architecture has allowed Mercedes to increase the amount of space in the new S-Class, despite the reduction in its external dimensions. The use of virtual reality imaging during the design phase has also led to some important ergonomic changes, including the relocation of the electric window switches from their traditional place down on the transmission tunnel up on to the door rests, along with the electric seat switches. In a move that will bring a smile to the BMW faces, Mercedes will also offer the new S-Class with a new multi-function steering wheel in the same vein as that of the 7-Series. As with each generation of the S-Class, Mercedes has striven to deliver the very last word in safety.

And that looks to be the case again. The W220 will be one of the first cars to offer Autoliv`s new head curtain airbag. This new system is expected to complement standard twin face and front door airbags in all models, protecting occupants`s heads from the side glass in a heavy side impact. Added to this will be optional rear door airbags.

The S-Class has never been a car to want for luxury, so it comes as no surprise that top-line versions will be offered with just about every piece of equipment you could imagine. Forget everyday items such as electric windows and central locking; the new S-Class aims much higher, with everything from pollen-reducing filters to individual climate control air conditioning and the latest in satellite navigation
and GSM telephones. There's even talk of the W220 adopting a speech recognition system for all major dashboard controls, which means the driver's hand will never need to leave the wheel. And if you want to access e-mail on the run into work, no problem: Mercedes is working on that for the new S-Class, too.


The bit is gone: No more door locks. To be opened by remote control. Emergency lock in driver's door only.



For the first time a Mercedes gets a multifunction steering wheel for radio
and telephone. Door ((panel)) with electric seat adjustment (Memory)


Cockpit in familiar Mercedes styling. New: The window lifts moving into the
door trim.

New S-Class W220 in the Press

Little Wonder

Not only the stylistic change of the S-Class from a bulky to an elegant luxury sedan is amazing. Also remarkably seem the technological innovations with which the Mercedes rolls to the start of sale at the end of October.


Imagine there's a new Mercedes S-Class and none recognizes it: "I photographed a disguised car" a number of hobby-prototype-photographers told the editorial office in the last weeks, "I think it's the new E-Class."
It isn't. The prototypes which lastly only had few disguises in the areas of the headlamps and the rear lights were on test drives day and night on different continents. They embody the successor of the car which no other before in the history of the Daimler-Benz group had been heaped scorn on - the S-Class, in this form on the market since 1991.
Too big, too bulky and too heavy, the responsibles didn't want to have been told that a second time although the mighty W140 far from the narrow European roads especially on the Asian and American markets sold well as a representative car.
To save the - at least in Germany - tarnished image the Daimler-Benz board of management threw the switch for a more graceful successor in the phase of the new modesty in the beginning of the 1990`s.
The model developed under the code W220 looks more like an elegant cruiser than as a flagship besides the newly brought into discussion by VW luxury-liners from Rolls-Royce and Bugatti.
No wonder because the role of the flagship at Mercedes shall be taken by the Maybach which was first presented at the Tokyo Motor Show 1997. It should fill easily the role of the respectable luxury sedan with its length of 5,77 metres.
With the new the S-Class confusions with another model of the upper middle-class can't be excluded, because the designers of chief of styling Bruno Sacco attached great importance to an elegant, filigree flow of lines which intentionally gives a finer, coupe-like gracefulness to the four-door.




Never before the S-Class had the effect of being so lithe and lissom as today. The weight (minus 300 kilograms) and dimensions are a fair bit smaller than with the predecessor - the prestigious five-metre-border wasn't remained under despite according speculations in the run-up.
Less is more in this case, because length and wheelbase shrank about 7.5 cm, the height about 4.1 cm and the width about 2.9 cm the interior length grew, even if only about 1.7 cm. With the long-wheelbase version which will come onto the market also at the end of October, ((exact date for Germany is October 24th)) too, its at least 3.7 cm more - a growth which above all comes from a better room economy.

Even if the space offered nearly stayed the same - the world of the S-Class has completely changed. Whoever studies the list at the sight of the technological innovations with illustrious names like "Keyless-go", "Distronic" and "Command" feels reminded on the life of Captain Kirk on the bridge of
the spaceship Enterprise: Everything functions automatically or with the greatest of ease.

Altogether the interior on the first photos has the effect being much more futuristic than with the predecessor. High-quality, carefully processed materials shall contribute to the S-Class belonging to the best in the market in terms of quality offered in this class - a criterion other new Mercedes models like SLK, CLK and A-Class haven't reached fully in the desired degree.
To the technological innovations counts an inductive drive- and access-system, shortly called Keyless-go", which saves the tiresome search for the ignition key, because there isn't one anymore. Keyless-go takes this role through a chip-card the driver only has to carry in the briefcase in the jacket. If he approaches to the car closer than two to three metres it will be unlocked automatically. If he moves away ((from the car)) the doors do lock themselves. The S-Class isn't started with a key anymore but with a little button which is placed on the gear change scheme of the automatic transmission (("Auto Motor and Sport" seriously errs here: The button is
placed on top of the gear change lever, this also easily can be seen on the official interior photos)). For the ease of the driver the five-speed automatic transmission only is equipped with the settings P (parking), N (neutral) and D (drive), in return the gears can be individually chosen by hand on a new tiptronic-level.

Significantly smaller than the predecessor: S-Class
The S-Class not only measures less in length, width and height. The wheelbase shrank significantly. But the interior space offered is said to have remained alike. The weight reduction - depending on the trim-level - comes to up to 300 kilograms.

The driver hardly no more has to lend a hand to the telephone, because it - at least as an option - works with voice operation. Together with the one from the radio the remote control is integrated into the new multifunction steering-wheel following the BMW-example, whilst car radio, navigation system and TV-receiver with large colour monitor are united in the so-called "Command" electronic cockpit- management-system in the centre console.
The instruments are, now grouped in a so-called central-display, at first are dark. Only when the driver switches the ignition on begins - like with Cadillac or Lexus - the backlighting of the completely new developed instrument cluster.

Mercedes traditionalists also have to get used to a new comfort seat which is equipped with an internal ventilation by electric fans as well as a special massage opportunity of the tired muscles. Seat heating and electrical seat-adjustment plus a separate air-condition do help the well-being of the back-seat passengers.

The strip of wood above the large TV-screen in which the buttons for functions like the warning flasher have been summarized belongs to the flashy innovations. The buttons for the electric window lifts are now positioned in the door console close to the electric seat adjustments.

Last but not least an air-suspension - as it once was existent in the models 300SE and 600 - shall provide an optimal level of comfort (("AMS" again errs, there were several other MB models with air-suspension, but why should a highly-paid professional writer have any profound knowledge?)). The serial fitting with these gas cushions will be combined with the adaptive damping-system ADS which automatically adopts the effect of the shock-absorbers to the actual road surface.

To avoid S-Class drivers do come too close to others in road traffic the distance-controlling cruise-control "Distronic" with the help of a sensor in the front grille cares for the necessary security distance to the car ahead by calculated braking and after that accelerating again to the desired speed.
Parking is eased by the electronic parking aid "Parctronic" whose sensors as before are integrated into the bumpers.

The standard fittings of the new model plays - as usual with Mercedes - an especially important role. Besides the in the meantime natural front airbags for driver and ((front)) passenger sidebags in all four doors and two windowbags complete the protection for all passengers in case of an accident. The crash-security shall not suffer from the weight savings of the S-Class. High-strength panels, additional crash-elements as well as longer deformation distances shall take care of a greater security-potential than with the predecessor. Progresses Mercedes is said to have achieved under aspects of environmental policy, because the fuel consumption - depending on the model - was reduced between 13 and 17 per cent. The new generation of V-engines in lightweight construction and double-ignition - which will exist in three variants at the start of sale at the end of October - contributes to that: six-cylinder S320 with 224hp, S430 with 279hp and S500 with strong V-8-engine. The big eight-cylinder will have cylinder-shut-off to save fuel under
partial-load circumstances, but only as an option.
Mercedes assumes that not all customers attaches importance to that. But the ((fuel)) consumption can be reduced by another seven per cent by the use of this technique which is the reason why the cylinder- shut-off also will be used with the completely new developed V-12-engine.

The 5.8-litre-engine with 400hp from the end of 1999 on completes the range together with a four-litre- V8-engine with common-rail technique and 238hp which shall get along with eight litres every 100 km ((29.405 mpg US, 35.3175 mpg UK)). Modesty in view of dimensions, weight and fuel consumption give hope that Mercedes also will be modest with the prices. That, too, would be a little wonder.



S-Class Instead of Mass

Topical means topical because these pages are highly topical. Therefore here the planned VW-article (Passat Plus, Bora station wagon...) had to give space for a still more topical theme: The new Mercedes S-Class. The first official photos show what Mercedes imagines under a luxury diet.


Exactly one second we follow hard on the heels of the car in front. Not for a second time but a second distance. The computer calculates 36 metres at 130 km/h. For security. Already now another car
cheekily places itself in the gap at the moment I wanted to insert a cassette ((into the cassette player)). Not paying attention for a moment. What could have happened? But the S-Class detected the fear of an accident before us. Its electronic automatically brakes the luxury sedan and then again builds up the "second distance" to the rest of the traffic. "Distronic" the developers from Mercedes-Benz call their youngest baby, a combination from Tempomat ((cruise-control)) and distance-radar and it will make the S-Class a bit more secure again when it will be presented this autumn. Beautiful new world. No dear readers, we don't want to confuse you: We haven't test driven the new S-Class yet. Only tested the Distronic which Mercedes presented for approval in an E-Class and offers in the S-Class from autumn. The intelligent luxury-option shows where the journey leads to: The new S-Class shall no longer
fascinate through its pure size but through a firework of impressive technology. Through more S-Class instead of mass. More than 30 innovations, Mercedes promises, shall improve security and comfort in
the flagship onto a new level. "With that we newly define the top of automobile production" says Daimler-Chairman Jürgen Hubbert.

The show-off of the predecessor is dead and buried - and with it the expensive and heavy double-glazing.

No easy task, but an absolute duty for Mercedes. The new S-Class newly has to show where the top is.

The predecessor didn't succeed with that. Against the too big W140 BMW, Audi and Jaguar lastly mightily gained ground. Too heavy, not enough payload in the beginning and too many quality problems - such flaws for a long time did scratched on the image of the star. A false start like with A-Class and Smart would be inexcusable because the S-Class is the Mercedes.

Here the Stuttgarters have to put on wheels for what customers and the competition do most fervently stretch for: The optimum in design, technology, comfort and quality. A S-Class must not be embarrassing, but a desirably attractive car. This manages the W 220 (so the factory-code) through a luxury-diet, through wise limitation. It will be 29 millimetres smaller than the predecessor, 41 mm lower and 75 shorter. With 5,04 metres the luxury-liner still surpasses the magic five-metre-hurdle but we don't see it anymore. A stretched, sinewy design, with the long coupe-roof of the E-Class and a fresh blink. More slim than cupboard. The form doesn't lie: The new S-Class weighs up to 300 kilograms less depending on the options because of hood- and chassis-components made out of aluminium and a mix
of high-strength steels.



One could blame the old fortress for much, but in terms of comfort and security the S-Class was top. Mercedes wants to improve both despite the strong diet. When crashed up to eight airbags inflate (two in front, four at the side, plus two big window-bags from front to rear). The luxury-Mercedes glides on an air suspension as standard which automatically adopts the effect of the shock-absorbers to the road surface (adaptive damping system ADS). ESP and "Brake-Assist" of course already belong to the base version S 320 ((as standard)). In the beginning under the hood do wait no big surprises: 231 to 320 HP in the new 5,0-Litre-V8, at the end of the next year follow a 5,8-Litre-V12 (circa 400 HP) and a small S280 (see table). With much more excitement we look forward to the new Common-Rail-Diesels
which do not come before autumn 1999: A 2,7-Litre CDI (circa 170 HP) and a 4,0-Litre CDI (238 HP).


Unmistakably S-Class, but still completely new. Additional turn signals are located in the outer mirrors.

A long way off ? No, it already begins when the new S-Class is at the dealers from the end of October
on. Was Mercedes earlier considered to be a conservative marque, the new S-Class causes a high-tech experience as we haven't known it until now: S like science-fiction. Examples?
If the driver approaches to the Mercedes from the side and encloses the door handle, the doors unlock immediately. The mystery lies in the chip-card, which one even can keep in the jacket's pocket
(Mercedes calls this option "Keyless-go"). And the other way round: Does one leave the car, all doors close automatically.
The start is also keyless. A push on the button on top of the gear change lever - and the engine whispers.
In the new instrument cluster the displays appear like a hologram, nearly three-dimensional from a black cave, similar to the Lexus from Toyota. Never before a Mercedes was as comfortable as the new S-Class. Even the ((driver's)) back can be ventilated and massaged whilst driving. The legs in the meantime rest clutch- and accelerator-less, the "Distronic" drives, brakes and changes gears, makes the journey on the motorway to a relaxation journey ((To point it out clearly: Of course the new S-Class still has accelerator-, brake- and - with the non-automatic-transmission-versions - clutch-pedal, but the functions of the Distronic are performed without need of the driver to operate any of these pedals)). One only has to steer. In the meantime the display in the centre console keeps contact to the outside world by radio, telephone, TV and satellite-navigation.
All that goes well together - the new S-Class appears to be a Mercedes from another star.

The new coupe comes at the end of `99.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revealed: The first pictures of secret super coupe, codenamed C215, packing V8 and V12 power!



Mercedes is aiming right for the top with its new luxury CL coupe, spied here completely undisguised for the first time. The world-beating four-seater promises to take on the likes of Bentley and Ferrari when it is launched in front of an audience of the world's wealthy and famous at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1999, exactly a year after the debut of the S-Class saloon that it's based on.

Dubbed as "the ultimate Grand Touring experience" by an insider at the Germany car maker, the replacement model for the current CL features class-leading technology and an all-new look designed to distinguish it from the S-Class saloon. The styling also sees it fit in with the family appearance of the current CLK and the forthcoming SL soft-top replacement. Acutely aware that the current CL has proved less of a sales success than its SEC coupe predecessor, which sold at a ratio of 11 saloons to one coupe, compared to today's figure of 16:1, Mercedes stylists have worked hard on producing a more fashionable, less ostentatious image which should boost the car's appeal. And rather than being marketed simply as the coupe version of the S-Class, it will stand as a model in its own right, with a unique interior and individual trim and option packages.

Still codenamed C215, the super coupe boasts more than just fresh styling. Underneath the body, a new range of eight-cylinder engines will make their first appearance in this size of car, and there is also a range-topping 12-cylinder powerplant further down the line. The entry-level version will be badged CL 430, and is powered by the company's latest 4.3-litre, 275bhp V8, which features the innovative three valves and two spark plugs for each cylinder layout to minimise exhaust emissions.


One could almost think the roof would be a hard top. Before the roof pillar smoothly blended into the fender.

Next up is the enlarged 5.0-litre V8 unit, boasting 320bhp - a 12bhp increase - and then there's the all-new 5.8-litre V12 engine, which produces a mighty 400bhp. Linked to this will be the latest specification five-speed automatic gearbox with adaptive driving patterns. Carrying the latest powertrains is an all-new rear-wheel-drive platform, with improves suspension and steering set-ups. New air-filled dampers are said to give superior low-speed ride comfort and high-speed body composure, while an electronic control system is expected to enhance the technology-laden appeal of the V12 flagship.
Added to this will be Mercedes comprehensive catalogue of standard-fit driving aids. These include the ESP (electronic stability control), which keeps the car stable in extreme conditions by independently feeding braking pressure to each wheel by the way of the anti-lock brakes' sensors. In addition, there is Mercedes patented Brake Assist system plus ASR traction control, which stops the rear wheels from spinning during acceleration.
According to our inside information, Mercedes engineers set out to give both the S-Class and CL models a more sporty feel on the road. The major suspension and steering revisions provide more feedback for the driver, less body roll and, with a much lower overall weight - thanks to the use of costly but lightweight materials - there is less inertia and pitch in corners, and not as much dive during braking. Another plus point is the coupe's greatly reduced overall bulk. Though the wheelbase remains the same, body length has been reduced by cutting back the overhangs, while width and height dimensions are also down slightly.

Inside, the CL gets an interior design which, though different to the S-Class's, shares new features with the saloon. Included among them are electronic analogue dials and instruments which remain blank and cloaked in darkness until the ignition is switched on; they then light up in a similar fashion to those of Toyota's Lexus models. A new "Command" centre brings touch-screen and speech activation to the driver. This optional device is based on a screen which operates everything from the music system and television to the telephone and APS (Auto Pilot System) satellite navigation. Features such as electronic climate control, plus buttons for the cruise and speed controls mounted on the steering wheel, will also be fitted.

If you compare the centre console with the one from the new S-Class sedan W220 you will notice how different they really are as the one from the coupe shown here is one piece from the front centre armrest to the dashboard.

Although the latest German GT is smaller externally, it remains a spacious four-seater, with a boot large enough to carry luggage for a full complement of passengers. On top of the superb standards of active safety, the big Merc will protect its occupants with the addition of front and side-impact airbags, plus head-bags, which run the length of the doors' windows. Design staff have been testing airbags for the rear-seat passengers, and there's a possibility that these will be fitted in the backs of the front seats in order to provide facial and chest protection.
Despite all the obvious improvements that the still-secret CL displays over the current model, any rise in that car's British Pounds 72,040 - 107,040 price range is expected to be kept to a minimum, thanks mainly to improved cost-cutting methods used during a speeded-up development cycle. However, the new model is not likely to reach the UK until early 2000, which will leave plenty of potential buyers to face an agonising wait, as it is clearly a massive advance over the existing CL coupe. The new car, looking and sounding better than ever, seems set to boost CL sales worldwide in a big way.

Very happy that period is over.

I still think that those cars made a bigger fuzz when revealed than the current generation. Design might not look fresh since we are used to it BUT it made me drool when I first saw it. The new W221, it looked familiar .. except those arches it is almost not a surprizing evolution of the W220. We still own a W220 and W140 and both cars are iconic.

i remembr drooling over those cars back then, in my high school years.

good find!

With the facelift and the right wheels and color the W220 still looks great to me. It's not as flashy as the W221 and doesn't have the same presence but I am a sucker for it's lines.

Both the coupe and the sedan were stunners when first shown compared to the C/W140 tanks. The new interiors in particular were so pretty and beautiful compared to the 140 cars. Too bad the quality and build went out the window. I wouldn't touch a W220 or C215 now. The pre-facelift cars were a disgrace and really shameful for a Mercedes. Too bad because the C215 is still one of the most beautiful cars Mercedes has ever produced.

M

I recently rode on a buddy's 2002 S500, and I had the hardest time reconciling the car I was riding in with the tour-de-force I worshipped as a teen when it was first released. A bunch of the features no longer worked: you had to keep the massage button pressed with your fingers for it to work, airmatic was shot to hell, etc. There is a world of difference with the post FL cars, but even then, the cabin is a sorry place to be if one has seen a concurrent A8 and 7 series, not to mention the 221.

By the way, recently saw a 70k mile '03 S600 sport on sale for 19k... these vehicles have sunk fast.

Yes, sadly the W220 among others including my C208 CLK are part of the Skimp-Shremp era. Mercedes won't be free of these cars until al of them are off the roads...and that will be a long time considering how many millions of cars were sold during the dark years, which IMO are between 1994-2006.

M

Agree with all of you guys. These car's were stunning revelations that went bad as time moved on. I remember being absolutely blown away when first seeing the S. No car since has had the same effect on me. But allong with the stunning design came appalling build and quality. The W220 was the first S-class my parents bought in a decade. It was sold precisely 3 years later when the warranty expired. Not that the replacement 2003 w211 E turned out any better lol.

Yes, those were VERY HAPPY times back then. I remember falling in love with that car back in the day. It was in every other music video.

I remember thinking the W220 and C215 were too pretty to be Mercedes' when they were introduced. Stunning inside and out and a radical change compared with the W140 cars. I just hate that Mercedes made them so cheaply that it nearly ruined their reputation for good. I passed by a C215 CL500 today with the AMG pack, one of Mercedes best designs ever, but the upkeep $$ is ridiculous.


M

The 220 and especially the 215 were shockingly stunning, they displayed a whole new design direction for the usually rigid Mercedes.

These were sporty, elegant, and refined (previous gen MBs were not refined).

The suspension was magic too, everybody was stunned by the Distronic, the announced Keyless-Go was sci-fi, the driver's seat was self-adjusting to the size of the driver, the new light-detector regulated instruments cluster looked irreal when turned off... It was the beginning of Voice-Control for the commands, and the COMAND system itself was all new...

However, the enthusiasm quickly fell with the first tests displaying broken cupholders, fragile moving parts on the interior, cheap plastic here and there. And then all those reliability problems...

Now I hate those Schrempp-era cars.

Hey our family owned 3 off these cars..

The first a white S320 which we had for ab8 mounths we had two accidents in the car and decided to sell it as we thaught it was not meant for us..We never had any issues with the car other then the accidents.

The second was a used S500 a monster of a car at that time powerfull and rode beutifully unfortunately we bought the car with highish milage and my dad hardly used it and it ened up with lots off electrical woes sold it to a friend locally informing him off the bugs he was happy to take it at the bargain deal he got..He is till yoday using it daily and i must say he loves the car it now has 250000km...

The third was a faclifted S350 the quality was much better then the prefacelift..we had the car for about 3 years from brand new unfortunately my uncle was at a toll road and a guy in a corrola bashed him while he was wairing to pay the toll the car was hit at the back and this led to my uncle hitting the car in front the person in the corrola had a brake failure the car was smashed badly and was unreperable as per the insuarance..My uncle and aunt walked out off the car without a scratch or a hint of pain.Thank god and thank mercedes for their safe cars.One of the main main reasons we buy Mercedes safety...