S-Class (W223) Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W223) Facelift

[TATE]

IMHO, rigid adherence to this by M-B, should it be accurate information, is very much akin to positioning the company on the edge of an extremely slippery, sharply descending slope with huge boulders at the bottom. Especially in view of our ever more rapidly changing times, rapidly shifting perceptions. Especially in view of increasingly fierce industry competition, from other German manufacturers as well as abroad.

It takes years to design and develop and valid a car!!!
You can change details but not a lot in the meantime unfortunately

 

[Esp5]

With different set of wheels.

That black specification with black centered wheels looks great.

It's a shame about the interior; the dashboard, or rather, the screen, looks forced. The black bezels seem larger than the three screens, and it looks incredibly outdated. The previous model was better in that respect; its dashboard looked more luxurious.

 

[Design FIRST]

It takes years to design and develop and valid a car!!!
You can change details but not a lot in the meantime unfortunately

Suffice to say, the time necessary spanning from "conception to production" for development processes has been significantly diminished. Significantly. Mere fractions of those necessary not so long ago. Especially pertaining to Chinese manufacturers, but also those of the Europeans.

 

[Uygar]

That black specification with black centered wheels looks great.

It's a shame about the interior; the dashboard, or rather, the screen, looks forced. The black bezels seem larger than the three screens, and it looks incredibly outdated. The previous model was better in that respect; its dashboard looked more luxurious.

Exactly. Those black wheels look super dope. They’re from the EQS SUV actually, lol. Originally 22 inch.
Both of these wheel designs are OEM Mercedes accessory wheels, so unfortunately they’re not offered on the S-Class.

 

[Uygar]

This would be my version:

• no ugly black plastic between the headlights and the grille
• a fabric interior (given the disastrous current leather in the W223, which creases/cracks/polishes itself smooth after 60,000 km)
• Zebrano wood for a bit of Mercedes nostalgia
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Basically, every W223 should be finished at least to the level of this blue Manufaktur version — meaning that even the lower part of the seat (which is otherwise made of the cheapest plastic imaginable) should be wrapped in leather with stitching, as well as the side cover of the cockpit.
  What’s still atrociously cheap is the door sill made of the cheapest hard plastic — this should be thick plush, like it still was in the W221.
  
  
  
  
  
  Otherwise, what is there to say: the W223 is the worst S-Class of all S-Classes. The least character, terrible build quality, terrible materials, and a huge number of faults and recalls. The facelift is pure bling-bling: what good is an illuminated star if I get a rear end that will now (because of the star graphics) be even harder to distinguish from an E-Class, and an interior that is practically a copy of the E-Class interior? The car’s grille is also completely oversized and doesn’t fit the vehicle proportionally at all; it resembles Audi’s designs, and on top of that it isn’t fully illuminated but is interrupted where the license plate sits… disastrous.
  
  
  Instead of Mercedes remaining like a high-end hi-fi (with switches and buttons made from the finest cold aluminum that click beautifully and rotate with precision), it has become a cheap Chinese radio manufacturer with touchscreens.
  
  
  Someone said something very true to me recently: today, if you want the interior quality of a Mercedes from the 1990s, you practically have to go for a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce. Yes. Sadly, that’s really the case.
  
  
  In my view, the W223 does not deserve the S-Class name, and I can only hope that Ola is replaced as soon as possible and that someone comes in who has more understanding for customers like us, who have been driving S-Classes for 25 years…

Looks so much better without that ugly black surround, wow. It’s crazy how big of a difference it makes. Now it looks really elegant and fuss free. The only change I would want is probably making the headlights a bit slimmer.

 

[Esp5]

So the base versions don't come with the black trim under the grille?

 

[Uygar]

So the base versions don't come with the black trim under the grille?

It’s photoshop

 

[Esp5]

It’s photoshop

Between AI and Photoshop being everywhere, I don't even know what I'm looking at anymore.

 

[Uygar]

Between AI and Photoshop being everywhere, I don't even know what I'm looking at anymore.

It’s better to state whether they’re real or not. It can be really confusing otherwise.

 

[Swissbob]

What a lovely picture.

On this picture you can find an extremely successful gentleman, someone who thinks he’s bigger than god, a gentleman who’s convinced of himself being part of the solution although he’s the main part of the problems , a newbie and a unknown person.

 

[Satanicom]

Anyone getting the same error? Can't configure with Exclusive Manufaktur options.

 

[MichiB]

Yes, I also get this error

 

[Design FIRST]

THIS is IMHO simply exceptional. :

A future M-B that I would love to see.

DAMMIT !

I've been jogging my memory pondering exactly where I've seen elements of this waaay back when. And now...I think that I've found them !:

In no way whatsoever derogatory. I was and remain a fan of the Lancia Thema. I remains far fresher than many of it's 1980's peers.

 

[Multicylinder4ever]

I turned my sketches into these renders. They look really nice imo. Boxier yet still elegant.

IMHO sensational!!! Especially the 1st photo. It's a departure from current styling as much as "Sensual Purity" was a departure from the W221. Bring back something austere and bank vault built just like before, not that nonsense Sensual Purity with stars and screens everywhere (although I admit absolutely loving the facelifted W222). Uygar, your designs are cracking .

 

[SCOTT27]

DAMMIT !

I've been jogging my memory pondering exactly where I've seen elements of this waaay back when. And now...I think that I've found them !:

In no way whatsoever derogatory. I was and remain a fan of the Lancia Thema. I remains far fresher than many of it's 1980's peers.

The 8:32 was the closest we got a four door Ferrari unless you were a wealthy sheik.

 

[SCOTT27]

The problem with Manufaktur is that it's expensive and slow. In UAE, Turkey and USA there are places where people take their whole interior to be retrinmed for $15-30k to a standard and level of customisation that manufaktur can't match.

If you want OEM, brabus and Bentley heavily customise interiors.

If you had an interior like these. Your passengers would wish they were colour blind.

 

[Uygar]

Anyone getting the same error? Can't configure with Exclusive Manufaktur options.

Yep.
Out of context, but I really wanna see someone spec their S-Class with that frog green interior, lol. So obnoxious, I love it.

 

[SCOTT27]

This is amazing. The a sense of keyless go makes the car less susceptible to getting stolen.

It’s crazy to think that in the prefacelift, the center console cubby was cheap scratch plastic regardless of trim chosen for the other inlays.

The “uniform” look now applied seems a backward step from this. This was actually a sign of its status.

 

[Uygar]

IMHO sensational!!! Especially the 1st photo. It's a departure from current styling as much as "Sensual Purity" was a departure from the W221. Bring back something austere and bank vault built just like before, not that nonsense Sensual Purity with stars and screens everywhere (although I admit absolutely loving the facelifted W222). Uygar, your designs are cracking .

Thank you mate, we’re definitely looking through the same lens.
That was exactly what I was going for, though it’s fully subjective, so I understand why people also might not like it. It’s fun to predict.

 

[Design FIRST]

The 8:32 was the closest we got a four door Ferrari unless you were a wealthy sheik.

I like the Thema. Way back in the 80s', a collegue of mine bought a new Thema with the "Euro" (Lancia,Alfa-Romeo, FIAT,SAAB) V6 in a dark metallic blue. Very nice car, I recall. And my collegue absolutely loved it.