2007 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Review

Mercedes-Benz S-Class – Driving Impressions: Parents prefer small class sizes to large class sizes in their childrens’ learning institutions because instructors are free to spend more one-on-one time with students when they have 10 pupils rather than 30. All things considered equal, as the students from the small schools with limited class sizes mature, they leap ahead of peers from large schools with overflowing class rooms, attending advanced placement courses in gifted child programs, landing scholarships to Ivy League colleges, and launching more lucrative careers with Fortune 500 companies. Then they buy Mercedes-Benz S-Classes, an icon of achievement which competes in a small class of premium luxury sedans, and with its 2007 redesign sits right up front, the apple of every engineer’s eye. It would be easy to dismiss the Mercedes-Benz S-Class’s near perfection, considering the $104,475 price tag on the window sticker of our S550 test car. After all, for that kind of money, a car should be as close to perfect as possible. During the same week we drove the S-Class, however, we also had a Bentley Arnage R and a Rolls-Royce Phantom in the parking lot, vehicles priced more than double and triple, respectively, the price of our S550. Yet, the Mercedes was the best car of the trio. It was more comfortable, more pleasing to drive, and more sophisticated. It lacked the old-world British charm of the Bentley and Roller, sure, but the quality of the Benz’s materials was nevertheless up to par with both of the more expensive machines. Let’s not discount the S550’s direct competitors, either. Lexus has a new LS sedan rolling into showrooms this fall, and it features some slick technology not found on the Mercedes, not to mention it will be available in hybrid form and likely priced below our test S-Class’s six-figure price tag. BMW, too, has a new 7 Series sedan in the works for the 2008 model year. Audi’s beautiful A8 is no slouch, and Jaguar’s XJ provides premium luxury sedan buyers with the same English character that Bentley and Rolls-Royce possess – just dialed down a few notches. Ron Perry drove the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class last January in Arizona, and you can read his story for all the specifics on key technologies like Night View Assist and updated features like Distronic Plus and Pre-Safe. What you need to know is that the 2007 S-Class is completely redesigned, is chock-full of all the latest high-tech features in the Mercedes-Benz arsenal, and is on sale now in S550 and S600 styles. People who enjoy driving might wish to wait for the upcoming S65 AMG, which gets a full sport-tuned tweaking including a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 engine making 604-horsepower and 738 lb.-ft. of torque. If sublime cruising is the preferred method of travel, the S550 gets a 382-horsepower, 5.5-liter V8 while the S600 receives a 510-horsepower, 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12. Based on our test drive, the S600 and S65 AMG are overkill, because the S550’s engine is more than powerful enough. That’s the model we drove, with a base sticker price of $87,175 including the $775 destination charge and a $1,000 gas guzzler tax. The EPA says the S550 will get 16 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway: we averaged 16.1 mpg during a week of driving the car all around the Los Angeles and Orange County regions. Our Mercedes-Benz S550 was loaded with just about every factory option, for an as-tested price of $104,475. That included the Premium II Package ($2,850) with heated and active ventilated front seats, Sirius satellite radio, Parktronic park assist, and Keyless Go locking and ignition. Our car also had the Rear Seat Package ($2,900) with heated and active ventilated power rear seats, and a four-zone climate control system. Additional features on our test car were an Active Body Control active suspension that automatically limits body pitch, dive, and roll ($3,900); Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control that works in stop-and-go traffic ($2,850); and Drive Dynamic multi-contour front seats with four-stage massage function that has side bolsters that automatically inflate when the car is turning to add support for the driver and front passenger ($1,800). Rounding out the list of options on our test S550 were a panoramic sunroof ($1,000), power side window sun blinds ($700), a wood-and-leather steering wheel ($550), and a rearview monitor ($750).

Performance

Lush usually describes thick green vegetation, Fantasy Suites at the Palms Casino, or people who drink too much alcohol, but it’s the word that comes to mind when considering the powertrain in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It’s vivid, it’s luxuriant, it’s smoother than Glenlivet. Quiet, fluid power flows from the 5.5-liter V8, the automatic transmission shifting flawlessly between its seven forward gears. Throttle tip-in is soft, perfect when chauffeuring heads of state or sleeping children, but the Benz rises to any occasion with a heavy dip into the throttle. Mercedes says that the S550 will get from rest to 60 mph in just 5.4 seconds.

Handling

Germans drive very fast on the Autobahn, which is why German cars so deftly blend handling capability and ride quality into a single package – if they want return customers, it is a requirement. The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class will go very fast and feel very capable, but handling is not the standard S550’s forte. The optional Active Body Control suspension feels a bit unnatural at times, the 18-inch 255/45 Continental ContiTouring Contact tires squeal when taxed, and the steering can suddenly stiffen too much when bending into a curve. Technology is not this car’s friend. Good thing this Mercedes produces vault-like silence on the open road, where it’s most comfortable. Note that there is an optional AMG Sport Package available for the S550, including 19-inch wheels and tires and a body kit. The wider rubber should help handling, the body kit not so much.

Visibility

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a large car, but it offers terrific outward visibility and a surprisingly svelte turning radius to make maneuvering in tight quarters relatively simple. The side mirrors could stand to be larger for better visibility in blind spots and for lane changes, and the rear roof pillars are predictably thick, but otherwise there are no problems with visibility. The three-pointed star hood ornament helps the driver judge the front end, the folding rear headrests don’t block the view of traffic, the optional reversing camera shows what’s behind the car and the trajectory of the wheels, and an available park assist system helps to keep the bumpers in like-new condition.

Fun to Drive

Extremely enjoyable to drive, the Mercedes-Benz S550 is a cruiser, not a carver. It doesn’t like to be treated as a sports sedan, so if slamming down a favorite country road is high on the list of priorities, choose a different car or spend extra for the upcoming S65 AMG. The standard S550 is an excellent cruiser, a terrific car for the day-to-day grind, a luxury suite on wheels, a little soft around the edges but our pick for almost any road trip anywhere.

Front Comfort

Mercedes has nailed comfort in the 2007 S550 – at least when you load up with the Drive Dynamic multi-contour front seats and the Premium II Package. Plush, supportive Drive Dynamic front seats feature heating, cooling, and massage, and are covered in gorgeous, soft leather. Entry and exit are not a problem, and there are soothing armrests for elbows. When sitting in the sun, the S-Class never gets too hot, and the climate system is able to rapidly cool the interior.

Rear Comfort

As pleasurable as it is to sit in the front chairs, the rear seats are fantastic – especially when the Rear Seat Package and the optional power side sun blinds are ordered. Side and rear window shades block the sun or prying eyes, and the optional panoramic glass sunroof is exposed with the touch of a button. There’s plenty of leg and foot room, and with the Rear Seat Package the outboard seating positions feature individual controls for recline, height and thigh support adjustments. The S-Class is also available with a four-zone climate control system in the Rear Seat Package, so each rear outboard passenger can set his own preferences. The only complaint we have is with how heavy and wide the rear doors are, but then, chances are good that someone else is going to open that door for any rear seat occupants, whether a valet or chauffer.

Interior Noise

On any road surface, and at any speed we drove, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was utterly silent. The most obvious aural annoyance was the climate fan, and even that is hushed. Truly amazing.

Loading Cargo

Opening and closing the power trunk is easy, and loading your Louis Vuitton luggage through the large opening is no problem, thanks in part to the low liftover height. And if you just dropped by Trader Joe’s for some Two Buck Chuck and few bags of organic whatever, Mercedes provides twin drop-down hooks to ensure that your groceries don’t roll all over the cargo compartment. The trunk is richly finished, with a shallow underfloor storage tray. The only thing we can’t figure is why the sill is dressed in black plastic rather than a classy strip of aluminum.

Build Quality

One area where Mercedes-Benz could improve the new S-Class is with regard to build quality. Grab the gauge shroud, and it will flex and creak like a $15,000 econocar. Also, the plastic panels over the rearview mirror were cheap and flexible on our test car. Panel gaps were a bit wider than expected, but did display flushness of fit and uniformity throughout. On the outside, the hood on our S550 was tweaked to the left, we spotted minor trunk gap variance at the lower edge of the taillights, and there were minor front door alignment issues with the bright greenhouse trim. As with the interior, some exterior panel gaps were wider than expected for the class.

Materials Quality

Some of the plastics that Mercedes uses in less obvious parts of the interior – the seat base trim, the interior of the center console lid, the vanity mirror surrounds – could be nicer to see and touch. Some of the controls have a hard, cold feel rather than a soft, dampened response to the touch, such as the headlight switch, but this is a typical German trait more than anything else. Otherwise, the S550’s interior materials are terrific, with plenty of gorgeous leather, rich wood, and solid metal detailing.