Even when that is 10 years old and 150k plus, it’ll still drive nice. Not everyone is after the hard riding sport chassis that thumps and crashes over today’s broken road network. Lovely car
SnazMC not exactly.. atleast in my country. For example taxi must be certain color, must have taxi sign, must pick up people if free, can park on taxi spot, must only pick up clients in the county where registred, taxi exam, etc. so a bunch of differences even tho service is similar.
I've been in one of these on a few of my trips to Heathrow from Oxford, and it really is one of the most quiet cars I've ever been in, even when it's a diesel. Even at speeds way above the national speed limit, it doesn't scare you and deafen you at all. And those cooled rear seats really make the trip wonderful.
Actually think these make more sense with a large diesel engine than a big petrol engine. Big barges are not the most rewarding to drive but capable of long journeys in comfort, so it makes no difference what engine it has when crusing at 70mph.
@Bob Dobalina I think that is a bit out of date, I doubt you'd know mine was a diesel unless I told you it was, the days of rattly diesels are pretty much long gone.
@Bob Dobalina You don't even hear that it's a diesel. The camera picks up very small noise changes. Many many people did not even know that my E350 Bluetec was a diesel until I said so.
I understand completely where you’re coming from but in my opinion I could not go for a diesel A8/7 Series/S Class. The big powerful petrols provide a kind of effortlessness that a diesel cannot due to the short gear ratios mainly. Plus why would you want to spend upwards of £50,000 (converting from New Zealand Dollar) on a big luxury car with a... diesel? If you can afford a car like that I’m sure you can afford to pay for the more frequent fuel stops. Plus I have to make the argument that although the diesel may go further, there is a reason why big limos like these have huge fuel tanks. I have a 2009 Audi S8 V10 and a Ford Mondeo ST220. Both have terrible fuel economy in town but on the open road my V10 ship has given me 9L per hundred Kilometres (31mpg imperial) combined on a 600km road trip. Hence why I don’t see why a diesel is required on these luxury cruise ships 🤷♂️. Btw seeing as a lot of people on the internet get offended these days I must state that this is my opinion and is not intended to step on any toes 😂
You say most of the cars you drive in this category are high specification but this is literally the nicest car in this category that you have driven in your videos... Also BMW and Audi equivalents are no way near as nice as these, even in higher spec...
S350d or S400d is a daily driver i would get in a heartbeat if i had the money. and of course a fun car for the weekend beside it. before i drove an S class for the first time i did not really pay attention to this kind of car, but after i stepped in and drove one i was sold in minutes, its incredible and has ruined me for life in terms of daily driver want-factor :D even the lowest of the low spec is just magnificent to drive and be in.
@@bradleylefika9209 you might wanna try and stretch to the facelift starting 2018 because of that 9speed gearbox. will greatly benefit consumption on longer tours.
James, more than soooo many other people who seemingly only speak supercar, you can appreciate an automobile and judge it on its merits vs. it’s intended purpose. I think most others forget or ignore the vast majority of the automobile industry, because no one can afford or would be willing to buy a supercar. Why? Because they have lives. They have children. They have stressful jobs and want to waft home without thinking about Nurburgring lap times or 0-60 in 0.7 seconds. They are real people. And for those real people (i.e. everybody) the diesel-spec S Class or the affordable classic, or the quirky Saab is what they want. Great job James! Thank you for being a real person who’s willing to review real cars. But I do love an occasional supercar review...
Good on you JJ for putting out content during this global freakout. S350D's a lovely car. I'd probably take an LS460 over it but there's nothing wrong with one of these as a daily.
+1 for making a reference to the great man, Olly Read. I miss the days when all the more affordable car manufacturers made big executive saloons like the Granada and Senator.
You can pick up some nicely specc'ed ones for 25k. Great value and a fantastic luxury car. The service costs aren't cheap however so it's not a "living on a shoestring" purchase.
02:02 you said this particular vehicle is SWB variant but from what I'm seeing it's a LWB, longer than this is the maybach and as far as I know S63 is where you can still get the short wheelbase..
One of my favourite cars and a welcome place to waft when Hertz give me one of these as an upgrade. I thought my A8 Black Edition D4 rode better, but this was sublime at the motorway cruise. I've been watching the price of these for a while and doing regular man maths calculations... Saying that I do like the GLS too with the same engine (Hertz needed it back to Heathrow urgently so I got that for a one way rental) but that is probably less economical than James' W220...
S class is the best vehicle on the planet for long journeys.Everyone copied Mercedes ,Audi with A8, BMW with 7 series ,Lexus with LS and every car offer something.But when it comes to riding long kms Merc is the king.For me S Class = Mercedes.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said so far in this video and I’m looking to buy a low mileage model, but the idea of how much it might cost to run it in the long term kinda scares me
The one I rented for a week off of Turo was a long wheelbase S500, reasonably well equipped (better in the rear than the front - heated and ventilated seats in the back with TVs and rear climate control, but only heated seats in the front, no Magic Ride Control, no heated armrests, no fragrance dispenser, no massage seats, no nightvision and no heads up display) with dual sunroof (no Magic Sky Control though) and intermediate Burmester stereo which sounded great. I found it boring. After a week I was sure it wasn't my thing. Bloody quick though and not too unwieldy for its size although the lane keep assist must have triggered two dozen times at least. Felt like driving an aircraft carrier. Car was on 20s and had the AMG styling pack. It wasn't as comfortable as I hoped.
Personally I’d always go do a diesel in this type of vehicle. If I’m going long distance, it’s either drive or fly and if it’s a thirsty petrol, then flying is always going to be cheaper. So diesel it is then :)
Some weird mistakes on this video: 1) The car is long wheelbase, not short wheelbase 2) the S-class doesn't have a particularly long model run between generations - in fact, it's the exact same length as any other mercedes, BMW or Audi. 3) The previous generation S-class has 7-speed, not 5-speed auto
Interesting to see that they've gone back to an inline 6. The V6 was a retrograde step in terms of reliability after the previous inline 6 turbodiesel.
Personally out of all 4 of the luxo barges, this has to be my favourite. Looks executive, smart, and up market. The Audi doesnt look much different to any of the smaller variants, The BMW looks quite cumbersome and the W220 I am biased as I own one myself. Definitely S Class wins for me
Good point about the tire profile. Seeing the new Audis and Porsches with their non-existant tires makes me balk. They look utterly horrendous! Even race cars don't have tire profiles that out of whack!
I have always thought that if Taxi drivers buy these they must make sense as a hard wearing vehicle. I drive the new style E-Class and it has the Ad-Blue system so very low emissions. This translates to about £20 per year road tax, it gives 75 mpg and because I purposely got the non AMG version it has big fat tyres so rides our crappy roads in the sticks where I live really nicely! I don't need a sports car I need something that gets me from a to b cheaply and in a great deal of comfort. I am in IT and often have to set up new servers over weekends and have to drive after very long days getting the servers and computers set up. Getting into my car after a day like that is just brilliant as it cossets you and de-stresses you and I get out of the the thing feeling better than when I got in it. My previous car had precisely the opposite effect hence why I bought the Merc.
75mpg? id like to see real figures on that though. also driving as a taxi driver your car is moving sometimes 8-12 hours a day without the engine even turning off sometimes not just drive 1 hr from A to B. although mercs are very hard wearing it doesn't make sense to put tens of thousands into a car for it to do what your 2007 mondeo is already doing just with 40mpg less, getting 75mpg wont be achieved in a taxi lifestyle and even when you get into the 200-300k+ miles it isn't going to be maintenance free regardless of merc or not. best car ever seen doing taxi life was my uncles skoda Octavia that got scrapped at 388k miles and was still running tbh, but the work needed sometimes wasn't massive but not exactly negligible. as a car its brilliant, as a taxi it does no better in short run compared to a 2nd hand car 13 years older than it.
I love to see how a lot of the S-class features are copied into my C-class 220d. It feels like I got a “free” upgrade 🙂 And indeed I didn’t order the AMG suspension, however the Airmatic is a bit more rough than you’d expect as well
I've never understood fast barges. However I understand the appeal of a barge and if I was to have one I'd buy the slowest one as I wouldn't want to drive it hard. I'd like to drive it long and fuel economy is more important in this situation.
I kind of agree, an S350 CDI does 0-60 in under 7 seconds, so it's perfectly adequate. The detachment you get from a big luxury barge is at odds with going fast imo. There are better cars for that job.
Fast barges feel like high speed trains. It's very addictive to put your foot down for ten seconds and all the pesky little 1.2 diesel hatchbacks around you disappear.
Drive one, you would change your mind. In all fairness, even the least powerful S Class has adequate power for over 140mph so its not exactly slow but there are faster ones out there. We have had a Mercedes Benz W221 S320CDI S class in the past with approx. 230hp and that car was bottom of the range for power however it pulled like a train and had a top speed of ~150mph and our current W220 S350L with 245hp does about ~155mph so they are not slow.
Erm I hate to point out that the S350d you are driving is a LWB version not a SWB version as you stated in the video. Mercedes dropped the SWB version when they did the facelift back in 2017. Also the one you are driving has the Exec Pack fitted. Even the S500 didn't come with ventilated front seats as standard
This ain’t yo’ daddy’s diesel. According to a lot of professional auto reviews, the S350 is the best version of the S class. I have a 2012 with a light brown / beige color interior . This car doesn’t sound like a diesel, 21 city / 31 Highway and over 700 miles to a tank of diesel. Love, the diesel 😎.
I owned 1996 audi a6 first gen, same shape as audi 100, 15” wheels..and then i drove in TAXI!!! Audi a6, back then new generation, around 2006, with big wheels probably 19”.. I couldn’t believe how uncomfortable the ride was compared to my old one.. i agree completely with you. I think press is atleast partially to blame, they always talk about dynamics and not much about comfort.. But what I don’t get is why don’t they offer comforter suspension as an option?? I really don’t see a reason. French cars are still soft? My mom Modus is soft.. so maybe worth a look if u like comfortable ride. i really don’t like them but would consider them for that reason.
@@papa_pt As with any car, if it's serviced properly (quite a few secondhand luxury barges aren't of course), reliability should be pretty good. But you're right, if it's a bad used example, any maintenance will be expensive.
All these years later in its model cycle and I still like its stance, in AMG Line anyway. Problem I always had was when one went passed I wasn't sure if it was and E or an S.
I made a big mistake and bought GLC 250 gasoline..wish i went back as normal and buy usual merc diesel... now i drive 670 to 700 km then fill up 95 octane gasoline for small crossover that's only GLC 250 smallest engine and 95 octane ... ugh Diesel is the best cars and new ones are so fast compared to 5 yrs old cars and now in Saudi Arabia we have cameras everywhere and can't go fast as old times so diesel was the solution and i missed it ... ugh
I currently own a 2005 Lexus Ls430.really considering a 2015-2018 Mercedes s class.I worry if it will be as reliable as Lexus but they seem fantastic cars and good fuel consumption
It isn’t. When you owned Lexus all other brands will annoy you with all the extra hidden costs. And be honest.. you know it!! The grass isn’t greener.. trust me. Stay Lexus..
@@ApothecaryTerry It's like palm rejection on phones with screens that curve on the side. They wanted to be able to add hand writing recognition but also have a palm rest. Some have put the touch part on the rotary controller which is fine. But they did it as a precursor to their new system where only a touch pad was used. So it got people used to the touch pad while still having the rotary control before then going fully touch pad together with adding touchscreen and the voice assistant.
@@SDav21 Seems like a good design. I've started looking at new cars, one of which is the C63 with this same setup. Not sure I can deal with the horrific little screen glued onto the dash without my eyes bleeding but good to know the rotary controller is well designed!
Totally agree with you as to why they stick amp suspension /whee;kos / tyres on a c220d etc. Test drove a 320d with my dad a few years ago with msport set up - he gods, it rode shockingly, my dad actually asked if the dampers had been filled with quick setting concrete by mistake. Sales man said percentage of cars that came in Se spec was tiny so likely to wait a stupid length of time for right spec used model to come up even though he wasn’t fussy on colour. He ended up in an Audi A4 avant instead - with enough change in his pocket to pay to take me and him on a fab day out to good wood in his air cooled 911 for breakfast, somewhere nice for a late lunch, and the family out for supper, and him and mum on holiday!
You should drive a 2010-2014 300C (Lancia Thema). I myself own a 2013 Chrylser 300C and this video reminds me A LOT of it. Mine is a diesel, the 3L V6 by VM Motori, same in the Maserati Ghibli only with slightly lower horsepower due to different turbo setup, yet it's punchy and will break traction if you floor it, has a claimed 0-100 km/h of 7 seconds, which I've been able to get in 6.5 seconds. It is a 5 speed auto, with the old gearbox that you like, the old Benz jobbie (thanks Daimler-Chrysler!). It is full of features, heated and cooled seats, premium sound system, sat nav, heated and cooled drink holders, rear window shade, leather and wood everywhere, is very quiet while on the road and is smooth to drive thanks to having 18" rims as compared to most 300c's having 20" rims, such as on the "Luxury" model which only adds the the bigger rims lol. Everyone I've taken in it always is like "oh wow it's nice in here! Wasn't expecting this." If you can find one, def take it for a drive! They are also cheaper, I paid $17,000 AUD, so try it out as I've yet to see you drive anything Chrysler on here x
I've got a 2012 'Luxury' and the 20's seem fine, even on Sydneys goat track roads. The Alpine sound system is the biggest surprise to me, better than most HK systems. But I'm not a fan of the MB 5sp auto. Bought the car with 37k, now approaching 80k, nothing more than scheduled servicing has been needed! p.s. I hope you've had your airbag recall completed.
So from what I can tell this car only has the rear seat package (adjustable rear seats), dual pano roof, and amg appearance package because of the bumpers and wheels. You are missing the premium package, distronic plus, the rear seat package plus, and the custom designo leather interior from having this be a completely specced s-class
It's funny, people like me who doesn't afford this beautiful master piece are writing in comments oh it's just a taxi lol. Why can't you guys have a taxi then..?? 😂
"or any Mercedes really" Enter the A and B class. Sorry but everytime I see one of those I don't exactly think "they've done very well for themselves". Instead its ahh couldn't afford a C class or above then. Of course, it's not the same as owning a Vauxhall but I think my point is clear.
Guys for average users who want a good luxury car to drive them the merc diesel can do most of what all cars do in the world including ferrari... be honest with yourself are you going to drive like in a track everyday? Then you know what you want... are you going to drive normally and wanna save time and money going to gas station and be in the best car then drive diesel mercs... you can drive fairly fast, enjoy the best rides, and go back home with no back or neck pain so you know what you want its the merc diesel the best car ever made ... just do regular maintenance and make sure to change all oil required to be changed at certain millage and time... you are now done
99% the reason most buy a luxury car or sports car or a mix of both if possible is to feel like they are track daying or driving something not normal. more like a fantasy than buying something you really need, which is why i see 60% of cars i see bought for leisure or want, end up getting resold within a year or 2 most notably the miata range although its not a luxury car so to say, as they arent really needed its just part of the/a fantasy.
i mean if you find a S350d thats around 3 years old around 50K Euros this car is a steal. Drive it for 3 years and sell it for 20K and you basically loose as much as owning a Passat. I mean ofc considering that nothing breaks during the time of ownership... But If your asking me 130K for a new S400d or S450 with more features and options then i dont really think its worth it anymore.... Not considering that this car has reached the end of its cycle already. Well be seeing a full update prob next year or so
Such a shame my dad cannot have this car in Mexico, it would be perfect for the long highway drives, with no speed limit bcause police doesn't care lol We're limited to cheaper TDI's due to security reasons
I once heard say that if a person is wealthy, they buy a 7 Series to drive or an S-Class to be driven in. I'm not sure why I raise that point, just thought it was an interesting perspective. Personally speaking, and this is just me I realise, but I think I'd sooner have an older, more "Helmut Kohl spec" S-Class purely because the styling appeals to me that much more, I find that enormous chrome grille is far too vulgar for something which is supposed to the epitomy of understated, refined elegance (same goes for the new 7 as well) - it's almost as though they actively tried to make something to appeal exclusively to Oligarchs, footballers, grime music producers and reasonably successful drug dealers. Just an opinion, mind 🤔
I worked in car rentals for a number of years and this certainly wasn't the spec of S-Classes we had on our fleet. We always had Premium Plus with the Burmester surround sound system and all the toys 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
So what we're saying is that there's no point buying an A8 when a used one of these is 1/4 of the price...also this still has the badge prestige over the Audi. People who care about the badge in cars smaller than these are mostly tossers (a diesel A3 is just a less comfortable Golf, grow up) but in these things it actually makes sense and the S Class has it.
That’s a rental spec?!?!?! My grandad has an s class it has a distronic and stuff but his would be more a rental spec because his only has heated rear seats but I think he should have found a real base spec
Lease Merc as a tax write-off in the USA, get a new car every few years. Buy it, HAHAHA, just throw your money out the window. Merc has coded damn near ALL their sensors so you need an expensive tool to program which you still have to get the part from the dealer because junk yard/recycled won't work on any other Merc since after 40 on off cycles they are married to the ECU. Stay away.
Bring back sensible profile tyres and Isoelastic suspension to body mounts. Then we will get back refinement. It's so simple. Modern cars have never been so noisy and uncomfortable. A 2006 S Class will be quieter than this example and without the obsessive slavery to supplying nebulous at best 'Tech gadgets. I'm 55 but sound 85 - rant over
cars like the S class actually have a huge following among petrolheads. we dont all want lotuses and sporty shitboxes
fax
"Generally I'm a black leather fan" - context is everything...
KB in Underworld? :))
Ouch.....😉
Is he Max Mosley?
Even when that is 10 years old and 150k plus, it’ll still drive nice. Not everyone is after the hard riding sport chassis that thumps and crashes over today’s broken road network. Lovely car
The S classe, (my first was a w220 and I had 5 of those) is the best car I have ever driven, and I have driven many.
E CLASS ,taxi.
S CLASS, chauffeur.
Uber: prius, taxi: e class, chauffeur: s class
A chauffeur is still a taxi service.
Eclass = Taxi
Sclass = Limousine
SnazMC not exactly.. atleast in my country. For example taxi must be certain color, must have taxi sign, must pick up people if free, can park on taxi spot, must only pick up clients in the county where registred, taxi exam, etc. so a bunch of differences even tho service is similar.
All wrong.
Taxi: Prius
Executive: E class
Luxury: S class
I've been in one of these on a few of my trips to Heathrow from Oxford, and it really is one of the most quiet cars I've ever been in, even when it's a diesel. Even at speeds way above the national speed limit, it doesn't scare you and deafen you at all. And those cooled rear seats really make the trip wonderful.
not complaining in 90% of video, is that even possible.
Actually think these make more sense with a large diesel engine than a big petrol engine. Big barges are not the most rewarding to drive but capable of long journeys in comfort, so it makes no difference what engine it has when crusing at 70mph.
@Bob Dobalina I think that is a bit out of date, I doubt you'd know mine was a diesel unless I told you it was, the days of rattly diesels are pretty much long gone.
@Bob Dobalina You don't even hear that it's a diesel. The camera picks up very small noise changes. Many many people did not even know that my E350 Bluetec was a diesel until I said so.
@@Wallygjs 4 cylinder diesels still rattle, the straight 6 diesel in this absolutely does not!
@Bob Dobalina How could this possibly wake you up? It's quiet as hell.
I understand completely where you’re coming from but in my opinion I could not go for a diesel A8/7 Series/S Class. The big powerful petrols provide a kind of effortlessness that a diesel cannot due to the short gear ratios mainly. Plus why would you want to spend upwards of £50,000 (converting from New Zealand Dollar) on a big luxury car with a... diesel? If you can afford a car like that I’m sure you can afford to pay for the more frequent fuel stops. Plus I have to make the argument that although the diesel may go further, there is a reason why big limos like these have huge fuel tanks. I have a 2009 Audi S8 V10 and a Ford Mondeo ST220. Both have terrible fuel economy in town but on the open road my V10 ship has given me 9L per hundred Kilometres (31mpg imperial) combined on a 600km road trip. Hence why I don’t see why a diesel is required on these luxury cruise ships 🤷♂️. Btw seeing as a lot of people on the internet get offended these days I must state that this is my opinion and is not intended to step on any toes 😂
You say most of the cars you drive in this category are high specification but this is literally the nicest car in this category that you have driven in your videos... Also BMW and Audi equivalents are no way near as nice as these, even in higher spec...
You’re an idiot
I think Audi quality is best, BMW drive is best and Mercedes looks the best, personally i’d choose mercedes
@@theoneandonlyhahaha5213 Audi is a joke that uses fake exhausts and charges £200 to get cupholders in the rear seat.
Alex A most new cars have fake exhausts and i never said Audi is cheap, tbh merc, bmw and audi are all overpriced
So glad you're still uploading through this, one of the only channels keeping me inside!
S350d or S400d is a daily driver i would get in a heartbeat if i had the money.
and of course a fun car for the weekend beside it.
before i drove an S class for the first time i did not really pay attention to this kind of car, but after i stepped in and drove one i was sold in minutes, its incredible and has ruined me for life in terms of daily driver want-factor :D
even the lowest of the low spec is just magnificent to drive and be in.
Good insight, looking at getting 1 of the 2 in the next 4 months from 2015
@@bradleylefika9209 you might wanna try and stretch to the facelift starting 2018 because of that 9speed gearbox. will greatly benefit consumption on longer tours.
James, more than soooo many other people who seemingly only speak supercar, you can appreciate an automobile and judge it on its merits vs. it’s intended purpose. I think most others forget or ignore the vast majority of the automobile industry, because no one can afford or would be willing to buy a supercar. Why? Because they have lives. They have children. They have stressful jobs and want to waft home without thinking about Nurburgring lap times or 0-60 in 0.7 seconds. They are real people. And for those real people (i.e. everybody) the diesel-spec S Class or the affordable classic, or the quirky Saab is what they want. Great job James! Thank you for being a real person who’s willing to review real cars. But I do love an occasional supercar review...
Thanks Stephen, appreciate it
Great point on the pretend-sporty (also known as rock hard) suspensions on everyday cars.
Good on you JJ for putting out content during this global freakout.
S350D's a lovely car. I'd probably take an LS460 over it but there's nothing wrong with one of these as a daily.
Love it when there's humour in your videos
+1 for making a reference to the great man, Olly Read. I miss the days when all the more affordable car manufacturers made big executive saloons like the Granada and Senator.
I feel like ditching my E-class for an S-class
You can pick up some nicely specc'ed ones for 25k. Great value and a fantastic luxury car. The service costs aren't cheap however so it's not a "living on a shoestring" purchase.
Nope you cant ...cheapest is around 30000£ with loads of miles...just saying
It’s 2024, looking at getting myself an S-400d from 2015/6 😢😢! I drove in it once and fell in love at first passenger seat
02:02 you said this particular vehicle is SWB variant but from what I'm seeing it's a LWB, longer than this is the maybach and as far as I know S63 is where you can still get the short wheelbase..
Yep it's the LWB. When they facelifted the S-Class, they dropped the SWB and all of them are now solely LWB
S350 pre facelift had SWB, everything else has always been lwb, and then maybach is even longer.
Vin Diesel's Husband where? in Germany you can still order swb
One of my favourite cars and a welcome place to waft when Hertz give me one of these as an upgrade. I thought my A8 Black Edition D4 rode better, but this was sublime at the motorway cruise. I've been watching the price of these for a while and doing regular man maths calculations...
Saying that I do like the GLS too with the same engine (Hertz needed it back to Heathrow urgently so I got that for a one way rental) but that is probably less economical than James' W220...
S class is the best vehicle on the planet for long journeys.Everyone copied Mercedes ,Audi with A8, BMW with 7 series ,Lexus with LS and every car offer something.But when it comes to riding long kms Merc is the king.For me S Class = Mercedes.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said so far in this video and I’m looking to buy a low mileage model, but the idea of how much it might cost to run it in the long term kinda scares me
diesels are much more durable and rugged with the inline set up instead of the vee ones.
Bought a 2012 fully loaded s350 heated cooled massage
80000 miles 12000£
The one I rented for a week off of Turo was a long wheelbase S500, reasonably well equipped (better in the rear than the front - heated and ventilated seats in the back with TVs and rear climate control, but only heated seats in the front, no Magic Ride Control, no heated armrests, no fragrance dispenser, no massage seats, no nightvision and no heads up display) with dual sunroof (no Magic Sky Control though) and intermediate Burmester stereo which sounded great.
I found it boring. After a week I was sure it wasn't my thing. Bloody quick though and not too unwieldy for its size although the lane keep assist must have triggered two dozen times at least. Felt like driving an aircraft carrier.
Car was on 20s and had the AMG styling pack. It wasn't as comfortable as I hoped.
Car probably had runflats, I recommend anyone with a new Mercedes to get rid of them
@@umaralikha I would have preferred it on 19s or even 18s if they'll fit (unlikely).
Felice Graziano Even the 19s are runflats, I used it as an opportunity to get vossens
The Lexus Ls600hL is smoother and quieter
Must be a very wealthy taxi driver to have one of those. Taxis get used and abused I wouldn't want that for a s class
Airport taxi for execs
I know someone who has a c63 as a taxi 🔥
Taxi probably a good car to buy as the council test them 2 times a year so would need to meet the stricter conditions than the basic mot
The One and only Hahaha well it's obviously a rep
Personally I’d always go do a diesel in this type of vehicle. If I’m going long distance, it’s either drive or fly and if it’s a thirsty petrol, then flying is always going to be cheaper.
So diesel it is then :)
Use to dream to have such a car. Got a phobia of driving.
Wheels & tyres that work in the real world magic
Some weird mistakes on this video: 1) The car is long wheelbase, not short wheelbase 2) the S-class doesn't have a particularly long model run between generations - in fact, it's the exact same length as any other mercedes, BMW or Audi. 3) The previous generation S-class has 7-speed, not 5-speed auto
1. My mistake.
2. Fair point.
3. I am referring to my own W220 which has the 5 speed
50mpg. Jesus that's amazing
Interesting to see that they've gone back to an inline 6. The V6 was a retrograde step in terms of reliability after the previous inline 6 turbodiesel.
Personally out of all 4 of the luxo barges, this has to be my favourite. Looks executive, smart, and up market. The Audi doesnt look much different to any of the smaller variants, The BMW looks quite cumbersome and the W220 I am biased as I own one myself. Definitely S Class wins for me
Scott Brooks i drove both the 7 series and the S Class and i have to say the 7 series was an amazing car to drive - and im a lover of Mercs!
Great video, gorgeous Mercedes Benz !! I wish we had an S Class in America that got nearly 50mpg that's amazing!! Thank you again!
Diesel are great
How about a review of the peugeot 508
The new one looks great
And the 2011-2012 models can now be picked up for 2-3k
Bargain barge ?
The new 508 looks awesome.
You lost everyone with a net worth of +£23 at Peugeot......
Good point about the tire profile. Seeing the new Audis and Porsches with their non-existant tires makes me balk. They look utterly horrendous! Even race cars don't have tire profiles that out of whack!
Barge like waftniness with decent mileage and a drivetrain that works especially on a long haul slop, who doesn't like that?
I have always thought that if Taxi drivers buy these they must make sense as a hard wearing vehicle. I drive the new style E-Class and it has the Ad-Blue system so very low emissions. This translates to about £20 per year road tax, it gives 75 mpg and because I purposely got the non AMG version it has big fat tyres so rides our crappy roads in the sticks where I live really nicely! I don't need a sports car I need something that gets me from a to b cheaply and in a great deal of comfort. I am in IT and often have to set up new servers over weekends and have to drive after very long days getting the servers and computers set up. Getting into my car after a day like that is just brilliant as it cossets you and de-stresses you and I get out of the the thing feeling better than when I got in it. My previous car had precisely the opposite effect hence why I bought the Merc.
75mpg? id like to see real figures on that though.
also driving as a taxi driver your car is moving sometimes 8-12 hours a day without the engine even turning off sometimes not just drive 1 hr from A to B. although mercs are very hard wearing it doesn't make sense to put tens of thousands into a car for it to do what your 2007 mondeo is already doing just with 40mpg less, getting 75mpg wont be achieved in a taxi lifestyle and even when you get into the 200-300k+ miles it isn't going to be maintenance free regardless of merc or not.
best car ever seen doing taxi life was my uncles skoda Octavia that got scrapped at 388k miles and was still running tbh, but the work needed sometimes wasn't massive but not exactly negligible.
as a car its brilliant, as a taxi it does no better in short run compared to a 2nd hand car 13 years older than it.
If you had weekends free what would you get for fun?
@@visionist7 911 probably a 997 Carrera S if there is such a thing. 996's are cheaper but I don't like the weird headlights and the bearing issues!
@@Dockhead On motorway runs I have managed high 60s around the back lanes mid to late 50s.
@G Hq It's not getting any use at the moment but the odd trip for provisions.
I love to see how a lot of the S-class features are copied into my C-class 220d. It feels like I got a “free” upgrade 🙂 And indeed I didn’t order the AMG suspension, however the Airmatic is a bit more rough than you’d expect as well
I've never understood fast barges. However I understand the appeal of a barge and if I was to have one I'd buy the slowest one as I wouldn't want to drive it hard. I'd like to drive it long and fuel economy is more important in this situation.
Richard Fanders people who aren’t dead inside like fast barges. Couldn’t give a toss about fuel economy.
I kind of agree, an S350 CDI does 0-60 in under 7 seconds, so it's perfectly adequate. The detachment you get from a big luxury barge is at odds with going fast imo. There are better cars for that job.
Fast barges feel like high speed trains. It's very addictive to put your foot down for ten seconds and all the pesky little 1.2 diesel hatchbacks around you disappear.
Drive one, you would change your mind.
In all fairness, even the least powerful S Class has adequate power for over 140mph so its not exactly slow but there are faster ones out there. We have had a Mercedes Benz W221 S320CDI S class in the past with approx. 230hp and that car was bottom of the range for power however it pulled like a train and had a top speed of ~150mph and our current W220 S350L with 245hp does about ~155mph so they are not slow.
Erm
I hate to point out that the S350d you are driving is a LWB version not a SWB version as you stated in the video.
Mercedes dropped the SWB version when they did the facelift back in 2017.
Also the one you are driving has the Exec Pack fitted.
Even the S500 didn't come with ventilated front seats as standard
This ain’t yo’ daddy’s diesel. According to a lot of professional auto reviews, the S350 is the best version of the S class. I have a 2012 with a light brown / beige color interior . This car doesn’t sound like a diesel, 21 city / 31 Highway and over 700 miles to a tank of diesel. Love, the diesel 😎.
This really shows just how spoiled British are when it comes to cars. Reviewing Mercedes S-class, like it's a Ford Focus.
NightCoder second hand they're quite close though. what would you rather have given the choice?
ciaran webb Focus, cheaper parts and service.
ciaran webb a Ford Focus rs
The Ford Focus rs will drain you quite fast with that engine issues they have
Focus RS, how are you going to rally an S350D
Love this shape! Super cool in my eyes 👍
Great review! One of these would be a great buy as a used car.
I owned 1996 audi a6 first gen, same shape as audi 100, 15” wheels..and then i drove in TAXI!!! Audi a6, back then new generation, around 2006, with big wheels probably 19”.. I couldn’t believe how uncomfortable the ride was compared to my old one.. i agree completely with you.
I think press is atleast partially to blame, they always talk about dynamics and not much about comfort..
But what I don’t get is why don’t they offer comforter suspension as an option?? I really don’t see a reason.
French cars are still soft? My mom Modus is soft.. so maybe worth a look if u like comfortable ride.
i really don’t like them but would consider them for that reason.
This is the one I'd take, elegant, super comfortable and full of all the tech you could ask for.
This is nice, but a car like this needs a V12. if I was given the choice I'd still have the 600... as long as someone else was paying for the petrol!
gas mileage is NOTHING compared to maintenance
@@papa_pt As with any car, if it's serviced properly (quite a few secondhand luxury barges aren't of course), reliability should be pretty good. But you're right, if it's a bad used example, any maintenance will be expensive.
Great review as always. I'd love to see you review the Mazda 6, I think you'd get on well with it.
All these years later in its model cycle and I still like its stance, in AMG Line anyway. Problem I always had was when one went passed I wasn't sure if it was and E or an S.
R Tap trust me you can tell by the size of the car the s class is wider and longer than the e class
I made a big mistake and bought GLC 250 gasoline..wish i went back as normal and buy usual merc diesel... now i drive 670 to 700 km then fill up 95 octane gasoline for small crossover that's only GLC 250 smallest engine and 95 octane ... ugh
Diesel is the best cars and new ones are so fast compared to 5 yrs old cars and now in Saudi Arabia we have cameras everywhere and can't go fast as old times so diesel was the solution and i missed it ... ugh
I currently own a 2005 Lexus Ls430.really considering a 2015-2018 Mercedes s class.I worry if it will be as reliable as Lexus but they seem fantastic cars and good fuel consumption
It isn’t. When you owned Lexus all other brands will annoy you with all the extra hidden costs. And be honest.. you know it!! The grass isn’t greener.. trust me. Stay Lexus..
8 like how said its slow even though its faster than 60% of cars on the road
It would definitely be faster than 90% of the cars in my country. Most people buy 3cyl under 1400cc . This thing smokes them with the biturbo
@@manbiteslife3110 It's still not a quick car, especially for the price.
You’re quite right, but for the price you definitely would expect in excess of 250kw
The rotary control is like that because the thing is meant to be a palm rest for your hand.
They've put the touch panel on the bit your palm would rest though, seems like that would get in the way?
@@ApothecaryTerry Yes. The touch pad was designed to reject touches when a palm is resting on it.
@@SDav21 Seems odd they gave themselves that challenge to overcome but if that works then the palm rest bit of it certainly seems nice to have.
@@ApothecaryTerry It's like palm rejection on phones with screens that curve on the side. They wanted to be able to add hand writing recognition but also have a palm rest. Some have put the touch part on the rotary controller which is fine. But they did it as a precursor to their new system where only a touch pad was used. So it got people used to the touch pad while still having the rotary control before then going fully touch pad together with adding touchscreen and the voice assistant.
@@SDav21 Seems like a good design. I've started looking at new cars, one of which is the C63 with this same setup. Not sure I can deal with the horrific little screen glued onto the dash without my eyes bleeding but good to know the rotary controller is well designed!
There wasn't any review or explanation for the rear seat(s).
S class the Sexy class to travel!...pd put on dark shirt and a hat and I will hire you as my driver!
Totally agree with you as to why they stick amp suspension /whee;kos / tyres on a c220d etc. Test drove a 320d with my dad a few years ago with msport set up - he gods, it rode shockingly, my dad actually asked if the dampers had been filled with quick setting concrete by mistake. Sales man said percentage of cars that came in Se spec was tiny so likely to wait a stupid length of time for right spec used model to come up even though he wasn’t fussy on colour. He ended up in an Audi A4 avant instead - with enough change in his pocket to pay to take me and him on a fab day out to good wood in his air cooled 911 for breakfast, somewhere nice for a late lunch, and the family out for supper, and him and mum on holiday!
Oh and the Audi rode like it a magic carpet . And you can’t power slide a320d
You should drive a 2010-2014 300C (Lancia Thema). I myself own a 2013 Chrylser 300C and this video reminds me A LOT of it. Mine is a diesel, the 3L V6 by VM Motori, same in the Maserati Ghibli only with slightly lower horsepower due to different turbo setup, yet it's punchy and will break traction if you floor it, has a claimed 0-100 km/h of 7 seconds, which I've been able to get in 6.5 seconds. It is a 5 speed auto, with the old gearbox that you like, the old Benz jobbie (thanks Daimler-Chrysler!). It is full of features, heated and cooled seats, premium sound system, sat nav, heated and cooled drink holders, rear window shade, leather and wood everywhere, is very quiet while on the road and is smooth to drive thanks to having 18" rims as compared to most 300c's having 20" rims, such as on the "Luxury" model which only adds the the bigger rims lol. Everyone I've taken in it always is like "oh wow it's nice in here! Wasn't expecting this." If you can find one, def take it for a drive! They are also cheaper, I paid $17,000 AUD, so try it out as I've yet to see you drive anything Chrysler on here x
I've got a 2012 'Luxury' and the 20's seem fine, even on Sydneys goat track roads. The Alpine sound system is the biggest surprise to me, better than most HK systems. But I'm not a fan of the MB 5sp auto. Bought the car with 37k, now approaching 80k, nothing more than scheduled servicing has been needed! p.s. I hope you've had your airbag recall completed.
At the start of the video the merc sounds like it has a sick thumper cam and it’s chopping like crazy😂😂
This car is actually a long wheelbase I believe!
So from what I can tell this car only has the rear seat package (adjustable rear seats), dual pano roof, and amg appearance package because of the bumpers and wheels. You are missing the premium package, distronic plus, the rear seat package plus, and the custom designo leather interior from having this be a completely specced s-class
It's funny, people like me who doesn't afford this beautiful master piece are writing in comments oh it's just a taxi lol. Why can't you guys have a taxi then..?? 😂
You should test out an S500e L. I personally think it's the best model in the normal S class line.
"The everymans car?" - Better not look at a Mercedes S class then, or any Mercedes really
used as taxis in Europe
@@papa_pt They are used in many taxi services worldwide, big deal? but can you afford to get taxied in it daily?
"or any Mercedes really"
Enter the A and B class. Sorry but everytime I see one of those I don't exactly think "they've done very well for themselves". Instead its ahh couldn't afford a C class or above then. Of course, it's not the same as owning a Vauxhall but I think my point is clear.
@@blazzz13 jealous materialist snob, that is what your comment makes you sound like
Austin never seen this as a taxi in germany and trips through europe, only a w221 from the boss of taxi company in prague
Jesus, i thought my laptop was spazzing out at 00:18 hahaha
These cars are great value
3 on this one....,thanks James 👍
101 comments but only 11 likes?? Good info thx
Hi mate
Thanks for the video. What was the mog in town?
Thanks
James does the rear suspension try to weirdly adjust itself over sharp bumps? I've driven the 2014 model and it felt strange.
Guys for average users who want a good luxury car to drive them the merc diesel can do most of what all cars do in the world including ferrari... be honest with yourself are you going to drive like in a track everyday? Then you know what you want... are you going to drive normally and wanna save time and money going to gas station and be in the best car then drive diesel mercs... you can drive fairly fast, enjoy the best rides, and go back home with no back or neck pain so you know what you want its the merc diesel the best car ever made ... just do regular maintenance and make sure to change all oil required to be changed at certain millage and time... you are now done
99% the reason most buy a luxury car or sports car or a mix of both if possible is to feel like they are track daying or driving something not normal. more like a fantasy than buying something you really need, which is why i see 60% of cars i see bought for leisure or want, end up getting resold within a year or 2 most notably the miata range although its not a luxury car so to say, as they arent really needed its just part of the/a fantasy.
@@Dockhead i agree with you 👍
Is that got the same engine as the Chrysler 300c crd?
I'd get one of these S350s
Wonderful review... Nice car
Astons have adopted that system, because their using mercedes systems, and engines has well.
i mean if you find a S350d thats around 3 years old around 50K Euros this car is a steal. Drive it for 3 years and sell it for 20K and you basically loose as much as owning a Passat. I mean ofc considering that nothing breaks during the time of ownership... But If your asking me 130K for a new S400d or S450 with more features and options then i dont really think its worth it anymore.... Not considering that this car has reached the end of its cycle already. Well be seeing a full update prob next year or so
I'm sure the W221 was in the middle of the W220 and W222 :P
w220 1998-2006, w221 2006-2012, w222 2012-present
Such a shame my dad cannot have this car in Mexico, it would be perfect for the long highway drives, with no speed limit bcause police doesn't care lol
We're limited to cheaper TDI's due to security reasons
I suspect anyone thinking of buying an expensive car will be able to grab an absolute bargain before long...
Can you please do a review of the last Ford Focus rs
I did already
JayEmm on Cars Thankyou so much can you please post the link
You said it feels like there should be a generation between your W220 S- class and the W222 in the video. Well there...was wasn’t there? The W221?
I mean an extra generation
I once heard say that if a person is wealthy, they buy a 7 Series to drive or an S-Class to be driven in. I'm not sure why I raise that point, just thought it was an interesting perspective.
Personally speaking, and this is just me I realise, but I think I'd sooner have an older, more "Helmut Kohl spec" S-Class purely because the styling appeals to me that much more, I find that enormous chrome grille is far too vulgar for something which is supposed to the epitomy of understated, refined elegance (same goes for the new 7 as well) - it's almost as though they actively tried to make something to appeal exclusively to Oligarchs, footballers, grime music producers and reasonably successful drug dealers.
Just an opinion, mind 🤔
Amazing car
S classe taxi ?... wtf ...
Sounds like Chucky laughing at beginning of video
Good stuff
I worked in car rentals for a number of years and this certainly wasn't the spec of S-Classes we had on our fleet. We always had Premium Plus with the Burmester surround sound system and all the toys 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
So what we're saying is that there's no point buying an A8 when a used one of these is 1/4 of the price...also this still has the badge prestige over the Audi. People who care about the badge in cars smaller than these are mostly tossers (a diesel A3 is just a less comfortable Golf, grow up) but in these things it actually makes sense and the S Class has it.
I can't help seeing the Vx caviler, or whatever the latest version is called.
Update - insignia
Is a black interior take it or leave it choice,only I might as well be in my coffin.PS I will give you £5,000 in october for one.
It's not a looker, is it?
So do I get this or the D4 audi ?
Would love your opinion On a w204 coupe with the 3.5v6 petrol engine
if it was made after 2000 give it a miss
If it's made in Germany, I say yah
ummm - maintenance & repair cost?
Jealous! MB took away diesels in the USA
That’s a rental spec?!?!?! My grandad has an s class it has a distronic and stuff but his would be more a rental spec because his only has heated rear seats but I think he should have found a real base spec
Will depreciate
like a rock, but worth it if you will keep it for a decade and want to waft around in style.
Lease Merc as a tax write-off in the USA, get a new car every few years. Buy it, HAHAHA, just throw your money out the window. Merc has coded damn near ALL their sensors so you need an expensive tool to program which you still have to get the part from the dealer because junk yard/recycled won't work on any other Merc since after 40 on off cycles they are married to the ECU. Stay away.
Bring back sensible profile tyres and Isoelastic suspension to body mounts. Then we will get back refinement. It's so simple. Modern cars have never been so noisy and uncomfortable. A 2006 S Class will be quieter than this example and without the obsessive slavery to supplying nebulous at best 'Tech gadgets. I'm 55 but sound 85 - rant over