Enormous power, enormous brakes, enormous wheels, enormous space, supple suspension, excellent seats, excellent ergonomics

enormous weight, enormous price tag, it's enormous, questionable reliability

In three words: "this thing's stupid." 0-60 in 4.6 s., 0-100 in 9.8 s., top speed is restricted to 155 mph and is estimated to be around 180 without said restrictions. At least it has 4 grab handles in the cabin so each passenger can hold on for dear life while the 15.4" brake disks and 8-piston calipers up front stop this car from insanity to zero in short order. Who on God's green earth needs all that? It gets 14 mpg in town, if you're lucky. Don't get all stupid on the freeway, and the on-board computer shows 21-22 mpg - better. As a daily driver, this car is completely useless. Good thing, then, it's just my summer toy. Gone are the days of poorly fitting interior plastics, mis-aligned body panels and transmissions that grenade themselves at the stop light as with the early W220. Gone too are the flat seats and the nearly un-usable CD-based COMAND (often called COMAND 2.5) of the early cars, replaced with more suitable, and updated components. This car is an utter marvel of detail: seams are immeasurably small, COMAND is usable (though not at all convenient) and the seats are delight to behold, nevermind sit in. Displays are brilliant, legible and really easy to use. That goes for all the gimmickry on-board, and there is a LOT of that. AMG models get the drive-dynamic multi-contour, heated and cooled thrones which are perfectly designed to fit my 6'3" frame. The controls fall perfectly at hand and never once do you reach for anything. cruising at speeds well beyond what the local constabulatory would consider acceptable, this car is utterly whisper quiet. It is easily on par with any bland toyo-nis-hon-cura from Japan traveling half as fast. Steering is heavy, and that thick steering wheel will remind you every time you drive just what you have to do to stay in charge. Passing slow traffic doesn't require a downshift and 60-80 (which happens in under 3 s.) is nothing short of amazing. Even steering, which you'd think will require deep braking before entering a tight corner, never ceases to amaze as the car understeers slightly only to tighten up mid-corner as it darts out the other end. The trick here is to allow the car's weight to keep it planted. Oh, and set ABC to "Sport." Once so set, this car's driver might as well check out because the car is nigh-on driving itself. Speaking of that, Distronic cruise control (which is installed on mine) is a real mixed bag. Set the cruise and it works brilliantly, even as traffic slows, the car will maintain a safe distance. But, slow too much and it'll turn itself off, potentially crashing in to the car in front. Parktronic is a must-have, as is the bluetooth mobile phone module (which I upgraded after the fact). Keyless go is brilliant, but again, unnecessary: stick the key in the dash and twist it once - the electronics take care of the rest. The large cabin is well-suited for the 4-place electric seating with heat and cooling and the 4-zone climate control. Frankly, an S430 is just fine - stick with that. Be sure to add things like cooled seats, sun-shades and 4-place adjustable seating for the full limo effect. Oh, and get a full-on CPO warranty!

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2001 Mercedes CL600

Comfort, Solid ride, Breaking, Acceleration

No heated steering wheel. Telescope should be 10cm longer for the 6'6" people

This car is an excellent drive. Belying both its age, weight and size. The built quality (MB poured in a vast amount of money over the time it built it) is outstanding. If you can do the brakes and oil changes, upkeep is fairly cheap. Issues are none!!!. Fuel consumption is relative to the car. However with sensible driving you can get an average of 9km per liter in summer and 8km per liter in the winter. Highway will get you 11km per liter. Cruise control is cruicial. If you control the pedal yourself....you can guess. Put it in sport mode and she likes to fly pretty good. Forget about fuel economy. Seat comfort is fantastic, leg room outstanding. Basically you drive top quality for the price of a little new Hyundai as long as you are willing not to drive the latest :)

Next car for sure another S500 - 2003 and older are recommended on the QT by the owner of my MB dealer.

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1995 S420, 1992 300TD

Smooth, comfortable and quiet. Great power delivery and rock solid and cruising speed. Lots of gadgets to play with.

Standard audio is not up to scratch. fuel economy is around 24miles to gallon. (about 10 litres per 100km)

what a great car. 39k miles on the clock. lots of options. This is the best car i have owned. Smooth, quiet, comfortable and good power. the transmission is the smoothest i've ever driven, the power delivery consistent and the ride incredibly well balanced. the controls are easy to use including the sat nav, tv, heated seats as long as you read the manual. The car doesn't have the upgraded audio and i think this is the only small area that the car lets me down. the std audio is good but not a standard I would expect from a £70k car. I look fwd to each weekend now so i can take it for a drive..

now that the new 2007 S550 is out, these cars are a bargain..

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bmw 740 1998
GM Holden Calais 1995

4matic, Nav system, quality, luxury, silent ride, built in Sirius

Can't figure out how to see the outside temp when driving???

Just picked this certified pre=owned up after driving a 2000 BMW 740i for the last 3 1/2 years and I am in love with this car. It is a different feel than the BMW in terms of handling, but this vehicle feels like it is the standard in terms of luxury and quality. I got out of the 740 due to the cost of repairs and maintenance over the last 18 months (>$5000!!!) and my dreading of the winter here in SE PA. I made the decision that I was going to go MB 4matic or Audi AWD. After a 30 minute ride in the MB S500, test drove the Audi A8 and went about 1/4 mile in it and felt let down. The Audi felt solid, but heavy and I felt like it was trying really hard to be a sport performance combo--the handling of the BMW with the luxury and quality of MB, but it didn't feel "real". Went with the 2004 MB S500 based on the quality, the certified warranty, the 4matic, the sceduled maintenance and the price. I've been in it now 2 weeks and absolutely love the feel of it. Total luxury, like riding on a cloud. Has Sirius satellite, easy to figure out Nav sustem, the Nappa leather, Burl walnut trim, etc... I remember being this excited when I got the 740, but after the last 18 months of repairs and total inability to get anywhere when there was more than an inch of snow, felt like it was time to move on. Hopefully I'll be back in a year telling you how happy I am!

That classic vertical headlight MB style -- looks like a cold-war embassy staff car. Still keeps up with modern cars.

Getting difficult to find in good condition. 13 MPG (built when gas was $0.25/gal)

The 1973 280 SEL 4.5 on the W108 chassis was similar to the W109 (300 SEL) but with conventional springs rather than the air suspension. Having driven both, the W108 is a reasonably similar ride without the complexity (and maintenance cost) of the air suspension. I found this car on the web owned by an older gentleman in S. Cal. with only 60,000 miles and (most importantly) no rust. It still drives and rides like it did 33 years ago. Great power, smooth ride and that classic MB styling that gets “thumbs up” from teenagers to grandparents. It will still be going strong 33 years from today. It cruises at 80 and can still hit 120. The only serious work I had to put into the car was to replace all the rubber bits – tie rod ends, sub-frame bushings, window and door seals, etc. If you are looking for a classic MB, this is a great ride that still drives like a modern car but has that long-lost MB style. Highly recommended! However, buy the best one you can find – don’t get into a restoration project as it will take forever and end up costing three times the price of a nice car. Also, don’t buy a low-mileage car that has been sitting in a garage or barn for years. These cars need to be driven on a regular basis and do not like to sit.

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too many to list

ENGINE, INTERIOR, EXTERIOR, AND EVERYTHING.

Might be too powerful and also might distract other drivers.

Wow this car is what gets me up in the morning, this is the car that has everything luxary, looks and POWER it comes with a 604hp v12 engine, it is the beast my favorite part is when i start the engine it sounds AMAZING it is Fully loaded with all the goodies that brabus adds; Tilt, massage and airconditioning seats, active light controll, keyless entry, and u can start it from your house. Plus all the luxury and technology MB offers. This car is my dream car i wouldn't sell this ever, with 604hp i can fly past anything i can even keep up with the new MB Slr maclaren. I first drove this car in germany it was flying past everyone but one car the MB Slr.

The car feels very stable and safe. I like all the gadgets and luxury options that came with the car. My children enjoys playing with the heated seat controls in the rear. The parktronics comes really handy especially when you live in the Bay Area.

We could use a change with the navigation system.

Car drives great, the car has all the bells and whistles. I haven't had any problems with the car aver last few years.

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BMW 750il,BMW 540i,

Excellent Power, Great Luxure, Braking and cornering

Huge dump,

This car is a really excellent one. A classic blend of Luxure and Sport. With a 5 litre Engine under the bonnet, the car can easily press up to 80 in 10 seconds. Luxure, the pure class of Mercedes.

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None

Size! Plenty of room; front, back, and trunk space. Luxury! Fit and finish of highest German quality. Performance! Stock 315hp, 347lb/ft torque... even at 4800lbs, I can still leave most cars watching my tailights! Also, for its size and mass, it handles and stops quite impressively...

Expensive to repair (parts), but worth it!

Ahhh, the S-Class... Excellent combination of luxury, style, and performance. This is my first Mercedes, but definitely will not be my last! Even at 8yrs old, it's still a head turner...

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Mercedes C230, BMW 740il, Lexus ES300 (not mine, but have tested)

Driving experience is wonderful. Multiple suspension settings for different driving styles. Excellent.

My key lock/unlock failed six times..... Turned out to be a short in the antenna. Took a complaint to the Sales Manager to finally get it handled. Smythe's folks are the greatest, but doggone, six times is just too many.

Wonderful automobile. I drove it over 7000 miles in a two week period and enjoyed every minute. We've had it now nearly 4 years and have a new one ordered.

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I've owned a '74 280C, a '78 450SLC, an '81 380SLC (Yuk car), this 2001 S-430 and I just bought a new ML-500.