Review: New Mercedes-Benz S350

This is the kind of insult that Mercedes gets time and time again. I have never seen anyone ever suggest that a smaller engine is adequate in a BMW, Rolls, or Bentley. Can you imagine someone suggesting a v6 in a RR Phantom??? Imagine a v6 in a 7-series bimmer. I dont think so.

The horses under the hood (and design) is what separates this beautiful masterpiece from other equally large and luxurius rides. If you want a 3-liter v6 under the hood of this beast, then you should be driving Japanese... and i dont mean Lexus or Infiniti, I mean Hyundai Azera.

Show mercedes some respect...please.

In Europe they have always had 6 cylinder S Classes and even in the last two generation S Classes they have been sold here in the US. The BMW 7 Series also has had Inline 6's. Anyone remember the 735i? Its far from insulting to think that a 268hp V6 engine would not be able to motivate an S Class. True it won't do it as well as the 5.5 liter V8 but the car will still do just fine. Its not insulting at all.
T

Can you really argue with a top speed of 155mph, a 0-60mph time of 7.3 seconds, and in the case of the diesel, almost 40mpg and a 660 mile tank range? If you're really set on equating HP with desirability, go buy a Porsche. Strange as it may seem, luxury cars major on luxury, not on power.

To ThwartedEfforts, yes I cna argue with a 0-60 time of 7.3 seconds. In an age where even Hyundais have the ability to do that time, would you really feel like you got your extensive money's worth to be constantly blown away and passed by by lesser cars? I would think it might be difficult to feel good about you expensive new car with even econoboxes walking off an leaving you. And it is Mercedes themselve that spin the S Class as the epitomee of automobile engineering. Plus they quite clearly participat in the horsepower race as much if not more than other manufacturers. So your argument doesn't seem to hold much water.

And to "scwolf". Are you serious? If you wanted to be environmentally friendly, you woudln't drive an S Class. You woudl drive a hybrid of some sort. And with the new Lexus, you can even have unquestioned luxury to boot. Plus the mileage difference between the V6 and the V8 in a heavy vehicle is nearly indistinguishable in normal driving (you can forget the EPA/dyno fuel economy numbers as they are not real and are not reproducible in any normal driving scenario).

Great post scwolf. Keyword here is CHOICE.

I'm tired of the Europeans having all the fun. They even had a version of the V8 in the previous S that can shut down cylinders when not in use, similar to the V12.

For those that think the S350 is underpowered I hope you know the previous S430 had about 275hp and the S500 had 302hp. Those cars were no slouches.

I've driven the ML350 (268) and ML500 (302).
There is a difference, but it's not very big and it certainly doesn't justify the price difference. I actually feel sorry for people that bought the new ML500. They don't even know the engine was designed almost 10 years ago. Oh well they can always trade it in for the ML550.

90% of S class owners with their driving style would do just fine with a S350 or one with the new Bluetec diesel.

You make some good points, but there should still be a CHOICE. Not many 60 year olds will drag race their S class.

I just feel like there should be a choice for everybody. Whether you want to do 600-800 miles on a tank with a Bluetec or you want the car to go 0-60 in 4 sec with the S65.

I like the new S class, a V6 only means that it will be more available.

MB never brought the previous S (short base) to the US. But they had the 92-99 W140 S320 short base. I think it sold pretty well since I see a bunch of them on the road. However, that generation was underpowered with 220hp.

Don't just look at the legroom. You need to consider the whole volume. The interior and trunk space is much bigger than E.

Mercedes DID have a S350 for sale here in the US starting last year. It didnt do well for two reasons: 1. Americans dont want or care about v6 S-classes and 2. Buyers held off in anticipation of the 2007 S-class. 3. The 2006 S430 AMG was being leased for 599/mo for 12-24 months and therefore smart buyers did not want to shell ot 60-70K for a dumbed-down, hollowed-out v6 shell of an automobile.

ok. i guess thats three reasons.

I stand corrected. Maybe we don't care much for the S350 now, but we will when gas prices start hitting $5-$6 a gal.

It would be nice if they brought the CDI.