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- Mercedes Benz S Class 500
- Stig's review
Have a picture of Mercedes Benz S Class 500?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of Stephanie Turner.
| Performance | 8/10   |
|---|---|
| Practicality | 8.5/10 |
| Reliability | 5.8/10 |
| Value for Money | 6.2/10 |
| Reviewer Rating | 5.8/10 |
| Overall Rating | 5.6/10 |
By Stig
on 22nd Mar 2008
| Year Manufactured | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Length of ownership | 10 years |
| Doors | 4 |
| Performance | 9/10 |
| Practicality | 10/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 |
| Value for money | 9/10 |
| Overall value | 8/10 |
 Stig's recommendation | |
Very reliable, spacious, powerful, safe all come to mind as describing my 500SEL. The W140 chassis is heavy, but the suspension handles it with aplomb. I purchased the car used, and have averaged 21 MPG for 200,000 miles. The car is SOLID. This car has nearly 400,000 miles showing and is still VERY reliable.
The car retailed for $93k new, and the parts remain priced at that level. The dollar is so weak against the dollar now, really it is getting comparably more expensive to maintain. It isn't the main systems that fail, but the endless luxury touches like the soft touch closing systems, the lights behind the instruments, dials, gauges and controls. Small items make your eyes water for the MB prices listed. The heavy car goes through tires and brakes more rapidly than most.
From the perspective of safe, reliable transportation, the Mercedes S Class is the best of the best. With five star crash ratings in every category, this car is beefy and strong; if you have to be in The Big One, this is the car to be in, particularly with the myriad of lane-weaving SUVs driven by folks more focused on their phone call than not running into you. The handling is good enough you forget it is nearly three tons surrounding you. The trunk is big enough for the Sopranos to use for burying several families worth of trouble; we have had half a football team and gear in the car without looking like clowns at a circus. The seats are large leather chairs that fit even someone two meters tall, as I am, comfortably. Hard to believe, but mine is coming up on 400,000 miles, or over 15 times circumnavigating the world, and the engine has never been apart, although I am on the second transmission. Like a football player in a tuxedo, these cars look sharp and serious at the same time. And these cars don't suffer from the electronic bugs that the next generation S class has been wounded by. Last, but not least, is that with 343 horse engine, this is a Q ship, a hot rod that melts into traffic and never gets a second look, but can cruise all day long without straining, and with every seat taken inside; at 80MPH, the car feels alive and awake, like it could do this forever.
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