K-A

Same here, but most new M-B's to me look just as bad in the flesh. The proportions are generally just off and awkward to coincide with the design. I've seen the new C on the road now a couple of times and something about it also doesn't sit right with me, although it's proportionally better than the S cars, IMO.

LovinMercedes

who cares... ^

Germancar1

Oh boy here comes the bull**** nonsense.

M

Mike5215

A lot of it comes down to color and wheels. There are plenty of W221 color combos that I think are terrible. The S Coupe has a lot of contouring so a light metallic will emphasize those and a dark solid color will mute it. Overall the coupe looks good to me. Don't car for the "turbine" wheels. It would be nice if MB could somehow free the S Class from high offset wheels that have no depth or concavity.



Overall it's striking from a 3/4 view. I do think the nose is overwrought and out of proportion. Those huge lower grilles and headlamps make the front wheels look small by comparison.



No complaints here.



In bright light the contouring seems like overkill. Maybe it'll grow on me. The rear looks confused, with that weird transition between the upper bumper and the lower diffuser, like a second upper diffuser area that didn't quite develop correctly.



Yikes. Red is not her color. I'll go ahead and say the first screen replacing a proper analog gauge cluster looks tacked on and one dimensional. The second screen is fine. I'm used to seeing an infotainment screen in that spot. The instrument screen would look better recessed into a conventional ovoid shaped pod. See the Jaguar XJ:

K-A

I can't get over the rear, personally, such a disaster. Looks like a haphazardly confused attempt at ripping off several different cars, none of them a genuine "Mercedes".

Mike5215

Yeah. I remember back when BMW rears had that identity crisis during the Chris Bangle era and I get that same sense about the S Class coupe. Like MB was going for something it didn't quite get. Bold designs can either be revolutionary or a bad joke.

BMW turned it around though. Your 5 series IMO is one of the best looking sedans on the road, and the new 650 coupe is perfect from every angle. The tails on the S Coupe look a little like the 650 tails.

K-A

Ahh, I commend and must say I agree with your good taste, both on all you stated above and W221 S listed in as your car.

Eek, the "Bangle" gen cars, good example. And yes, "bold" generally must be executed perfectly, or be a prematurely dating joke (see E65 gen BMW's, most revolutionary in modern times, yet most embarrassing as well). To me, M-B are still trying to chase after their own modern "Bangle" era, and it's just gone too far. Time to go back to simply good designs and stop trying so hard. At this point their cars to me start looking more like a mix between various other cars and some carryover M-B DNA. I know I'm in the minority on an M-B board, but I hear many other people say that they perceive it the same way.

Yeah, the 6 Series BMW to me is very possibly the most perfect modern car design out there, I really think it's as timeless as a modern car gets. The 5 for Sedans as well.

Quadcammer

in a rare moment I agree with KA.

The rear is just no good. And its another MB that NEEDS the sports package to look ok. The non-sport model I looked just looked blah and the front and rear were rough. The sides, with the door closed, looks ok.

inside did not and do not love.

Chucky300

I read somewhere that people who literally are incapable of getting over their need for attention usually do so because of horrendous upbringing with a lack of parental attention / approval.

It's very annoying already. There isn't an MB he likes - but he's here just to stir S H I T around? What a waste of time.

Can't someone in management just ask him to take a hike or is that against the rules?

Mike5215

Would I rather have a 222 than my 221? Of course. That said, I'm not in love with the design evolution. Granted I've seen a whopping two 2014 S550s in the flesh, but they look very corporate and business-like...not a hint of fun. They also seem taller and narrower than the 221.

If you look at a 221 head on, especially with the AMG package, it looks like it wants to kill you and eat you. The 222 looks right through you.

Inside, everything got a massive upgrade in terms of design and materials over the 221. I don't know if I'll ever come to love having a dedicated IPad for an instrument cluster, but I'm willing to try

boylston

I saw the new S coupe last month at the NY auto show. It is breathtaking, and was one of the most popular cars at the show. It seems to be the haters who don't like it, even without ever seeing it in person. I was at the MB dealer this morning. They have a 2014 on the floor (with sport package), which is beautiful, but dated in comparison.

hyperion667

I don't think the term 'haters' really comes into play here......they're just OTHER OPINIONS!!!

hyperion667

very well put man


there isn't really much that's exciting or sporty about the W222; until you get inside the car IMO
I kind of like the bland; understated look because it doesn't draw as much attention

Stuttgart-UT

Yes, i know... "Mercs only look good with the AMG Package"...

But don't tell me there is any difference with other brands...

Mike5215

I dunno. I want a car that I have to stop and look back at twice whenever I park it. A car like the 222 will eventually win me over from the inside out because the driving experience is so good, and I'll come to appreciate the exterior styling with time. Or maybe a tiny drop and a set of staggered Vossens would help

hyperion667

when I park my CLS and look at it I get that feeling

Jason B

I'm willing to bet a lot... that when they do the refresh, the AMG package gets the treatment like the 221 had. I love the aggressive bumpers and cuts on the 221, almost shark-like. I'm willing to bet it comes back on the refresh. Carlsson has it right...



Simliar styling to W221:

K-A

"Haters": The biggest, nonsense, copout term to use to justify/make sense of something.

Really well put, and I feel the same way about the W222. I've warmed up on it I guess a bit, but I don't think the exterior or presence are a how stealer by any means. I DO love understated designs, but they have to draw a fine balance, and the lines of the W222 still don't fully really agree with me. I usually find myself a bit underwhelmed. The interior is what really steals the show on the car. It's a proper Big Mercedes Sedan interior and something you feel like you'd want to take a long trip in to cocoon yourself from the harsh outside world.

That looks good to me, especially considering it's a convertible (which I generally find to be ugly by nature) and an ugly color.

Mike5215

Yeah, the new CLS looks good from every angle. I actually owned a 2010 CLS 550 for a whole day. I traded a 220 for it, drove it home, woke up the next morning, got inside it and drove it back to the dealer. They had a 3 day return policy but I didn't want to run up the mileage knowing I didn't want to keep it.

I think once the adrenalin wore off and I realized how small the interior really was I wanted the S Class back. Hard to give up an S.

Wolfman

Just comes to show how this all boils down to taste. When the new CLS came out, countless people/mags were complaining how much worse it looked than it's predecessor, especially the back and tail lights.

Sound familiar?

Wolfman

Don't think so. Sharper edges are out. In a way, the new AMG front bumper has much more aggressive dimensions then on the W221

Jason B

We can agree to disagree, but lets see what happens in a few years Carlsson has the best kit I've seen to date.

Wolfman

You're on

K-A

Came across these two pictures and they bother me enough to where I couldn't help but note how they depict what I think is so fundamentally flawed and just disastrous about this design.

The front: Is it a CLA? A C? An A? B? GLA? Etc. Etc. The front looks carbon copy like any other Mercedes with the corporate look these days. I get brand identity, but this is a $120+K car that I personally can't tell from a $28K CLA from the front. I'm still wondering if it's a CLA. The hood shut line is a risky one as the way it goes around so abrupt up top, it looks like the fit/finish isn't exact enough for it to not reflect light un-uniformed to the point of looking misaligned.



The rear: Honestly one of the worsts messes I've laid eyes on from Mercedes. I give Mercedes designers a lot of guff about incoherence, loss of seamless/timeless vision or confidence, but this is like a culmination of all that to me. There's absolutely no flow, no harmony, the rear bumper looks like they photos hoped 3 different cars' bumpers alone on it, all from completely different segments and price points. The upper part of the rear, i.e the trunk and taillights, look absolutely clunky and completely mismatched. The taillights aren't elegant or sporty, nor fluid. The rear is to me, the most disoriented and confused (i.e looks like they took several different cars and tried to mash them all together) portion of the car.

Jason B

Agree. BUT, it's just photos. We all know things look different in person. All I can say is, I hope it looks better than these pictures.