Wolfman

Motor trend review, published yesterday...

TonyMeister

The W222 looks stunning in the video.

Chucky300

They really did NOT like the BMW. Nothing about it. The ride, the interior materials, the interior design, the back seat seating position, the design, the kidney grille, the leather, the tech, the gesture control, etc.

Literally, nothing.

I can tell you guys this - my father has a 2015 Individual 7. GORGEOUS. Interior gorgeous and high quality. Id bet they take the material (leather, wood, finishing trims) from their sister company Rolls Royce.

The new 2016 Individual feels completely different. The leather must be treated with something because it's got a plastic poly feel to it. The wood trim is very different. It's like a Chinese knockoff of an original if that makes sense. (Think French Louis Vuitton vs Canal Street Manhattan Louis Veeton)

BenzV12

This video is just rubbish ,sorry Motor Trend Pundits
I sat and drove G11/12 7 Series and that's a huge step up from the previous 7 Series .
Brand bashing in a blind mind is not something appreciable

allie14705

Interesting article on Bloomberg - Looks like Bmw already conceding internally that the new 7 series is a bit of a flop http://bloom.bg/2bKCPcn (Please copy link to browser)

jahquan3

These two guys particularly are pretty good at what they do. I never give to much credence to a review based on anyone elses opinion until I try it for myself. Whether cars, music, movies, or games etc.

Both cars looking amazing IMHO.

Wolfman

I normally like the head to head reviews but I agree with the BMW bashing. There was no need for that.
I don't care much of the 7 series which I find uninspiring to downright boring (looking) but the BMW drives well and the iDrive system has moved from a bad joke in the E65 to the most user-friendly interface around.

That said, the conclusion is valid and IMO the S-Class is the better luxury car all around.

Wolfman

That was foreseeable. The new 7 barely produced a lift in sales over the end of life model.

Corey140

Telsa has a ways to go...

Streamliner

Wow! I knew that the W222 was outselling the others, but I had no idea it was so far ahead. Graphs like this really illuminate. Thanks for posting it!

jenz

Just rode in the back new 7 - think the 7 had the upgraded leather, as it had the cross stitching on the upper back and center line

While the interior looks great, materials seemed subpar, I'd rate it lower than the standard S leather and far below the nappa exclusive - had an almost sleek, plastic feel - leather on doors was very rough and hard

But the new 7 has a roomier back seat than the S, which wasn't the case with the prior gen - you can easily tell the difference, as the new 7 rear doors seem almost as big as the LWB Range Rover

Driver summed it up best - he prefers to drive the S in the city but wants the new 7 for the highways, but most clients seems to comment more favorably when being driven in the S

For me, I liked the roomier feel in the back of the 7, and if they stepped up the interior game, I'd be tempted to go to the dark side

jumpman726

I drove both the new 750 and the S550 back to back at a recent BMW Drive for a Cause event and they are both great cars. The thing I noticed immediately was the 7 had more road feel through the steering. That might have been because of the M-sport 19" tires.

I thought the ride comfort could be improved on both cars when going over harsh impacts on the road. (Probably due to the run flat tires).

One thing that's hurting the 7 series sales in my opinion is the price. It was raised to be almost the same as an S550. Also, air suspension is now standard on the 7, which is great, but that caused the price to increase. The 7 is only offered in the long wheelbase in the US. The previous generation had a short and long wheel base.

In the end, after driving both cars I'd be happy with either one. It really comes down to personal taste and which brand you prefer. The Cognac brown leather on the 7 looks really nice with the aluminum trim around the switches, but the grill on the 7 is unnecessarily big in relation to the rest of the car. I saw a white 7 with a black grill and it didn't look right at all. Also, the design/shape of the headlight housing is a little boring. Not really ugly, but not attractive either. I thought the instrument cluster on the 7 was better than the S. The 7 uses more colors to give it a good contrast, and looks brighter. The cluster on the S is not as exciting or bright. The new redesigned 5 series looks identical to the 7, so once that releases it will negatively impact 7 series sales even more.

*I'd love to see Mercedes offer the S-class in the US with a smaller gas engine, like a twin turbo 6 (S400?) to compete with the 740i.

Mitch Alsup

Forbes put the new 7 series on its list of 15 cars not to own.

jumpman726

I think the bar graph posted above is overly optimistic for the 2017 & 2018 S-Class. I don't think it takes into account how much the new E-Class will steal customers away from getting an S-Class.

Wolfman

I don't think the E-Class will steal any S-Class customers at the moment or the very near future. Maybe in 2017 with the E63 AMG.

But for right now, nobody still step down from 449hp TT V8 to a 241hp inline 4 and a pretty big step down in interior.
Unless you add a few option for Designo and and P3 package to make it more S-Class like, you are at $75k plus. Still with a tiny engine.

In 2018, the facelifted S-Class will be out with all electronics updates plus some that the E-doesn't have.

That said, I had a 2016 and two 2017 E-Class loaners recently (all under 1k miles) and I was impressed of how much better the new E-Class was. Nimble and quick, it felt as fast as the older V6 even if it wasn't.
But unless the car is fully loaded which these loaners weren't, there is no feeling of S-Class level in these cars. Even then, I don't think so...
Also, I have only really seen the new E in sport trim and it actually doesn't have as much similarity with the S-Class as I thought

goldberg

2017 E fully equipped with P3 package and Designo interior prices out about $78,000.... Or lightly used CPO 2015 S550 with Drivers Assistance, Surround camera and Premium 1 plus other options for less money..no choice in my opinion..... Bought the S550!!!!

ftlaud1

Fantastic vid ! W222 all the way. I have the same color combo. Love it !

jumpman726

I agree with you, and I think Mercedes thought of that too. They didn't want the new E to steal S-class customers right off the bat. That's why they introduced the E-class in the US with only the turbo 4 engine.

A fully optioned E300 is in the mid $70K range, which is a lot for that small engine. Airmatic is optional. If you're leasing it's only a few thousand more per year to lease an S-class over a new E, and the upcoming E43 AMG won't save you that much over leasing an S.

I think dealers are only ordering the Sport version of the E-class with the star on the grill. To get the traditional grill and star hood emblem ("Luxury models") you have to custom order it.

wilassasin

I'm just not into the new 7 series model, I feel like BMW took a step backwards IMO. Btw saw it in person several times, also test drove it at the dealer and never felt the urge to want to own a G11/G12.