The other day, I was driving toward the dealer to have some work done. As I was leaving the city headed towards an on ramp, there was a new Maxima ahead of me. The driver headed into a right-left S turn and accelerated out of the turn onto the bridge. I pride myself in my driving skill - and the 305 HP motor in my R500 - and attempted to catch him on the straightaway - and couldn't!

Have you noticed the ads for the various Infiniti vehicles strewn about our forums? I checked out the FX and the G37s and was quite surprised that the V6 has 328 HP and a 7-speed transmission. I checked the Maxima and it has a 3.5 litre engine that makes 290 HP with a CVT. The driver of the Maxima appeared intent on leaving me in the dust. Since I was on a mission, I didn't challenge him and let him have his fun.

I think MB is losing ground in the peformance arena to the Asian marques. Their engines have 4 valves/cylinder and DOHC, as does the MB. However, the C350 engine sports only 268 HP vs. the Infiniti's 328.

The R is a wonderful vehicle, especially on the highway. Benzes are wonderful vehicles overall. However, Infiniti, for example, has left Mercedes in the dust from the perspective of perceived build quality, luxury, and performance. The same can be said of the Lexus. I compared the Lexus LS to the S-Class after riding in the Lexus. The newest LS has an 8-speed transmission & 380 HP/344 lb-ft from an engine that is smaller than the MB550 V8 (382 HP/391 lb-ft). The perceived build quality, luxury, and performance are at least comparable to that of the S-Class.

As for my R, I'm looking into chipping it to maximize the HP and torque numbers. I'm old school - back in the day, the stop light drag race was the thing - especially if your mom's wheels had a decent engine. I've had to wait until I grew up to afford a car with a decent motor and chose two MB V8s after an initial fling with the C240 and C320. I drove the SL550 and was blown away by the power and torque. Sadly, my wife foresaw bad outcomes and nixed getting that car.

So - now I've got a 5-litre V-8 that can't keep up with V-6s from everybody from Nissan to VW.

I can wait for someone with a 550 motor to crash and burn and will me his motor or chip mine to get almost the same benefit. From the time/cost/benefit perspective, it looks like I will be going the chip route.

Thanks for your patience in reading this.

JR

 

R63.

 

It's quite simple.

Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV curb weight 3,565 lbs
Mercedes R350 Curb weight 5,050 lbs
R500 Curb weight 5,500 or so

If the guy you were chasing was hauling his 2,000 lbs mother-in-law you would have beat him. !!!!


Don't forget. Always compare apples to apples.

 

That's not quite a fair comparison. You should have compared against the Nissan/Infiniti SUV.

Although you are quite right that most other cars can easily beat Mercedes or BMW on the straightline. However, there are other important things to consider in judging the performance of a car.

I went with my buddy to all the test drives with different cars while he was in the process of buying his car. We tested the Lexus IS, Infiniti G37, Audi A4, MB C Class, and BMW 3 series. I think Infiniti was the fastest in the bunch in terms of acceleration. All the reviews are raving about it. But you know what, we both found the BMW 3 series as the most satisfying performance car in the bunch. All those cars are great. It will just boil down to individual preference. But there are a lot of intangibles that swayed our ranking towards the BMW - and you cannot measure that. It's more on the handling characteristics. I think BMW was the slowest in acceleration in that bunch. But that thing is really a smooth performer.

 

Another thing to remember is perception comes from within & your car is no longer new to you. That Nissan appeared different and cool because you don't spend time in it.

The Nissan was racing you because he saw a Benz and instinctively had to prove he was just as good. A Benz sitting on the street will always look way cooler than any Nissan. A guy in a Benz is always smarter than a guy in a Nissan.

As the others say, you're not comparing apples to apples. The Nissan wins on acceleration but doesn't win in safety advancements, technology, engineering, refinement, etc.

Try walking away from your Benz for 2 months and you'll come running back. There is nothing better.

 

The 350 replacement is due sometime at the end of this year, start of next. 300 hp V6, while not class leading, it should help out in a big way. I get goosebumps when I think of a GLK with 300hp!

 

We have a g35xs and just turned in the R350. Two different cars completely. Infiniti's, while marketing themselves as a luxury car, are not luxury cars. They still share way too many components and parts with nissan's. My wife loves her G, but it still lacks that solid feeling that MB's and BMW's have. Read any Car & Driver and they always say that the G is a great car but always comes up a bit short against the 3 series. The G does have a ton of power, but I find that it's mostly in the mid-range of the power spectrum. The MB had way more power off the line. One's designed to be a pocket rocket the other is a long distance cruiser.

 

"Chipping", also known as an ECU tune, will not gain you much on the M113 N/A 5.0 engine. You're looking at 15-20hp/tq increase on 93 octane, at most. Mercedes-Benz has done a great job of squeezing most available hp and torque out of the M113 engine. It's been around a long time and was replaced by the M273 for a reason. Sadly, you can't get an R550...

 

Not only the R-class but my C-class is also not compared well with the competitors in the performance/handling department.

On the other hand, I still enjoy my R and C better than other cars that beat mine in acceleration and handling thou. I used to drive cars run in the 11's and it is no longer important to us.

 

I do not see a Mercedes as a sports car that has to beat everyone. It is comfort, feel of status and success and not to mention better than average service department. Yes, it sux that i'm driving a V8 that has its roots in the early 90s and V6 has as much HP if not more these days, but i bet i get more enjoyment out of my "slow" clk than the guy in a G37. To me it's not just about acceleration, it’s about all around. If i wanted to go fast i would have gotten STi or EVO, but no matter how you slice it they are still metal cans compared to a BENZ.
when i was still in school i was thinking of getting a G35 coupe. back then i had my first benz, 02 230K coupe. Some may call it a bottom of the barrel Mercedes but even so, handled just as good as the G and even with low profile tires it was softer. May have been much slower but quality and comfort was better than G. G was 35 grand and the only information it could display is time and outside temp. I had voice control and a phone in my benz, not to mention all the things on the instrument cluster that you can scroll through.
As the new commercials on TV, performance is not just a straight line acceleration.....

 

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. I'm glad that I took the time to write my post.

I agree that the highway performance is the best thing about the R. 100-110 MPH feels as smooth as 80-85 (Sadly I can't run at those speeds for long). It handles like a dream only taking fractionally longer to divert that 5k mass in another direction when necessary (avoiding a pothole or reacting to another driver's unanticipated movement) than less massive cars. Summer tires (currently Pirelli PZero Rossos) are essential, IMHO. I have been an autocrosser for over 30 years. I 'cross the R500 and can compete well with the other V-8 vehicles on the course including a lowered E430 with softer tires. Sadly, no one has videotaped any of my runs so far. When I do persuade someone to do so, I'll post it here.

Our last road trip was from Woodbridge to Tallahassee, all on the interstates (I-95 and I-10) over 4 days - around 500 miles/day. On 95, there were many V-6 minivans and crossovers that tried to hang with me. I could always pull away from them when they followed too closely or set up residence off my left rear. I would accelerate and maneuver through traffic to scrape them off my tail. The acceleration from 85-110 cannot be matched by an Odyssey or Sienna or VeraCruz et al - as well as some 3 and 5-series Bimmers (though the 5-series drivers seem to be admiring the scenery from the right lane most of the time).

I intend to keep driving the R and whatever Benz supersedes it until I fail the old-folks driving test and the state takes my license away from me. A turbodiesel A-Class would be nice to have.

I DO Like My R.

JR

 

I agree with the post above re: guy in MB always smarter than the guy in Nissan. I've always found the power "adequate" - somewhere between more than just enough and ridiculous. My advice is do what most of the rest of us have done - and appreciate the R for what it can do/what it is, and buy ANOTHER Mercedes dedicated to the purpose of go-fast. C63 comes to mind as a "quick" solution to your problem. I think if you investigate MB owner demographics you'll find many of us own 2 or more of them - and they are each entirely different from one another - purpose-built, and require their own unique learning curve as to model peculiarities. (I bought a CLK 320 but always take the R on highway trips, because nothing eats up highway miles better than a big Mercedes).

 

Rosswell, I like your advice. I've seen two E-Class coupes in the last two days. They are beautiful cars. One was a 350 and the other was a 550. Both cars were stuck in traffic and I've not yet seen one on the open road yet. An E63 would do the trick for me.

JR

 

I know that new Maxima is fast, my best friend has an '09 SV and it's quick for what it is. That said the OP may not believe me but I was pacing a newer or the latest gen Boxster on the highway a few months ago in my R350. I wasn't trying to catch him or race him but follow his line through traffic to get out of the traffic jam and slower drivers. A few times he went WOT to pass and I was right there with him, I thought he would easily pull away to be honest. In all seriousness when you drive the R even the 3.5L at 9/10th's is actually quite quick given it's size and weight.

 

Just to be fair, your R is an 07. The new Merc V8s have 382 HP.

 

Wow, this post really caught me by surprise.

Makes sense to me. Only 15 HP difference and you are driving one of the heaviest vehicles on the road. I think the R handles amazingly well for its size! AMAZINGLY well.

Not all MB's are made to be "performance" vehicles. If you want more HP, the option is there, go with the MB's numerous AMG options. I don't believe Infinity has any options that compete with those. Not that it's all about HP anyway. I mean I'm pretty certain that your car would still beat a 260,000 HP aircraft carrier off of the line.

Yes, Lexus has a fantastic "perceived quality". Because as it turns out they had been keeping all of their quality control issues hidden. Personally I can't see how a brand that is currently facing mass recalls for steering, braking, accelerating, and fuel leak problems can be considered to be better quality than any MB, let alone that of an S class. Heck it's not like any of those recalls are for anything mission critical or dangerous or anything.


I don't think the number of cylinders has much to do with anything. V6's are fabulous engines and rev very quickly. That being said, my 2 cylinder Ducati will certainly beat my 6 cylinder AMG anytime. It has a LOT to do with suspension design, HP/weight ratio, and the design of the engine itself.

 

MercDriver,

Thanks for the feedback and some good laughs.

I envy you your locale. I visited Vancouver way back in the late 80s during August and felt it was the most beautiful city in the world. We had taken the ferry from Seattle and spent the night in Vancouver. I look forward to another visit there before I get too old to appreciate it.

God bless.

JR

 

ya know I just want to add a comment... the local mb dealer by me has an R500 in the loaner fleet, when one of the pro athletes come in they always ask for that vehicle... I know of 2 nfl probowlers for sure... even though they are cleveland clowns...mean browns....

they love the R500

 

Cheers!

We left town this morning and are now sitting by the pool enjoying day 1 of our vacation. 5 hours of driving, up and over about 5 different mountains. Lots of hill climbing, lots of twisty roads, all while towing a watercraft.

Great handling, endless ability to climb, and soooooo quiet and comfortable. It amazed me that I could just set the cruise control and it effortlessly and smoothly climbed every hill we pointed it at. Some of them were about 4,000' high. And of course I also loved its ability to carry enormous amounts of cargo.

 

I'm jealous of your diesel, this is where our R350 falls miserably on itself. Climbing hills with a load leaves the gasoline V6 hunting for gears and struggling to keep pace uphill. I do still enjoy all the other aspects though, the space, driving comfort, etc...