Polar Bear

Hello everyone-

I am considering getting an S600 TT and just wanted to get some general feedback from current owners about their satisfaction with the car. I have owned several MB products - two W210 E55 AMGs, a W211 E320 CDI, W201 and W123 so I am not new to the brand. I can't help but be attracted to the torque and turbocharged engine that the S600 produces, and the market for these cars are simply unbelievable (for buyers) it seems.

I do some of my own work as a hobby but would not want to get into working on ABC pumps, etc. (although I do have an SDS machine which would help with some diagnosis).

Since these cars are few and far between (especially in the area where I am from) and I have not had a chance to drive one yet, I wanted to get some input from what current owners think about the car compared to the other variants - particularly the S55 AMG and the S65 AMG. My assumption would be the S600 would have possibly a more comfortable ride than the S55 AMG but acceleration would be very similar, but handling would not, and the S65 would be better handling plus a performance increase. I do a lot of driving and would drive the car regularly so comfort is important (but I am sure about any W220 would be comfortable).

With an ECU/TCU tune, do these cars perform close to that of an S65? From my research I understand ABC to be a possible issue and perhaps coils. Anything else you can think of (cluster should be covered under warranty so no issue there).

Also, what type of range are drivers getting per tank of fuel with conservative driving? I sometimes drive long distances for work and was just curious.

It appears that the options were Distronic, and Keyless-Go (on my current car and I definitely want). Anything else I should look for? I will probably try to locate a 2004-2005 to get the MOST system with DVD-based navigation.

Thanks for everyones help!

Fraser

I've got an '04 600 and am very happy with it. There are several threads, mostly on the AMG forums, comparing the performance of the 600 against the 55 and 65 AMGs. I've not driven either AMG model so can't compare myself...

In terms of modifications you might want to look at threads started by Oxygen, he has basically 65'd his 600 and then some. I'm not bothered about tuning myself but from what I've read the M275 engine is very responsive to even minor mods.

On long distance drives I get about 450 miles out of a tank, lucky to get half that on my commutes to work (about 2 miles each way) and pootling around town with some WOT from time to time

Although the 600s came nicely specced up compared to 500s or below there are still quite a few options to be had. The options do vary slightly by year and region (my father's W220 had tray tables in the rear) but for later US models it is; 4 seat package (gives massage and fully adjustable seats in rear), Distronic, Keyless Go, power trunk closer, heated steering wheel, Drive Dynamic seats, cooling rear seats, sunshades for rear windows.

Polar Bear

Thanks for the very helpful information. I honestly doubt I would mod it since I prefer reliability>performance but I may change my mind later. My current W211 has Keyless-Go, Trunk Closer, Dynamic Seats, Cooled Front Seats, so I would want it to have those options at least. I think Distronic would also be very attractive as well. I have gotten a best of 860mi/tank on the E320 CDI so that would take some adjusting, but I am sure the power would make up for that

Do they have a TPMS standard, or is that an option as well?

Reckless

I have a 2005 S600. I believe it to be the best car ever made (after S65). I prefer the W220 over the W221's, they are shorter and handle better. I have had a lot of work done to my car but I still consider it reliable (maybe because warranty paid for everything, over $20k so far, abc + transmission work).

I believe in upgrading the stock brakes if you are an aggressive driver. ECU mods can be beyond insane depending on tuner (I felt risky at a certain point with the lesser known tuners). The famous tuners make nice ECU mods but I think you get over it after awhile. It's really about how much boost they are clocking in (everything over 17.5lbs is insane, especially if they hold it there for awhile). Some tuners just touch a high number and go.

ABC goes bad once every 100k miles from what I understand. I felt the build quality of the 600s to be superior to the 500 (not because of the alcantara but it seemed more solid to me). I get 200 miles per tank, so I go to the gas station every 100 miles - biggest drawback I can think of. I had my car dropped slightly and I think handling isn't that great, probably my biggest gripe on the car. The car does handle just not at high speeds. Still, I don't think there is a better car made (although I am curious about the V8TT from bmw).

I like the dynamic drive seats more than distronic, although many people swear by distronic. Rear ventilation comes in handy if you are taking people for long rides. Almost all S600s come with parktronic, which I love.

Polar Bear

How much boost do they make stock?

20k sounds like hits a bit of work. What did you have serviced/repaired?

If I go look at an S600 for sale, are there any things I can look for to determine if it has an ECU tune? I assume short of connecting SDS to it, there would really be no way.

Quadcammer

weird post.

So you get 200 miles per tank (which translates to about 8.8mpg), but yet you fill it up at half tank? Either there is something wrong with your car or you have your gas pedal permanently glued to the floorboard.

Furthermore, you are somehow surprised that a 4600lb 203" luxury sedan doesn't handle well? really? really?

Das Geld 2

It depends where you drive I think on my 500 I get 250 city/400 highway.

Polar Bear

When I obtained the 860 I was trying to do well about the entire trip. That was a round trip. When I arrived at my destination, I got 41.6mpg - on the return it was 38.x. I am sure driving style can skew the range by a large factor. Mixed driving I get probably around 700mi/tank. The CDI is stock with no tuner box, etc.

Fraser

Reckless has alluded in previous posts that his driving style lives up to his name and lives with WOT.

Personally as hard as I try I can't seem to get into single figure MPGs even with liberal use of the throttle off the lights on my drive to and from work. It's only 2 miles each way and I have four sets of lights in each direction so it's not as if I'm not trying hard to kill the ozone

Reckless

Yeah I avg between 8-12 mpg (depending on how hard I drive it). The car starts acting funny when it goes to 1/8 tank so I like to re-fuel much before then usually when it goes under half. It's a V12 twin turbo, it drinks gas. When I drive the S550 I get around 350 miles per tank. The 600 is a much different car than the 500. As I like to say it separates the men from the boys.

I had 2 bmw 750IL's before my 600....drove BMWs for 12 years before switching. I am used to luxury sedans that can handle in the 750's I could pull cuts at 150mph. The fastest I can pull a cut in the 6 is roughly around 125mph. Mercedes designs their cars to be comfort rides, not really for the sport drivers IMO.

Polar: ABC work costs around $12k if they have to replace the hydraulic fluid and shocks. I had some front end tranny work done which cost around $4k, the rest was odd ball components.

If the car is able to go past 130mph is one way to test for an ECU mod. Usually ECU mods are easily detectable just by flooring the car from standstill. The back end should come completely loose and the car should drift to a side because of too much power. Also, I really love spinning the wheels when I drop down going 50mph.

Reckless

A year ago my car was running really rich, and I couldn't get it above 10 mpg even if I tried. It went in the shop and some part was repaired that made my car run less rich (also a tiny bit slower), since then I've been getting anywhere from 10-14mpg normally and around 8 if I'm racing. A lot has to do with the ECU tune also. But I pretty much go to the gas station 4-5 nights a week and friends with all the gas station owners close to my home.

Polar Bear

Probably would not have an opportunity to get to that speed. If it is a stock 600, do they have traction problems with the ESP off from a standstill?

In your example above, I assume you mean with the ESP off, or does the tune affect the aggressiveness of the ESP?

Fraser

You can certainly get the 'idiot light' to come on flooring it from a standstill in a completely stock 600, with not even a hint of wet tarmac.

Personally I find the best pick up comes from when you're at about 25mph, ease off the gas and let the revs die down...then bury the accelerator. I've given passengers a few brown trousers moments with that tactic

bzliteyear

I'm still getting acquainted with my newly bought 05 S600 Sport, but so far it handles as well as my 2002 S55. The S55 engine appears to rev higher/easier, and the transmission holds/unshifts more responsively on the AMG. However, the workmanship, the more solid driving feel, the dynamic seats and V12TT roaring to life is quite special. So far, no regrets.
P.S. The city mpg is worse than my prior 93 SL600 or S55 - feels like 8 mpg vs. 12-14 before.
PL