Who is the S350L geared towards? Why would someone decide on that model? WHat type of driver?

 

It’s a long wheel base but a smaller engine, instead of a 430 or 500 it’s just a 3.5 I am not sure whether its a v-8 or not. People get this model because it's cheaper than the s500 or s600 that come with the L wheelbase standard. The engine wouldn’t guzzle as much gas as a S500 would, so people that are tight on the budget but I guess that want the bigger wheelbase.

 

The S350L is simply as stated above a smaller-engined S-class with long wheelbase. It isn't actually very slow (0-100 around 7.7 seconds) but in countries like Malaysia/Singapore/Thailand where the taxes on cars are crazy and often proportional to engine size, they save you a huge bundle of cash while getting all the luxury, if not all the performance, of the S430 and above. In fact there's one parked in my house right now. It's a great car, doesn't at all feel slow -- although not as effortless as the S500, hardly distinguishable from the S430 IMHO. The engine btw is a one-off -- it's not the same as the SLK350 or CLS350's. You'll be surprised, but there're even S280Ls! Even those are not THAT bad -- 0-100 comes in around 10 seconds which is pretty acceptable, remembering many of these cars are stuck in the city most days.

 

ruykava, where do you live? i thought S280 is only available in short wheelbase form.

 

hi, i move between Singapore and Malaysia often. in both these countries there are S280Ls. i believe they are also sold in Indonesia, and possibly Thailand.