vantage78

Actually, the 0-60 should be less than 5.4, according to the article. It states " 100 km/h in just 5.4 seconds", which is like 0-62.5 mph

CE750

Nice website Easydesign!

BTW, anyone else see the resemblance to the Maybach on the rear end? No a bad thing mind you, but interesting. The interior however is totally "American car" from the 80's in taste... I actually HATE it.

cracker123

hey thanks I checked those out, do they have more pictures with all the buttons near the controller and the phone control.

LetsJet

Thanks for the picts and info. It's starting to grow on me. Any info on the back seat room and adjustments? Anything like the Maybach?

One thing I don't like is the shifter near the steering wheel.

Lov2xlr8

go to germancarfans there are many interior pics and a good article.

Nas

Ok, I don't mind the styling inside that much since I liked it in the 7. But MB had to come up with their own design. Everything is copied from the 7 it seems, the I-Drive in the front and BACK, and the controls for the windows seems to be taken out into the 7 and placed there.

The engine seems great. The design will probably grow on me.

One thing looks evident from the pictures: All materials look of HIGH QUALITY.

J Lucas

Actually, Mercedes has been designing an "idrive" type system for several years now just like Audi,and BMW. BMW RUSHED to put idrive in a production vehicle just to say they did it first and thats why the new 7 series was plagued with problems in its first two years of production. Dont assume you know who copied which design first and so forth...

theitalianjob

Looks nice from the outside, but its got a really ugly interior!

Nas

Mercedes may have been designing it for years, but it didn't put in the market first. They could have put it in the "refreshed" S back in 2003, when the put the new/current COMMAND that year in the S and E class.

I just hope if MB has been working on it for several years, so it has very little Bugs.

I don't know who designed it first since I have not personally read any publications regarding this. I just am trying to say that BMW put it in the market first and after that, it will seem like everyone is trying to copy them.

I love MB, and I've been a huge fan of the S class. Especially the current one. I like the 7's interior, and I seem to like the interior of the new S more than it's exterior (since I don't know how you can top the current S's exterior design). But even picture's of the controls for the windows, it looks very similar to the 7's.

BMW may have introduced this system to the market first, but it doens't mean they have the best version. From what I've seen, MB's version looks simplified and better. Having controls for the radio outside, CD, tape, etc outside COMMAND

J Lucas

You are just restating my point. BMW rushed to put it out first and thats why it was so buggy, i think at the time all the companies were relatively at the same initial stages but BMW had to launch it with the release of the new 7. So they rushed it and it was absolutely horrendous. Audi's was launched later and is way better than BMW idrive system especially inthe 7. We will just have to wait and see if Mercedes is attemtping to correct their huge quality issues like the cnn article stated.

cracker123

we live in the information age, and providing a way to access that information can be a daunting task. I-Drive/Command both try to solve this problem by getting rid off the need for 100's of small buttons, I mean pretty soon a Car interior is going to look like a 777 flight deck with out a nice way to get rid of the small buttons. I mean looking at the impresive features this car has, a Command system of this sort was the way to go. People will eventually get used to this type of system. I mean all the car manufactures are adding it. Lets see how Lexus will copy the design and say they invented it.

That said there are still need for buttons which are accessed frequently like window controls, A/C, audio, telephone, etc.

dNA3D

The iDrive was not rushed. It was displayed, along with BMW's new styling direction in the BMW Z9 Concept, which debuted in 1999. I'm willing to bet that the primary reason why it was so buggy and unreliable was because the software architecture was designed by Microsoft... and I'm not joking. BMW must now be thinking --->

J Lucas

Nonsense, you can't possibly believe that BMW wasnt aware of all the problems the idrive was having and still opted to release it.. Lets see what would you prefer, a cluttered dash or some guy rear ending you at 40mph while he was trying to change the station? Buttons are good because they are safe, you dont have to keep your eyes concentrated on the "off" buttom for more than half a second to be able to use it.

MB Fanatic

So Acura's and Honda's navigation system was designed with the help of Microsfot as welll. Yet, that system is not buggy at all.

dNA3D

I never said I would prefer iDrive... I personally would prefer a semi-cluttered dash with a semi-iDrive system in which only the very least critical functions e.g. Traction Control, DSC, Sound Processing Mode, Suspension mode, etc. are controlled via the knob.

Well obviously I wouldn't know if BMW was aware of the iDrive issues - but the idea and the initial implementation have existed since the Z9 coupe.

MB Fanatic: Really? Well... the Japs have always had a history of somehow making everything work flawlessly.

Turtle25

I used the 5-series i-Drive recently. It's not so, so tough or buggy, but I see what people are getting at. Hopefully MB's new R&D commitment will be able to do more with the concept than BMW can (Audi is harder to top).

There is hope: when the W220 came out, everyone hated it, too. =)

rsatmans

heres a article on it http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehi...183.A8798.html

Nas

I guess we all agree somewhat.

One thing is for sure, we all agree that with all the new technology, our dashboards were gonna look very very busy.

I personally am in favor of I-Drive/Command. My use has been very limited, but I see it's potential. Other than Lexus' concept (what they do now), this is the way to go. I like the way MB has designed their dash more than Audi and BMW. Audi seems to have way to many buttons near the MMI controller. BMW's button's in the 7 (especially the 5) seem to be those found in a Civic. I know the quality of the buttons are higher, but the S makes it seems more Luxury oriented.

I hope they got a nice voice-activated system to go along with the features.

Will the S's phone be Bluetooth, or will they still depend on the Motorola Phones that you need to get through MB?

Beckhammania23

For more pictures and information go to Link

Lov2xlr8

i agree. and i think that if MB does have bluetooth in the new S it will be a **** off and very stupid. and for being so late with the bluetooth technology they better have a damn good interface.

J Lucas

Thats a good point,
Toyota is mastering/ has mastered the art of reliability. How do they do it?

Ted Baldwin

........This could have really been a very nice car, with the engine and the exterior. I keep hoping that the picture of the interior is a hoax. It is probably not as bad as we say it is, but it is somuch a blatant copy of BMW. Looks like with the merger, all the good car designers with original thinking went to the Chrysler division of the company.

Ted

naadp

Simple. They've had the same basic engines for the last 25 years, and are always the last to implement anything technological in their cars. The Japanese prefer to tinker and perfect, versus truly innovate. This is the safest route for both sales and reliability. BMW took a huge risk on the 7-series, with mixed results, but nobody is doubting that it was the king of feature content hill with nothing even close for almost two years.

I just want to know why after 30 years Honda still can't design an engine that makes torque... :p

BenzKid24

I think MB did a great job on this sedan..it looks GERMAN again,something MB went away from since the great days of the 126 and 140..the 220 looks like a American Made car,even though they Copied the centerconsole from BMW,so wut??? Not like Lexus made a name with there LS model by copying MB's S-Class i think MB made a comeback with this look and will make MB the car of 07..congrats MB on a great look..and a GERMAN look at that!!

alewifebp

I'm a little dissapointed. The interior is such a copy of the 7 it is not even funny. It is strange that the 7 was disparaged for so long, and here is another company copying the design, from the back of the car, to the interior. I also agree that fender flares do not really need to be on ANY MB. And to top it off, the electronic gearshift, and the iDrive like interface. Pictures are often deceiving, but the interior of the new ML is very nice. Why they couldn't have just improved on that concept is beyond me.

I do like the screen being way at the top, since that is exactly where you need to see your information, especially navigation information. The door mounted switchgear looks nice. And I'm confident that they are using better quality materials inside.

Generally, this car does not look like an MB should. If this car came out suddenly with no pre-release pictures, and also did not have any trace of the MB logos on it, would you be able to identify it as an MB? Besides the grille, I would have a hard time saying that it is an MB. It doesn't show that lineage in the design.

Concerning the iDrive like controller, we will all have to wait and see. But if the experience with the COMAND system in the W211 is any indication, it WILL be buggy.