I just came from the local MB dealer in Miami. They had a Black/Black S550 on the showroom floor. I was able to inspect it for quite some time but I did not drive it.

I am very disappointed by the interior finish out. All of the interior photos I have seen of this car feature very nice metallic controls which lend to the idea that they might be metal. But in fact these buttons are so cheap that they deform when pressed. They feel as though they will break or fall off if you are not careful with them. Again these controls have a silver metallic finish that look nice but are just cheap and tacky. It is similair to installing laminate countertops with a marble finish in a luxury home. Who are you kidding?

Maybe I am biased. I sat in a Continetal GT a few months ago and what an experience. I thought I knew what luxury was before that car. Now I realize that there is another level and I had no idea it existed. I drove a 750Li last month. It has metallic surfaces also. I'm sure they are not all metal but you would have to really try hard to convince yourself that they are not. The i-drive control feels heavy and solid. It lends to the idea that the rest of the vehicle is built like a tank. Even Jaguar is doing an excellent job. The interior of the new XK is just beautiful with the finest leathers, wood, and metallic surfaces. The split wood steering wheel is simply gorgeous.

But why should I have to beg the S550 to wow me? I am still asking it to provoke some type of emotion; something that will somehow fool me into thinking that this car is worth it's MSRP. Once planted in the driver seat I could only see reasons why it is a poser.

Many have said that the interior is a BMW 7 series replica. I ignored that. Many have said that the wheel wells remind them of a Ford Focus. I ignored that too. Well I can say for myself that the interior is no better display of quality than a Khia Amanti.

It will definately sell though. Only because there are those who desire status so much that they are willing to pay a ridiculous price for an insuperior product. I honestly believe that Chrysler-Benz is has been taking advantage of that fact for quite some time now and will continue to do so with the S550.

 

As far as I know, even though I have yet to sit in one, the buttons are actually metal, and not plastic colored siver.... The 7 series silver pieces are plastic colored silver, but the S class' buttone are apparnetly metal... Sorry to hear about the bad experience... The Continetal is probably a half a step above partly because of the higher sticker....

What dealer did you go to? Bill Ussery or Miami?

 

I went to MB of Miami and I know the difference between plastic and metal. There is absolutely NO metal on those buttons. ALL of them are plastic... even the big round i-drive knob. Here are the ones I checked for sure:

- the window controls
- the seat position controls
- every single button on the doors - all cheap plastic!!
- the two very nice looking buttons on each side of the headlamp control just left of the steering wheel... lightweight plastic.
- every single button on the center console is the same as the ones around the headlamp control. all plastic and feel like a childs toy made in China

Guys I am not kidding you on this. I own a W220 and I have been pretty proud of it except for the problems I have had with it. Most of it boils down to quality. I am telling you that this W221 has a worse interior than the W220. Even the rear seat vanity mirrors are much smaller and cheap looking!!

If you find that ANY of these buttons are metal then I will publicly eat my words. I checked them out closely and could not believe what I was seeing. I mentioned the same thing to the salesman and you know what he said?

"Don't be so picky."

At 100k buddy, I can afford to be.

 

Don't really know what car you sat in...Kia S-class or MB S-class

Eat your words cause the buttons are made of ......ALUMINIUM..... 've sat in more than one new S-class and fully studied the interior! Even the ones at the Frankfurt motor show. The interior quality is leaps better than the 220 S-class!

Looks like you are just trying to start a very long thread of time wasting nonsense!

 

I've got my popcorn and drink for the show...here we go.

 

Let me say that of all people, I wanted this car to be a cut above. I ordered mine in July 2004. I expected that it would put all other competitors to shame including the 750Li. But I am sad to say that it falls short in many important ways. I could go on but for now lets just focus on those plastic buttons.

Maybe the S550 at the motorshow was a prototype just to peak consumer interest. I don't know. I can only speak on the Black/Black S550 at the Miami dealership. Those buttons are plastic.. and an even cheaper (by far) than those of the W220. NO WAY those buttons are metal; they aren't even part metal. They are 100% plastic and the most noticable ones are the seat controls on the door. They wiggle around like they are going to fall off.

 

Don't judge the messenger before you sit in it. There is something wrong here in this new S-Class. Maybe they assume their target market's eyesight is so poor that they won't notice the down grade. But unfortunately they won't like the new controller either. Everyone interested should visit their dealer and then let's take a poll.

 

I was somewhat underwhelmed as well. The leather seemed cheap and hard, the door caps and dash should be stitched leather on a 100k+ car, and the switch gear was kind of cheesy. That being said, I also think these cars were kind of stripped as well being "pre-production" demos. I would really like to see one with the Designo package. I think that'll make all the difference.

Personally, the interior in the S550 wasn't even close to the A8L W12, even if the price was.

 

Your comment on this thread cracked me up.

 

Ok here is one take from an article and I quote:
"Mercedes has finally abandoned its black plastic buttons for ribbed chrome."

found here: http://automobilemag.com/reviews/sed...***/index.html

I'll find some more.

 

Nearly all switches of the W221 are made by Marquardt, an old german family business. As far as I know the switches are coated with silver-looking surfaces, like chrome parts have a thin chrome layer and underneath it zinc or plastic.
The light switch/wheel and the comand-controller are made of Aluminium, the normal switches are plastic. But where's the problem with that? Nearly all cars have mainly plastic switches, even a 50 years old Mercedes! The Audi A8 has a little bit more Aluminium around certain controls, a BMW 7er has a metal column shifter (but both have only a plastic light switch) , only the R230 (SL) has a little bit more metal, all other cars are not comparable because they aren't mass production and/or have other quality issues.
NEVER mix up design ("looks cheap") with quality!
But always remember that the W221 is still very new, it needs months/years to get full quality, the workers have to adapt, the machines get calibrated, thousands of small parts become a new design (most of them you cannot even see) - the parts have a so called "Q-Stand", thats like a revision number, even in the new s-class, which is only on the market since 3 months, many parts have a Q-Stand >10, 10 earlier versions with minor differences exist!
You should never buy such a complex product like a car in this early stage, maybe with MJ2007 (starts in autumn 2006) you get a nice car - it was always that way!
Therefore many W221 have minor quality issues, maybe switches don't feel as robust, software issues - most of these problems have been solved with the acutal BMW or Audi - until the new model arrives!

But what I have seen (even under the surfaces) the W221 has the potencial for the highest quality in the mass-market, cars "build as a tank" don't exist, especially since Toyota forced all companys to cost reduction.

 

Ah, the non believers. I am not talking about the rubber like contorls on the W220. I actually wouldn't have a problem with the W221 if the controls were the same as the W220. But these so called "ribbed chrome" controls may as well be "faux controls." They are so thin and mallable that they deform when pressed firmly. The "ribbed chrome" is just a shiny paint that has been applied to a black plastic part. The controls look and feel like they came from a model car or some child's play toy.

I am not confusing cheap looks with quality. My point is that every surface you touch in the vehicle has an effect on your overall perception of the quality of the vehicle. We test drive vehicles to see how they "feel." How the car responds to road conditions, how it dips, rolls, sounds, and even smells. The presence of wood and leather inside a vehicle makes it more luxurious. Solid aluminum controls lend to the idea that the vehicle is very well crafted. I get a wonderful feeling inside the Bently GT. I do not expect the S550 to reach that level but I do expect it to get closer. Sadly it seems that it has taken a U turn for the worse.

The presense of cheap plastic material in the car makes me feel as though the rest of the car is cheap. If MB cut corners on this car where I can see then, then I am sure that they cut corners where I can't.

 

georgl
Thank you for spelling it out so clearly. Never buy the first 6 mos production of any model is my general motto.....

 

thats where they get their material!

 

The controls of the W221 are absolutly ordinary plastic like in a W140, Phaeton or Rolls Royce, they are just painted silver (the silver plastic around the air vents is galvanized) and attached to shiny black plastic for the symbols and light - normally the black paint just gets removed (today with laser) on the buttons to let the light through and create the symbols.
It is very likely that some switches are a little bit loose at this early production stage - but the plastic is as thick and stable as in every other luxury car.
I also like the look of the Bentley-Interior, more wood, nice leather and chrome parts which are really zinc - but I don't think it could compete with the little bit better precision and the more sophisticated technology of the W221 - in this point, both cars symbolize their history (german quality vs. british handmade style), even when the Bentley only gets assembled in the UK and is not as british as it should be.

 

I read on the GCF site that the all the buttons on the W221 were made of a composite material that Porsche is using on the new 997 as well. They are a metal alloy that are painted silver. Clearly having sat in the new S550, I can say its eons ahead of our 03?04? S600.

 

"even when the Bentley only gets assembled in the UK and is not as british as it should be."

Thank goodness!!!! I am only joking since I love the workmanship and level of attention that the British interiors have always had.

 

Bespoke is BeShiznit!

 

Speaking of materials, I noticed in the W221 brochure that in addition a to multiple Designo interior colors, there is a new interior option called "Exclusive Passion", as an upgrade. Does anyone have any info as to what kind of option this is as far as quality and cost ?

 

Good Question, we should start another post just based on the seats! there will be TWO unique packages in regards to seating pleasures for W221...

option 401 is seats with increased comfort in the front, including the ventilation system and preheating, finished with perforated skin ..it is only offered
in combination with the skin PASSION or the skin EXCLUSIVE PASSION..these are exclusive leathers with up to 5 rawhides..option 402 is same but for the rear

unfortunately those that ordered early missed out on a whole lot of goodies like these seats and panoroof..im not sure if the PASSION and EXCLUSIVE PASSION will be available to order for janurary but definitetly by march...and i have no idea of the price

 

I will add that EXCLUSIVE PASSION might only be available for S600 owners later on in '06

 

One of the many reasons I am going to wait and order mine in the second half of the year....

 

I used to own a a w140 S-class about 8 years ago. I traded it in because it was falling apart. I sat in a w220 S-class, a 2000 model, and I remember feeling that the interior was of less quality. So now hearing that a W221 is of less quality than a w220 isn't hard to believe at all. Even with my ML's I've seen the degradation in interior quality. The interior of my w163 ML320 looked more expensive than the interior of my new w164 ML500.

 

remember that the black/black demo models that shipped to dealers is the STANDARD s550 with no interior upgrades WHATSOEVER..its not representative of what we will come to see..its almost like they shouldnt have shipped those models at all!
there wil be a few skin seating options..look at the new cls 4door coupe at the dealers for example,,the 550 will have the same color scheme offers