dadesidon

Quick question for my fellow 221 fans/owners/potential owners -- does the rear seat package affect the size of the seats in the back, or can you still seat 3 people comfortably with it?

srice

You can stil put 3 people in the back, but it is not as comfortable as the back seat without the package. As long as the two adjustable seats are adjusted the same, the middle is not too bad. I don't think I would want to sit in the middle for an 8 hour drive, but for an hour or two it would be tolerable.

trumpet1

What???!!!! I can't imagine that. Their is a wood grain section in the middle of the rear seat area. I almost bought one and this was my consideration on the matter. You can't seat anyone there!

Diesel Benz

I'm afraid you are talking about the 2-seat option, option code 224 while the others are talking about the 3-piece rear seat, option code 223.

whoover

The rear seat package (code 325) adds four-zone climate control and heated, ventilated rear seats and eight-way power seats but retains five-place seating. The four-place seating option (code 224) replaces the rear bench with two buckets. You're confusing these two different options.

obaidan

If you mean the one in the attached picture below, then you be the judge whether it is comfortable to sit or not? Having this seat or not doesn't really affect much the width of the other two chairs and I would recommend not getting it unless you have use for it. It is called individual seat.

Now that is if and only if .....

srice

Sorry for the confusion. I have the "Rear Seat Package (code 325)." That is the one I was referring to, as being usable for 3 people in the back.

pmrogers

I sat in a 550 without the rear seat package before getting my 600: as far as I could tell there was no difference in available room.

That said, I don't think any of the S configurations are usable for 3 in the back unless all of your guests are fairly short and thin. At 6'2" I can't sit in the back middle without being miserably hunched over, and the car is too narrow for 3 adults side to side. I tried putting 3 of my coworkers who are all medium height and build-- 5'7" to 5'10", 120 to 160lbs-- in the back and it was an uncomfortable ride even just going to lunch.

In my opinion, the S is a car for 4 people except in a pinch.

Paul

Diesel Benz

I don't really disagree but the "average build" varies from country to country, one may consider it more reasonable to have 5 in the car even the middle back seat never is close to as comfortable as the side seats.

But if we talk about MBs, which one then would be for 5, I mean sedans. The R with three rows should be OK etc. Perhaps you see all MBs too small for 5. One may have interpreted the S specifically being too small for 5.

JRAMGV8

That rear seat package code 325 is a great feature

trumpet1

Thanks for clarifying as that is the one that I thought was being discussed. Sorry for my mistake.

BeantownFlyer

The one big disadvantage is that you lose all your driver center console storage space with this package (the duct for the rear seating area vents is apparently run through that area). So your rear seat passengers get extra comfort, but you are relegated to the small tray area which will be consumed by your phone MHI, the underseat bins, the glove box, and the door storage. Not that bad, but the loss of that console bin was a big surprise to me when I picked up the car.

whoover

Is that still true on the W221? The center storage space is used for the rear A/C compressor unit on the W220. It is a pain to not be able to store jack anymore. I thought that the storage was more efficient on the W221. Perhaps not.

trumpet1

Unfortunately I was surprised at this too. I honestly would rather have the storage space as opposed to the rear climate controls. My rear passengers (the kids usually) never adjust them and if they do, it is just playing around with them. Often times they leave them set at some ridiculous high setting of blower speed and I have to go through the menu on the air controls to get things back to normal. I never in ten years have noticed a rear passenger adjust the air controls in the rear seat area of any car I've owned with that feature. They are usually happy with whatever the air settings are set at in the front. I would have rather spent the money on rear DVD monitors or something like that or better yet, just kept the money.

kevine310

Very true, I don't even think the adjustable seats are that big of a deal, last time I was in one(w220) with that option, I simply played with it just to see what it did, the other passenger didn't even realize they were adjustable. I hear that the W221 can be adjusted more so I don't know if it's any better. The only feature I would add to the rear is the heat/ventilation, except they can't be ordered separately in Canada.

trumpet1

The W221 adjustable seats are very nice. Whenever I ride back there, I find myself adjusting them and I can really relax with that feature.

obaidan

Actually, every option on the new S-class is useful and can come to use for one or another, just amazing what they are providing!

cmcjo

Yes I agree. I recline fully, crank up the massage and can fall asleep in minutes in the back of the car.