I'm with you on the impracticality for a car that shares a lot with the 221 (including heft) and has none of the roominess in back. I drove a CL550 and it definitely drives differently and feels different behind the wheel overall in a good way. Coupes are always a more personal and intimate expression than sedans. I always feel better driving one.

 

LOL The spare tire!

 

+1, I thought that was very funny too.

 

So anyone dare to wonder why is MBZ going the BMW route - making all their cars look exactly so similar they can be confused with different models?

 

I do not know why they are heading down the route. Another reason why I did not buy a 760.The guy who compared the W221 and W222 is right that the W222 looks exactly like a Hyundai Equus aka "the copy". More correct the shape resembles any new car on the road. The W221 has a shape that is unique and tries to be itself. Agreeing with him again that the fender flares gave a distinct look

 

I wonder if BMW and MBZ are trading designers as those afterthought display screens on the W205 really visually suck. Now if they were also detachable and functioned as Wifi capable tablets - ooops let me rush and patent that idea!

 

(While driving a couple days ago) Think th
at is a W222 in front of the other car... oh wait (sigh). They really got to make there cars look different from each other. Look at this pic the W221 looks way more distinctive

 

I was never a huge fan of the previous model looked a bit awkward to me, but I think they finally got the S-Coupe right.

 

I think the CL looks way better. Everything looks small. The small rear end and the ugly front lights don't scream "Please move out of the road"

 

Am I reading that sign correctly? That's their show car for an S65 Coupe...the most bad-***, most expensive car in the entire line up? Underwhelmed. The proportions forward of the front wheels and aft of the rear are all wrong, and the wheels themselves look puny and tucked in. It has the front overhang of a FWD car. It's like they took the least desirable design elements of the CLA and E Class. The rear has been simplified to the point of disinterest. The roof line and side body contours are cool. That's about it.

 

Agreed. I see that car and think of this:



Ok, now back to the w221 vs w222 topic

 

If you guys look a the MB's Maybach careful enough you will noticed that W222's look is borrowed from it not a Hyundai. If anything, Hyundai is the one copied from Maybach.

 

I actually think the W221 looked more like the Maybach than the current one.

 

I like the 222 it's just a bit boaty looking to me maybe because it's more round and I hate all the multi-color interior lighting just hasn't grown on me yet. I'll prob get it next anyways because I'm not going back to bmw they are having major issues with the 7. Although I am loving the S-Coupe & the CLS63 as sportier alternatives.

 

How about this angle?
http://p1.pichost.me/i/46/1698199.jpg
If you check out the quarter panels, it is quite noticeable W221 doesn't look anything like Maybach at all. It is more like W222. At least it is to me. Don't get me wrong I loved my W221 too (a lot).

 

MY EYES!!!! Looks like the love child of a 221 and a Kia Amanti.




Yeah, I do see a lot of the 221 in there. They were originally built starting in 2002 on a 220 S Class chassis alongside the 220 S Class on the same assembly line. Apparently they changed alongside the S when the 221 came along, since the Maybach models bridge the two S Class variants.

 

Gee, the W222 Front-end from straight on, looks like it was designed by Honda or Toyota!

 

It was actually the new C-Class (Which I think last one looked better). Still I wonder what XJ owners think when there rear D pillar is similar to the Kia Optijunk.

 

I see where this is going some of current MB owners in this thread will be trading to Kia and Hyundai soon.

 

lol

 

That's funny.

 

I think it's amusing, while I feel that way now, when it first came out, my reaction was "WTF are those Ford Focus fender flares doing on the S-Class??!"...Also, for some reason the wing-shaped air vents of the W221 dash always stuck out to me (in a good way).

I think the issue we're having now is that competitors (especially Hyundai) hadn't really started on this "mainstream luxury" design philosophy until not long after the W221 was released and the 2007 model year was a big year for body style changes in general (probably the biggest I remember since the 1992-1993 switch from straight-lined econoboxy cars to curves). To my eyes, the W221 was the first car I noticed with a forward-sloping body character line, then the Nissan Altima, and pretty soon evvveery single car was doing that! The CLS was also influencing everybody, then the new Sonata/Kia Optima came out, more recently the Optima-looking Ford Focus and Mazda 6 (I'm leaving out a ton of others), and now all these cars have these swooping, sculpting, weird body lines and cues, as if they are all now trying to look "different" and "aggressive".....Reminds me of the saying "Of course you're different and unique dear, just like everybody else."

Well it's really hard to stand out these days (I also blame the poaching of former luxury designers to other brands), it just seems the pace has quickened in this competitive environment and it's not as easy to get ahead...Even the Chrysler 200 has LED DRLs! You used to see LEDs and think expensive German car, but now not so much! The headlights on the 2015 Sonata also remind me of the W222.

I guess I have to agree it looks regal and "nice", just not aggressive enough, but to some extent only because a lot of others have started focusing on evolving design. It just further emphasizes to me how far ahead the W221 looked compared to everything else in early 2006....As for the W222, I wish the AMG had more flair/sportiness on the bottom, and the rear 3/4 view the proportions are a bit off looking, probably due to some inwards contouring and the underwhelming taillights (whose basic shape is ok but needs some detail and a bigger size). I certainly hope this is to prep us for a facelift to blow us away. The interior can't be beat tho....well except for that steering wheel! Anyone here ever get to the end of Super Mario World?

 

What do you mean by wing shaped air vents?

 

I think he meant this .Since speaking of wings I had to find a wing related logo . Look at the edges of the AM logo and MB's air vents . I drew a line to spot it easier . I would rather call these vents trapezoid though but wing is a creative idea too

 

+1 LOL