Since I am shopping around for another W221 I am looking at what changes happened over the years. I think 2010 was the front end changed right?

Other things I am interested in are:
lane keep assist
pedestrian recognition on the night vision system
electric power steering
blind spot monitoring

Did these things all come in on the 2010 model or were they phased in on different years?

 

2011 > would be best (MBUSA 6/09 sheet = 2010, 6/10 = 2011) see attachments you can research marketing brochures here: http://www.auto-brochures.com/mercedes_benz.html

 

night vision a dangerous joke.... you swap two good main beam bulbs (from four) down to two to get a screen in the wrong place you can't keep an eye on. I have it.... wish I didn't.
steer assist only on the very last ones...
distronic plus very rare
door closing unnecessary rare option
massage seats waste of space

the car is too old, too heavy and a good 5 series is twice the car

 

I have all of that except steer assist on my 2007 S65 and for the most part love all of it.

A W221 is too heavy? Who cares I am not bench pressing it! A 5 series is far from twice the car. To start with it does not occupy the same segment and is substantially smaller. While I can make do without a lot of features above and we can argue about which are needed or good; I can't make do without the size you get in a W221. If you said something that is at least in the ballpark, like an A8 or a 7 series you might have a point. But a 5-series? Really?

 

Thanks exactly what I was looking for.

 

Hahahahaha... 5 series is not even close, sorry. An S-class was not built for track day. Of course neither is the 5. NV is a novelty gadget with no actual use that I've found. I don't know if it can see through fog or not, but even if it did -- that's about 2 days a year for it around here. As for the rest, Distronic Plus is pretty damned common in the US where we have actual highways to use it on. My wife and I both love the massaging seats on long trips, it's just too bad you have to wade through COMAND menus to turn it on. Wonder if they made that easier in the later models.

An S-class, end especially the S600/S65, is all about refinement, comfort, and luxury. The power and speed is just a nice little fringe bennie. If you don't like your S-class, you need to take a real road trip and drive a few thousand miles in a week. They will show you where the S-class really shines.

And @konigstiger , thanks for that. I've wanted to know the same thing, for the next time I go car shopping.

 

a well spec'd 5 series really is close to the world's best car.... lease a modern one.
the 221 S class was developed in 2004 released in 2005 (yes 2007 in USA) the five series is 14 year later design

safer
faster
comfier
better looking
better handling
better made
better for the environment
just a much, much better car

 

What a joke! I have rented a 5 series, and it is not even the best sedan offered by BMW. The 7 series is better in every respect and it is even on the same platform as a 5. Your other statements are mostly factually wrong:

1. safer: Based on what? Can you support this with any data?

2. faster: False. the top of the line M5 has a 155mph top speed, the exact same as my 14 year old S65 and LESS than a new S63.

3. comfier: This is a joke right? The S series is more comfortable in every respect but when you consider the back seat this is a glaring and obvious falacy. I am pretty sure the rear seats don't even recline in a 5 series and unless you are a 9 year old the back seat in a 5 series is not somewhere you want to be more than 15 minutes.

4. better looking: This is a matter of taste. I think on the outside the grilles on the current 5 series is way too big. On the inside my 14 year old interior looks .... well 14 years old ... but the current 5 series interior is cartoonish and while it has nice materials the layout looks like it belongs on a dodge charger. Also the 5 series I have been in all have plastic on the pillars and dash and a cloth headliner. Maybe they offer full leather interiors on some of them but those I have been in only have leather on the doors, seats and console,not throughout lke a high-end S class.

5. better handling: Both of them handle like crap! If you want a car that handles you should buy a sports car, but even in the world of sedans Jaguar and Cadillac are currenlty at the top of the heap in handling.

6. better for the environment: This is entirely dependent on the driver and how much it is driven. Neither car is inherently "better for the environment". I have 7 cars and drive 10000 miles a year total so MY S65 is hurting the environment a lot less than many a 5 series that are on the road.

 

+1

 

“ My wife and I both love the massaging seats on long trips, it's just too bad you have to wade through COMAND menus to turn it on. Wonder if they made that easier in the later models.“

I just got a 2013 S550 with the Multucontour seats. In my car in center between seats one of the buttons is a “Favorite” button that you can program to do what you want from a list of items. One of them is to turn seat massaging ON. I have programmed this for the driver’s seat but I think there was an option for both too.

Also there is a button that takes you directly to the seat settings menu in COMAND.

 

That would be nice. On mine there's a dedicated seat button on the center console in front of the COMAND puck. It brings up the seat adjustment screen, where you have to scroll through all of the adjustments to the massage function, then select the one you want. For the passenger side you have to drop down a menu, select the passenger side, then do the whole dance again. It's mildly annoying to have to do that every half hour or so.

Definitely a "first world problem", as my kids would tell me.

 

That is the button I mention as the one taking directly to seat setting menu.

The programmable button is on right side the highest one. The first one from the arm rest. You don’t have that?

What year is your car?

 

WOW! I have never read such bashing of the W221. The final insult of comparing it to a BMW 5 series with the BMW being twice the car is hilarious. I have a 6 Series. I like it a lot, It's big, it's roomy, it's comfortable, it's a stick, it's fast, it's a convertible. It's a nice car but it's not W221.

 

Mine is a 2007. I do have that button... I can set it to raise/lower the rear sunshade, or enable/disable the tow-away alarm, nothing else. Being able to set it to turn on the back massage on the passenger side would save me some work. Sure wish there were a dev kit for these things that would let us code new stuff like this. I'm certain it can be done, and it's probably a trivial exercise if you have the right software tools... but I don't. Or if I do, they're in German, und mein technisches Deutsch ist sehr begrenzt. And I had to look up that last word, even.

 

Note that there is exactly one person bashing the Mercedes, as is his habit. So much so that I only see his posts when someone quotes them, otherwise I wouldn't have even seen that particular gem.

I drove a couple of 5s. Fun cars, but not big enough for a serious road trip and the back seat was scandalously cramped. I also tried on a 6 for size. I LOVE the look of the 6, they're gorgeous and I wanted one badly. Right up until I drove it. I've just gotten a little spoiled, I guess, with being able to see outside the car. I stopped at a light and felt like I had to be about 2 car lengths back to see the traffic light. Switching between an F150 Super Crew, S600, and an XC60 (and an airplane with a tip-up bubble canopy) has spoiled me. Gotta see what's in front, behind, off to the side, and if possible what's above. Still love the looks of the 6, though.

 

A 5 series can't take 3 adult men, with all luggage on a 1,200 mile trip to Colorado at sustained high speeds (only 2 stops) and have everyone arrive feeling fresh and relaxed and burn less than a qt of oil in 2,400 miles of "stressful" driving. Not enough room or power or engine build quality. The W221 has its place...

 

Not to hijack my own thread but nice set of cars there in the photo! I have a convertible (jaguar XKR) and a C4 corvette (blue 89) in my collection as well, in my case the stick is on the Vette.

 

Thank you very much. I love each one of them like they are my children. I am itching to add something else to my humble collection. I am not sure what yet.

 

they can't even get it to stop

 

German cars are all produced as follows ...

there is a planned sales period

around 2/3 into that lifetime, there will be a facelift ..usually with a minor restyling and very likely with a new engine. W221 facelift was 2010.

there will be continuous improvements all the time ... to address issues, improve production efficiency, recognize new technology, etc. examples for W221 include better adaption of bluetooth, auxiliary battery change

therefore, the answer is obviously ... the newer the better.

... and Botus is nuts as BMW in comparison are junk ... but he’s correct regarding night vision. My GL with halogen lighting and “plus” bulbs has better main beam performance than my S-class coupe (CL). BMW did demonstrate (likely inadvertently) that in-line engines are easier to turbocharge and Mercedes has brought them back

 

I just realised in 40 years of driving this is the first car (and my first and last ever Mercedes....) where I deliberately leave trim out.... so I can access various elements more easily to enable one to keep it operating correctly

 

Your car must be a lemon .... no offense.

I am currently looking for my second V12 W221 Mercedes to replace the one I totaled. My (wrecked) 07 S-65 is the best and to be honest most reliable car out of the 16 cars I have owned during my lifetime.

 

no not offended at all.... its like BRAND NEW in condition, very high spec (well over $140k when new), I just was unaware since 1999 Mercedes and then every one else from 2005 jumped on the make them die to time bandwagon

the whole idea now is max 5 year affordable life span (on cars post 2012, a little longer but not much on 2008 year cars), persuade them lease them, then chuck in a skip at 3 years !!! or let some mug pay for 2 cars trying to keep the latest stuff on the road

 

If I had a car that I had to leave partly disassembled, I'd sell or scrap it. Life is too short for that kind of nonsense. Even with the number of times I've had to take the covers off the S600 (which has been WAY too many times to suit me) they still all go back on when I'm done. The only reason I do what I do with mine is that, when it's working right, my wife and I both LOVE this thing. We're leaving soon on another road trip vacation like last year (just different states and national parks). We'll put another 2500-3000 miles on it before we're back home. Owning this car has made road trips enjoyable again. The next one will be even better, I'm sure. I'm open to other models, even other makes, but really the W221 is it for us right now.

I do still wonder how much trouble that '05 Bentley Continental would have been, though. Probably too much.

 

Auburn 2, there is a s65 for sale near me. Have a look. If you get interested I could check it for you with das.
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/h...181313752.html