Just as long as you feel the insults are classy

In any case if I insulted, I apologize. I was mostly just addressing the points raised. I am sure you'd agree people in Norway would not be lining up to buy a Model S if it is as bad as you say it is in cold weather.

The bottom line is that the Model S sells quite well in very cold parts of Europe and people who live in those parts I am sure know what is best for them.

Also speaking of rattles just realize that in 2012 and some of 2013 the Model S was the first real car that was built by Tesla. Fit and finish and interior quality has improved significantly since then. And it's not like Mercedes doesn't have initial model year fit and finish issues with their cars either.

 

Confirmation Bias.

One thing I always seem to see from Tesla owners over any other car brand is:

a) They always use the top of the statistical reporting when talking about the Tesla. An example would be people talk about 275 miles of range when in reality it is likely less than 200 (just under) and on maybe a good day in socal (best climate for a tesla since no heater or AC) it might be slightly over 200. I don't use the reported sticker fuel as my gauge for the S Class I use actual MPG.

b) They rarely want to admit its major shortcomings. An example would be the low quality materials used for interior and/or the interior that isn't acceptable for a $50,000 care let alone a $100K+ car. They try to justify everything.

You remind me of the Ricky Gervais commercial when you talk about Tesla improving.

 

There are a few interior parts like the lock switches that are identical to my e63S, but the bigger point is that the sum total of the interior parts in the model S are generally not as nice as the sum total of my E class

The same confirmation bias is very much present on this and every car forum whereby fanboys deny their car has any rattles while likely the majority have rattles and some ignore it, lie about it, or cannot hear it

 

Could you care to elaborate in a current 2016 model year car specifically what low quality materials are inside a Tesla Model S? It may have less bling but that does not make it "low quality."

The same sentiment you expressed can be said about all the FUD thrown at Tesla when Model S owners are more pleased with their cars than any other production car offered for sale.

Tesla has built a different type of car and the real acid test is more Tesla customers would buy another Tesla than the customers of any other automobile manufacturer and this is reflected in survey after survey.

Clearly they've built a car that is more compelling than the offerings by the automotive establishment who have been slower to innovate.

Why is it that Mercedes will not release a software update to unlock the real capabilities of the W222 radar and senor array that is more sophisticated than what is available in the Model S? When the upcoming E Class gets Drive Pilot comes out, which looks quite impressive, why is this software not made available for customers of Mercedes' flagship sedan?

Why does Mercedes piecemeal technology across multiple years and sell cars that can't be updated when Tesla delivers the latest technology and features for free across their entire fleet of all cars sold.

Just on this forum there is a story about a W222 owner who is now awaiting the delivery of a DVD from Germany to get his car's software updated properly. This is 2016 and you should not need to depend on decades old technology to update your car.

The only plus here is that hopefully Tesla will compel Mercedes to build modern cars with software that can be updated. Some of the W222 owners here may not like Tesla but would you not like to wake up one day and find a software update that delivers Mercedes' latest Drive Pilot software that is available in the E Class? Tesla owners take such capability for granted.

 

The Mercedes S Class sold all it needed to sell in 2/3 years since launch. It outsold the Model S, and now not many people would buy new until the facelift. That was the point I was trying to explain. It sold over 100,000 cars in the first year, and way over 50,000 in the second year. That's more than the total Model S sold. The same applies in the case of many cars like the Mercedes A Class vs Audi A3. The A Class outsold it when the A Class had a facelift, the A3 outsold the A Class when it had a facelift.

 

I understand. I agree that S Class sales will improve when the facelift comes out. See we can all agree on things sometimes

I disagree that the S Class outsold the Model S in the Unites States or Western Europe as the Model S outsold the S Class in the same price segment for 4 door cars. The only reason the S Class outsold the Model S in other regions is because Tesla does not yet have a robust enough presence in those geographic areas.

 

The S Class definitely did outsell the Model S in 2012, 2013, 2014 and a lot of 2015. In 2014, the Model S sold 33,600 cars worldwide, whereas the S Class sold 100,000. Here's the proof for 2014. If 100,000 vs 33,600 isn't outselling, I don't know what is. Most of those sales are done in Western Europe and America, with around 30,000 S Class' being sold in China and Russia. I know for a fact that the S Class is outselling the Model S many times over in the UK. In London I saw at least 100 Mercedes' S Class for 2 Model S'.

 

Tesla is using Mercedes-designed components that they can purchase due to an agreement; not quite the same as "using the same supplier".

I assume that the rattles in a Tesla are not due to some Mercedes components and switchgear

Also, don't throw rocks when sitting in a glass house. Many of your prior comments indicate that you have very little knowledge about other countries, their people, infrastructure and motivations.

 

Actually in the case of the Tesla Pano Roof, which could be sourced from the same supplier Mercedes sourced their pano roofs, the rattles I heard in our Tesla were very similar to the rattles I've had with Mercedes pano roofs. Just like with the Mercedes roof rattles, the Tesla rattles were easily fixed by the dealer.

Tesla sources quite a few parts from the same suppliers that Mercedes uses. Just like Mercedes, Tesla likes to source the best parts available

I am extremely sensitive to rattles and extraneous noise. Once a nail punctured one of my tires and even with the windows up and even before the TPMS picked it up I could tell which tire had the nail.

We've owned several Mercedes vehicles and they've all had rattles at some point. They were all solid cars though and the rattles were addressed and resolved by the dealer. From what I can tell the fit and finish of current model year Model S vehicles are on par with Mercedes.

But of course as we all agree the Mercedes S Class interior is more luxurious.

 

Like the hard plastic front seatbacks? Tesla should have used pleather instead, imo.

 

I agree. The seats still have further room for improvement. I think they were going for more of a modern sleek look but I too would have preferred a more comfy/luxurious look with soft materials for the seatbacks.

I think this is the problem with Musk working part time between Tesla and SpaceX I think sometimes he gets confused about whether he's building a car or a spacecraft It seems the Tesla seatbacks are similar to the crew version of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that will take our astronauts to the Space Station in a little over a year. Finally our astronauts will be able to launch from US soil without having to depend on the Russians for space access



The Model X seats are actually better and I have a feeling they are waiting to exhaust their existing inventory of Model S seats before they switch over to the even better Model X seats. They have already begun transferring other Model X technology to the Model S.

 

I thought the glossy hard plastic was an improvement too, but a Tesla salesperson pointed out that they would get scuffed up easily...which made sense...and predicted a design change by Tesla within 6 months.

 

Yeah I think that was an idea that might have looked great in a design studio but is not all that practical. I've seen the Model X seatbacks and they look sleek and modern as if they belong in a spacecraft but not so much if you are transporting kids or a large dog like many do with SUVs for urban use.

The glossy seatbacks could still be maintained though if you apply XPel or other protection film but you shouldn't have to do that. Tesla recently brought all seat production in-house so this should result in better designed and more comfortable seats.

 

I have been a member of the forum since the new S-class (S550, W222) was announced, having purchased a one of the first 2014 vehicles produced. I recently purchased a Tesla dual motor 90 kW Model S. Many comments about the two vehicles by posters seems to be based on articles read in publications, or hearsay from others. Since I purchased both vehicles, I thought that I would give another perspective.

The situation is like when someone buys a second car. The primary vehicle may be the more expensive one, whereas, the second car is for day-to-day or "fun" activities. The S-class was more expensive ($130,000) than the Tesla ($107,000, and there is a $7,500 federal tax deduction). The Tesla battery (which is future-replaceable as technology matures) is about one-quarter of the total vehicle cost, so from a cost perspective we are not comparing apples-to-apples. The Tesla has just as an extensive equipment list as the 2014 S550, but does not have Magic vision control, Magic ride control, plush seats with massage, ventilated front seats, window blinds, heated arm rests, soft-close doors, and night view assist. The S-class (19 MPG) is an elegant ride, whereas, the Model S (100 MPGe) is sporty; the Tesla costs me about one-half penny ($0.005) per mile in energy cost. I use the Tesla for low cost trips around town, short hops to the next city (it has an EPA range of 304 miles), or out-and-about for fun. By the way, the Tesla electronics seem to be superior; I never got the MB internet/mbrace function to properly work and ended up canceling the services. Tesla has a no-cost LTE telephone connection for internet and Google maps. Google Maps is cloud-based and the maps are downloaded on-demand and are always current. And the Tesla powertrain has an eight year, unlimited mileage warranty.

They are both great automobiles and do complement one another in many ways.

 

Thanks for your balanced thoughts.


I had a '14 S550 4 matic and now have a '16 S550 4matic. I am interested in your type of perspective as I would consider a Model S as an extra vehicle but not replacing my S Class.


Thanks again for your contribution.

 

Look at how slow a tesla is on Nürburgring track.

 

Thanks for sharing your feedback and I think you make some very reasonable points. You are quite fortunate to be in a position to have two of the finest cars available to buy!

The Tesla LTE connection is included for the first 4 years. The always on connectivity is a great feature that I have yet to see another car manufacturer integrate to the same level of capability.

I especially love how it syncs with my Outlook calendar so if I have a bunch of meetings with the address field typed in, when I get in my car, it already knows where I have to go next.

Also love how when the car is in valet mode I can instantly monitor the car's location and speed. This feature was something new they added to the car via an over the air software update after I bought it.

 

Just realize this is "only" a P85 from a couple of years ago with 0-60 around 4.2s and a limit on how many amps you can draw from the battery. The newly announced P90D with Ludicrous Mode is substantially faster and has a special pyro fuse for more sustained high speed acceleration.

Still not the same as a gasoline car maintaining triple digit speeds for long durations but it is certainly getting there.

 

Sent to mods:

Srsly? This clown comes back from a 30 day ban (check his post history lol) and goes straight back to the same exact thing that got him banned in the first place.

Looks like time to take it up a notch. Rub the nose it in it, more yelling, harder beating with the rolled up paper.

Of course some dogs just can't learn, so you may have to just put this one down.

 

30 day ban seriously? There was no ban. I was just busy running by business and attending to other matters and just thought I'd check in with my friends at MBWorld.

I have to say it is really rich to be lectured about MBWorld by a guy who joined MBWorld 3 years ago. I've been a part of the MBWorld forum for over 10 years and it has always been a wonderful forum to share information with other forum Members, discuss cars, and learn something new.

If you are allergic to viewpoints of others and false or misconstrued information being challenged on an online forum, you might want to consider looking at a mirror and talking to yourself rather than taking part in an online forum.

MBWorld has always been a fair and open venue for discussing cars in a respectful manner and that's what many of us are doing. You clearly seem incapable of handling an open online forum that is not an echo chamber as your seem to think that all discourse you dislike should be banned.

 

MBworld is definitely a fair and open venue to discuss anything MB. That's why we are all here.

But at this point you should realize that you are not contributing anymore.
In the past you had interesting and informative posts, but that went by the wayside a while back. If you have anything to share about Mercedes in the future I look forward to reading your posts again...

 

Ha. I like how you reject your massive fail and warp it into presuming to know the first thing about me and my motives and my foibles like how I presumably require some kind of a sanitized forum. Nice try at shooting the messenger to avoid hearing the message.

It seems fairly clear to, oh, pretty much everyone, that you are clearly around the bend and past normal respectful discussion. I see where not one, not two, but many people have pointed this out to you.

Repeatedly.

Now a grown up might pause to consider and think: Hmm, I sure seem to be taking a lot of heat here. Maybe I should take a step back and rethink how I am presenting myself here. Not necessarily my opinion, but HOW I AM PRESENTING IT.

And a child might think without pausing to consider: neeners neeners sticks and stones and you can't tell me what to do and if you don't like my spoiled obnoxious behavior then you're just hatrz and fan boys and on and on and on with one excuse after another to validate my shaky fragile ego and avoid accepting that I'm behaving inappropriately because everyone else just can't see my brilliance because they're all jealous and bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.

So I ask of you, read back through your contribution on this subject, and you tell me: Which better describes your overall approach on this thread?

 

An MB EV in early 2018??

I assume the author is mistaken...

C&D article

 

Actually it is coming. Mercedes is working on 4 all new EVs. The first of which is a midsize/GLC-ish SUV to be announced in Paris this fall.

Purportedly with 250-300 miles of range and 150 KW charging (Tesla currently maxes out Supercharging around 130 KW).

They really need to accelerate EV offerings. Unfortunately an S Class size EV by Mercedes is apparently 4-5 years away but the smaller SUV EV should be out earlier and we'll know more details in the fall.

Interestingly some European countries are on the verge of mandating only EVs to be sold as early as 2025.

 

Other than the article I linked from C&D, have you seen other reports that it will actually be in production in 2018?