Dear Friends,

I am contemplating buying a W221 facelift or a W222. The price difference by now is not significant, and that's not what's important for me. What is really important for me however, is the quietness of the cabin.

I am looking for the opinions of such forum members, who have driven both the W221 and the W222 extensively. I am interested in the following: Which cabin is more isolated from the road? Which car transmits road imperfections less into the cabin? Which car has less road noise? Which car has less wind noise? Which car is quieter in the city/on the highway? Etc, etc. Please feel free to write down your experience in detail, it might even be interesting for others. I am a bit of a maniac in this sense, but cabin serenity is pretty much my top priority.
Also, you might as well drag the other generations of the S-class (W140, W220, W223) into the conversation, if you have any comparative experience with those.

Thank you for your contribution!
(Same post as on the W221 thread, just so it can reach more people)

I just transitioned from a 08 w211 to a 16 s550.
The noise level and drive line smoothness on a w222 is much better. From 0-50 mph it’s very noticeable. It’s a bit less noticeable at higher speeds. I’m finally in a car I am fully satisfied with its smoothness. My w221 did have all new struts from MB, engine mounts and all front control arms. But it was never as smooth as I wanted it to be. W222 wafts at low speeds. Very serene, cocooned experience.

Go with a 16 and up w222. Do your research first. Never use the cd changer.

Never use the cd changer
Sorry, that's just such a random and funny thing to say when talking about an S-class!

As for the cars, I mostly drive on the highway, so that actually matters to me more than the in-city experience. May I ask what engine you had in the W221? Maybe the lower level of smoothness is because of that?

My w221 had a m273. 5.5 v8

It would be an anomaly for any new car to be noisier than its predecessor in the modern world. My w222 is plenty quiet but not as quiet at certain speeds as my LS460 was. Sound meters hear differently than we do so it's important to actually drive a few and make your own mind up. Used car lots everywhere are full of w221 and w222. Should not be hard to find some to test out.

This one of the easiest question to answer that's ever been asked. The newer generations are definitely quieter. Tires are going to cause 90% of the noise, then there's just wind noise. Newer is better, and you can buy tires that have foam inserts which drastically reduce road noise.

I've already tested a W221 S500 and it was really quiet and serene, nothing to complain about. However, I couldn't find a W222 to test in my area.

Makes sense. However, I've read on some forums that the W221 feels more "bank-vault" like than the W222 and that lower frequencies are less audible in the W221. So maybe they are so similar that one person says this, the other that?

The weird think is that that is 'also" true. Not sure if that's based on how they insulated the car versus how much they insulated the car. If you look back at the W140 S-Class, I think most would agree that car was the pinnacle of providing the bank-vault feel. I never owned one myself, but had 2 fiends who ownd them, and spent lots of time in the passenger and rear seats. Then I woned a W220, 2001 S600. It didn't come anywhere close to the W140 in providing that feel. But, my guess is that I had used a sould level meter it would have probably been quieter, but still not as vault like.

Hard to explain, but I think you can be safe with the expectation that a newer generation will be quieter. And if it's super important, install some "quiet ride" tires. I had a W223 S500 loaner car for around 2 months back in 2023 and it was incredibly quiet because it was equiped with quiet ride tires.

Carlos I had a 140 Chassis S-600 back in the day. It really did have double pane windows.... Those windows were good for keeping water from condensing on the glass in the rain mostly. I worked in Seattle back then. Bank vault? The 140 chassis... 240 as well (first gen Maybach) are from the bad old days when Mercedes (or anyone else!) hadn't figured out how to build a chassis that didn't bend and twist with bumps ect. Driving a newer car is a night and day difference where with the 221 and newer chassis cars you don't hear the windows and doors moving around in the openings over bumps.

OP where the goal is quiet, serene, smooth ride.... The answer is a 222 chassis S-600. Everything about it is about quiet and smooth ride. Find one and drive it. You'll see. It will have Magic Body Control so no head toss on uneven roads. The exhaust is about quiet.

Much as I love my V-12 powered AMG cars they are about the sound as much as how the car goes. Yes; quiet on freeway but very different compared with S-600. Horses for courses.

I owned w126 420sel and long before that w140 500sel. They were both nice but w140 felt light years ahead of w126 same as today’s 221 or 222 feel light years ahead of w140. I feel there is a big enough difference between 222 and 221.

Thanks for all the responses! I never even considered an AMG, I know they are loud. And since I want 4matic, I will have to stick with a V8, but I'll look for a W222. A W221 facelift S500 4matic with an M273 did just come up however, with literally all the possible extras and a full designo leather interior. I'm thinking if I can negotiate a good enough price, I might just go for that.

Having both the W221 and W222, W221 definitely feels more "bank vault" and old school. This is true. I can't really give you an apples-to-apples comparison of "quietness" or "smoothness" as the AMG's are louder and more stiff than the non-AMGs. The W222 is a superior car in this regard, as it should be.

Thanks for your input! I definitely am after the "bank vault" feel too. It's been many years since I sat in a W140, but I remember it feeling just so solid. From what I've heard, the W221 is the last S-class that sort of feels like that. Which engine do you have in your W221? I understand you can't compare it directly with an AMG W222, but on it's own, what is your opinion about it, how do you like it? How is the ride, comfort, quietness, refinement, etc, on it's own? And which one would you rather drive or travel in on a longer road trip? (This would be my main usecase)

EDIT: I just realized based on your profile, your W221 is the AMG, my bad.

Circling back to your original point about NVH; that "bank-vault" like feel is synonymous with isolation. The W140 was more isolated than the same generation Lexus, but that generation of Lexus felt slightly more sporty than the S-Class. In every generation afterwards , the Lexus is more isolated/floaty at the expense of driver feel. The big body Lexus since 2001 is not "sporty" at all, with the MB being a better driver's car in almost every way. That feel you're fond of is created through materials, design, and tuning - and that applies to suspension, motor mounts, sound deadening, etc. in addition to tires and glass.
You'll have to find the happy medium between isolation and driving dynamics. My perfect car would be the W222 S560 4-matic. The good news is you pretty much can't go wrong with the choices you're facing. Just be sure to enjoy the process

Had a lexus LS600hL before but my current s600 w222 is both quieter and smoother and superior handling

I can't argue with that, and your car had a MSRP of close to $50K more than the LS600hL of that year. All fun choices for the OP to consider.

The only reason why I won't go for a Lexus (apart from being a Mercedes fan) is that they don't have AWD. As for the current state of things, I have already test driven a 221 and it felt really solid and vault-like. I currently can't find a 222 in my area with a V8 to test drive, so I'm currently basing my assesment on this one test drive and what forum members are saying, and based on that, I might go for the 221. It seems that in terms of quietness, the difference isn't night and day, in fact, it seems quite subjective. And the good, late 222s demand a hefty premium compared to early ones or facelift 221s.

OP, as a road car with a quiet cabin, the 222 gets my vote. I had a 2012 and now run a 2017.

Subject to road surface, my only gripe is tire noise. The current set of Michelins are by far the worst noise generators yet. Smooth as silk but 10/10 for loud noise. Do your tire homework. Fronts are Pilot Sport 4ZP.

i was certain a front bearing was failing. As an FYI to chase the down the rotational road noise, I went with new front bearings, checked brakes, transmission and rear end - all good. Zero reduction in rotational tire noise.

Good luck

The LS460 had AWD since 2009. My 2012 had the system and it worked well (although it adds 350lbs to the car). I realize this is an MB forum but the LS460 was a really really great car and I miss it quite a bit. For a long time the LS stole the "benchmark" title away from the S class while MB had to figure things out and get back on top.

I like this generation of the LS. It's an elegant car and design.

The W140 500SE/S500 was always the best of the bunch... The long wheelbase was always conscious too big for a personal car.

The W220 felt smaller so the LWB didn't seem to be so big but the consensus was still that the SWB chassis was just a bit better from a driving perspective.

The W221 is a good compromise between the aesthetics of the W220 and the cut from granite feel of the W140.

It's a shame that the US market didn't get the SWB W221 as you guys might appreciate the improvement for the handling.

I also wonder if those in Euroland who don't like the way their W221s drive all drive LWB cars🤔

My base W220 S280 wasn't blessed with power but was pretty nimble on a fast country road. My SWB W221 S500 is pretty formidable over the same roads.

As an aside, if you can find one, an M273 powered W251 with 4 matic would make for a pretty decent tourer if my V6 diesel 2010 was any measure. Be about as close to an R63 as anyone might get for significantly less money.

I had a W221 S63 and now have a W222 S560. Not exactly apples to apples, but the W222 is more quiet.

I recently tested the road noise level with a dB meter, and at 70 mph on smooth highway it was reading about 58-60 dB. Most of the noise was wind noise. I then compared the exact same mile of highway in my 2023 Audi S8, and the dB reading was the same but the Audi had less wind noise but more tire noise. Both cars are exceptionally quiet, in other words.

You make a really good point about when using a decibel meter, it only measures the sound pressure level (SPL). The OP asked about NVH, which also includes vibrations, which can contribut or diminish enjoyment as much or more than SPL. Our ears hear sound, which is just changes in air pressure, esentially SPL. But our bodies "feel" vibrations the same way that our ears do, but just don't translate that into what we hear. There is a reality to the saying of "driving by the seat of your pants". You can feel the vibrations of the engine and suspension through your entire body. I drive down a long hill with a 2-3% grade before I turn into my neighborhood. I used to let my cars coast down that hill, change gear to nuettral until I reached the light at the bottom of the hill, then torun right and accelerate up a slight hill. Sometimes I'd forget to fhange back into drive and apply pressure to the accelerator. Most cars would let me know because I could feel and hear the engine. But in my S550 and S63 I never feel anything and barely hear anyting. Sometimes I'd worry that my car was broken, only to realize that it just wasn't in gear. I never had a chance to try with a Lexus, but I did with my Genesis G90 and at least 10 other cars. The G90's motor was quiet, but not nearly as smooth as the MB cars. I could instantly feel the vibration of the motor just like with all the other cars. I say all that to say that vibrations are physically the same thing as sound, with the exception of how they're transmitted to our brains. So you could have a car that feels more vault like, because it decreases input to the brain through reductions in vibration, thus the perception of a vault like feel. And that same car could indeed be just as "loud" or even louder when measured by a decibel meter. Sound deadening materials also affect how the door sounds when you shut it.

The LexusLS has always pursued isolation over a dynamic driving feel, or that seat of your pants feeling. Just think back to their iconic wine glass commerical in 1989. NVH was their signature attribute, and kudos to them for carving out that niche. My brother had a 2000 or 2001 Lexus LS at the same time I had my 2001 S600. He preffered the isolation the LS offered while I preferred the engagement my car offered. Pretty much all contemporary S-Class cars offer world class NVH reduction. And it's ironic that a lot of cars, even some S-Class variants, generate NVH through speakers. We've some full circle.

Those who research noise and cars found that an utter lack of sound (think electric car) makes for motion sickness as we don't hear and feel what our eyes see. This is a part of the synthesized sounds via audio.

I'm a happy camper to be in a car that lets me know I've got on the throttle with the baritone that is the bent-12.