My In-Depth S-Class Review: Still the King?
07-31-2021, 12:52 PM
#51
Super Member
A week today since I received my new S580 and enjoying learning how to “ master” all the new tech.
One disappointment, however.
On a trip from LA to San Diego yesterday in stop and go traffic, the Automatic feature of distance keeping from the car in front of me was very jerky and uneven, i.e. when stopped or slow it would speed up to that car and brake too quickly when it neared it. My Tesla as a comparison, was much smoother and seemed to “anticipate” the car movement in front much better. Besides being uncomfortable, I had a fear of getting rear ended by the car behind me because of the sudden stops. This must be a software problem that other S580s are probably experiencing.. I wonder the best way to let Mercedes become aware of this, besides contacting the dealer’s service department.
Otherwise, the car is a dream compared to my 2020 Tesla S
One disappointment, however.
On a trip from LA to San Diego yesterday in stop and go traffic, the Automatic feature of distance keeping from the car in front of me was very jerky and uneven, i.e. when stopped or slow it would speed up to that car and brake too quickly when it neared it. My Tesla as a comparison, was much smoother and seemed to “anticipate” the car movement in front much better. Besides being uncomfortable, I had a fear of getting rear ended by the car behind me because of the sudden stops. This must be a software problem that other S580s are probably experiencing.. I wonder the best way to let Mercedes become aware of this, besides contacting the dealer’s service department.
Otherwise, the car is a dream compared to my 2020 Tesla S
07-31-2021, 01:01 PM
#52
Super Member
A week today since I received my new S580 and enjoying learning how to “ master” all the new tech.
One disappointment, however.
On a trip from LA to San Diego yesterday in stop and go traffic, the Automatic feature of distance keeping from the car in front of me was very jerky and uneven, i.e. when stopped or slow it would speed up to that car and brake too quickly when it neared it. My Tesla as a comparison, was much smoother and seemed to “anticipate” the car movement in front much better. Besides being uncomfortable, I had a fear of getting rear ended by the car behind me because of the sudden stops. This must be a software problem that other S580s are probably experiencing.. I wonder the best way to let Mercedes become aware of this, besides contacting the dealer’s service department.
Otherwise, the car is a dream compared to my 2020 Tesla S
One disappointment, however.
On a trip from LA to San Diego yesterday in stop and go traffic, the Automatic feature of distance keeping from the car in front of me was very jerky and uneven, i.e. when stopped or slow it would speed up to that car and brake too quickly when it neared it. My Tesla as a comparison, was much smoother and seemed to “anticipate” the car movement in front much better. Besides being uncomfortable, I had a fear of getting rear ended by the car behind me because of the sudden stops. This must be a software problem that other S580s are probably experiencing.. I wonder the best way to let Mercedes become aware of this, besides contacting the dealer’s service department.
Otherwise, the car is a dream compared to my 2020 Tesla S
The only issue I’ve sometimes experienced is the car swaying within the lane markings with active lane keeping and distronic on. Sure, it stays within the lane markings but sways within; looks like I’m drunk
10-11-2021, 04:56 PM
#54
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Florida
Posts: 2,829
Received 1,579 Likes
on
977 Posts
Mercedes/Mazda/Genesis
More Thoughts after a Weekend Drive in the S580
I thought I'd give this thread an update. My boss had picked up an S580 a little over a month ago (as seen in the picture thread) and I got a chance to experience it for a full weekend from Friday to today and got to even take it on a little road trip.
I still standby this review, the car was the perfect cruiser for this weekend and really was just relaxing. The drive is sublime and the 4.0L V8 with EQ Boost is exceptionally smooth and still unbeatable when it comes to auto stop start by any other car other than pure EV's. Not only was the engine beautifully smooth, but also extremely efficient. For my trip between Baltimore and Rehoboth I was able to average 27MPG with my lead foot which is pretty impressive for a car this big and heavy. I'm still very curious to try out an S500 with the excellent M256 engine although it would seem that 580's far outnumber the 500's. The ride on 20-inch wheels is never harsh, and the suspension is tuned very nicely to isolate the car from the road. Road noise is also non-existent.
During my time with the car I also got to test out some more features, some that were on the models I drove back in July, and some that weren't. To start off the list, rear-axle steering. My boss' car is a luxury line and has the 4.5 degree RAS, and while I've tested it before, this time I got to try out parallel parking, as well as just being able to notice it more during my time than before. I cannot stress how much this really is amazing for a car of this size and can't imagine how much better the 10-degree system is.
Next is massage seats, these are fairly similar to the last W222 S-Class with only a few additional functions. Of those functions is a new "Wave" massage which adds in additional vibrations in the seat cushion. To be honest, I didn't care for this much and preferred the traditional Back and Shoulder massages available. The soft front pillows are a nice touch, definitely worth ordering if you don't have the massage function.
Another cool set of features was the 3D Gauge Cluster and Augmented Reality Heads Up Display. For the 3D Gauge cluster, I found the technology cool, and it didn't really bother my eyes, however I didn't really care much for it and didn't find it to make a huge difference in my experience. The Augmented HUD on the other hand, is fantastic for anyone who uses adaptive cruise or the MB navigation often. This feature is 100% worth it, when navigating city areas or even roundabouts and just navigating new areas in general. The read out of the directions on the windshield is awesome with the animated guidelines. And when using adaptive cruise the system will display various lines and guidelines in regards to following distance, lane assist, etc. This is probably the feature that wowed me the most.
As for the interior, its still a joy. I find the seats of the W223 to be more plush and comfortable compared to the W222 and had no issues with them, easily spending many comfortable hours on the road. Playing a bit more with the new MBUX system I still find it relatively easy to use - as its mainly just an extension of the current MBUX from my wife's GLE - and had no issues with glare or the screen. For some functions I used touch, for others I used the steering wheel controls. I much prefer that the modes for the AC are no longer buried under many menus like they were in the previous COMMAND system, and wireless CarPlay is a huge benefit of the new system. I mainly kept the system in the Exclusive theme as I think the gloss white graphics look great, and also would use the Assistance screen on the gauge cluster when on the highway as I really like the new graphics. The only thing that I would like is a volume knob/scroll wheel and a proper seek forward/back button for music, but otherwise, I had no issues with the new MBUX system. Ambient Lighting is also still one of the highlights of this car, as it really is just an awesome experience at night, and even during the day the ambient lighting just cannot be compared to any other brand right now.
Overall, other than an expensive tank of gas and two little nit-picks, the S-Class was a great weekend companion and served well as a comfortable cruiser, and thought that was worthy of a nice little update to this review.
I still standby this review, the car was the perfect cruiser for this weekend and really was just relaxing. The drive is sublime and the 4.0L V8 with EQ Boost is exceptionally smooth and still unbeatable when it comes to auto stop start by any other car other than pure EV's. Not only was the engine beautifully smooth, but also extremely efficient. For my trip between Baltimore and Rehoboth I was able to average 27MPG with my lead foot which is pretty impressive for a car this big and heavy. I'm still very curious to try out an S500 with the excellent M256 engine although it would seem that 580's far outnumber the 500's. The ride on 20-inch wheels is never harsh, and the suspension is tuned very nicely to isolate the car from the road. Road noise is also non-existent.
During my time with the car I also got to test out some more features, some that were on the models I drove back in July, and some that weren't. To start off the list, rear-axle steering. My boss' car is a luxury line and has the 4.5 degree RAS, and while I've tested it before, this time I got to try out parallel parking, as well as just being able to notice it more during my time than before. I cannot stress how much this really is amazing for a car of this size and can't imagine how much better the 10-degree system is.
Next is massage seats, these are fairly similar to the last W222 S-Class with only a few additional functions. Of those functions is a new "Wave" massage which adds in additional vibrations in the seat cushion. To be honest, I didn't care for this much and preferred the traditional Back and Shoulder massages available. The soft front pillows are a nice touch, definitely worth ordering if you don't have the massage function.
Another cool set of features was the 3D Gauge Cluster and Augmented Reality Heads Up Display. For the 3D Gauge cluster, I found the technology cool, and it didn't really bother my eyes, however I didn't really care much for it and didn't find it to make a huge difference in my experience. The Augmented HUD on the other hand, is fantastic for anyone who uses adaptive cruise or the MB navigation often. This feature is 100% worth it, when navigating city areas or even roundabouts and just navigating new areas in general. The read out of the directions on the windshield is awesome with the animated guidelines. And when using adaptive cruise the system will display various lines and guidelines in regards to following distance, lane assist, etc. This is probably the feature that wowed me the most.
As for the interior, its still a joy. I find the seats of the W223 to be more plush and comfortable compared to the W222 and had no issues with them, easily spending many comfortable hours on the road. Playing a bit more with the new MBUX system I still find it relatively easy to use - as its mainly just an extension of the current MBUX from my wife's GLE - and had no issues with glare or the screen. For some functions I used touch, for others I used the steering wheel controls. I much prefer that the modes for the AC are no longer buried under many menus like they were in the previous COMMAND system, and wireless CarPlay is a huge benefit of the new system. I mainly kept the system in the Exclusive theme as I think the gloss white graphics look great, and also would use the Assistance screen on the gauge cluster when on the highway as I really like the new graphics. The only thing that I would like is a volume knob/scroll wheel and a proper seek forward/back button for music, but otherwise, I had no issues with the new MBUX system. Ambient Lighting is also still one of the highlights of this car, as it really is just an awesome experience at night, and even during the day the ambient lighting just cannot be compared to any other brand right now.
Overall, other than an expensive tank of gas and two little nit-picks, the S-Class was a great weekend companion and served well as a comfortable cruiser, and thought that was worthy of a nice little update to this review.
The following 6 users liked this post by js_cls:
Diesel Benz (10-12-2021),
drose224 (10-11-2021),
far2000 (10-12-2021),
martinlarose (10-12-2021),
MBNUT1 (10-11-2021),
and 1 others liked this post.
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
