Thoughts on my 2021 S580. I traded a 2021 GLE450 to get the S-Class.

The exterior is beautiful. Maneuvering is very good with the rear wheel steering assist.

I don’t like the Tesla style door handles. If you are working or hanging out near the car, they open and close at random. They look nice while retracted, but ugly when out. I prefer a flush mount handle of Mercedes own design that had a space to reach behind, maybe with a spring loaded flap to reach behind, but operate per door, not all at once. Basically work like previous Mercedes, but with a flush design. Touch to lock or swipe to open (or use remote), but at least be able to turn off Proximity.

The doors open very wide. There is a detent halfway, but it usually does not hold the door in that position. You have to practically step out of the seat to reach the door to close it.

The engine is very smooth, even the Start/Stop. Some others noted that when slowing down there is some roughness in downshifting. I have the opposite complaint. When taking off from a stop or from slowing down at a light that now goes to green, that there is a lag and then jerkiness. I’m not a lead foot and find it unacceptable.

The ride is not as smooth as other S-Classes I drove in. Any and all defects in the road or lane dots are felt.

The interior is also beautiful, but…

As others have noted there is a lot of glare of the vents onto the windshield and side mirrors.

I don’t care for the seat adjusters “touch” operation. The previous buttons that looked the same actually moved, and worked better. I wish the seats went a little higher too. Often times while in the left drivers seat using my left hand to open the door, the heel of my hand hits the lock or unlock button.

The touch buttons on the steering wheel are inconsistent. Getting the info I want onto the driver display is not possible to configure. I want average MPG, actual odometer, and the ability to change music tracks. To be able to change multimedia tracks from the wheel you need to put Multimedia in the center location so you can’t have other info. My previous 21 GLE allows the 2 outside portions to be configured too.

I rely on my center screen to show directions or media, but when at a red light the Traffic Light screen comes on. There is a setting to turn it off, but I think it defaults to on next time you drive. I don’t want to keep turning off screens to get to the info I need (chose) while driving. The screens show finger prints due to the angle. The GLE had similar screens but did not show the prints as much.

If you drive with your hand on the top of the steering wheel or even 10 & 2, the screen will prompt you to move your hands so the camera can see your face.

If you want to sit in your garage with the car in ACC or ON to learn the features of the car, the headlight also turn on because you are inside. There is no way to turn off all of the exterior lights while inside or at night with the ACC or ignition on (confirmed with Mercedes customer care).

The 21 GLE turned on the music at a low volume regardless of where it was when you turned off the car. The S580 resumes the music it the last volume, which could be quite jarring if you were listening at a louder volume. The base Burmester does sound VERY good though! There might be a setting, but I haven’t found it.

Last week I was driving slowly in a grocery store parking lot and turned into a diagonal parking space. I was going very slow, but as I entered the space, the cars brakes jolted on at full force. The asphalt was perfect as well as the paint striping. There was a truck parked in the opposite space, but I found no reason for the car to slam on the brakes.

This not a review, but my thoughts and observations. I welcome any comments, especially if I am doing something wrong or not understand the car functions properly. I am being critical, but I really do like the car.

 

Here is how to deactivate the traffic light view.

 

I seen that at some time and though I turned it off there but it still comes on. I will check it again and verify both buttons are set properly.
Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forums Old Rocker.
I'm curious about what type of old rock you like?
I hear Deep Purple released a new record in September. You mean that old?

Enjoy the S

 

Ha! Deep Purple is my favorite band My first concert was Deep Purple in 1976 (with Tommy Bolin on guitar). I really like all of their live stuff, especially Made In Japan, but only a few with Steve Morse. Two with Steve, Live At The Olympia and Total Abandon are excellent. Sorry I don't care for much of the newer studio stuff (20 years is newer to me ). Staying on topic, having all of my music on a chip (512Gb) about the size of my thumbnail and being able to access it with titles and art is something we only could dream about back in the day. Remember the shoe boxes with cassettes and later CDs that we probably dubbed or burnt ourselves? Those times were awesome!

 

I know nothing about DP except for the fact that they are considered to be one of the original 'heavy metal' innovators. Have you heard their new music? How does it make you feel? Are you a musician too?
I'm still a CD person when it comes to my car. It has a 6 disc changer which is old school by today's standards! It's only a 2012 haha! I do load up a small MP3 player for walks and mowing though. And yes, still have all my cassettes! Some bands are even releasing music on them if you can believe that!
Good luck to you and the new car

 

Old Rocker,

I found most of the same issues that you noted as well. Never had the car brakes activate but I have has that on other cars and it can get your heart rate up.

I also found the front seat to not be up to the level as my 2019 S560 seats. Those seats in the S550 and S560's might have been the best, most comfortable seats I have ever owned.

The glare from the A/C vents is terrible as well. The volume controls for the audio, both of them are terrible in my opinion. I miss the metal wheels on the older cars.

The door handles as well, if you pull on them on the left side they are hard to open, you have to position you hand all the way to the right (drivers door).

While some won't see these are problems, I had a hard time dealing with these design "improvements" I traded the car. Actually got $1K over what I paid.

Crazy market.

 

These aren't deal breakers, but for the price these cars cost I wish they didn't have these issues. I don't like the way other cars look. My second sedan choice was Audi A8, but the grille looks gaudy and cheap, and there is a lot of buttons to learn and remember. The S-Class has less buttons and once you get everything dialed in there is less to deal with. There were a few other cars that also had nice interiors, but none had the stately exterior look like the S-Class. I used dwell on the clear plastic piece on the S-Class grill that holds the camera. I thought whatever was mounted there could have been more stealth but I don't think about it anymore as I gotten used to it.

 

Interesting observation on the ride quality - is that compared to the 222?

Which tires / wheels did you get? Curious if the base 19s + non RFTs (not sure if the standard tires are RFTs) would improve the smoothness of absorbing those road imperfections. I find that while air suspension is great at smoothing out bigger bumps but not so much those small road defects and lane dots

 

The tires are Hankook which I never heard of. They are runflat and there is no spare. They may be part of the issue, but previously I only been driven in a few S-Class' and they were very "floaty" and smooth. I think Mercedes was going for a bit of a more "sport" suspension, and that with the runflat tires does not make for a luxury ride (in my opinion).

 

My wife test drove the 20's and didn't like the ride, we picked the 19's and they ride much much better for a softer ride.

The 20's were harsh for an S class. Can't imaging the 21's.

 

My 21 rides smoother than the 2018 I drove imo

 

Yes there is glare but my 2010 s550 also had glare, though less prominent. The ride is smooth and I don't have any issues with lag - although I am still breaking it in, so driving gently. Overall, I enjoy driving it and it is an improvement over the s550 which I still like very much. I too would have preferred the old handles but I can live with them.

 

I have read a couple reviews that said they didnt think the ride was as nice as the W222 actually. I haven't driven a 223 yet to compare.

Do you have 19s, 20s or 21s? On the 222 there was a considerable ride variance with 20s, 19s were a must for me, and getting rid of the runflats helped a lot too.

 

I'm on 20 inch Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2. When these wear out, I will probably switch to my favoured Michelins (as I also plan to do for winter tires).

 

I'm on the 20 inch Hankook that came on the AMG 20" rims. The rims were an option, but not the tires.

 

I think the 20s are largely your problem. What tire pressures are you running?

 

The heads up display has a horizontal line across it that I never thought was level with the road so I am running 5psi less on the 2 left tires to compensate. ONLY KIDDING Seriously, I never checked. Whatever the dealer set it at.

 

Wow Hankook have come a long way to now be OEM on an S Class.

 

Take a quick check at TPMS. A lot of times the tires are overinflated since these cars tend to sit at ports before the dealers.

 

Or have they??

 

I bet they are way high. I run mine 3-4 PSI below the pressure on the fuel door (35, so I run mine 31-32).

 

I've had great experiences with Hankook.

 

I have Hankooks on my BMW X5 M50i and love them. I was initially disappointed when I saw the tires on the vehicle at delivery, but after a year of driving with them, I would not hesitate to buy them again.

 

I just signed on to the MercedesME app as I remember being able to see the tire pressure there. It said Unknown for the tire pressure. Something else not working like it should.