S_W222

I already did that once, I bought two W222s in the past 6 years, but the question is: how many times and for how long do I need to continue doing that if I like to drive an S-class? Also, that doesn’t work well for someone like me who trade in his daily drive once every 1-2 years on average or 3 years maximum if I really like it. Getting back to the same car (or keeping the same) is just boring. The W222 I had is just as nice as any W222 build can get, but I still felt like it’s just another sibling of the other W222 I had for 3.5 years, and I didn’t feel that excited walking towards it and driving it every morning like I do when I get a new-to-me car. As far as other options, I just find that the current situation is annoying, especially that the other luxury brands seem to offer also an inferior product too compared to their previous offerings. Bently would be really nice but it costs more than I wish to spend on a car especially, again, that I don’t keep them long enough to justify the spend. The new Panamera is a very good option too. I think my best bet is to see what the W222 facelift would bring.

RyanCartr

The buttons don't move and they're designed that way. They're awful. This is a common complaint about the seat buttons - hurting fingers comes from *many* of my passengers.

RyanCartr

I'm actually not exaggerating at all on this. It sounds ludicrous, I know. But the seat buttons on the W223 are designed to not move.
They're pressure operated with serrated surfaces, which hurt the fingers to operate. I've had *many* complaints from my passengers about this.

Streamliner

The seat control buttons used in the W222 and most other pre-2021 release MB models, were perfect. So, of course, they had to "improve" them. Similar situation with the steering wheel controls. When you have "perfect,"
you shouldn't "fix" it. It's a simple case of MB trying to get away with using cheaper components. Such a shame on a flagship vehicle like the S Class. Oh well.

RyanCartr

Agreed. The seat buttons, the door handles and, well, everything on the W222 was perfect. I mistakenly thought this latest generation would be better. It ain't. It's awful. The new S-Class drives beautifully, but overall, the car is garbage. The MSRP on my car was nearly $150k, and it's not worth a fraction of that. There's so much tech for sake of tech, and little of it improves anything at all; actually they degraded the driver experience. I just retained an attorney to sue MB under the CA "Lemon Law;" MB will lose - the car is a dog and the CA consumer protection laws are strong.

Streamliner

Well, you and I are on the same page. I had a 2022 S580 "Executive Line" model. MSRP was $153,700.00. The most expensive car I have ever had. So many things about the car were so irritating. I was well on my way to getting the car classified as a Lemon (I'm in CA as well), but before I could do that, on Pacific Coast Highway, in congested Corona del Mar, during the lunch rush, the car simply shut down, leaving me stranded. The car was towed to Fletcher Jones where they had it for a full 30 days, before they pronounced it "fixed" and gave it back to me. As you probably know, 30 days out of service is the magic number in CA, so the car was an automatic Lemon after that episode. No lawyer needed. I phoned MBUSA, gave them the details, they started the ball rolling and about two months later, they got their car back and I got back every penny I paid on the car. Not only does pursuing a Lemon Law buy back make one whole, it sends a very strong message to MB that things are not right and that they need to get their house in order.