tonupbklyn

in which dynamic mode do u mostly drive?
99% of the time, i'm on C...and on occasion will go S+ for a bit more oomph and lower stance.

Bubba1

Mainly in C...the car seems to be best suited for C.

Occasionally I take it to S, but somehow find that S doesn't suit it for long periods. Rarely very rarely take it to S+...way too choppy...its like the chassis and the engine stop communicating.

Haven't set anything in I mode yet (have owned the car for just a little over a year now...as C and S fit me just fine.

crabman

I, 100%, with steering and engine on sport. This does not make the car sporty; it gets the steering to where it's only ridiculously over boosted and you can sometimes tell that the throttle is really connected to an engine. Unlike comfort where my boat had better throttle response and the steering feels like it may or may not have a couple rubber bands attached to something that may or may not be wheels.

Bubba1

I don’t think so Crab. The purpose of the S class is exactly as designed in comfort mode.

S class steering’s have traditionally been over boosted and throttle response is specifically designed not to cause any discomfort to the passengers by being jerky/aggressive.

While what you prefer is a subjective thing, the car is designed as is for a reason. And yes your arguments have merit, however, the comfort aspect is the reason people buy S classes.

There are plenty of sportier sedans out there including your previous Panamera. The number one priority for the S class is comfort. It’s traditionally always been that way.

js_cls

Comfort. I have never switched into Sport, I do put Eco on for some longer highway trips.

crabman

Agree completely. That's why it's a good thing that switching those did absolutely nothing to make the car sporty. They did however slightly reduce the discomfort of having controls that are so stupidly flaccid as to be anything but luxurious and comfortable.

The steering in individual sport is still possibly the most overboosted steering I've had in a sedan. Right up there with a Chrysler New Yorker I had back in the 70s. Even in sport the wheel will flop over with just a light touch from a single finger. Absolutely no one can complain about the effort because there is none. I'd also say there is nothing luxurious about steering that is so vague as to make it so you have no idea what is going on at the wheels or even if they are turning unless you carefully look at your surroundings to determine if something is happening.

The throttle isn't as bad but it just as the steering it's still well over on the soft side of average for any car in sport, putting it in that seeing in no way makes it sporty. Not even a little lively, it's just enough you can tell you have an engine. Here also I disagree with the chauffeur angle. It is no easier to move away from a stop smoothly in comfort than it is in sport. Nor is either one hard. Anyone that can't drive smoothly in sport you will also fail in comfort because the problem is not any abruptness in either mode; it's that the driver can't drive.

I'm not trying to insult you with any of this because you seem like a good dude. I just don't buy the chauffeur thing.

bishop64

98% C , 2% S

Bubba1

No offence taken Crab. I respect your opinion. However, I also believe it’s important to understand the pedigree, heritage and history of the S Class and what the primary purpose of the S class is: comfort for the driver and the passengers.

The car has never materially wavered from this purpose, hence a loyalty rate of some 70 percent of buyers being repeat customers.

S_W222

50.0%: Comfort
50.0%: I: Sport Suspension, Eco Engine, Comfort Steering and ESP
<0.001%: Sport

bishop64

see above pls

TSA

if I got any passenger in the rear , I’ll use the maybach mode. Mine doesn’t have the s+ mode sadly

S_W222

I did, but what do you mean exactly?

Oh I see it now, yes that I mode works perfect for highway but I also use it sometimes in town when I just want to cruise around. But generally yes, mostly C for city, and then if the roads are good highway I use Sport suspension in I mode with eco engine mode.

W205C43PFL

Sorry if I misunderstood you but I think a 7-series will be a vehicle you would prefer more in that case?

crabman

The 7 series is hideous to my eye, I can do meh, but hideous is a bridge too far. I think however you (and others) may be conflating these sport settings as putting actual sportiness on offer, that is not correct.

I'm just now finishing up a journey of several months, during which I had a good many rental cars. This car in individual with the sport setting for steering and throttle has a softer throttle than a Camry. Softer than an Accord. Softer than a Jetta. Softer than a Chrysler 300... I can go further here but you get the idea and the same thing applies to the steering. There is nothing whatsoever sporty about this car in sport engine and steering. Using the word sport utterly mischaracterizes those settings. Nor did I want sportiness in this car, I'm all in on comfort right down to ordering Exec with the smallest possible wheels. My turning it to sport in those settings had nothing to do with trying to get any kind of sport response whatsoever, none.

When I said that bit about the New Yorker that was not hyperbole, the steering is stupidly over boosted to no good end. For hyperbole, lets go with the many-worlds interpretation: In an infinite number of worlds populated with an infinite number of New Yorkers not in any of them did a driver get out of the car and say, "I hope this steering is still around 50 years from now."

I get a sense of The Emperor's New Clothes with this control paradigm. It does not make the car smoother or easier to drive but people go with it even though it makes no sense as to why your car's throttle should not function well or that having steering that goes beyond effortless and into a realm of "can't tell a damn thing" would be a good idea.

js_cls

I don't think the steering or throttle are that bad honestly, nothing compared to an old town car.