AMG350

Just picked up an S580e and thus far enjoying it. I’ve been reading this forum for a while with much of things being negative. However I would imagine that the majority of the cars on the road function just fine with an annoyance here and there that requires addressing. So I took a leap of faith for my first S class and in short I love it! My car was delayed quite a bit due to approval by the EPA and MB for sale. My dealer and staff were beyond amazing advocates so I feel very blessed.

There isn’t a lot out there about the S580e in the US so I’d like to provide some info that I found interesting for anyone considering it. Thank you to DieselBenz for answering some of my questions before hand from Europe.

First of all, this car is a cruiser and not a sports car. Seems obvious but this car is very heavy with the battery+fuel tank and engine. The S63e will likely be even heavier. If you take moderately aggressive turns the car is great in sports mode. If you’re making a lot of twisty turns, get the active body control to deal with the mass of the car.

Rear wheel steering is great. I can’t imagine not having it. The driver seat instrument cluster shrinks around you so having a more agile setup on the car matches the experience. Doing a u-turn in a standard residential street is not something cars this size should be able to do. Impressed! On the same note, I would only go as high as the 20 inch rims on this car. Because this is an EV the tires are reinforced at the sidewall but a rim that’s larger would certainly fail. I was planning on a Brabus wheel, but not anymore.

The car is very solid. Feels extremely well built. I like the door sound when it shuts. Not quite a G63 with its latch mechanism but the thud of the door is great. The buttons around the cabin are acceptable but I get that they are plasticky. Not too concerned about that because I wasn’t expecting metal. Still I can totally see how it would be disappointing to someone used to more independent buttons. I’m still getting used to the new MBUX and things are hard to find initially. However the voice control is key! I was trying to find the tire pressure menu but couldn’t so I used the Hey mercedes feature. The car actually announced the tire pressures wheel by wheel! My dealer told me the Artificial Intelligence in this car is excellent.

Thus far the steering wheel (US version) is a little strange with haptic buttons but I’ll get used to it. I had a Model S plaid that had the square steering wheel with haptics and when I tried to put on a turn signal the wipers would come on. I hated it for a couple of months and once I got used to it, I actually miss it! I’m imagining I’ll get used to this wheel too (and this one overall is way nicer).

The augmented reality and 3D dash are fun. Keeps you engaged in the drive for an otherwise a “numb” experience. I say Numb in a positive way because even with my standard suspension it rides amazing. After speed bumps I’m expecting to crash down and recoil but that just doesn’t happen even with how heavy this car is.

Now more specific to the S580e drive, it is whisper quiet until the engine kicks in. It whirrs into existence just like 48Volt cars, but it is far more noticeable. It’s not loud at all but there is a transition point you can feel. Knowing that the car is brand new and still learning my accelerator and braking patterns I’m expecting that be less noticeable and also myself getting used to it. Also I’m still trying to figure out what modes work best for me. Currently I’m keeping it in comfort mode and using the left paddle to drop the mode to D minus, which allows me to predominantly drive it like an EV (one pedal). However yesterday I encountered some road debris and wreckless trucks so I put the car in Sports mode (there is no sports +) and let’s just say I hit triple digits faster than I was expecting, blasting past that mess in a clean lane. The torque was awesome.

Now the brake. That’s borderline scary until you figure it out (and the car figures you out). It is set up for long pedal travel and there is inconsistency to it. The physical brakes are massive. They look like AMG brakes. The stopping power I’m certain is amazing but I’m still in the break in period. But fair warning, I was NOT expecting the braking input the way it is. Full disclosure, I’m used to high performance cars so this is different. As it stands right now, I feel safe, and each time I drive the car it starts to feel more natural. Still, beware the first time you drive this car!

Same goes with the transmission. Initial times I drove the car, I could feel a major downshift transition point while the car was doing Regen, Downshift and Braking all in the same period of time (split second). That has seemingly disappeared as the car has learned my inputs. I’m expecting this item to pop up again as I push the car a little more and the car relearns.

Now more “quirks and features” (Doug Demuro), when you open the gas full cap, there is a period of 2-3 seconds that have to elapse as the fuel tank depressurization occurs since the battery pack and fuel tank are close by. They are reinforced very well but this regulatory requirement is there. I got the onboard DC charging option so my EV flap is larger than the gas flap on the other side of the car. I’m using a home Tesla charger with a Tesla Tap Mini adapter and everything works great. At 80% charge I can get 50 miles with normal driving. It takes about 2 hrs in standard charge mode to go from 0 to 80%. I haven’t yet enabled the fast charge setting. On a DC fast charger supposedly that will be 7 minutes. However, the strange thing is, even when I get to zero percent battery, the car still is using its EV capability rather than relying totally on the engine. This leads me to believe that the power management in the car has plenty more reserve. As I’m still figure out the modes, the car starts in EL mode so I shift it over to Hybrid to reduce pure electric power consumption to make it last longer. This is helpful because when you’re idling with a normal car, you can enjoy this car sitting in traffic or waiting to pick up your kid from school without the engine running. Just makes for a pleasant experience. So does the 4D sound (hint: get it!!!)

This car is for someone who is interested in a daily driver, loves to relax from stressful work, and not looking to make this a performance car. It has plenty of power on reserve if you need it. It is NOT a good car for a limo driver because the trunk is severely reduced in size because of the battery. Overall I am extremely happy with this car and I have driven many different brands/types. It makes me genuinely happy, and my dealer was phenomenal start to finish.

So if you’re like me browsing and reading the forums and getting worried about all the complaints people have, I offer the following advice. Be empathetic towards the people having issues. As we push the bounds of technology and limits of availability/supply chain, cars and their perceived build quality will seem compromised (and likely is in some ways). When a car breaks down on the road in a dangerous way, it’s unacceptable and a nightmare. When a tire blows out because the rim size is too big well that shouldn’t happen. If you can’t get into the car because the door handle was not massaged right it’s beyond frustrating. A dead battery just seems to be unheard of until now. But these type of issues are just going to be present as technology is forced upon us and not just with cars. However thankfully, these issues seem to be the exception and not the rule after talking with several people who own the S580 and S500. Anyone considering the S class, I’d say go for it! It is an amazing experience. If you get stuck with a lemon/trash car or one that you don’t love anymore, change it! Don’t make your life miserable because of a vehicle. Life’s too short. On a personal note I am deeply appreciative of anyone on this forum who has shared their trials/tribulations. Thank you for taking your valuable time to draw attention to issues.

crabman

A lot of the complaints here are issues that have been fixed with software updates. Some haven't but you've been regularly perusing the forum and tracking that.

Keeping batt in reserve is somewhat of an industry standard as far as I know, I'm not aware of one that doesn't although there may be something out there?

I had a Panny hybrid when my car was in for service, I did become accustomed during that time to modulating the brakes and the feel of it. I only had it for a few days and possess no special skills so you'll probably be/do the same with a little time.

Most important; congrats!

SW20S

How quick does it feel in EV only mode?

As for problems, I agree that most people's W223s are fine...especially 2023s and onward...BUT..as someone who has an S Class he is really happy with, the potential to get a car that is problematic does give me pause when it comes to upgrading.

AMG350

Great question: torque instant from zero RPM, when engine kicks on there isn’t much of a difference in power (almost as if battery is programmed to let off to maintain rate of acceleration per pedal input)…this is in Hybrid mode in D Minus. In D plus your engine and battery are both active. In EL (electric only mode) car seems very average but totally useable. For vast majority of people this would be acceptable. However, when you put in sport mode you get power/speed that’s builds up and keeps increasing until you look at how fast you’re going. Getting on/off the highway I prefer this mode since it’s far more predictable to throttle input. There are so many combinations that you can really tailor it to preference (not something I expected). I would upgrade only if you have to because you’ll miss your old car and there is a learning curve. However if you’re up for the latest and greatest, this is a very fun car to get to know.

Sactownmb

Thank you for the review of the S580e. Glad you are happy with your new car. Congratulations.

cheenuabc

Hey Crabman, is everything ok between you and Mrs. Crab? Every post by you had her opinion till a while ago and no more? hope everything is ok

crabman

All are fine here: Another poster cried foul; seemed it was perceived as one-upmanship. Not where my head was at but there is really no way to see the man and his motivations through a keyboard. In any event the remodel is almost complete; if one of us was going to kill the other it would have happened a couple of weeks ago.

cheenuabc

You are a very wise man!
glad everything is great.