I began my MB journey with a 2020 E350, after which my wife bought a 2023 GLS450. I upgraded to a 2022 S580 pre-owned about a year ago. The S Class is leaps and bounds different and superior to the others I’ve had. My wife is often jealous of my vehicle because her GLS is really little more than a bigger E Class.

What boggles my mind is how much better the Distronic system in the S Class than in the GLS. My S580 has no wander, changes lanes smoothly, anticipates traffic effectively, and gives me little input to do at all when highway cruising. The GLS is actually scary to use because it’s not as stable or predictable. Just yesterday I was driving the GLS and got highly frustrated with the number of times the car failed to detect my hand on the wheel, even at 12 o’clock.

My S Class does exactly what I bought it to do. I love every drive, and I couldn’t say the same for the E350 or the GLS.

 

I also am extremely happy with my S580 coming out of the S560. Was also very happy with the S560, but the S580 is a worthwhile upgrade.

 

I was not impressed with the W223. It was not enough of an upgrade over my fully loaded S560. There are many things about the W223 I didn't like. I'm not the only one who thinks that. I believe many S560 owners kept their W222 in lieu of upgrading to the W223. I am looking forward to see what MB will offer in its refreshed W223.

 

I believe that your current S560 is equipped with Magic Body Control and I believe you would be very disappointed with the W223 ride quality & handling. There is nothing like MBC and they should definitely bring it back.

 

Yes, you are correct. My S560 has the Magic Body Control - and yes, it's fantastic.

 

I can't speak to MBC, but I can tell you that the W223 is an upgrade from the W222 when you're talking about cars equipped with airmatic. The real scope of the improvements don't really set in until you have lived with the car for a while. The standard Burmester audio improvement alone is worth the upgrade. I don't regret trading my 222 in at all.

 

No question, the tunes are a delight.

For me the car had a number of excellent attributes, and also some great weaknesses, it's a dichotomy that meant my viewpoint was strongly influenced by my position regarding those things. Little things like the weak headlights and the wip'ers skipping across dry glass bugged me, others probably don't care. I had a great dislike for the throttle calibration, which was infuriatingly soft. On the other hand, that stereo was heaven, loved the quiet, the ride was mostly good except the suspension crashing the bump stops in circumstances where it shouldn't have been.

The ride would bring me to my last though here: They've slowly but surely fixed a lot of the problems. An example would be that suspension. The car would bottom out over minor, but sharp bumps, even at low speed. I mean it hit with a bang. It would do it every time at a displacement crack just down from the Seattle house. I think I drove something like 30 cars down that road regularly, none of them ever bottomed out there. But the Merc, every time. The car was however updated OTA, and it stopped doing that. They also improved the body control, which I expected to be better than it was, based on my time in other Germans.

My point is they have fixed many things, that's just one. Imagine how your perspective on the car would change if it didn't come with the 21" debacle, didn't go whack if your air pressure got 1 psi below the set point, gave the car a working time out so the fob didn't need to be cared for like an infant, the car would immediately respond to your touching the handles? These things aren't hard and could be fixed in software, except for the wheels, which they've mercifully stopped offering. Just those things, along with all that they've already fixed, and we're having different conversations about this car.

 

To me, the W222 probably a car that on the whole is probably the most perfect car I have ever had. The W223 is more imperfect, meaning there are things that are frustrating, but then also things that are considerably better..for me those things that are better outweigh the frustrations. W222 had less frustrations, but also didn't wow in the ways the 223 wows.

The two frustrations for me with the 222 were it was never as quiet as it should have been. I was always looking at door and window seals because it just always felt like it let more of the outside world in than my LS460s did or that it should have. The W223 solves that entirely. Ridewise, I always felt like the W222 was a little firmer damped than I would have liked around town and at low speeds, but floatier on the highway than I would want, to where I would put the suspension in Sport on a long highway drive. Ride of the 223 is perfect, perfect around town and on the highway in comfort. I was also extremely disappointed with the audio in the 222, I added a sub but I had to tweak that all the time. Base Burmester in the 223 is hands down the best audio system I've ever had in a car.

Frustrations are the infotainment is quirky, I get some errors and every once and a while it will dump all my favorites etc. Seats are harder to dial in than on the 222, and overall not quite as comfortable. With the interior, the center console is a huge fail. The piano black alone but also the edge of that console and the screen has a raw sharp edge that feels so nasty when you touch it. If that were a nice smooth metal bezel and that piano black top were wood, it would be a huge improvement. Then there is also the nasty plastic at the door sills, I'm about to have those wrapped in alcantara. Nothing to be done about the console though. I have grown to like the modern aesthetic. Door handles are incredibly stupid.

So, if you own a nice 222 that you are happy with I can see where you might not feel a need to upgrade to the 223, I didn't either...but I was forced to because my lease came to an end...I am however happy I did and the 223 has really grown on me a lot. Like I said before, I don't miss the 222.

This I can tell you has been addressed. My car came with the new suspension calibration and I have never felt the suspension bottom out, it feels really great and well damped at all speeds to the point where I really am conflicted about replacing the runflats...I don't really see a need.

I think you really are right. Mine has been a delight...