Through a combination of circumstances, I'm back in a '26 S Class from a G70 760i.This evens me out at 7 S Classes and 7 7 Series (and a few others) over the last 48 years.I loved my '25 760i with the Autobahn Package but it developed a rough idle problem just as my '23 had.BMW has always built a great 6 but always struggled with the V-8's.The S68 is prone to carbon build up among other things.The plan upon leasing it was to order an LCI when available for a fall '26 delivery.However, I was very hesitant to do so sight unseen considering the dumbed down interiors BMW is going to with the panoramic display and goofy looking large tablet screen. That, combined with the idle problem, prompted me to make a move.BMW spent close to 7k on warranty repairs during my 20k service and did correct the problem. But, I took the opportunity to ask my CA about a buy back.They agreed to take it back 7 months early and I actually made a few bucks.Picked up a Selenite Gray S580 Saturday on a 13 month lease.19" wheels and very under the radar,which is a change.I gotta say,I'm liking it!Just ditched the runflats (saving them) for Pirelli P Zero A/S, which I had on the 7,and the difference is very noticeable.Smooth,quiet and handles well.Tracks beautifully and I like the steering and brakes.The interior is very nice and the MBUX system is intuitive and east to use. The seats are comfortable and initial QC seems ok.The gauge cluster can be set as conventional with the info I want and it's easy to read and re-configure.It's nice having a real tachometer.A lot to like but there was on the 7 to.Both cars are very,very good.It's a different drive and I'm excited about more seat time.Got a couple of trips coming up. We'll see what the future holds.A year from now I'll have multiple options, but for now, guess I'm a Mercedes guy- again!

 

Welcome back to the family.

 

Welcome back!
While not as bulletproof as the S58, I was under the impression the S68 was worlds better/more reliable than the N/S63.
Sorry to hear that you've had problems with 2 different cars.

From my experience with MB & BMW since the late 90s - while they had probably the biggest rivalry in automotive, the characteristics or demeanor of the direct-competing models were vastly different from one another.
To sum it up in 1 sentence IMO, the word 'isolation' was considered demonic in the BMW world, while MB had the magic to make people appreciate that.
I consider everything else as pure marketing (i.e., catchphrase 'Ultimate Driving Machine', etc.).
There can be different criteria of enjoyment in driving a vehicle - It was indeed stiffer ride with fast, direct steering for me since 20s till mid-40s.
Then I had this urge to move to a smooth, soft riding chassis.

I couldn't believe how relaxed my demeanor becomes when I drive the S.
I no longer have the desire to floor the car or take the corner @ 60mph.
I'm purely enjoying the smooth setup of the car, listening to my favorite jam.
How serene it feels to be pampered with creature comforts!

While the BMWs are no doubt amazing cars, I hope you enjoy the more relaxed nature of the S.

 

Welcome back!

How were the terms on that 13 month lease?

 

I have a 23 760i with suspension, steering, mechatronic issues. Has been in service 199+ days with over $50k in warranty repairs, and BMW is literally fighting my lemon law buy back claim. Even the dealer doesn’t understand. Get this, the suspension problem is still occurring and the dealer has verified there is a clear defect in the car.

congrats on your buy back. I’m furious.

 

You should be sure to post about your buybacks over and over again once you're in a different car on the 7 Series Bimmerpost forum

 

Thanks for the welcome back to the forum.On the lease terms, you are paying dearly for the convenience of a one year lease and the high residual.It may get better later in the year as dealers purge the last of the '26's.I actually put some down(usually a no no) to keep my payments about the same as on the 7 and save about 1.8k over the year.I was out early with no cost on the 7 but it cost me a little to get into the S.For that,I've got options a year from now-keep the '26,lease a new S, or lease a new 7(if I can stomach the interior design).I'll take that since I'm not taking the money with me-HA!On the drive,I have noticed a more serene,relaxed manner to the car after being in BMW's for the last 7 years.The throttle and brakes have that "Mercedes feel" that encourage smooth inputs.Took a friend with a hip injury to lunch yesterday and he commented I was driving through town "like a grandpa" which I kind of was for his comfort.Oh well,we're not in a BMW any more!

 

Yeah they don't broadcast the terms for that 13 month lease so I can't look them up, but it does give you options!

Thats the thing about the S Class and 7 Series sales, the 7 Series guys like to tout that the 7 is outselling the S Class, but that doesn't seem to bother Mercedes. The lease deals on the 223 have by and large been awful through its whole run. I got mine at a rare good time where there was $10k in rebates plus $5k in loyalty (stackable $15k) and a decent MF and residual so my deal is not bad, but most of the time when I was shopping to replace my S560 with an S580 I was going to be paying at least $800 a month more for a 580...and that was a tough pill to swallow. 7 Series were like $1,000 a month cheaper! Even today, a G70 7 is $800+ a month cheaper than the same MSRP S580. MB could at any time kick in the lease support and do much better. By comparison the lease deals on the GLS are INCREDIBLE right now, even the GLS580, I can lease a GLS580 with first month drive off at a $125k MSRP for $1280 a month.

There is something about the S Class, as nice as something else might be its just not the same as the S Class. But, for $800 more a month I'd have been in something else.

 

Thought I'd follow up with a few more comparision observations about my new S580 and my previous '25 760i.Obviously,this is all very subjective and reflective of my experience only.As I said, both cars are very good but they do drive differently.The S definitely "drives smaller" and seems to manage the weight a bit better.That is apparent on the back roads and the interstate.My 7 had active roll stabilization,and even with that,the S feels a little bit better.High speed lane changes and turn in are a bit crisper with noticeably less weight shift.The S feels a bit more planted and easier to place with fewer steering inputs needed on the interstate.Also the S is just that little bit quieter with the acoustic glass,particularly around the windshield.Suspension wise,the 7 is rock solid over large bumps and dips whereas you can feel a little chassis flex and noise in the S over the big stuff.My wife thinks the S is "smoother" so I guess that counts for something!Never heard a creak,rattle,or pop in my 2 G70's including 5 different trips to Florida.Have heard a few assorted things in the S but nothing continuous or concerning.All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised and look forward to more postive experiences.It's not my daily driver but has been the last two weeks.I love the interior and look forward to every drive. Think that's a big part of what we're paying for.I will be monitoring the LCI 7 and S for changes,improvements, availability and pricing over the next months working toward a more long term solution.In the meantime I'm definitely good.One thing.I'd love to hear from anyone who has lived with this version of E-Active Body Control and whether it has a significant impact on the driving experience.I do know Streamliner did not have a good experience with that or the car.Thanks.

 

Those were my experiences with my long test drives of the two cars back to back also. Glad you’re enjoying it!

 

It seems like you made the right choice for your needs. Regardless, bouncing back and forth is always enjoyable. I assume your 223 must have the E-ABC? You added a lot of geat detailed perspective about the dynamics of each, and I’ll add a few more from what I know if I may.

My experience is similar to yours, other than the fact I had the chance to drive a few more variants, which made the order/options much clearer to me. What’s remarkable is how different these cars can feel depending on suspension spec. The 760i was never my favorite, even with Autobahn. Without Autobahn it was easily the weakest of the bunch besides 223 base, though still objectively good in the way a 7 or S should be, but honestly neither base setup is good enough for me once you’ve sampled the better versions. After that, I spent much more time with the W223 with EABC, including months of seat time through rentals, Turo, and repeated test drives as I sold my Alpina B8 and was without a sedan for months. Later I also drove a lot of i7 configurations while I was searching for my next sedan. After all of that and after some discussions with a few BMW internal contacts/friends, I got a much better understanding of Autobahn vs ARS (formerly known as Executive Drive 2) vs no package.

There were some discussions around that in other forums too. Autobahn (unlike former ones) was really engineered first for the M70 (sporty M-lite character) even though it can also be added to the xDrive60. It prioritizes flatness and stability, almost as if the car is trying to behave like something you’d track or hustle hard (u’ll like it if you), which is not the same thing as the older Executive Drive style setup. ARS-only (or also under the former Executive Drive #2), by contrast, was the magic piece. Early on, it was available as part of Executive Drive Package 2, and in my opinion that ARS-only setup, without Autobahn layered on top, is the ultimate sweet spot for those who want a luxury drive. If you add Autobahn, you also get ARS, but you also get that firmer, flatter, more M-lite tuning. It is still better than base, but it is not my preferred luxury calibration. I was told that you can still manually spec the car with ARS without force0layering the Autobahn calibration, and my dealer was able to do that, even though the configurator doesn’t allow that. U can only do that for the xDrive60 but not the M70. I barely found a few units built like that that I traveled to 3 different nearby states to test-drive myself before I decide on my spec. The i7 with ARS only is the standout. It gives you the biggest dynamic gain with no “sport-feeling” compromises. The i7 drivetrain itself was excellent in every form, but in base form the car still did not feel that special to me, just slightly better than a standard W223. Good but not RR level. The i7 with Autobahn is better again than either without packages for sure, and to my taste it ends up very close to a W223 with E-ABC. The i7 with ARS only, though, was the exceptional one.

I never got to drive a 760 with ARS only, because none were around in that spec when I was testing, so I can’t honestly rank that from first-hand experience. But based on everything else I drove, my top tier is W223 E-ABC and even betterthe i7 with ARS only, then with the i7 Autobahn right behind them. Once you drive those, the base suspension cars just feel like they are leaving too much on the table. These cars are simply too heavy for the standard setups to show their full potential. In the end I felt that the ranking for me was simple: 1) i7 with ARS only at the top; then 2) W223 with E-ABC and i7 with Autobahn together; 3) i7 base; then last 4) W223 base followed by the 5) 760 without any suspension packages. That gap between the advanced-suspension cars and the base cars is much bigger than I ever realized before testing them long enough. I think Mbenz and BMW both did an outstanding job with the higher-end chassis tech to elevate an already great car. Without it, they are still good but do not fully unlock the full potential that one can enjoy.

 

Thanks for the detailed breakdown on suspension tech.Couple of clarifications.My S580 does not have E-Active Body Control.Also,I should have stated that my '25 760i had the Autobahn Package with ARS and Comfort Drive with Road Preview i. e. the camera based damper control system.BMW does not call out any other suspension mods for this version of that option.Even so,the standard Airmatic on the S handles lane changes and quick transitions a little better,IMO.Part of the reason may be that the stabilizer bar on the 7 is effectively de-coupled when driving straight , allowing a softer setting for the springs.Indeed,in Comfort, the suspension could feel a little disconnected over large dips or undulations.I did most of my interstate driving in Sport where that effect was minimized.So, the message I'm getting is that I need to give E-ABC serious consideration if I stick with the S here in a year or so.Unfortunately,it's a bit of a problem finding one to test drive.My understanding is that it's,almost exclusively,a custom order option.Again,many thanks,and I welcome any other input on the active system from other members.

 

You’re welcome. I think you’ll be happy with all variants regardless, and as your clearly identified, between the base W223 base or the 760 in general there will be pros but also some cons no matter how you look at it. I think the W223 with E-ABC is for sure closer to a flawless experience with zero compromise, and like I said the i7 with ARC-package (but not the autobahn add-on) is also flawless and will take care of all the cons your referenced in either setups (W223 base or 760 autobahn). I also think that if one would spec a 760 with ARC only (but not autobahn) than the firmness and the overly BMW-sh sporty ride would turn into luxury comfy ride (formerly known as Executive Pkg #2), but like i said now you have to ask your dealer to manually do it using their own custom build software. I am more familiar with the i7 configuration and IRC-only but it is just a guess that 760 would be very close to that level or refinement. Back to W223 E-ABC, yes I’d give it a try later. I know many others reported bad experiences with it here, but that’s true when E-ABC didn’t work as it’s intended to do or when something was wrong. I’ve seen similar reported issues for the 760 suspension too so am not sure if that was true in your case too. Those with the 223 who reported these issues also confirmed that it was only their car driving like that and that the tech agreed with them that the car doesn’t ride well. I don’t have bad luck with cars (thankfully) so I’d personally go all-in when I can, and aim for the flawless setup. Base or 760 with any setup wasn’t good enough for me after I tried the E-ABC or IRC-only setups (so much better). In the end, it’s a first-world problem that we even get to distinguish between these trims, but that’s precisely why we drive these cars instead of a C or E-class. : )

 

If I remember correctly you said you never drove a 760, the i7 feels more planted than the 760.

 

If you meant that I never drove an i7, that is correct.I don't have any interest in EV's.I have seen posts that the i7 can feel more planted at speed,probably because of the weight.Think the quest now is to somehow find a 223 with E-ABC to test drive and continue to monitor the intro of the LCI 7.I've seen posts the the LCI will have some kind of "chassis control" so we'll see.I also agree that it's ok to seek the ultimate versions of these cars.As enthusiasts, that's what we do! And,it's fun!Again,thanks for your insights.

 

No I meant S_W222

 

I had 2 W222's.'15 and '17 S550's,both with standard Airmatic suspensions.