As I await my new S 600, and having only driven S 500's I wondered if these cars ever feel too fast... Do you find them to be really "jumpy" off the line or wanting to spin tires in the rain (traction control kick in alot?).
I never even test drove one, just assuming that the power would make it feel like a lighter car. Comments?
Thx.

The throttle is very progressive. You may spend a few hours getting used to it, but even the S65 is very tractable and controllable. Any whiplash will be intentionally induced.

After a while even a 65 series starts to feel "ordinary"....

I had owned my S55 less than a week when I made a right hand turn, got on the throttle hard and quickly hit 80mph when I came upon a truck delivering a mobile home traveling down the middle of the road. I smacked the brakes and had to go off on the side of the road to miss it.
Bottom line is the cars eat up real estate at amazing rates. I advise caution while you get used to the power.

You will love it!

If you're easy on the throttle, the stoplight to stoplight torque isn't too bad. Floor the pedal and it's a different story!

I'm most impressed with 2 lane road passing situations. You'll NEVER have a problem passing anyone!!

As an addict for latest-tech, new cars, have owned/driven S550, CL550/600/63 and SL65 in past 12-18mos (and passed on getting the CL65 I had ordered after an underwhelming test-drive)...so have a few views on each of these amazing cars....

Drive my cars at a 15K+mi/yr pace before trade-in; have <5mi daily urban commute; most of my miles are driven in wkend mtn twisties driving (yes, even w/these big missles) w/a notably brisk (and enjoyable) 35mi fwy drive to reach my favored twisties....

600 has fairly good traction in rain (similar to either 550/63, much better than 65); 600 has notably better brakes than 550...

600 (as expected) feels faster than 63 in mid-range passing (and vastly faster than underpowered 550), but 63 has much better brakes/steering precision/chassis balance/sport seats/sport steering wheel...feel much more confident driving 63 fast (straight-line and twisties) than I did in driving the excellent, but too-luxury-tuned 600...(actually drive 63 faster than my prior 65 in my real-world straight-line and twisties settings)

Would make argument that 600 may be a bit over-powered vs its brakes/steering/chassis.....and 65 has glaring traction issues, even on often dry, sometimes imperfect CA roads (let alone in ex-CA weather/pavement)....perhaps a new AMG V12 (hopefully NA and lighter) will offer better tq/traction balance....and less weight over nose for more precise steering/chassis balance....

Would argue any car's perf capabilities are ultimately risk-adjusted (by any responsible driver) for its perceived active/passive safety in real-world....e.g., felt less safe/drove slower/accelerated more cautiously in 65 b/c of its dubious traction; drove slower in 600 than in 63 b/c of its weaker brakes....but, for ex., if on a high-speed fwy and have an emergent braking situation w/likelihood of being rear-ended, no other car on planet I would rather be in than a new S/CL.....or, in mtn twisties, if facing an unavoidable frontal collision, again, no other car in world I'd rather be in than a new S/CL....have never been in a collision, but when I choose any car for driving (daily/wkend), a major consideration is ability to dynamically avoid a collision....and survive uninjured if collision is unavoidable.....

Comparing subtle stuff here....any of these new-gen S/CL is easily one of world's best overall cars....and level of innovation/intensity/quality&reliability (to-date anecdotal data) of advanced safety/perf/comfort tech makes driving any other car/model line seem archaic/analog/unsafe in comparison....

....no such thing as to fast.

^^^