Dear forum members,

I have just joined the site. As all of you I am a long time Mercedes enthusiast. I have recently purchased a new S65(2016). I have to say that I have been a fan of the 65 since 2006. I have owned two CL65's and one S65 before. However I am quite disappointed with the current vehicle. Firstly, the transmission has been extremely rough since the first day. Especially downshifting from 4th to 3rd and 3rd to 2nd gear. The car has been serviced twice for that and apart from a slight improvement there is no difference. I have been told that it is a software issue and a new software had been loaded. The other disappointment that I have is regarding the suspension. It is extremely stiff even in comfort mode. I understand that this is a high performance car but we shouldn't forget that this is a S class after all but the suspension feels like a real sports car. The sounds you hear when you drive on a rough road or cobble stones is ridiculous. My question is this: Did mercedes intentionally change the character of this car or is it just a very unsuccessful product? In my opinion the previous two generations were so much more successful. Any comments from readers or owners are much appreciated.

The AMG's are very stiff.. my other S cars were very smooth however, one thing I noticed by accident: the door jam says the fire pressure should be 36 front and 42 rear.. while cold if you run 34 front and 36 rear they heat up to about 36 very quickly but the car rides a very good bit smoother!

If you do have a 2016 model, you're probably better served asking in the W222 section.

My W220 S65 FWIW shifts relatively smoothly for a transmission that doesn't rev match on downshifts. I'm surprised... the W222 should have the functionality. As for the ABC system; it's firm but compliant in regular mode. It's not jarring like my PSS9's in the M3 which had been setup for track use. In sport mode, it's a tad bit stiffer but not by much.

Yes, I noticed that I posted it in the W220 section after. I tried to post it in W222 but I suppose I need approval for some reason. I had the W220 S65 before. It was very smooth in terms of transmission and suspension. The new one feels completely different.

Your car has an active suspension that monitors the bumps in the road and adjusts accordingly are you sure that is enabled?

I don't think you can turn that function off but I'll check

Yes, it definitely can be turned off.

I checked and couldn't find any way to turn that system on or off. If you know please let me know. Thanks.

I don't own one of those so I can't tell you but I know in the reviews I've seen they have turned it on and off to see the differences.

I checked again. You can only select ABC Comfort or sport. Sport mode turns off the road monitoring. On comfort its on. I've been using comfort. However I'll try reducing the tyre pressure as you suggested.

What tires have you got?

x2 on the tires. The factory runflats are very stiff, if it has the goodyears on it, they are just terrible. Swap them out for a nice non-runflat tire and you will notice a major improvement over small bumps.

That being said, the ABC system is tuned much stiffer than the airmatic can be on the AMG cars. It delivers amazing handling and performance out of a 5500lb car, but it's not the most cushioned ride. Drive an S600 and you will see the difference, especially in Maybach trim as they seem to be even softer.

I can't believe you're not TOTALLY AND UTTERLY LOVING this beast. Makes me sad. I want one too, but if you're not happy with yours, I'm not getting one now. I'll get a S63 instead. I love my 2012 and will keep it till it's totaled or if there's a repair that's INSANELY expensive, when it goes out of warranty in 4 years.

I love this car so much I may keep it out of warranty for an extra 2 years and just drive the heck out of it. Sorry to hear the 16 S65 isn't everything it should be. It's hard to believe.

Thanks ItalianJoe1 and Welwynnick regarding the tire suggestion. I will try that.

Stever500, I loved my old S65 and was looking forward for the new one but so far it has been a disappointment. Quality overall is going downhill at Mercedes. Apart from the issues that I have there seem to be other quality problems with materials like noisy seats and constant rattling of the HUD display.

There's a bulletin regarding the HUD rattle, it's a simple fix. Depending on your dealer, they may have not encountered it yet and don't know about the bulletin. We get lots of high end cars here in Miami but some places don't see them often. I believe I've also seen one for the seats making noise with the dynamic functions on but I can't say for certain.

The quality is certainly not what it should be at this price point, no argument there. My old 215 impresses me more with actual build quality than the new cars. Not as fancy or as many tricks, but a very solid car even compared to new ones.

Absolutely agree about 215. It was and is a great car. One of the best looking for sure.

I was replacing a coil pack on mine today, and a couple coworkers asked me if I like the 216 better. I just can't get excited about that design like the 215, it's such a classically good looking car. Car gets compliments to this day, and it's a completely stock 15 year old car. Not a lot of cars that happens on.

The S65 does not have EMT (run flat) tires.

Surely magic body control should make the car ride very smoothly, even with hard tyres?

I don't think anything can overcome hard tires

I haven't been in a W222, but I get the impression that Magic Body Control works on large bumps more effectively that it does on small ones - the sort that stiff tire sidewalls are sensitive to.

nick

My 07 S65 is stiffer than I would like it, if the new ones are a lot stiffer than that I probably don't want one.

To tell you the truth the ride is one of my few complaints I have about my car. It is too stiff in "C". I don't have another merc to compare it to but I also own a 01 jaguar XKR and that rides a lot better, despite being a much smaller car.

The MBC allows the suspension to anticipate road irregularities. It does nothing to compensate for stiff tire sidewalls. My 2015 does not ride "harder" than the 2006 did. The 2015 has 20" wheels with 35 and 30 series tires. The 2006 had 19" wheels with 40 and 35 series tires, although a difference in ride quality is not noticeable at least here in SoCal.
What is really noticeable is how much better the S65 (and the SL600) rides than our E63S. The 2014 E63S has steel springs and the difference is obvious.