Video test drive review: 1995 Mercedes Benz S500.

[ryannel2003]

[Destroyer]

Awesome!. Absolutely love the car and its quite rare as you know. I remember way back when Chad asked how my '91 Fleetwood compared to my '97 S320 and I remember thinking that other than both being large there really wasn't any comparison except for styling which is subjective.

[slk230mb]

Nice vanity plates there

What makes the Grand Edition so Grand, aside from the rims?

[RightTurn]

Very, very nice.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Originally Posted by slk230mb

Nice vanity plates there

What makes the Grand Edition so Grand, aside from the rims?

They had the S600's seats, which had different style pleating and a much softer two tone leather, the leather covered dashboard, suede headliner (?), wood/leather shift knob and steering wheel too. I think that's all aside from the wheels.

To sum it up, the S500 Grand Edition is the interior of the S600 in the S500.

So it's basically the S600 without the expensive repair bills and V-12 surge...and the S600s didn't have the Monoblocks.


Say Elias, how does the M119 5.0L in these compare with the stock LT1 as far as power goes?

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Check this picture out.

[96Fleetwood]

Yep, Chad got it right. You get all the S600 ammenities without the V12. I do like the LED illuminated door sills, Nappa leather, and Suede headliner. The one thing missing on the Grand Edition was the leather door panels & dash (S600 only).

Here is a picture of my parents '98 S600, my Father added the staggered AMG monoblock wheels. They sold it in 2005 with 57K miles on it to a friend in Richmond, VA (he still has it):



My Father still talks about that car to this day, even though they have an awesome V12 BMW 760Li.


Stock for Stock, I say the LT1 and M119 5.0L are pretty close. The Benz likes to cruise at 80-100 mph all day long, the LT1 starts to run out of breath in the higher rpms. The Fleetwood cost $40K new and the Grand Edition was $100K back in 1999... so you really can't compare build quality.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

What do your folks think of the W221 now? Would they consider trading in that E65 on one?

[Cliff8928]

I would think that LT1 would absolutely kill the M119 / 722.6 off the line. The M119 doesn't really have that tire-ripping torque available the instant the pedal goes down. At least that was the case with the now-sold '96 S500 Coupe.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I believe it...but I'd think that the M119 would pass the LT1 at about 70 or so. Remember, the M119 makes 315hp...55 more than the LT1, and the torque peaks at 347 lb/ft....12 lb/ft more than the LT1.

[gary88]

I guess the Germans designed it that way so it doesn't run out of steam on the Autobahn.

[96Fleetwood]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

What do your folks think of the W221 now?

They didn't like it, they are pretty used to the sport feel of the 760Li. Dad likes the newer S63 and S65, but can't justify spending that kind of money right now. We will see how they like the new 7 series.

Their BMW 760Li is a phenomenal car.. even though it lacks power compared to the newer S600, it handles much better.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Yeah....but those looks...and that iDrive...

[Night Wolf]

Apparently the new iDrive is nothing like the mess of the first generation.

The W140 is really starting to grow on me... previously, the biggest downfall to me and the simple/sterile interrior.... despite being very oppisite cars, you can pat the old E30 on the dash for warming me up to the simple, well built, get it done design and style of the older BMW/MB, I am getting sold on the whole package more and more everytime I get in the drivers seat of that thing, to the point that even new BMW's are starting to appeal to me I still prefer the older ones... just seem to have that whole gearhead/drivers thing going on... but still has all the features on a modern car I would want.

[96Fleetwood]

I think the I drive system is great. If you have spent any measurable amount of time behind the wheel of a BMW equipped with it, you can appreciate how simple and effective the system is. I personally drove that 760Li from Atlanta to Virginia Beach and the Idrive system made operating the NAV, HVAC, and Radio much easier.. I didn't even have to take my eyes off the road.

BMW came up with the system in late 2001 and now every major luxury car has a similar system... go figure.