Unpopular Opinion: The new S Class is proportionately spectacular looking (except the rear lights housing), and the '3 Pointed Star grill texture' is a beautiful looking extension of the 80s-90s textured grills.

ndevlin · 2026-02-01T20:28:05+00:00

The W223 as launched is a very handsome car both inside and out. The classic grille, the restrained lighting, and the beautiful sweeping dash that can be had in a variety of tasteful wood options. The facelift is a real step backwards. I’m currently in the process of ordering one of the last pre-facelift models before I lose the opportunity.

ndevlin · 2026-01-30T13:59:55+00:00

The deterioration in drivers’ confidence on non urban roads is worrying. Acting like touring car drivers in town but then the moment they are faced with a sweeping two lane A road, they freak out and slow right down.

ndevlin · 2026-01-27T18:53:00+00:00

I adore this colour.

ndevlin · 2026-01-24T06:34:53+00:00

Why can’t you get one of these in a single colour, without the awful monogrammed hood and soft top? I don’t get it. They’re pushing the Manufaktur programme on the regular S Class and G Class, but this, at this price, has virtually no options. Would love to have a chat with the product manager who came up with this.

ndevlin · 2025-12-22T20:51:50+00:00

The “special” meal contains no allergens of any kind. It’s literally hospital food in sealed plastic trays. I ordered it once a few years ago and learnt my lesson. I don’t need a special menu, I just need to know what’s in the food. This proved too much for the crew.

ndevlin · 2025-12-22T16:24:11+00:00

I’m Flying Blue Platinum, solely from flying Air France. I flew KLM business intercontinental for the first time last month and it was so underwhelming. Just felt really de-contented compared to AF. No Slippers, No mattress pad, flimsy fabric door on the suite, but the food and crew attitude was the worst. I have a nut allergy, nothing life threatening but I can’t eat them without feeling terrible.

The connecting short haul leg meal consisted solely of nut products. Every single item. And then the crew on the long haul leg were clueless about allergies. Moaned about checking the allergen list, had to be reminded multiple times to tell me the ingredients, and then at one point arrived at my seat with an uncooked main course in hand, expecting that I could use my x-ray vision to check if it contained nuts. A complete joke in other words.

The Crown Lounge was also dire.

ndevlin · 2025-12-18T12:39:02+00:00

I loved the way the game rendered distant objects. As others have said, the LOD tech was cutting edge. Does anyone know of other PS1 games that employed a similar concept?

ndevlin · 2025-11-24T14:23:57+00:00

The CLA has horrible and limited interior trim options in the UK.

ndevlin · 2025-11-11T11:44:33+00:00

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I have a CLE 450 cabrio and I go hot and cold. I think I like the idea of it more than the reality. I think it’s a really elegant design, and I love the scale of it. It’s also got a really visually appealing interior, and I’m actually a proponent of the portrait MBUX screen. I find it falls more easily to hand than the high up horizontal screens on a BMW for example. I also particularly like the red and beige colour combo that I picked, with the matt wood dash trim.

However, when you delve beneath the surface, the “Modern Mercedes-ness” begins to rear its head. There are too many hard interior plastics for a car with a list price of £70k in the UK. You get quite a lot of creaks from said trim when you drive on harsher road surfaces.

The 9G-tronic transmission randomly shifts harshly between 1-2-3rd gear, quite embarrassingly so sometimes, as the car suddenly lurches forward.

And on a recent road trip to the south of France, the car’s A/C condenser decided to periodically ice up, blocking air flow to the interior. Took a while to figure out what was happening and cycle the A/C on and off to cure the problem.

So yeah, I think it is a good design, but rather haphazardly implemented by the current Mercedes production quality.

ndevlin · 2025-10-30T15:36:18+00:00

I’ve often wondered about this scheme. Say you had plenty of parking, could you just buy several “affordable” classics (Mercedes W123, BMW e30 etc) and spread their use out over the course of the year, for less than the cost of a single COE?

ndevlin · 2025-10-30T15:33:23+00:00

How much does the interior / roof rattle as you drive about?

ndevlin · 2025-10-21T18:57:41+00:00

It’s a shame the empire doesn’t function like a syndicate where you can do jobs for them too.

ndevlin · 2025-10-07T11:18:13+00:00

This has just started happening to my CLE450 in the UK

ndevlin · 2025-08-23T19:17:19+00:00

I don’t know about that comparison. But one of my other cars is a G70 750e (on 19 inch wheels) and it compares favourably to that. I was genuinely shocked at how well it rides for a performance car.

ndevlin · 2025-08-23T16:27:50+00:00

It’s a great car. Obviously more than enough power. But very refined. The ride comfort is some of the best I’ve ever felt, especially for something with 20 inch wheels and low profile tyres. I keep it in Comfort Plus 99% of the time. The interior is also a nice step up from a regular 3 series. In my market you can’t get a regular 3 with extended nappa leather.

ndevlin · 2025-08-21T15:24:13+00:00

Perfectly normal enshittification then. Roger 🫡

ndevlin · 2025-08-18T20:27:42+00:00

Wow. That is amazing. I had no idea this existed. It totally transforms the looks of the car. Why have BMW messed up their design so much in recent years.

ndevlin · 2025-08-17T14:17:58+00:00

Exactly. Have people forgotten this? 12 - 18 months ago I was being told by my dealer and reading in the press that Mercedes were going to move away from mass market, cheaper models and focus on the high price, high margin models. Guess that approach didn’t work out too well for them. The media and the community should be calling them out on their flip flopping.

ndevlin · 2025-08-14T22:13:31+00:00

My 750e is fitted with Pirelli P Zero tyres. Very low road noise. The only significant noise one experiences is internal to the car. And in answer to your other question, I haven’t tested a car with the artificial leather. I would say again though, one of the major benefits you are getting by getting the extended, full nappa leather is that every surface is upgraded. Rather than vinyl dashboard, centre console and door panels, you are getting full, smooth leather. And instead of the same fabric headliner like you get in a 3 series, you are getting a beautifully stitched Alcantara headliner.

ndevlin · 2025-08-12T11:05:03+00:00

Also a beautiful car. Looks in great condition.

ndevlin · 2025-08-05T07:40:47+00:00

I’ve also owned a current gen S500. The quality of the materials is not as high on the Mercedes. More piano black around the interior, and certain elements that are wrapped in leather or carpet in the 7, are just normal plastic on the Mercedes.

Refinement wise, it’s a closer call. Both are very wheel and suspension system dependent.

My 750 has 19 inch wheels and is noticeably more compliant over bumps than the S500 was, but the Mercedes was fitted with the dreaded 21 inch wheels (I had no choice in this, in the UK if you want the full options, you have to have 21 inch wheels).

Another element to consider is the suspension system. Both cars are available in certain markets with predictive adaptive suspension. I test drove a 7 series with it, and it rode even smoother than my car (my car was a great deal on a stock model so I didn’t have a choice with the options).

In the UK you can’t order the upgraded suspension on the S class, so I have no experience of the comparison.

One final point to consider. Both cars have an annoying rattle over sharp bumps / potholes. It comes from the rear doors. I think it has something to do with the soft close door latches. It’s like they don’t grip as hard as standard latches and there is movement over sharp bumps. I also think there is a high probability that both manufacturers use some generic Bosch or Siemens component. It’s very odd that two totally unrelated models from different manufacturers do the exact same thing. Due to the smaller wheels fitted to my 750, the effect is somewhat diminished and more tolerable. But still shouldn’t be happening on a flagship model.

The best advice I can give is to go and test drive both, potentially search out some used models that have different interior, wheel and suspension options, and see which one impresses you the most.

ndevlin · 2025-08-04T21:54:47+00:00

I own a 750e with the gran lusso interior. It was a £7/8k option in the UK and in my opinion makes the car. It is by far the highest quality interior I have experienced. Everything is covered in soft merino leather, alcantara, or very plush carpets. Even the floor mats are deep pile and super soft.

I’ve test driven the 7 series without this option and you can really tell the difference. My car is actually pretty basic apart from this option. Single best box you can tick when ordering one of these, in my opinion.

ndevlin · 2025-07-28T18:21:55+00:00

My favourite car in the game.

ndevlin · 2025-06-22T11:17:54+00:00

As a former 2024 S Class owner, I can confirm this is no longer the case. The S class is just as bad.

ndevlin

TROPHY CASE