2005 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S500L from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Suffered damage while on display at motor-show, otherwise faultless.

Quite simply, an astonishing car.

My previous car (S350) was a fantastic car, which I bought as a little gift to myself for over 40 years of hard work. I had high expectations for the new generation of S-class, all of which were met... and shattered.

The car was purchased from the Melbourne motorshow, in metallic black with AMG styling kit and 19" AMG wheels.

The ride comfort is incredible, performance is amazing for a car of its size (0-100km/h in 5 and 1/2 seconds)

The car is just as nimble as an SLK, yet feels as solid as a tank, all the time disguising its just on 2 tonnes of weight.

Although it is only early days, the car has been absolutely outstanding, does everything you ask it to do, in style, with ease.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford one, it's a decision few will regret.

Of course the running costs on a Aus$300K plus car won't be cheap, but if that's an issue then this isn't the car for you.

I found Lexus to be better. They haven't resorted to cost cutting from the mid 90's.

The JD Power Survey awards speak for themselves.

Don't buy a car based soley on the badge.

Buying a car is all about choice. You like the Lexus, I prefer the Benz. I DROVE the S-class before buying it, aswell as the 7-series and LS430, and while the other two are fantastic cars, they were nothing in comparison.

In referance to your comment about the Power survey awards, I have never heard of them, but having searched on the internet, I figure I must add a Mini Cooper to my shopping list.

One final comment, a re-badged Toyota with Sat Nav hardly qualifies as a luxury car in my eyes, but there is always the saying about opinions and armpits!

You enjoy your Lexus, and I will enjoy the S500.

Safe motoring.

I agree with the first comment partly. Lexus is definitely becoming the industry quality leader. Their slogan,'the relentless pursuit of perfection', is not just a slogan and the top names of the luxury segment in the industry are feeling the heat, there is no doubt about it. And, so does the owners of these top luxury cars. But after all a Mercedes is a Mercedes, its reputation hasn't been built in a day hence won't be lost in a day as well. This gives ample time to Mercedes to improve on its quality and I am sure they are bound to change the rhetoric, 'high luxury, high maintenance'.

I must say that comparing a Lexus to an S500 is just not right. Lexus is a brand that is fast capturing market share, but really, its not at the same level of BMW and Mercedes yet. I think in terms of quality Audi far outshines Lexus.

True, Mercedes quality has decreased significantly especially compared to BMW, who have increased their quality tremendously, but for the flagship Mercedes models such as the AMG models, SL, CL and S class and even the CLK, the quality is still first rate and second to none.

Anyway, that's my opinion - now to find something else better to do..

CONGRATS ON YOUR PURCHASE.

I guess if both the flagship lexus and S class were the same price with compatible equipments, then I would go with benz. Otherwise, as it is the case with the difference in price, I will go with Lexus. On the other hand, if E class was compareed with LS model, I would definitely take the LS.

Flagship Mercedes vehicles were never really affected by the cost cutting method of the 90's. It was always the cheaper things that were hit the hardest and are what brought Mercedes down. The S-class is still as over engineered as they have always been, and the luxury is astounding.

<<Flagship Mercedes vehicles were never really affected by the cost cutting method of the 90's. It was always the cheaper things that were hit the hardest and are what brought Mercedes down. The S-class is still as over engineered as they have always been, and the luxury is astounding.>>

Unfortuantely that is not the case. There was a high profile lawsuit over an S Class in which the person won the price of the car plus damages because the reliability was so horrific. The car was a 2001. And there were many other such instances.

The S Class was squeezed on two sides - cost cutting combined with the need to add "excessive" features.

I fear that the previous post is right. In 1992 when the last S class came out The MSRP of a 1992 S 500 was $93,850 American dollars. The new 2000 S 500 MSRP was $78,495. That is over a $15,000 reduction not counting inflation. To compare that I'll Give you the prices of a Cadillac and a Lincoln, two car companies that stayed with the inflation curve. In 1992 a Caddy or Lincoln cost roughly $32,000, in 2000 they cost $40,000. The S class went from costing the price of almost three Caddies to costing less than two. Not to mention the fact that 92's options like Ads, heated seats, and a moon roof, became standard plus a host of new things like navigation and a dozen more air bags. Given these facts ( you can check them) we must therefor conclude that some serious cost cutting was done, or that Mercedes decided they would make forty grand less with each car. Not likely.

I don't really agree with the above comment. My dad bought his 91 560sel for $60k, and the price didn't go up almost $30K in one year.

And even if there was some cost cutting, technologies like heated seats have become more common, meaning it's much much cheaper to produce now than in 92.

However, I do agree that quality has gone down in Mercedes, even the S-Classes. I know two people who have S500s; one had an engine failure, and the other had many accessories break. The S500 badging began to fall off letter by letter, and the cup holders broke after one month.

Well two years on from the day I bought it and I'm still impressed with the car.

I've clocked up just under 40,000kms (around25k miles) and only issue has been the parking sensors playing up.

This turned out to be caused by the custom number plates I had fitted being screwed on incorrectly.

My only suggestion is that people who actually own/driven the vehicle in question for lengthy periods of time leave comments on reviews??

It just seems to be filled with comments by teenagers simply repeating whatever Clarkson said on last weeks episode of top gear.

Also if Lexus is so much better, buy the lexus!

If bmw is so much better, buy the bmw!

If you're bitter because you can't afford the vehicle or you just don't like them but have never owned/driven the vehicle, then please leave your unconstructive criticism to yourself as all you're doing is ruining this website for the rest of us.