GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the interior pictures.

Sorry spwolf, but good gawd, that interior is nasty

The steering wheel and 4 vents looks like (domestic) crap

Going by this so far

They were good at copying the 7 series interior for the first model, so what happened here?

Stormwind

Ugly steering wheel, another smily face there along with the bumper.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

not very impressed with it at all...

Blackraven

Based on the pic that spwolf posted

Nice:
-Huge multimedia display screen ala Lexus
-Instrument Cluster Gauge Panel is now a full TFT display screen (compared to the current W221 where only the speedometer is digital while the rest are analog instruments)

Not nice:
-Lol that steering wheel looks like those from cheap taxi cabs from the 90s (though I know this is maybe a lower model; obviously you won't see this rubbish steering wheel on the AMG version)

Other unknowns/neutral:
-the aircon vents (I have no problem with those)
-hmm......paddle shifters now standard on all versions? (and not just on the AMG versions?)

Anyways, this is just a regular version featured. I'd wait-and-see for the AMG version before I make my verdict

rominl

iTrader: (4)

steering shifting are available on all w221. on amg you get the pedals sticking out, but on normal w221, it's a button at the back of steering wheel (same location) that you can press to upshift and downshift.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

have a good feeling about this new s-class...

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I am kind of dissppointed by the interior, what happened to the steering wheel? 2 spokes? Looks like the 1995 Toyota Avalon I had before.

spwolf

this is full equipment version, you can see it has leather everywhere (leather wrapped dash).... driver space looks cozy which is nice and luxurious for such large car... but sure there are some minor nibbles as always - like those 3 stalks on the left side, thats a bit crazy and they dont look that good... or the fact that you have to open up that ugly compartment to get to the 12v and leave it hanging out like that... or that there is no secondary radio controls.

but overall, it seems like big change from before.

as to the full TFT - i cant imagine it looking that good, wouldnt it look a bit washed out during day? LFA combination meters with both digital and nicely looking hardware seems to be the tops so far.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i have zero problem with the dash screen on my w221, no matter what time of the day or where the sun is glaring from.

maybe leather dash is going to be more standard. even on w221 i don't think extended leather was a high up option

spwolf

lower dash seems only on S600, as S550 didnt have it as option, at least according to the website.

how do you like it compared to yours? I didnt think TFT would be an issue, just that wouldnt look good during the day?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

lcd displays (esp. led backlit) can be VERY bright these days, plus of course there's a cowl around it on a car, so i don't think it's a problem at all. jag xj already does this, as does new cadillac xts

rominl

iTrader: (4)

lower dash as in glove box area? s550 has that option. if you get extended / premium leather package you have all those wrapped already

if you get s600, i believe you get diamond stitching as well

you mean the new w222 dash compared to my w221? i really dislike those vents, and the steering wheel looks off too. i like the center console part, looks comfortable with the command control (i often rest my right hand on the center console in my w221). the nav screen is nice, but i kind of like it more inset like what it is now.

mb used to have a zillion buttons on the dash, since w221 a lot of them are gone / hidden. i really like how clean and smooth the dash is, compared to the ls460 which i think does have a lot of buttons everywhere.

my speedometer displays perfectly fine during the day, very bright and clear. never much of a problem. and it's great when switching mode i can see so many details like nav directions, song names, and all settings, right integrated into the center of the gauge

Och

iTrader: (3)

There were burn in problems on some older LCD displays used by Mercedes.

spwolf

cool, to me it has nice "yacht" look to it, including the steering wheel i dont like but again, you can change it... Overall, now when i look at current S pics, it looks old :-).

I agree few buttons look smooth, i just like few more for radio controls that i use a lot... all these ***** are good, but i really like to use nice quality dial for volume. Sure, you can use steering wheel buttons, thats what they are for, but in a sedan, dial is so close to natural position of your right hand.

I didnt mean to suggest TFT had problems, I would simply prefer some high quality mechanicals around it, like on LFA, or even simpler version than a blank TFT... would look classier.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i read somewhere that mb is trying to bring this retro feel in their cars. don't ask me why they would want that, but as you can see in the sl, gl, and now s, they are doing it. that's probably why i don't like it though

actually, the way they design it, they want you to rest your hand on the center armrest, and your hand will naturally fall on the command ****. i don't know if you have checked out the w221, but immediately to the right of the command ****, there is a volume "roll", where you can easily roll on it and change the volume. there is also the mute button. if anything, that seems "easier" to use than raising your hand from the armrest to turn a **** on the dash. i put "easier" in parenthesis because it might not be trivial to everyone since **** on dash is so standard already over the years