[Sahil]

A close family member in Delhi wanted me to revamp his garage. He had a decade old W221 S300 and an E250 that had run close to one lakh km. The S-Class had to be replaced with a S and E had to be replaced with an E as he was only chauffeured and preferred the MB badge to other Germans.

Went preowned for the E and saved the moolah to get him an S450 W223 and also added in a new Kia Carnival limo version for highway runs. Ultimate chauffeured garage if you ask me.

Why did I pick the S450 over the S350d for chauffeured usage?
Firstly, the car is already bloody expensive, starting at Rs. 1.56 crore for the S350d and Rs. 1.61 crore for the S450 4matic. Hence, the Rs. 5 lakh difference doesn’t pinch, but what it gets you is a petrol engine (petrol is a boon for Delhi with their RTO norms), 4-wheel drive to put the power down better and a new age engine which touches 100 km/h in 5 seconds (1.5 seconds faster than the diesel)!
Secondly and most importantly I will use the car every time I visit

Got allocation smoothly via T&T for one of the first few S450s. The new MBIL policy is pretty transparent and payments are made directly to them for the ex-showroom price. Dealers only charge you for the RTO tax amount. Highly recommend the dealership.

Akshay has covered the review beautifully with all details, so I will focus my opinions on the comparison with my W222. This comparison was to be done months ago, but thanks to GTO busting the tyre, I could not review the W223 alongside my w222

Exterior: I’m split between the two models! Front and rear profiles - I prefer the W222 for its regal and stately looks. However, the side profile of the W223 is just superb!
Although dimensions suggest otherwise, the W222 defiantly looks bigger.

Interior: The tech in the new model is way ahead not doubt! But, it no longer has the old world charm. Heck, it doesn’t even have trademark brown wood panel inserts. It’s piano black in most places and as we speak, the car is getting it’s ppf including the interior console as it’s so prone to scratches!

The brown interior offered in the new S is just superb and looks way better than the beige option which was the best pick in the W222.

Tech and interior colour aside, the W222 wins hands down in interior space. I was quite shocked and disappointed with the interior space of the new car. A friend, who has an E-Class sat in the rear and felt the legroom was even lesser than his E.

Another surprise was that the calf support is just on one side. But I guess that is fine for most. In the W222 you didn’t feel the need for the Maybach version as it had more than adequate space. With the W223 Mercedes is going to urge customers who can afford it to take the step up. Smart on their part, but as a customer, I am disappointed.

Drive: Not a far comparison as I have a diesel engine and the S450 is petrol. But overall the engine is noticeably smoother and quieter. Even from the outside due to the battery pack you cannot hear the engine at idle at all.

It did not feel briskly fast from the get go. However, I did not drive the car for long this time. I will post an update on this in the future.

Suspension: Does seem better as even with 19-inch tyres, the ride was super smooth. Speaking of tyres, I was surprised that they are now 255 mm wide! The W222 came with a staggered setup with 275s at the rear.
I hope the 4matic plays its magic to put the power down better for slimmer tyres.

Verdict: Would I upgrade from my W222 HAPPILY to the W223? It’s a firm NO.
In some ways the W223 is a major upgrade, especially the tech. But overall, it feels a size smaller and that’s a big downgrade for an owner like my father who spends 80% of his time in the back seat. This is the long wheelbase version. I really wonder what the legroom in the regular wheelbase abroad must be like!

Another issue is the price, which has gone up 50% in 6 years! The car just does not feel worth Rs. 1.8 crore on-road no matter how you look at it. If they kept the OTR price at Rs. 1.5 crore, I would still be OK with it having the flaws it does.

Continuing with the question above, would I SADLY upgrade to the new S? Maybe! You never know. Due to the lack of choices, we might have to. But for now, I would rather wait for the new 7-Series to launch and hopefully, they haven’t shrunk the interior value proportion to the customer!

[meetbhav]

Originally Posted by Sahil

A close family member in Delhi wanted me to revamp their garage, they had a decade old w221 S300 and E250 that had run close to a lakh kms.
The S-class had to be replaced with a S as E had to be replaced with an E as they were only chauffeured and preferred the MB badge to other Germans.

Proper drool worthy garage! T-Bhp members would love it if you could review the other rides they have. I'm sure they have quite a collection.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by meetbhav

Proper drool worthy garage! T-Bhp members would love it if you could review the other rides they have. I'm sure they have quite a collection.

The collection is most of what I just mentioned and revamped.
Kia carinval limo, S-class w223, facelift E200, prefacelift E220. All these have replaced the decade old mercs in the last 3 months. Ideally I had suggested to get a 6GT instead of the second E but they all love Mercedes too much to switch.

I’m hoping they don’t wait another decade to replace these

[Cliff9091]

Originally Posted by Sahil

The collection is most of what I just mentioned and revamped.
Kia carinval limo, S-class w223, facelift E200, prefacelift E220. All these have replaced the decade old mercs in the last 3 months. Ideally I had suggested to get a 6GT instead of the second E but they all love Mercedes too much to switch.

I’m hoping they don’t wait another decade to replace these

The W223 is packed with a lot of driver oriented tech which I feel is really not required when most of these cars are chauffeur driven, the passenger oriented features are always at its best when it came to any generation of the S-Class. The overall heft and old world elegance that the W222 carried, the W223 simply lacks.

[devsoftech]

Originally Posted by Cliff9091

The overall heft and old world elegance that the W222 carried, the W223 simply lacks.

This is partly due to Tesla, Lucid and their likes claiming the luxury segment and proving how shift to tech is making a difference. Sure, that exposure is limited in India and also this elegant looks is a non-functional perspective. I hate the tail lights on this, and it's overall stance. Looks apart, The new S-class did not cut corners for passengers, and the experience is in fact much elevated than before. I might be biased as an owner but interior lighting, sharp displays, MBUX experience (Voice commands, tablet and touch screen), USB-C 100W charging for Laptops, HDMI inputs to watch Chromecast/project laptop on rear high quality display, noise-cancelling headphone, energizing comfort, Better Burmeister audio are only additional enhancements to older gen S-classes, and any passenger will take this over older S-class. S-class faces the brunt for not just being a flagship for Mercedes but also sets the precedent for several cars to follow (Genesis for sure). Seat heating/cooling, massage and supple ride quality has remained standard over the years. I would say most of the features in S class were previously ignored by Chauffeurs, and now technology has bridged the gap. A Tesla model S costs similar and is not a chauffeur driven car. So the dynamics of a car and consumer behavior is shifting. They focused on the drivers and tech with this release, and for good reasons. It was long overdue for a flagship status.

I for one would not have picked this, if it was not comfortable. Just the flagship branding would not have cut it for me. On the tech side, I can boast of it's all wheel steering, V8 with 500HP, 3D stereo display, HUD experience - Without these as well I would not have considered buying one.

[SR-71]

Automated valet parking with the S...

https://youtu.be/9j4MDcXqsq4