NevadaJack

Well guys...(and gals?)...I got home yesterday after having a very nice 2 week trip across this great country in my S550. For those expecting pictures I did not shoot any but of family and friends (sorry) but when I get in a car for a long trip I concentrate on driving. The scenery was beautiful but the car provided the ultimate satisfaction.

I traveled 5111 miles door to door and got an amazing 25.8 mpg including all driving...city highway and traffic delays! One stretch I was getting 28.5 while cruising between 70 and 80 mph and the rpm was just below 1900 or so. I averaged 63 mph on the trip which indicates I opened the car up a few times. Spent a total of 82 hours driving time...that's like two weeks sitting in the car and enjoying every minute of it.

The car was perfect. It tracks like no other car (MB included) and is so quiet even in the 70-100 mph range. Wind noise is all but undetectable at any speed. It corners like it was glued to the road and the Active Body Control welds you to the seat like no other car. The Multi-contour dynamic seats are a absolute must when selecting options. The adjustments are endless and the massage feature really releases the tension and tightness in long periods of driving.

I only had one problem...a tire blew out while doing about 75 mph on Interstate 40, about 40 miles west of Knoxville, Tennessee. The car did not lose it's track but started to vibrate and I knew something was wrong. I pulled over and the left rear tire had a 3" gash in the sidewall. I pushed the TelAide button and within 30 minutes I had assistance and they mounted the spare. I contacted MB of Knoxville and they had a tire replacement waiting for me...they mounted it and I was on my way after they mounted in less than 45 minutes. They would not warranty the tire since inspection showed no defects and the gash was from a sharp object. The roads now days are full of road hazards even though the states try and keep them clear of it.

All in all the best car I have ever owned. The quality is outstanding and the driving experience superb. I there is a better driving luxury car out there, then it has not been built yet or designed in my estimation. The S550 is not the MB top of the line, but the industries top of the line

bum-man

That's excellent to hear you are enjoying your W221 and quite impressive that you covered that kind of mileage in such a short time.

Splenditenes

Excellent report Jack! I can`t believe the car pulled more than 25mpg in the mixed driving, thats really impressive for a near 400hp car!

NevadaJack

I agree on the mileage...I could not believe that total figure. I shot a pic of the screen showing the complete trip (a few local miles yesterday).

Mr. Chigga_Chan

Wow, pretty good fuel economy too!

I also did a nice road trip across the upper midwest of the US all the way to Seattle, pics up in a day or so.

Glad to hear your S-Class ownership experience is so wonderful!

Mr. Mercedes

Nice to hear you had a great trip Nevada.

Did every aspect of the car perform flawlessly? Sound system, climate control etc? I used to find that the climate control of our w220 would strugle in our hot and humid summer weather (30-40 degrees celsius, 75%+ humidity). With our w211 the car copes better but is very very LOUD. The w209 still struggles a bit and cannot be left to its own devices, but needs to be left of maximum.

ALI

Very nice review NEVADA , Im planning on getting an S550 , the ML350 does superb in every category in long drive , I travel so much that was why I got the ML .... Now that the S550 is available I plan on getting one and leaving the ML for my wife since she loves this car ....

ALI

I agree , MBs arent the best when it comes to A Cs , that includes all german brands aswell , Japanese cars do that stuff better ...

Mr. Mercedes

A shame really, considering the amount of engineering that goes into every other aspect. I don't understand how testing in extreme hot weather climates does not bring this issue to the attention of the engineers.

ALI

It's not the attention , it's German Phylosophy (is that the way it's spelled ?)... All I can deduce is Japanese are the masters of electronics and germans are the masters of engineering .....