My model S was one of the first hardware 2 cars delivered in the UK in December 2016. I might have been lucky, but apart from losing a bit of pressure from one tyre, nothing has gone wrong with it. Having had it for 2 years, an 18 year old driver managed to run into the driver's side of the the front of the car at speed smashing the alloy wheel, braking the suspension, drive shafts, and ripping the front bumper off. Understandably, it took 11 weeks to repair. His insurers provided the best replacement Enterprise could provide, and a Mercedes CLS 4Matic with a good specification. Seriously, it felt like stepping back 10 years. There was nothing about the car that I preferred to Model S, and I could not wait to get my car back. The Tesla approved repairer did a fine job. Like most Tesla drivers, the next car in my household will be a Tesla.
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Mercedes S-class vs Tesla
- Thread starter JetFalcon
- Start date
geoffmanley
Member
I would say half a second over a 0-60 is a huge difference. Didn't the Model S lap Nurburgring in 7:23 while the M5 did it in 7.38? So your M5 has one thing on Telsa, top end power. Nice! Although keep in mind that in a few years there won't be any metric upon which ICE cars will still have an advantage. I know it's hard for you to hear, but it's the truth.
0-60 mph tells you little about real world urban driving when comparing an EV against an ICE.
This is why it "Dyson's" (really sucks) to go from an EV to an ICE but not vice-versa.
When you look at road tests, check the passing time, not the 0-60. This is why EVs are easier to drive in traffic.
But you do not have to choose between an IKEA EV or a lagging yet comfy ICE anymore.
There are EVs with excellent seats, with seating options, and lots more convenience features than the Tesla offerings.
So far, this is a very small market and I can understand why Tesla hasn't worried about it yet. They might never need to worry about it. Perhaps up-trimmed EVs will always be too small of a market. But given a choice, personally I'd take the more comfy EV over the less comfy one.
This is why it "Dyson's" (really sucks) to go from an EV to an ICE but not vice-versa.
When you look at road tests, check the passing time, not the 0-60. This is why EVs are easier to drive in traffic.
But you do not have to choose between an IKEA EV or a lagging yet comfy ICE anymore.
There are EVs with excellent seats, with seating options, and lots more convenience features than the Tesla offerings.
So far, this is a very small market and I can understand why Tesla hasn't worried about it yet. They might never need to worry about it. Perhaps up-trimmed EVs will always be too small of a market. But given a choice, personally I'd take the more comfy EV over the less comfy one.
dark cloud
Active Member
Personally, I would take the sportier one, but fortunately I don't have to sacrifice, because I've got $5K worth of Palliser home theatre seating in my home theatre, and I would rather sit in my Recaro Next gen seats in the 2014 model S. They fit me like a glove.
Having owned Mercedes for many, many years, I do not think the S-class is a good comparison model for the Model S. The E class is closer even though the Model S is larger (on the outside) than an E class.
My experience coming from an E class is quite similar to what others have said -- the Mercedes rides better (but I have a 2015 with steel coils, not the modern raven air suspension) and as the OP said, the interior is more luxurious and the fit and finish are better. Having said that, I have no fit issues with my Model S. There are some sub-par materials, such as the easily dented aluminum trim on the dash and doors (since replaced with plastic on newer cars).
The Mercedes seats a bit better (although I am sure that varies with exactly which models and years you are comparing).
And the Mercedes doors are more solid, close more reliably and securely, and do not have the foolish frameless windows that Tesla uses (and which cause problems in winter).
But I would not willingly go back. Unless my Model S becomes unreliable or the service deteriorates further, I plan to stick with EVs, preferably Tesla. Well, unless and until there is a fully electric EV sold by Mercedes in the US. i had high hopes for the EQC but we won't see it now until (at least) 2021.
One other point -- having owned many used Benzes, they are very costly to repair. I do not have personal experience with unwarranted repairs on my Model S yet, and am hopeful the Tesla will prove to be more economical for long-term maintenance/repair. We'll see!
My experience coming from an E class is quite similar to what others have said -- the Mercedes rides better (but I have a 2015 with steel coils, not the modern raven air suspension) and as the OP said, the interior is more luxurious and the fit and finish are better. Having said that, I have no fit issues with my Model S. There are some sub-par materials, such as the easily dented aluminum trim on the dash and doors (since replaced with plastic on newer cars).
The Mercedes seats a bit better (although I am sure that varies with exactly which models and years you are comparing).
And the Mercedes doors are more solid, close more reliably and securely, and do not have the foolish frameless windows that Tesla uses (and which cause problems in winter).
But I would not willingly go back. Unless my Model S becomes unreliable or the service deteriorates further, I plan to stick with EVs, preferably Tesla. Well, unless and until there is a fully electric EV sold by Mercedes in the US. i had high hopes for the EQC but we won't see it now until (at least) 2021.
One other point -- having owned many used Benzes, they are very costly to repair. I do not have personal experience with unwarranted repairs on my Model S yet, and am hopeful the Tesla will prove to be more economical for long-term maintenance/repair. We'll see!
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Totally agree. The S class and 7 series are not really Model S competitors in any way, despite constantly being lumped together. They are in no way comparable in terms of interior size.
I think the closest competitors in the Merc/BMW lineups are probably the CLS and 6 Series Gran Coupe if we’re being honest.
AMPd
Well-Known Member
Why would it be hard for me to hear? Did you miss the part where I own both a model s and an M5? You seem to be confused on where I stand in this argument.
Also that model s is not in production at the moment so you comparing a prototype to a real world production car seems unfair.. but also in line with your bias views.
I know it’s hard for you to hear this but the Model s does not achieve 0-60 in 2.4 or lower in all conditions, in the real world its around 2.9-3 seconds, unless the conditions are perfect. So really in the real world the difference is not that great in terms of performance.. but hey don’t be somber in a few years ICE cars will be underperforming in all aspects... because you said so...
Curious George
Member
It was just Elon, adding up the best times of many sections to come up with a very optimistic final number.
That car is also not any production Model S, and not even future production Model S.
No one knows what mods were applied to it or if it can be produced as tested.
Most likely, the experience gathered from this will just be used to build the Roadster.
AMPd
Well-Known Member
Not to mention Elon himself said that it’s easier to achieve that in a prototype over an actual production model.
MS Plaid at the 'ring had big flares and big tires on it at a minimum. That's what was visible.
Curious George
Member
It seems you are right and I was wrong about this. I picked up that "best sections added up" from a Matt Farah podcast. Now I looked it up, and it appears that what you said is correct.
Tesla 'Plaid' Model S crushes Porsche Taycan's Nürburgring time, witness says - Electrek
"“But what the new drive can do he has already shown on some very fast laps. Our observer reports a hand-stopped lap time of 7:23 minutes – as I said: hand-stopped with corresponding inaccuracies. But that would be about 20 seconds faster than that Porsche Taycan. The weather conditions on Monday (16.9.) were rather cool with 18 degrees and heavy cloud cover.”
I stand corrected.
Just about every other car in our garage has better quality fit and finish (including ones that were 1/10th the price).
For me the only thing going for my Model-S is the drivetrain performance and how much nicer it is to drive (and no petrol station visits). If the Model S was a traditional ICE vehicle they would have gone broke by 2015 based on every other aspect of the car.
Don't get me wrong, it's the car I still look forward to driving but that isn't because of the car as a package, it's because of how good Tesla are at battery and motor tech and that's about where it ends.
Fact - Tesla's rattle, creak, leak, have questionable reliability, cost a bomb to fix and have a service department that is going downhill at a rapid rate....Name one ICE brand like this? I can't, well certainly none of the ones I've owned have been like that.
