chuck92103 said:
My neighbor bought one of the new Mercedes a couple months ago. He loves it except for one thing. His previous 7 series had a lot more room. The merc is about the size of a 5 series at a hefty price.
A bit of hyperbole, but the 760Li and the S600 are pretty close, with the Bimmer providing a little more head and shoulder room and a little less leg room. Here are the stats, from the MBZ website, comparing the two vehicles. The first figure is the Merc (Imperial measurements):
Weight 4895 4905
Height 58 58.4
length 205.1 203.9
wheelb 124.6 123.7
width 73.7 74.9
headrm 37.8 39.2
legrm 41.9 41.3
shldr 59.1 59.3
This is for the front seats only. No stats for backseat. The BMW website compares the 7ers to the 2006 S class. One place where the Bimmer beats the Mercedes quite soundly is price. The S600 is $20,000 more than the 760Li. But the Merc has about 50 more ponies and the S65 will have 150 more (but cost an additional $45K).
The S65 is going to be a monster. And a real freeway cruiser. In about December Mercedes dealers will be discounting the S65 furiously, as gas prices get up around $4.50 a gallon.
I've seen photos of the new CL class and I don't like the look at all. It's got the massive rear end of the S class, but it doesn't have the length to support the mass and it looks awkward. The new S class just looks massive and stately. I guess that's what happens when you become a geezer. Stately.
What I'm looking forward to most of all are all the gadgets, especally the new distronic (active cruise control) which drives it for you in stop and go traffic.