The New S550: Sportier, Sexier, More Expensive

Thought the S-Class was just a bloated limo for plush-bottomed plutocrats? With a bigger engine and a better ride, this is one luxury sedan that's also fun to drive

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Quickness, comfortable ride and cabin, high-tech options

The Bad: High price, quality problems in the past

The Bottom Line: Crème de la Crème luxury -- and you pay for it

Reader Reviews

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The new Mercedes S550 is the kind of car that people work hard all their lives to afford. I drove its predecessor last year, and the new version of Mercedes' flagship luxury sedan has all the traditional virtues of the previous one: impeccable fit and finish; a cushy, ultra-comfortable ride; and a spacious, leather- and wood-lined cabin where sound is so muffled it seems as if the engine is turning over somewhere in the next county.

The new S Class sedan, which came out early this year but is labeled a 2007 model, is also far sportier than the previous one. The S550's styling is curvier and sleeker than its boxy, traditional-looking predecessor. And the car's standard 32-valve, 382 horsepower V8 engine will propel it from 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds, which is as muscle-car fast as the Ford (F) Mustang GT.

The new S550 even gets slightly better mileage than its predecessor. The S550 is rated to get 16 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway. In a stretch of 280 miles of mixed driving, I got 18.5 mpg, which is pretty good for such a big, speedy car. By comparison, the 2005 S500 was rated to get the same city mileage, but only 22 mpg on the highway.

PUSH-BUTTON START.

So far, Mercedes has sold out of its early inventory of S550s.Through April, it sold 10,651 this year, more than double the sales of the old model during the same period last year -- although that might be an unfair comparison because many potential buyers knew of the redesign and saved their money for the 2007 model.

The advanced technology in the S550 is evident "from the start." As long as you have the key on your person, you can start the car by merely pushing a button on the dash. The emergency brake is electronic -- you turn it on or off by flicking a little paddle on the dash to the left of the steering wheel. There's no conventional shifter -- just a stubby little lever on the steering assembly. Tap it up for reverse, down for drive, and push a button on the end for park.

Many people will like this shifter. If you're going to go with an automatic on a car like this, it might as well be easy to use. But if you want a driver's car, you might want a stick shift and a little less interference in the driving experience. I was expecting a luxury car and ended up liking the ease of use of this feature a lot. And the automatic transmission on the S550 is very smooth, with little revving or hunting around for the right gear.

SEATS OF POWER.

When the car is going forward, the butter-smooth, seven-speed automatic transmission is designed to adapt its shifting pattern to your style of driving. If your driving style is more sedate, the automatic shifts by moving from second to third at a lower speed. If you're a more aggressive driver, it shifts at higher speeds.

It's worth test-driving the S550 just to try out the power seats, which are among the fanciest on the market. As in other Mercedes, the seat adjustments are conveniently next to you on the front and rear doors, rather than on the seat-sides, as they are in many cars. You can manipulate the seat position, lumbar support, etc., in all the usual ways.

There are also inflatable pockets in the side bolsters of the front seats that snug you in whenever you accelerate or take a corner a little fast. It's disconcerting at first -- you feel like an unsteady toddler whose anxious mother is constantly steadying him from behind -- but you get used to it.

GOOD MEMORY.

Both driver and front passengers also can make nearly infinite minute adjustments in the seat settings using the computer-mouse-style knob and video screen on the center console. There are 10 settings apiece for shoulders and thighs, for instance, and three firmness settings.

Fortunately, once you get the seats adjusted to your liking, there's a function that memorizes the settings for up to three drivers and three passengers. There's also a marvelous massage system in both front seats. Settings range from "slow and gentle" to "fast and vigorous," which feels like rolling pins are running up and down your spine.