My personal car reviews: Update on the Mercedes S-Class ("Distronic Plus")
- Thread starter MacGuffin
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D-Fence
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Wow, if you showed me that image ten years ago and said "I bet you 100 DM this is an S-Class" I lost. This actually looks seriously cool!
MacGuffin
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This surely looks a bit weird but I always wanted to do that:
Carmen's Revenge
Active Member
By the time I bought a car (which is... never? ) they'll probably have these night vision systems standard issue and I wouldn't need any more computer games.
MacGuffin
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You can, by the way, also see the "intelligent lighting system" at work in that nightvision video: The high beam goes on and off automatically.
Since I realized that this is the updated S-Class after the half-time improvement (they call it "Mopf" at Mercedes, short for "Modellpflege"), I decided to take some additional pictures to make the changes recognizable. They are subtle but effective, if you ask me. The car looks more proportional and elegant and not so "voluptuous" anymore. Also the interior is even better in terms of material and built quality and the standard wood is more pleasing to the eye, too. The whole care makes a more matured impression now. It's also quieter than the ones I had before. They obviously sid some things in the area of noise insulation.
I really like those exhausts.
Again I must say, that while other car makers may also have the gadgets in their cars now, in terms of usability and functionality Mercedes is still always that little bit ahead, that makes a difference.
Take the seat adjustments for example: All car makers mount them to the bottom of the seats, where you have to feel for them with your fingers. But Mercedes places them in the doors, which is probably much more expensive production-wise but ergonomically is miles ahead.
It's the details, you know... For example the fact that the inner door openers are large enough, that even people with big, fat hands like mine can fit four fingers into them and not only two, like in most other cars.
And here are some night videos I cut together, including demonstration of the rear view camera (which -- since it's a Merc -- is again a little bit better to use, than in the 5-Series I recently drove) and the vehicle settings menu, which I think is cool.
[video=youtube;JS5wV2yh-ZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS5wV2yh-ZQ[/video]
Since I realized that this is the updated S-Class after the half-time improvement (they call it "Mopf" at Mercedes, short for "Modellpflege"), I decided to take some additional pictures to make the changes recognizable. They are subtle but effective, if you ask me. The car looks more proportional and elegant and not so "voluptuous" anymore. Also the interior is even better in terms of material and built quality and the standard wood is more pleasing to the eye, too. The whole care makes a more matured impression now. It's also quieter than the ones I had before. They obviously sid some things in the area of noise insulation.
I really like those exhausts.
Again I must say, that while other car makers may also have the gadgets in their cars now, in terms of usability and functionality Mercedes is still always that little bit ahead, that makes a difference.
Take the seat adjustments for example: All car makers mount them to the bottom of the seats, where you have to feel for them with your fingers. But Mercedes places them in the doors, which is probably much more expensive production-wise but ergonomically is miles ahead.
It's the details, you know... For example the fact that the inner door openers are large enough, that even people with big, fat hands like mine can fit four fingers into them and not only two, like in most other cars.
And here are some night videos I cut together, including demonstration of the rear view camera (which -- since it's a Merc -- is again a little bit better to use, than in the 5-Series I recently drove) and the vehicle settings menu, which I think is cool.
[video=youtube;JS5wV2yh-ZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS5wV2yh-ZQ[/video]
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pepitko
Well-Known Member
Sweet, good job. I was actually driven around by a friend in exactly the same car (apart from interior) and I have to say the comfort really is very impressive.
Cool video you've got there, I love how the car accelerates from 130 to about 180 kmh, after that it isn't very impressive but you rarely need acceleration beyond that point.
Cool video you've got there, I love how the car accelerates from 130 to about 180 kmh, after that it isn't very impressive but you rarely need acceleration beyond that point.
rickhamilton620
has a fetish for terrible cars
Haha, I know right? Kinda eeerie and I'm only watching from the comfort of a desk chair! It's prob. even more so in the car.
MacGuffin, great review as always, the fact that you rent stuff for fun is icing on the cake...I figured you just rented stuff for work, etc.
Question on the backup camera, do the assistance lines move when you turn the wheel, effectively showing you where you'd end up if you backed up at that particular angle? I've always wondered why more automaker's camera's don't do this as it makes the feature imminently more useful IMO.
MacGuffin
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No, the lines don't move but they give you nice points of reference for the car's borders, for example when you backup to a fence, a wall or a curb. There is an additional yellow line showing, when you are about 50 cm away from the car behind you. It's really useful, because the camera alone really doesn't tell you too much about the actual position of the car.
MacGuffin
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Finally a sunny day today and I made some more vids without the constant clicking and clacking of rain drops from trees.
This update is turning more into a fully blown review. But then again, I always felt I didn't have enough video material of the S-Class, so yeah... it surely deserves the attention. And no one is forced to watch anyway...
First,though, here's a video I made in the rain and three more pics I took today to illustrate the contrast in weather conditions.
Of course it's a matter of taste but to me without question this shape is far better looking, than the flat-nosed 7-Series and the uninspired Audi A8. The S-CLass still sticks out.
You can say what you want but the star in front still has something you cannot put into words.
Oh, and I discovered a flaw, too: The button on the steering wheel for adjusting the volume of the stereo reacts too slow. So you push it harder and harder and harder to make it louder or lower more quickly. But when you push too hard, the horn goes off. Really, Mercedes, that almost spoils it...
EDIT: By the way: I have the car until tomorrow afternoon. So if somebody has an idea or a request or a suggestion of what to take a picture or a video of, there's still time.
This update is turning more into a fully blown review. But then again, I always felt I didn't have enough video material of the S-Class, so yeah... it surely deserves the attention. And no one is forced to watch anyway...
First,though, here's a video I made in the rain and three more pics I took today to illustrate the contrast in weather conditions.
Of course it's a matter of taste but to me without question this shape is far better looking, than the flat-nosed 7-Series and the uninspired Audi A8. The S-CLass still sticks out.
You can say what you want but the star in front still has something you cannot put into words.
Oh, and I discovered a flaw, too: The button on the steering wheel for adjusting the volume of the stereo reacts too slow. So you push it harder and harder and harder to make it louder or lower more quickly. But when you push too hard, the horn goes off. Really, Mercedes, that almost spoils it...
EDIT: By the way: I have the car until tomorrow afternoon. So if somebody has an idea or a request or a suggestion of what to take a picture or a video of, there's still time.
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syncview
Well-Known Member
We want to see you powersliding that house. Please make a video
D
D-Fence
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WILL IT DRIFT?
As well, try to write something for FinalGear with voice commands...or at least enter "FinalGear rocks" somehow with voice
As well, try to write something for FinalGear with voice commands...or at least enter "FinalGear rocks" somehow with voice
MacGuffin
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We want to see you powersliding that house. Please make a video
Well, powersliding the S-Class is difficult, because the ESP is never really off. But I did a bit of thrashing around on country roads in that cruise ship. All I need now, is some time to cut the videos.
WILL IT DRIFT?
As well, try to write something for FinalGear with voice commands...or at least enter "FinalGear rocks" somehow with voice
I'm not sure I understand what you have in mind there. You cannot teach the system new words...
But the following happened, when I spoke your magic words to the voice control:
[video=youtube;e9FVvg-GuME]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9FVvg-GuME[/video]
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MacGuffin
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Okay, I finally got around to cutting and encoding the videos I made.
First those when it was raining. It took me a while, because I had that idea of leaving the Mercedes start visible in the video, which meant I had to mount the camera higher. This also meant that my face was nicely visible in the rear view mirror. So I had to find out how to mask it, because I could upload it. Since I'm a novice at video editing, it took me some time and trying but once I cracked it, it was easy and I got better in time.
I spent about one-and-a-half hours on country roads in the rain with the S-Class and have cut that into 4 parts of approximately 15 minutes each. I spare you the first one, since not much is happening there. You can always watch it on YouTube, though.
By the way: When you see me push a button on the dash, I switch the Airmatic to sport mode or back to comfort mode. Sport mode doesn't do much in terms of comfort but it makes the car go around corners much more easily and at much higher speeds. I used familiar roads (those who watched my other review videos, will probably notice) to have a comparison between different cars. I also picked some particularly bad roads to demonstrate, how calm the S-Class glides over bumps. You will almost never see the camera shaking or hear it rattling. That's quite awesome.
Especially when you consider the speeds I was able to trash the car around corners at. I reckon that if it hadn't been raining that day, the S-Class would have gone around those corners with as much ease as the BMW Z4 I drove a while ago. The S-Class unbelievably nimble and sharp for such a big car -- but only in sport mode. Forget to switch sport mode on, try to go around a corner at the same speed and you'll be in for an unpleasant surprise. I know it firsthand
Oh, and for later videos in the dry I mounted the camera lower, since I noticed too late, that the rear view mirror was blocking the road ahead.
In this video pay attention at 5:00 min. That's what happens, when you go too fast on that brick road.
First those when it was raining. It took me a while, because I had that idea of leaving the Mercedes start visible in the video, which meant I had to mount the camera higher. This also meant that my face was nicely visible in the rear view mirror. So I had to find out how to mask it, because I could upload it. Since I'm a novice at video editing, it took me some time and trying but once I cracked it, it was easy and I got better in time.
I spent about one-and-a-half hours on country roads in the rain with the S-Class and have cut that into 4 parts of approximately 15 minutes each. I spare you the first one, since not much is happening there. You can always watch it on YouTube, though.
By the way: When you see me push a button on the dash, I switch the Airmatic to sport mode or back to comfort mode. Sport mode doesn't do much in terms of comfort but it makes the car go around corners much more easily and at much higher speeds. I used familiar roads (those who watched my other review videos, will probably notice) to have a comparison between different cars. I also picked some particularly bad roads to demonstrate, how calm the S-Class glides over bumps. You will almost never see the camera shaking or hear it rattling. That's quite awesome.
Especially when you consider the speeds I was able to trash the car around corners at. I reckon that if it hadn't been raining that day, the S-Class would have gone around those corners with as much ease as the BMW Z4 I drove a while ago. The S-Class unbelievably nimble and sharp for such a big car -- but only in sport mode. Forget to switch sport mode on, try to go around a corner at the same speed and you'll be in for an unpleasant surprise. I know it firsthand
Oh, and for later videos in the dry I mounted the camera lower, since I noticed too late, that the rear view mirror was blocking the road ahead.
In this video pay attention at 5:00 min. That's what happens, when you go too fast on that brick road.
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MacGuffin
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So, now about the day in the dry. I took the opportunity to make a roundtrip through East Frisia, which is the region next to where I live. I'm getting more familiar wth Adobe Premiere now (trying to figure out how things work is quite time-consuming but also rewarding). I still only scratched the surface of that software, I presume, but at least it now shows some results and not only frustration.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 1:
Part 2:
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gaasc
Desperately looking for a title
Well at least I'm rocking.
MacGuffin
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Btw., at the end of the first and during the second video, I made use of the radar-guided cruise control "Distronic Plus". Not much traffic, though, so it wasn't really challenged.
Here's how it is to drive the S-Class on highways. There's enough power for overtaking for sure:
Here's how it is to drive the S-Class on highways. There's enough power for overtaking for sure:
MacGuffin
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Alright, final videos are edited and uploaded. I wonder if somebody thought "Hmmm... the usual Autobahnraser video is missing". Well, here they are: 45 minutes of going fast as possbible on the Autobahns in my area. I intended to make the music louder but YouTube blocked the vids, so I made it unrecognizable for machines.
The Autobahn trip comes in three videos, which I cut together from about 2 hours of material (but unfortunately lots of it was unusable due to too much brightness outside. For those who are interested: It's always better to make such vids with a cloudy sky. The sun ruins them.
Oh and before I forget: At the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd the car is driving itself, with me only turning the wheel. I activated the radar-guided cruise control there for a larger speed-limited zone and you can see how it works. No footwork of mine is involved as long as it is active. I only change the pre-set speed with the lever left to the steering wheel.
And here's what I named the "S-Class Conclusion": I'm driving home after the Autobahn bits, have an encounter with a Jaaaaaag and then park at my local supermarket and cut to the onboard computer, which tells something about average speed and fuel consumption for the period I had the car.
This time I added music loudly, because I included a special, warm-hearted musical greeting for our American forum members in the middle of the clip. Let's see if anybody finds out, what it is. YouTube obviously didn't mind
The Autobahn trip comes in three videos, which I cut together from about 2 hours of material (but unfortunately lots of it was unusable due to too much brightness outside. For those who are interested: It's always better to make such vids with a cloudy sky. The sun ruins them.
Oh and before I forget: At the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd the car is driving itself, with me only turning the wheel. I activated the radar-guided cruise control there for a larger speed-limited zone and you can see how it works. No footwork of mine is involved as long as it is active. I only change the pre-set speed with the lever left to the steering wheel.
And here's what I named the "S-Class Conclusion": I'm driving home after the Autobahn bits, have an encounter with a Jaaaaaag and then park at my local supermarket and cut to the onboard computer, which tells something about average speed and fuel consumption for the period I had the car.
This time I added music loudly, because I included a special, warm-hearted musical greeting for our American forum members in the middle of the clip. Let's see if anybody finds out, what it is. YouTube obviously didn't mind
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