S Class LWB

[jodipiazza]

Hi All,

Just about to sell my E430 Avantgarde, and am going to get an S Class LWB, have driven the S320 and am also looking at the S430 and S500 any thoughts from these owners would be greatly appreciated. I have about £35000 in the budget and would like to get the best spec possible, have seen a 99V S500 LWB with Keyless Go, Closing Door aids and loads of other nice options, but the car was a bit of a pig. Mercedes Benz Bromley did a poor job of preping it for viewing.

So please if you have an S Class feel free to post a reply and give your thoughts especially if you have a LWB.

Regards
Jo

 

[Arnie]

the 320 might be a bit weedy for such a large car, epecially the LWB. An 8-cylinder may be more in keeping with the size, although probably the V-6 will retain its value better. It would be great if you could get the 8-cylinder, 4.0 litre turbo diesel in the UK.

 

[Mmmm]

Hi I have an S430 it's lovely

We looked at a S320LWB, S500LWB, S500 and S430.


The S class is just amazing you can't really go wrong whether it's a 320 430 or 500 are great as well, but as you are coming from a E430 I would go for a V8.

The S320 it does have quite a bit of go and is virtually as refined unless driven hard. But this is where it matters to get the car going quickly the s320 had to work hard whereas the S500 we tried and the S430 don't and even when fully extended are a little bit smoother.

Both the V8s give near effortless performance, the engines are identical in character with the S500 being a bit more power full (S500 300bhp to S430 275bhp) . The 500 is a bit quicker 0-100mph 15secs as opposed to 17secs for the s430, but you would need to drive them back to back to notice a difference, we test drove them a week apart S500 first and couldn't really tell the difference .

The running costs of the S500 and S430 appear to be almost the same and if you could get an S500 for the same money as an S430 I would go for it.

The LWB electric rear seats are great and the 8cm ? extra leg room is good, but the standard cars have loads of rear room too. They all seem to have park assist as well (very handy).

Originally we wanted a LWB, but we chose this S430 because of the spec, mileage and price. It was fully loaded with everything on including the Dynamic Massage Seats, and being a 430 was cheaper than the S500s. After trying the "standard size" we decided that we could live without the extra room of the lwb and it too helped keep the price down.

For £35k you should be able to get a 500LWB, the 500 has the best engine but the 430s pretty close. I would go for whatever has the best spec/price for your needs whether 430 or 500.

You love it the E Class is good, but the air suspension gives an amazing ride and good handling, so quiet and smooth.

Good luck

 

[jodipiazza]

Thanks for the replies, particular thanks to Mmmm for the excellent info