Even the pre-FL 220 was very far from being unreliable. Very far. Maybe the first year, okay, but not after. And the quality is beyond reproach.

I once testdrove an S430 from 2000 with 180.000kms, and it was like brand new. No unwelcomed noise from the plastics, not a single detail that was not like new, the seats looked like they just came out of the factory. Only thing was a COMAND failure.
Some of the plastics may not look extremely rich (like the doorpanels especially or the rear cendar) but they are very solid and well-built.

And BTW, the W140 was apparently not the most reliable Benz ever...

The W221 looks like a tank, and this is good news. It could be the second best S-Class ever (behind HM the W126).

Really?

Tell that to those poor sods at the MBWorld.org with their ever faulty W220s.

You almost only find the faulty cars in these forums. They go there when they have a problem! Does not mean every W220 is faulty, the majority of them is reliable.

This is something I`d like to see for the records.
The W126 S-Class was number 1 back in 1991 but, heck that was the last year for the W126 when all the bugs finally get worked out.

This is just the first fricken year for the W221 S-Class and the records are extremely solid for such a Hi-Tech excutive German car. This being the case I believe the W221 is better than the W126 S-Class.

^ Yeah the W221 is shaping to be the most reliable S MB has ever made

I disagree. We had a w220 S320 and sold is AS SOON as the warranty came to an end because of the number of niggling problems we had. It was one thing after another. The car drove beautifully, but we did not want to risk major problems out of warranty. We ended up buying a w211 E320 which was probably worse. The number of problems we had... This was one of the reasons we chose the X5 over the ML last year. the new C this year will be our first new Benz in a while, so fingers crossed.

Interesting,sorry to hear u are the first one to be that dissatisfied with both Benzes,don't worry the W204 C is a mini-tank i tried it myself and boy german solidity at it's best

Competition, wait a sec, the S-Class has none, not even the new Lexus LS..! ------>> - ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Wow! Excellent. I only have 4000 miles on mine so I have no complaints.

I had no problems with my W220 either, even though I can't say the same for my brother.

He's had a couple of issues but he still loves it.

^ U guys have a fleet of Benzes

Love that W140