Thanks Mr Mercedes for that great review. I do agree with you that the color combinations do make a difference. That is a big let down because traditionally Mercs are supposed to look good no matter what color. As you can see in my pics, I did have the same rims as you but since the body color was silver it didn't bother me as much because they didn't stand out..but believe me, if I owned that car the rims would be changed with the quickness.

As for Yaz's question on how the Command III compares to I-drive and MMI. Only one word, Superb. I-drive is good but not great, simply because they left a lot of the normal tasks to be tackled with the actual damn computer which is a big distraction while you're driving. It's a good system and can be fixed but they just didn't work hard enough at it. As for MMI, I won't lie, I haven't spent a lot of time on that system. I've used it and I've liked it a little more that the BMW's I-drive, but at the same time I didn't like it too much better than BMW's. The reason is that BMW's click-wheel is larger than MMI's and is near the handrest so it's easily used, but Audi's is not as close to the handrest and is a little smaller than BMW's, so for me at least it's bit harder to use. It's not as ergonomic as BMWs. As for the system itself, it's easier than the BMW's because they took out all the complexity of going into the system just to turn the damn AC up and other little things like that. For that reason I like the MMI. Now how the COMMAND fares against those two is this, all the complaints I had with the MMI and the I-Drive has been taken care of by Mercedes. For example, the wheel is right by the handrest and not in an awkward position and all the simple things are there for you by just a click of the buttons right above the wheel, such as AC, Radio, etc. Has Mercedes perfected the system, NO but they have come close.

As good as the 7 is at handling, the car is just a tad bit too rigid. It handles great but just that rigidity forces you to back off and not reach that car's limit because it feels as soon as you go over the limit it's going to bite you (that's my opinion). The Audi's is a lot less rigid and makes me a tad bit less nervous while cornering but that AWD system on that heavy car can only do so much. It gets just a little bit understeery when you corner hard, it's not bad but I hate understeer because I drive an Acura/Honda everyday. The S handles very neutrally just like Mr Mercedes said. I haven't felt any understeer and any oversteer. I haven't taken it on the track or anything mind you, but you kind of have to drive aggressively in San Francisco, so I'm used to making fast left and right handers and you get to feel the chassis more. All these cars are good but the S is just great. Now don't get me wrong here...I don't have the money for an S and I would never feel like I made a compromise by buying the 7 or the A8 but this is one of those cars that if you have the money this car is right for you.

But since i'm broke...I would love an A8...it's got everything you need and looks better than the 7 for a fact!

by the way..how did you like my pics? I tried my best with my phone-cam.

Thanks for the response. Pictures are excellent

Another good review NarutoRoman. Pics look great for a cell phone camera to.
I`m still tryng to figure out why you guy don`t like these wheels. I think thay look good on the S550 without the sport package. A little formal but still nice
imo.

They don't have a single ounce of the dynamism that is so abundant in BMW's wheel designs. They are just there and add nothing to the vehicle. BMW's alloy design add quite a bit of power and presence to the vehicle. Bangle was right going on about big dynamic wheels.

Maybe im just being fussy.

them wheels are nice...they are way better than the 5 and 7 spoke designs, and i think they are also the only ones you can have run flat tyres with..

How do you like these wheels...19" Multispoke for $1200 upgrade?

I think the Andorite Grey is the S Class Alpine Rain from the ML. So I have gravitated to the Barolo Red with Savanah/Cashmier Premium Leather. Any votes against it??? The wheels are the 19" Multispoke. Delays in the P3 options look for real so timing is up in the air.

Perfect. But that looks like the SWB, will they be selling that in the U.S.?

I don`t think so bum-man! The SWB S-Class won`t bee offered in the US
and hasn`t for sometime. BTW, I think those wheels would be a pain to keep
clean!

This is a great color combo!