Yes, I read it this morning. It's in the Weekend Journal section of today's WSJ, page W14.. you can still get your own copy at the newsstand.

The WSJ has very good and well written articles, including the ones on cars; they are rarely mistaken. They are probably the highest ranked and best regarded money-related newspaper in the world.. and they are usually right on the money!

I don't see the article as negative toward MB, instead, they are describing overall usual concerns, from an owner perspective. The author is right about the hesitation at take off from MB, I have had the same experience before with Mercedes engines so nothing new here... The 7G-tronic concern and test is quite valid, and I was surprised, as probably he was surprised too about driving over bad roads, being that it is a very smooth sedan, he probably expected it to be completely smooth like driving on air, which is not.
The article is also impressed by the overall car presence and stance, "long, sloping hood, high haunches and wide stance give it a solid, muscular look", even though it wouldn't be described as pretty as they would call the rivals from Audi and Jaguar (as he states on the backseat driver insert).
The concern about price on a nicely equipped S550 is very reasonable, the options on his test car made the overall price: $105,045 putting it in Maserati territory..... yet another concern that they may loose some sale-grounds if they keep raising the price...

Overall I read a good article, a 'down-to-earth' check up and probably good for prospective buyers so they see what they will get for 100grand..

I too think it was a fair review.

As for the 7G-tronic, it's been all over if you haven't heard!
The parking sensors you could turn off if they bother you and learning how to use COMAND III will probably take some time.

7g has its ups and downs. so far i've tried it long term in the slk and ml and they seem ok. its just that you have to learn to drive the way it wants you to drive rather than what you want. the good side is that it gets the ml amazing mileage. i'm doing between 11-12l/100km on average whereas my t-reg usually does about 14-15l/100km's (albeit the t-reg is heavier). the con is that it makes weird sounds when shifting from P to D or D to R. it sounds like a light grinding of the gears. and sometimes it can have really harsh downshifts when decellerating. it doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, its quite noticeable (maybe something to do with the 4matic??). on the slk, the 7g is great. especially when you leave it in sport. its really quite rough and aggressive (which can be good or bad depending on personal preference)..personally, i like it.

No ofense ...................... F**K Jonathon .

Rediculous son of a B***h .

Hahaha... 'no offence' and 'during his period'. Seriously guys, it's just one review, so if it's getting ur panties in such a knot, then just forget about it.
It's hard trying to swallow a sour pill huh?

Well, it too think it sounds like a fair review. Just stating how a prospective buyer of this car would operate the car and deal with its pro's and con's. I guess MB will iron-out many of these minor glitches like that Parktronic activating unecessarily at times.

This guy and the WSJ have had something against Mercedes for quite some time now. This is likely the most idiotic review I've ever read. What a dummy to complain about the size of a FULL SIZE luxury car. Yet I guess the others in the class are ok in size when the truth is they all come within inches of each other. What a moron. There is nothing wrong with the 7G tranny either.

M

Easy there my friend ......I don't think this review was too bad at all, he all but said it is the best in it's class - what more could you ask for?

If you say so, the review just sounds so clueless to me. I've driven several 7G MBs and you can't feel the tranny downshifting that many times like he's saying. If it does reach down 2-3 gears it does to the point where you wouldn't even notice and it certainly doesn't produce and surging like he suggest.

M

Ater reading the complete article as opposed to a synopsis on another forum, I think there is more positive than negative. But I do have some problems with his approach to rating the car.

His problem with the transmission is a mystery to me...I have the 7 speed and it is the smoothest one I have ever owned. I think with all these demo drives, the transmission has not had time to adapt to the drivers habits and like the reviewers it get confused. He fails to see the safety aspect of the dynamic seats, only that he and the passenger can lean if they have to on a tight turn...why when you don't have to! He seems to be hunting for things to fill his editors column space.

As far as pricing...I paid $3850 for a fully loaded Super 88 Olds hardtop coupe in 1955. Today that car (if Olds were still alive) would cost a lot more just like the S costs close to $100K today.

All in all not a bad narrative on the new S but lacking the insight of a seasoned car buff. If this is the worst (which it is) then we who own or will own this car can feel pretty good about it....

Yeah that is what I'm saying too.

M