The Mercedes-Benz W140 S-Class Diesel Was Over-Sized, Over-Engineered, Over-Budget, and Awesome

SOLD The W140 was a transition car for Mercedes-Benz - from the old nuts and bolts, wood and leather, old world craftsmanship to the quest for the highest tech, build quality, and equipment content ever put on a car. The Lexus LS was a new threat from Japan, and BMW was closing in from the side with a very popular 7-Series. Mercedes-Benz wanted to answer them by creating the best car in the world - enter the W140.

Inside was the old and familiar Mercedes-Benz nuts-and-bolts engineering - rich leathers, glossy wood, expensive soft materials, and controls and layouts that would be familiar to any loyal Benz owner - but this belied an incredible array of cutting edge technology and luxury items unseen in any prior car. Soft close doors, power center-view mirror, electronically retractable rear fender markers, electronic dual side climate control, ASR, the first CAN BUS system, double-pane windows, and much more.

While all of this provided a level of luxury and sophistication not seen before, it also provided complication and high repair costs - a mechanic friend of mine took to calling it "The Grand Mercedes," because everything one might have to do it would cost more than a thousand bucks.

To some, this car is a masterpiece - to others, an over-complicated nightmare. I've always been a fan of them, if only just because it's a car I grew up with, and admired long before I could afford one. When it was current, few cars had the kind of impact a big S-Class did when pulling up somewhere, so you at least got that for your money.

Full review and test drive by Bill.