Technically W111/W112 and W108/W109 should be in this forum, making it eight generations of S-class models.
If anyone disagrees, they should brush up on their vintage MB's.
http://www.geocities.com/mbz109/w108history.html
Note the timeline.
Tory
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1990 560SEL - W126
-929 nautical blue metallic & 262 navy blue leather
-58,000 KM (36,200 Miles)
-Euro spec Japanese import (KAT edition)
-Complete service history since new
-5,546cc SOHC 16v V8
-10.0:1 compression
-285 hp@5200 rpm, 324 lb/ft@3750 rpm
-2.65 limited slip diff
My W108 4.5 runs just as strong and reliably as a new car. It outran an Infiniti FX45 in fact last year. What a look I got from that guy when he caught up to me after I let off. Wonderful vehicles they are and head turners.
If you put the W116,W126 and W140 in a line together it is very evident that each is a logical development of it`s predecessor. They are clearly from the same family. As in every family some members are blessed with better looks and in this case the the W126 is the standout looker.
The W126 was born beautiful and will remain that way. The W140 did not share those obvious good looks but like many Mercedes models it has matured in such a way that it`s lines and stature seem better suited to today.
Whether the W140 is ugly is a matter of personal taste. The more I look at it the more I can admire what the designers were seeking to achieve with it; the perfection of all the attributes that had made it`s forbears such formidable cars.
Beauty aside it has what all the earliest S-Classes had in abundance.... authority or road presence and in that regard not even a W126 can match it.
Is the W140 any more problematic than a W116 or W126?
It may be but this is to be expected. The W140 represents the watershed between Daimler Benz concentrating on and perfecting mechanical technology and it`s current obsession with electronic and microchip driven technology. If you compare the W126 and the W140 in this respect they are significantly different beasts. My guess is is that if you visited the W220 forum you would see just as many complaints about it`s reliability as any W140.
I have driven over 100,000 miles in W140`s, use one as my daily business driver and neither of them have ever let me down. That said as stated in my previous post they are complicated cars and they must be serviced properly which if done within the MB franchise is expensive. If that schedule slips then things rapidly go from bad to worse.
Significantly this ugly duckling has remained the favourite of many Middle East and Asian customers and is the backbone of many limousine operators worlwide. It is no coincidence that the W221`s dimensions will be close to the W140`s although the latter will still retain it`s title of the biggest S-Class built todate.
The New S is featured in this month issue of caranddriver. I noticed that MB still want to force you to pay $$$$ for the phone instead of adding Bluetooth so you could use your own BT phones. BTW, I think the rear looks like something designed by Bengle's twin.
Having owned a W140 and my father used to own 2 W126s (a 560 SEL and a 300 SE). I can say if you park the two side-by-side, the W126 will surely wins hands down. To this date, it remains a lot of people (well certainly me and my wife are two of them) favorite S-Class. However I do think the W140 is a better car to drive on a daily basis despite being slightly oversize.
Having owned a W140 and my father used to own 2 W126s (a 560 SEL and a 300 SE). I can say if you park the two side-by-side, the W126 will surely wins hands down. To this date, it remains a lot of people (well certainly me and my wife are two of them) favorite S-Class. However I do think the W140 is a better car to drive on a daily basis despite being slightly oversize.
Nah..The W140 looks [8D] than the W126 if parked side by side.The W126 looks so square and narrow long.
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