I have an opportunity to purchase a low km. 2007 S550 at a very good price. Before this opportunity came up, I was planning on buying a new 2007 4-matic version because I had heard that for winter driving, due to the weight and size of the S550, the 4-matic was a must in the snow. I have been told that most of the future s550's will be shipped in 4-matic. Now I'm a bit concerned in taking advantage of the good buy on the used opportunity that I've been presented with, not only for usability in the winter, but also for resale value. Maybe some of you can relate your expereinces so far with winter driving. Any thoughts and guidance from the group would be greatly appreciated.
I drive a lot on snow and still wouldn't buy a 4-matic. But this is a cost versus gain issue to me. 4-matic also increases gas consumption (not as much as it used to be but still significant to me).
If cost was no issue, 4-matic should be perfect in snow and slippery conditions. More than twice better than the RWD car.
Where do you live, what kind of a winter do you have? Just having some snow during the winter time would not justify a 4-matic to me but if one would frequently need to drive on roads with a lot of snow or a lot on icy roads, 4-matic could be fine. On thick snow the difference is amazing.
I doubt most S550 cars would be 4-matic in the future, cannot say too much about US/Canada though but definitely not in Europe (where it would be S320CDI/S450/S500 that are currently available as 4matic).
I'm in Ottawa, Canada. We usually get a fair bit of snow over the winter, but not too drastic.
In my personal opinion, you might do well with a normal S550. A set of dedicated winter tires, light throttle work might get you through the Canadian winters.
I've only had FWD and AWD cars, so I can't really comment on RWD snow performance.
I am enjoying a 220 S500 4MATIC. I live in florida and do a lot of highway driving (I put 91,000 Miles since Feb 2004). Tis car is on the market now and I alredy ordered an S550 4MATIC. I believe that my life has been saved several times in bad weather because of the AWD. I was sceptikel until I hydoplaned several times useing my wife's E320 with only RWD.
Thanks everyone for the input. Decided to go ahead with a 4-Matic. Notwithstanding, still hoping we don't get too much snow this winter.
Congratulations on making your decision! I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
FWIW, I saw a post by Luke at The Tire Rack yesterday in which he addressed your question about AWD v. RWD, and he stated unequivocally that RWD, w/ winter tires, is superior to AWD w/ all-season tires.
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