Mercedes-Benz Reviews & Ratings

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI Review

By Jay Shoemaker
April 18, 2008 - 16,041 Views

I flew into Los Angeles with aspirations of driving something powerful; I had visions of some mighty motor displacing six liters or more. Anything with the letters AMG on the back would have suited me just fine. Instead I was staring at a gigantic Mercedes GL 320 CDI. That's CDI as in "diesel." I reckoned it was going to be a long drive to San Diego. I reckoned wrong.

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI Review continued »

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 43 comments

2009 Mercedes-Benz AMG SL63 Review

By Jay Shoemaker
March 26, 2008 - 24,005 Views I made my first pilgrimage to AMG in 2001. Arriving unannounced, I was relegated to longing stares through a chain link fence at rows of serious looking automobiles. I eventually bought an SL55 AMG. I loved its ability to terrify unsuspecting passengers. But it always struck me as an engine in search of a chassis. And better steering. And brakes. In fact, it was a steroid injected boulevardier. And now, the SL63 AMG.

2009 Mercedes-Benz AMG SL63 Review continued »

2009 Mercedes-Benz AMG SL63 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 37 comments

Mercedes C350 Sport Review

By Justin Berkowitz
October 1, 2007 - 50,866 Views

The previous gen C-Class was not Mercedes’ finest hour.  Chief amongst its non-virtues: base engines that offered little in the way of functional power, refinement, fuel efficiency or brand faithful character (e.g. the 1.8-liter blown four). The fourth gen C300 (W204) put paid to that-- and how. In fact, the new C may have finally have broken the bigger-is-always-better mold that the German carmaker has deployed to lure Benz buyers up the ownership ladder. Ah, but does that mean that the new, more highly-horsed C350 is so superior to the C300 as to steal stars-- and sales-- from its cheaper stablemate?

Mercedes C350 Sport Review continued »

Mercedes C350 Sport rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 31 comments

Mercedes CLK 63 AMG Black Series Review

By Jay Shoemaker
August 27, 2007 - 42,380 Views

My co-pilot sat motionless, stupefied from the previous night's revelry. Strangely, this poor fellow thought I could be trusted not to challenge Alka-Seltzer's restorative powers. I allowed him the luxury of this delusion all the way from the hotel to the highway. And then I floored it. The CLK Black Series' engine bellowed WAKE UP FOOL! The uber-bad Benz' back end quivered from side to side. The traction control light sent a steady stream of Morse code through first, second and third gear. The ten second wake-up call placed us well north of 100 mph. The jobbing journo groaned his disapproval. God I love this work!

Mercedes CLK 63 AMG Black Series Review continued »

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 34 comments

Mercedes-Benz B 200 Review

By Samir Syed
August 20, 2007 - 49,382 Views

I sat anxiously in a showroom Mercedes CLS while the salesman processed my paperwork for a test drive. Even in repose, the CLS is a magnificent machine. Soaking in that heady blend of luxury and gravitas, I wondered if my spin in the B200 (available in Canada and Europe) would capture any of that Mercedes quintessence. Sometimes, brand extension works (Bentley Continental GT) and sometimes, it doesn't (VW Phaeton). So does the B 200 fit in Herr Doktor Daimler's pantheon of pomp and circumstance?

Mercedes-Benz B 200 Review continued »

Mercedes-Benz B 200 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 39 comments

Mercedes C300 Review

By Justin Berkowitz
August 3, 2007 - 98,462 Views

Mercedes currently offers American consumers a choice of thirteen different model lines. What a difference from the Mercedes Benz of 1987, when only four U.S.-legal models wore the three pointed star. Back then, the Mercedes brand was renowned for fastidious, brick-shit-house over-engineering. Today, Benzes are known for many things, but mechanical robustness and reliability ain’t two of them. If anything, Mercedes has earned itself a reputation for persistent electrical gremlins and multitudinous mechanical misfires. Fresh from its divorce from Chrysler, Mercedes would like us to believe that the new C-Class represents a return to form. When you wish upon a star…

Mercedes C300 Review continued »

Mercedes C300 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 54 comments

CL63 AMG Review

By Jay Shoemaker
July 4, 2007 - 60,408 Views

Mass, what mass? As I hurled 4500 lbs. of rippled and flared German steel through a long, sweeping, belt-cinching corner, I felt like I was playing a driving simulation. Thanks to its improved active body controls, the Mercedes Benz CL63 AMG remained absurdly unaffected by the enormous lateral g-forces generated by its gyrations. Lacking suitable anti-gravity aids, my passenger and I were thrown towards the outer radius of the turn, welded to the CL63’s seat bolsters. Now that’s what I call fun.

CL63 AMG Review continued »

CL63 AMG rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 66 comments

Mercedes C280 4MATIC Review

By Justin Berkowitz
January 24, 2007 - 76,231 Views

Now that Mercedes has released pictures of their new C-Class, I figured it was as good a time as any to sample the dead C. In Europe, the outgoing C-Class (W203 in Stuttgart speak) is beloved of German taxi drivers and penny-pinching poseurs with a little extra pomposity in their purse. Stateside, Merc’s three-pointed star shines more brightly; the C-Class’ price tag aspires to its second name-- despite suffering from a reprehensible rep for reliability. As I drove off in a 2007 C280 4Matic, I wanted to know what ground the new C had to cover to make its bones.

Mercedes C280 4MATIC Review continued »

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 70 comments

Mercedes E320 BlueTec Review

By Jay Shoemaker
December 21, 2006 - 95,974 Views

A few years ago, I found myself comfortably ensconced in the back seat of a German taxicab. I was luxuriating in what I thought was leather (it was MB Tex, the convincing faux hide) when the driver cranked-up the engine. Smoke and stench poured from the Mercedes’ diesel engine. I scoffed-- until the driver blew straight through 180kph on the autobahn to Munich. Even from the passenger seat, the torque was more intoxicating than the exhaust wafting in through the window. I was hooked.

Mercedes E320 BlueTec Review continued »

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 97 comments

Mercedes E63 AMG Review

By Jay Shoemaker
November 7, 2006 - 86,923 Views

OK, I admit it: I’ve consumed way too much AMG Kool Aid. I own multiple sets of the Mercedes tuner’s black license plate frames and key rings, an AMG logo-shirt, a cashmere V-neck sweater, half a dozen hats, a pair of driving shoes, a winter coat and a limited edition AMG watch. I would have more of their stuff, but recently I was introduced to a gentleman from Italy who spied the AMG logo on the back of my car and pronounced it, “Eye-Em-Gay,” and that sort of cooled me off. And then I drove the E63 AMG.

Mercedes E63 AMG Review continued »

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 84 comments