Overview & Reviews

"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?" That's the opening line of "Mercedes-Benz," a song most famously recorded by singer Janis Joplin in the early 1970s. The tune gently poked fun at materialism and our desire for the finer things in life. It's fitting that the renowned German marque figures prominently in the lyric. Mercedes-Benz has long been known for crafting vehicles that emphasize luxury and refinement. For many, its vehicles are sleek symbols of status, success and good taste.

In January of 1886, Karl Benz unveiled the world's first automobile, a three-wheeled vehicle dubbed the Benz Patent Motor Car. A few months later, Gottlieb Daimler and his chief engineer Wilhelm Maybach rolled out a four-wheeled vehicle powered by his Daimler engine. The first Mercedes was crafted in 1901, shortly after Daimler's death. Built by Maybach, the car was commissioned by Emil Jellinek, one of Daimler's primary distributors, and was ultimately named after Jellinek's daughter, Mercedes.

In 1926, the companies founded by Daimler and Benz merged to form Daimler-Benz AG, and the Mercedes-Benz brand was born. The company's insignia was a three-pointed star wreathed in a laurel; the star was dreamed up by Daimler years earlier, and its three points signified the fact that his engines were used in vehicles that traveled land, air and sea.

Right from the start, the Mercedes-Benz name was synonymous with automotive excellence. One of the automaker's earliest vehicles, the 1931 Mercedes-Benz 170, distinguished itself as the world's first production car to offer a technology that was nothing short of extraordinary for the day: four-wheel independent suspension. The '30s and '40s saw Mercedes establishing itself as the brand of choice for car buyers seeking the ultimate in luxury, thanks to coveted cruisers like the 380 and 540K.

The 1950s witnessed the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing," a sports car that has been described as being the world's first supercar. With its dramatic styling and race-bred technology, the 300 SL reigns today as a classic coveted by collectors worldwide. The decade also saw Daimler-Benz making strides in the area of safety technology. The company's Mercedes-Benz 220 sedans were the first vehicles to incorporate its patented "crumple zone" body design, created to absorb impact in the event of a crash.

In 1963, the company cemented its reputation as the home of automotive luxury with the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 600. The elegant, luxurious sedan was also available as a limousine and featured an ahead-of-its-time air suspension system and a V8 engine that boasted 300 horsepower. The decade also saw the launch of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3. This full-size sedan went from zero to 60 in under seven seconds, distinguishing itself as the quickest luxury car is its day.

The 1970s saw the birth of the brand's storied S-Class line of vehicles, opulent sedans and coupes that coddled passengers with powerful engines and a long list of luxury features. The decade also saw Mercedes continuing on the cutting edge of safety technology, by being the first to offer antilock brakes in its vehicles.

Daimler-Benz's safety advancements continued in the 1980s. Its cars were the first to offer airbags and traction control. The manufacturer also raised the bar in terms of ride comfort and handling when it introduced multilink rear suspension. The technology debuted on the compact Mercedes-Benz 190 E, and it remains a vital component of the company's chassis engineering to this day.

Mercedes-Benz vehicles got an extra dose of power and performance in the 1990s, thanks to the manufacturer's partnership with AMG, a performance and tuning shop that was eventually purchased by the company to help produce ultra-high-performance versions of some of its vehicles. The first AMG model offered in the U.S. was the sporty C36 AMG in 1995; since then, Mercedes has gone on to offer an AMG-tuned version of almost all of its vehicles.

The company's current lineup is the most comprehensive in its history. With a variety of sedans, coupes, SUVs and roadsters filling Mercedes showrooms, it seems like the only thing missing is a pickup truck. Surely, the fact that Janis Joplin's song holds as much relevance today as it did four decades ago is a strong indicator that the brand's premier status is still very much intact.

User Reviews:

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  Straight talk on heavy repair costs - 2002 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
  By reality_chek - October 4 - 1:42 am

  The bargain price of today hides expensive repairs. It has design flaws: cup holders, knee hits seat warmer, ugly center console. It has known leak issues and electrical issues. It has air suspension issues. Auto door locks and trunk flaws. Dont forget the untreated metal that rusts from the inside. Watch for rust around tire wells all up and down sides. Rust quote was $2700. The gorgeous slick design holds water. The car is now 11 so expect collapsed engine mounts, catalytic converter rattles, drive shaft flex disk...So you can plan on buying it for $6-7K and putting 6-8K into it and you will get a beautiful smooth powerful ride that originally cost $80K+ and the engine will go to 200K mi.

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  A very disappointing car - 2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By Frustrated Owner - September 27 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car on Mercedes reputation of quality. It turns out that it is the worst car I have ever owned. It has been in the shop 3 times and I have only owned the car 3 months! Even after all that time in the shop the car is still not fixed. The electrical systems on these cars is a disaster. DO YOUR RESEARCH before buying this car. Check the online forums dedicated to the E class cars and see what real owners are saying about their cars and how Mercedes is treating their customers - it is not a pretty picture!

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  Poor driving feel - 2006 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By jimwill - September 25 - 10:30 am

  This is a handsome car but the interior trim is not well thought out. The door sills are a light colored fabric that is impossible to keep clean. They should have trimmed with leather or plastic that could be wiped off. The handling on an uneven road or with a small crosswind is poor. One must continually adjust the steering wheel to keep it on the road. Doesnt compare to my 1992 LS400. It feels like a small light sedan. The DVD furnished with the navigation system is out of date and incomplete. I asked it for the nearest hospital and it directed me to one 77 miles away when there were 3 good ones less than 30 miles away, one within a mile.

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  Lexus Vs. CLS 500 - 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
  By MK - September 10 - 6:00 am

  Pros: Head turner, good handling Cons: Quality of Lexus (LS430) far exceeds than this one. Poor controls interface, Very bad service by Mercedes. A bit uncomfortable for longer drives.

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  Not worth the money... - 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
  By Rob-Puyallup - September 6 - 11:13 am

  I was a big fan of Mercedes prior to owning my 2009 SL-63. After having it in the shop for now the 4th time in 5 months, they still cant fix the transmission and excessive oil burn. The new transmission slips like youve lost gears until the car is completely warmed up. Try pulling out into traffic, stepping on the gas and the engine revs, but the car goes nowhere. Then out of no-where, 3-5 sec later the car catapults you into traffic. I was finally told that this is a race- car. You cant expect it to drive like a luxury car. How about that? In addition to having to add a quart of oil every 100 miles Mercedes has some work to do before I would ever recommend this car. Spend elsewhere!

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  Poor quality - 2002 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By teener - September 2 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car for my daughter to take to college. The intention was to get her a sporty fun car that would have the vaulted Mercedes quality and safety. I was convinced that Mercedes would not fall victum to the dreaded first production year quality issues tha other brands have been plagued by. Unfortunately the car has been a resounding disapointment. In the shop for repairs 7 times in 15 months is rediculous. The fact that the car can not be trusted has forced me to look into replacing it. This is not a car that I would trust with my daughters safety as she travels back and forth to college. I would not recomend this car to anyone.

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  Gl is not an SUV! - 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
  By Yuliy Lieb - August 24 - 6:04 am

  i dont understand why Edmunds keep placing this vehicle on the first place among luxurious SUVs. I have followed Edmunds advice and had one for a year. I may say with full responsibility that 1) GL is not a real SUV, it is a crossover. On a rough road it fails. 2) The cockpit has a low ceiling, toll person cant get in without bending neck 3) reliability is low, within less than a year I had to go to dealer for repairs twice, one of them could have been quite expensive, if not under warranty. 4) Among all bells and whistles just a few make sense, others look attractive for a regular customer but are useless. 5) third raw is for two 3-years old only, besides an adult would have a hard time to get there. And so on... Anyway, after approximately a year i have traded it in to Lexus LX-570. Yes, this thing has less bells and whistles, but it is a real SUV. Yes, its voice recognition system sucks and navigation system is not as good as MB GL. But if you are about to purchase a luxurious SUV, go anywhere type, do not make a mistake being attracted by MB logo on a hood.

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  Worst car i ever owned!!!! - 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By Ashly - August 15 - 3:50 pm

  I bought my 06 4 weeks ago, i have since traded up to an Acura TL ( yes, i said up) the TL blows the clk i had out of the water. This was the worst car experience ive ever had. I owned the car two weeks when the transmission went out! I had it towed to mercedes where i had my " manufacturers warranty" For them to tell me to wait a week with NO loaner car! ( said they dont give loaners anymore) For an answer. They were not helpful whatsoever and lacked hugely in their customer service. I was so unhappy with the car i traded for a real one... Acura Tl.All the things wrong- the windows were rattling and loose, failed transmission , rear foglamp out, side turn signal light broken, allot

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  German Luxury? - 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By drivemeee - August 15 - 11:23 am

  This car has been nothing but trouble. New torque converter, transmission service twice, new radiatior, seatbelt retractor, cam sensor, ecu unit, wiper motor, wiper control stalk and unit, valve rollers and sensor again, power window and lock control unit, a/c control unit, shift program controller, hard shift and grinding sound three times-ended up being upgraded spec auto transmission fluid.

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  Big Hassle - 2002 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By lousy - August 15 - 2:00 am

  When our ML 320 works, it drives great. The problem is we have had about eighteen separate malfunctions in a little over two years. The power seats continually come unplugged and dont work; the CD changer is not reliable; the window washer container cracked; the rear view mirror fell off while driving. I would never purchase a car like this. It is terrible.