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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  awesome, awesome car! - 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
  By Brian T. - April 17 - 10:00 am

  I got mine 4 months ago. Absolutely awesome car. Bought it with 47K miles on it. Everything works perfectly. Timeless classic design. I get an unbelievable 22 mpg, with using cruise control a lot. I live in Florida, and comute about 25 miles to work. We also have a Mazda Protege, and the car insurance on the SL, is only $7.50 more per month than the Mazda. :-)) If this is the car that you are longing for, go for it! You will not be disappointed! Mine is red with shell interior. An awesome color combination. The ride is a little bit stiff like on most of the German cars.

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  Not what youd expect for the price. - 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By Too Late - Its mine - April 17 - 10:00 am

  If I could give it back - Id definitely buy the Lexus coupe. This 60k+ car was in the shop 3x in the first week. Back again for parts that fell off, locks that dont unlock and the alignment still pulls. The brakes squeal-acceptable and expected says Benz-and dont expect them to last past 12-15k Mi. When I told the Service Mgr I owned 2 lexus before this, he said, "Thats a great product. This is no Lexus." That speaks volumes. I should have respected the consumer reports ratings that told me these cars are unreliable & w/poor customer satisfaction. My fault for not listening. Ill probably keep it for a year and dump it for the Lexus, where I was spoile

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  C32 AMG Toronto - 2004 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By JiJ9J9 - April 17 - 10:00 am

  Hot Hot Hot!!! A sleeper that performs like a Corvette and seats four customers for business luncheons.

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  Vinyl vs Leather - 2009 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By dj - April 16 - 4:30 pm

  Addressing the vinyl vs leather for such expensive vehicles, please note that Mercedes has a long history of offering the best vinyl seating ever made, which is better than most cars leather. For some reason Americans equate leather with luxury. In Europe many of the Mercedes sold have cloth/velour seating. A final note on the vinyl, youll be very happy to have the vinyl 30 years from now when your E class interior looks almost as new. History and tradition are alive at Mercedes.

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  Hot, Fast, Agile Cayenne Turbo Killer. - 2008 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By frankthemerc - April 15 - 6:23 pm

  Great fit and finish. Fast 0-60 mph 4.4 sec. Rides like it is on rails. Handles like my M5. Solid with great corning on the twisting roads. Great seats and Harmon Kardon sounds system. Passing and power unlimited.

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  Its worth the love/hate aggravation - 2004 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
  By Mr. Hankey - April 15 - 7:10 am

  I absolutely love this car! Many times in the past year, Ive hated it, too. Ive had numerous dealer visits ranging from minor adjustments all the way up to replaced superchargers. My dealer always takes care of me! Its way over-engineered, but again thats what I thrive on as well. Theres something great about driving literally the fastest, best handling car on the road, and then theres that level of AMG exclusivity too...I attended the Ultimate AMG Challenge Fall 04 in Germany and was fortunate to meet the one technician who assembled my cars engine.

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  Expected Better from Mercedes - 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Dan - April 14 - 4:01 pm

  Weve had the car a little over a year and bought it in large measure on the strength of the Edmunds review, which gave it an A rating. While the car has some nice features, it also has some that leave you shaking your head. Were not sure why Edmunds gave it such a high rating, it probably deserves a B- instead. On the positive side, the car is beautiful, comfortable, performs well, gets outstanding gas mileage and is fun to drive. On the negative side of things, the overly complex entertainment/climate control system is maddening. Even after a year, I have no idea how to find a radio station outside of the presets the salesperson helped me program when we first bought it. There are three levers on the left side of the steering column - turn signal, cruise control and steering column adjustment. Too many times Ive turned on the signal when I meant to adjust the cruise control, and vice versa. Very clumsy design. The other real negative is the lack of a spare tire. Weve had two flats in the year weve owned the car, which is way more than weve experienced before. In both cases, the drive-flat tires were ruined and had to be replaced at a cost of over $400 each time. Even worse, a flat tire with this car demands your immediate attention, which is a real pain in the rear. No matter what else youre doing at the time or where you are, everything has to be put on hold until the tire gets fixed. Gone are the days that you could put on the spare and go about your business and get around to fixing the flat at a more convenient time. And if it happens on a weekend, the car is pretty much out of commission until Monday.

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  Mercedes C240 - 2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By Jungmel - April 14 - 2:00 am

  Car was purchased by my wife. It is not too big to handle in small spaces. The car performs well and has very good acceleration given relatively low horesepower. It handles almost as well as our BMW 326ic with more comfort and more amenities. It holds four adults comfortably and the trunk is big enough for two sets of golf clubs and some luggage. My opinion is you get a lot of car for the money and this car is underrated....or more appropriately..never rated. Why they call it a 240 I will never know..it has a 2.6 liter engine. Perhaps they were afraid of a lack of marketing distinction between the 240 and the 320. This car is solid.

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  Best car we ever owned - 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
  By mk - April 11 - 10:16 pm

  Always been Audi fan but when CLS got out could not resist - and have no regrets despite rather high price tag. Starts a bit slow but then jumps like its power has no limit; holds road very well, unsurpassed comfort and attention to details, and last but not least - real head turner

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  Lemon Flavored Diesel - 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
  By mgarrison - April 11 - 7:20 pm

  Purchase this car in 2014 with 70k miles on it for around 28k. Got an extend warranty for the car and glad we did. The entire rack and pinion steering system had to be replaced at 75k miles which was paid by warranty with a cost of around $4600. The heating element for the def tank went out at a cost of $3300 and the entire tank had to be replaced since they heater is sealed in the tank. That was paid out of our pocket, then we got the dreaded oil cooler leak which is a very common issue on almost every GL diesel which cost right around $4200 to fix as the most the engine has to be taken apart in order to replace the $16.50 oil cooler gasket. Had huge diesel fuel leak due to o-ring issues with the fuel filter, another $250 spent to fix that. Then I the air bag compressor failed, $875 to replace that, then had 1 air bag fail, another $1400. The rear power lift gated failed at cost of close to $2000 to replace it. The final nail in the coffin was the sale of the vehicle for $6500. We had lots safety recalls with the airbags, but Mercedes has failed to do anything to replace them and keep pushing it off claiming that they do not have the parts to replace it and because of these recall no dealer is able to resell the vehicle till Mercedes fixes the issue making it nearly a worthless suv. Sticker price on this suv new was $106,235 as it had every option available on it. Stay away, stay away and please google all the known issue with these vehicles. Dont let our mistake be your mistake!