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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  GL 320 CDI (Would not reccomend) - 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
  By john - November 4 - 5:46 pm

  The GL 320 is a very nice carin performance, luxury, fun, safety, fuel economy, and design. Accelerating onto the freeway it will go faster than a Chevy Suburban because of the 398ft lbs of torque. The luxury amentities are outstanding. Safety, we took this car onto a muddy road with ice, snow, and potholes. Honestly, I would rather be in that car than any other. Car looks very nice except the mirrors (too small). We got 32 MPG one time on the highway. Car is fun to drive and handle. I have had a lot of problems though.The shock on a rear tire had to be replaced 9000 miles. The computer that tells the low oil and stuff needed to be replaced 11000 miles. Sucked up oil because of a ripped line 7000 mi.

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  Nice Ride, but then again it should be - 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
  By orangele - November 3 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car for the styling, and it is a beautiful and sexy car. After driving it the past three weeks, I am happy with the overall features, comfort, and performance. It is not an economy car obviously, so plan on spending some gas money. Also the teleaid system seems pretty pricey ($260 a year, plus minute usage fees) for emergencies in which the air bags deploy, or for a concierge service.

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  Fun crossover/hatchback but not an SUV. - 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class
  By nomorelexus - October 30 - 8:56 pm

  Ive had it for a few days, very good car, fun and easy to drive. I would not consider this an SUV since its sedan height. I am short and if you move the seat up you have very limited headroom. Also, wish the keyfob had a hatch close button on it and not just open. You can only close from hatch or in car. Other than that so far so good. Back seat roomy. Front seats comfortable. Small side mirrors wish they were alittle bigger. Very fun to drive. Good on gas.

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  Sprinter 4x4 Family Hauler - 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
  By Eric Hibma - October 29 - 6:34 am

  We sold our 2012 Mercedes Sprinter, which we loved, for a 2015 Sprinter 4x4. We needed the 4x4 as we live on a hill that gets icy and snowy in the winter. With 2wd there is so much torque coming from the turbodiesel that even with Blizzak snow tires we had trouble getting out. With the 4x4 this is a true go-anywhere vehicle! We have 7 children, so our family vehicle options are very limited. We drove Chevy express vans and they were horrible! This is the best van available for this size family. It is definitely far from perfect, but still the best available. Pros: -strong, efficient motor -4x4!! -each seat has a head rest -rubber flooring that is easy to clean -comfortable impact-absorbing front seats. -the HID headlights are wonderful for night visibility -heats up quickly in the winter with the auxiliary heater. With the roof height it is ideal for getting the kids coats off and buckled in their car seats -the crosswind assist is definitely a nice feature that has made driving this on the highway much nicer compared to our 2012 model. -decent towing capacity -good backup camera -great side mirrors with blind spot mirrors. -pass-through cabin so that a parent can get back and forth to help the kids on trips. -finally a USB connection so I can plug in my iphone -excellent gas mileage for such a large vehicle -excellent storage capacity inside the van. Carry-on luggage items fit under the seats! -You can slide large items all the way through the van under the seats (I did have to build a divider to keep our groceries from sliding all the way to the front of the van, but I love that I can fit lumber along the floor of the van even with all the kids loaded up) Cons: -the 4x4 system is quite an antiquated system. When engaged it is awesome, but very hard to get engaged unless the van is on level ground. You need to be going less than 5mph while moving before it can engage (no on-the-fly engaging really). Once engaged this is awesome and we even took this off roading to one of our favorite hikes. It made it through some incredible ruts and washouts that I was not expecting. -the brakes squeal (our 2012 model had the same issue). It is intermittent and not terrible, but still annoying. -only one intermittent setting for the wipers which is just dumb. -there are some rattles as we go down our dirt road. It sounds like a cargo van at times on our dirt road, but still much better than the Chevy did. -radio and sound quality are so-so. Better than the 2012 model. -a very sensitive traction control system. Trying to go through deep snow the vans computer wants to apply the brakes to avoid even the slightest wiggle from the rear end. I want to keep up my speed and maintain forward progress and have to fight the van to go in deep snow sometimes. Now with 4x4 this is much better, and not really an issue any more unless I leave the van in 2wd. Even when turning off traction control if there is rear slippage it will automatically re-engage. This is horribly annoying. -no automatic headlights -I still cannot remove the last row of seating, which is the one you would want to remove the most. The first 2 rows of passenger seating is easily removable with 2 people. The seats are heavy, but they come out through the large slider door well. -we have had intermittent issues of the slider door mechanism freezing in severe cold here in Michigan. It is easy to correct, but it seems like that could be improved. -dealerships are often far away unless you live in a city. The nearest dealerships to us are 1-2.5 hrs away.

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  Service indicator lights up - 2006 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By Patrick - October 25 - 2:46 pm

  I just bought my ML350 2006 and one week later, the service indicator lit up and said that I am 350 days overdue for service. I brought it back to the service department and re-set the indicator. 4 days later, the indicator lit again saying that I am 120 days overdue for service B. Also, the passenger door got jammed even when unlocked during a cold spell here (- 30F). This never happened in my previous 2003 ML350. How come MB is always plagued with electronic problems? Doesnt MB test their products for winter weather as cold as Alaska? SUVs are made for winter weather so they should test their products for winter.

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  Mixed feelings - 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By mixed feelings - October 23 - 10:16 pm

  I went from a Boxster to a CLK350 Cabriolet because I started to play a lot of golf and needed more room, but couldnt bring myself to buy an SUV. Mistake! The trunk is small - wont hold two sets of clubs easily. Even with one set, I have to pull out my longer clubs and put them in separately. The back seat very difficult to get into. Front seat wont stay forward unless you readjust it. What a pain. Windscreen completely obnoxious to install/remove. The most annoying thing is the "ding ding ding" when you open the door. I hate it and dealer wont shut if off. Enough to make me sell the car. If you press a button on steering wheel though, you can shut it up. Beautiful car otherwise.

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  Awesome MPG - 2002 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By David - October 22 - 10:43 pm

  Today I was was getting 41 MPG on the highway and the trip was about 40 miles. The car is fun to drive and I dont feel too guilty when I know that I am going to get 400 miles per tank. The seats are supportive when going through sharp corners. Automatic wipers are very nice option. Panaramic sunroof works well. Cons: Wish I had a digital led for the climate control. The bass in the stereo should be stronger.

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  Reliable and wont breakdown - 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By JP - October 22 - 3:20 pm

  Ive had my C280 since Oct of 1997. Its the 98 model and its still running like a champ. As much as I want a new car, this one wont break down so I cant justify buying a new one. So thats making me think I want to buy another MB as my new car when its time. The only thing is its so boring inside, not too many bells and whistles. Since I got this car when I was barely 20, I was able to spice it up with some clear corner blinkers with 18" AMG monoblocks, but the redesign really needs to take into consideration mg the 20-30 something crowd who loves the 3 series Bimmers. sometimes I feel like an old lady driving this sedan, but honestly this car has always been reliable and a great buy! Safe!

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  OK vehicle but stupid option packages - 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
  By mssurrey - October 22 - 10:53 am

  The vehicles is similar to the ML in design, especially the interior which is an almost exact copy og the smaller ML class. The most annoying thing are the options packages (only two or three to choose from). In order to get memory seats, I had to spend thousands of dollars on a Premium package with many features I simply didnt want or need such as a sunroof and a Nav system (have my own Garmin unit) At a time when many manufacturers are increasing options, Mercedes have bundled everything together so that the only option you now have is basically Take it or leave it. How ridiculous

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  Great Car - 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By Bruce - October 19 - 11:43 pm

  Love this car. Great comfort and drive ability. Quiet and relaxing.