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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  bad electric - 2000 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By momsavant - April 25 - 10:00 am

  Most excellent ride except stereo goes out and deler cant find new radio/ stereo system (Becker system). Scheduling loaners very tedious

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  Common Thread - Electronics - 2001 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  By lga1808 - April 25 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my 2001 C240 new and drove less then 5,000/yr. In that time, every electronic system in the car that could fail did so. My dealer was as helpful as they could be and, after 1-1/2 yrs of nearly monthly repairs, suggested I request Mercedes assist me in replacing the car. It took six months but after two letters from me and the support of my dealership, Mercedes helped me financially to replace the car with a new 2003 C240. I am delighted with the new car - absolutely no problems to date - knock wood! Unlike the first car, the new one has controls that work the first time. Time will tell but so far, I am very pleased with the new C240.

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  Nice Car but only buy CPO buying used. - 2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By ATLBENZ - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I have driven BMWs for the last ten years and wanted a change so I went MB. I love the looks of the E350 and how comfortable it is on trips. I bought the car from an independent dealer with 48K on it. The car had been maintained by Mercedes since the day it was bought. Being the second owner and having a clean car fax, I figured I was ok. Up until last week the car was super. The car just turned 52K miles and the transmission had a major malfunction due to the electronics. I had to pay right at $2000 to have the Valve body of the transmission replaced. I am very disappointed that this happened exactly 2000 miles after the factory warranty expired.Not what you would expect on a MB this new.

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  2nd CLA - 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
  By namegoeshere - April 19 - 3:37 am

  We bought a bare-bones CLA the first year it came out. We were so impressed with it that after two years, we traded it in for a 2016 adding all the features we think it needs. We also bought it using European delivery and is currently waiting for its arrival in Baltimore. First of all, the design of the car is what got us. We had E-classes before so werent looking for an entry into the luxury segment. This is a car that seems to be designed as a unit as opposed to say the new C-class where the front and the rear look like they are from two separate cars. Our original was in a stunning Jupiter red with sun roof, Bi-xenon lights, the Becker GPS, walnut trim. The 2016 has several standard options which were not standard before but instead part of an expensive package Our new car is 4-matic (wasnt available before), same sun roof, walnut (with beige interior, wish there was a lighter color option) bi-xenon, rear-view camera (really missed this as we have it in our other cars), Apply-Carplay (wasnt available before), Garmin GPS (hated the Becker unit and looking forward to seeing Garmin maps but after playing with Apply Carplay in Germany when we picked it up, we might use Google map instead so the Garmin may not be necessary), the sport suspension package (out other car is a 911 so anything that hints at better handling would be great) and Blind Side assist. The BSA is really important because when my wife moves her seat to a comfortable position, it completely blocks the view from the rear side window and with the sloping roof, this is a problem. Also, the driver side pillar blocks cars as well which is not good. When we drove it in Germany, it feels faster than ours and much smoother. There is plenty of power and driving-wise much faster than what I expect a 200hp car has. What we will really really miss about our first CLA is the gas mileage. My wife and I really enjoy seeing our MPG at 38-39 which is remarkable. I understand with 4-matic that will likely go down quite a bit but with the aerodynamic of the car, this car cruises down a hill really fast and we end up using the brakes a lot because you end up passing most cars and going too fast on downhills. On thing that we hate about the 2016 are the standard rims that go with the 17inch wheels. They are butt-ugly and look like simple cut-outs from a sheet of metal. Guess thats how they get you to upgrade to 18inch wheels. Dont want 18 inch as we do highway driving and dont want low profile tires and also we had a set of 4 17inch Blizzaks at home that we plan to use. We decided to buy a new set from Tire Rack Overall, my wife and I really love this car. its meant to my wife to drive around town but we ended up using it for all our long trips and now with 4-matic, we can do this over the winter also. With this purchase, we plan to keep this car for a long time.

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  Much better than a minivan. - 2002 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By BCWatty - April 19 - 2:00 am

  Needed all wheel drive and 3rd row of seats. The small turning circle diameter is great. This was the best handling and most nimble suv we drove. The interier hardware is fragile and we have replaced rear cupholders/vents 5 times (all under warranty). The moonroof had broken twice and the power steering feels underboosted when making sharp u-turns. The accelerator pedal is s-l-o-w to inputs. Our dealership does not have enough loaner cars. Our local BMW dealership is much more responsive but X-5 does not have 3rd row of seats. We tow a boat with this and it works much better than our Tundra pickup truck for towing.

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  good build quality - 2002 Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  By anwar - April 17 - 2:00 am

  very good Luxury car

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  CLK350 Buyers Beware !! - 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By 7X - April 16 - 2:00 am

  Recently purchased a certified pre owned (cpo) 2007 CLK350 Coupe; gem of a car but since found out it has one EXPENSIVE FLAW ! Various Mercedes Benz models built between 2005 and 2008 have a defective balance shaft and/or balance shaft sprocket. Its a defect in the metal part which wears prematurely. To replace and repair, it in the CLK models with the 350 (272) engine, it requires removal of the engine!! The dealer knew this problem exists and didnt tell me before I made the purchase. I bought this car in good faith that it would last me many years, now I found out it will likely need an engine tear-down before it hits 100K miles, maybe closer to 60K. Shameful.

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  1999 CLK 320 - 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
  By spyke - April 13 - 2:00 pm

  Overall this is a great car. With the top up it is much quieter than most sedans, and with the top down it is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Everyone loves and envys this 7 year old car. Chrome AMG wheels really dress the car up.

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  Factual and Truthful - 2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
  By SenorHotel - April 13 - 2:00 am

  Aside from a defective alternator @ 1,000 miles and a loose headrest, the E500 4Matic hasnt disappointed. It has handled superbly through 30"+ of NE snow thus far. Solid car, solid ride, good price/value correlation.

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  Excellent 7 seat luxury SUV with nice & improved features - 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
  By h82bl8 - April 10 - 9:59 am

  We purchased the 15 GL450 as a family vehicle/daily use vehicle for my wife. Its a perfect luxury 7 seat SUV in my opinion. Its roomy, both elegant and athletic inside. I was sort of hesitant on the new V6 bi-turbo engine but what a pleasant surprise! Though the engine sound is not as pleasing as the V8, the performance speaks for itself. It has similar performance as the naturally aspirated V8 in the X164 (GLs before 13) while getting better gas mileage. Weve owned the previous version GL450 & GL350 and the interior, especially the "technology" has definitely improved significantly. The navi system is now somewhat user friendly, though not as nice as the Japanese cars and Audi MMI.