2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

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Exterior - What the Auto Press Says

The 2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is styled with a nod toward Mercedes history, prominently displaying classic Benz design cues like the huge, split grille and traditional hood ornament. But the look is not dated. Flared fenders and a raked grille update the look and give it muscle. No reviewer calls it ground-breaking, but most seem to like the car's balance of sex appeal and tradition.

• "Rather than disguising the car's size, the exterior design is not afraid to play it up. Whereas the current model had soft, rounded forms, the new car's flanks are long stretches of creased sheetmetal, punctuated by gigantic wheel arches." -- Automobile Magazine
• "This big Benz dynamically and stylistically straddles the line between the over-the-top-engineered and overweight early-'90s S-class and the svelte and stylish late-'90s version. It has enough advanced engineering and technology to make a robot blush, and it's all wrapped in stylish sheetmetal." -- Car and Driver
• "Aerodynamic efficiency is incredible - the coefficient of drag ranges from 0.26 to 0.28 - more like a super-sleek sports car than a large luxury sedan." -- Edmunds
• "The S-Class has always been conservatively styled. And while the latest version is a more flamboyant departure, it preserves many of the classy, traditional Mercedes-Benz styling cues, such as the split grille and three-pointed star on the hood. The flared wheel arches are among the most prominent design elements to deviate from the norm." -- Forbes
• "The sheet metal is smooth and uncluttered, and the headlight assemblies are more angular than those of prior models." -- Cars.com
• The S-Class is "not, strictly speaking, a beautiful car. It's big and handsome, thick with Teutonic propriety." -- Los Angeles Times