Elder statesmen

The new BMW 7 Series takes on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class for luxury sedan supremacy

- Damian Adams and Kyle Kock

When the S500 was tested for the May issue last year, the CAR team felt that the decision to once again hand the segment crown back to Stuttgart's range-topping sedan was more than justified, given how much Mercedes-Benz had improved on what we deem to be critical areas of evaluation, such as refinement, ride comfort and technology.

It just so happened that the S-Class had long been the title holder in that division before the previous-generation (G11) BMW 7 Series made a strong argument for itself and snatched bragging rights. The victory would be shortlived however, when the current S-Class (W223) would give us W reason enough to proclaim that it is once again the undisputed king. At least until the next new rival arrived at our offices for evaluation, that is.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT

The G70 is striking, but going so far as to call the new 7 Series a beautiful vehicle is a bit of a stretch. Whereas the S-Class's elegance is by way of its rounded lines and sleeker headlamps and taillamps over its predecessor, the 7 screams out for your attention. The comparison between the two was literally evident whenever we had the two cars out in traffic. 

Compounded by their respective paint finishes (the Mercedes-Benz finished in a rather simple pearl white versus the BMW's optional two-tone paint job), the S500 blended into rush-hour traffic en route to a late-afternoon photo shoot, while the 740i had passers-by craning their necks for another glance or whipping out smartphones to capture the moment.

Parking the two nose-to-nose, side by side and information for the images you can see on these pages, it was easier for the team to appreciate just how much bigger than the S-Class the 7 Series is in the metal.