At a glance
| Mercedes-Benz S-Class | Volkswagen Phaeton | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1994–2012 | 2004–2006 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 136,729 (2010–2022) | 12,109 (2010–2018) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 22,797 | 645 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 8,416 | 240 |
| In traffic in Finland | 2,778 | 106 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Mercedes-Benz S-Class | Volkswagen Phaeton | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 83% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | +16% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.6% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | −64% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 8.2% | — |
| US owner complaints | 271 | 7 |
| Most complaints about | Electrical system | Suspension |
| Model year with most complaints | 2000 (81) | 2004 (4) |
| US recall campaigns | 11 | — |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 116 | 622 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 7 | — |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Mercedes-Benz S-Class | Volkswagen Phaeton | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | — | 14.3 l/100 km (2006) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 8.8 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 11.9 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 8.2 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 15.6 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 165 g/km | — |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 290 kW (389 hp) | 246 kW (330 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 2,204 kg | 2,335 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €142,880 | €122,558 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 226,000 km | 275,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).