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Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs Audi A8

What's the difference?

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Mercedes-Benz S-Class

$169,800 - $189,800

2021 price

Audi A8
Audi A8

2023 price

Summary

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2023 Audi A8
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Twin Turbo V6, 3.0L

Diesel Turbo V6, 3.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Diesel/Electric
Fuel Efficiency
8.4L/100km (combined)

5.9L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Price of entry prohibitive for most
  • 3D instrumentation can make you woozy
  • A tad conservative in design

  • Big turning circle
  • No folding rear seat
  • No front door bottle slots
2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Summary

It's only in the running for the title of world's best luxury car. No biggie here, then.

Like Rolex and Concorde, S-Class has become a byword for ultimate, and deserved or not, the Mercedes-Benz defines its segment despite the best efforts of the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, Lexus LS and (sadly now-defunct) Jaguar XJ, as well as pointing the way forward with new technologies that eventually trickle down to more proletarian models.

Replacing the half-million selling W222 unveiled in 2013, the W223 is the latest in a long line since the first W187 Ponton debuted in 1951, and includes the famous ‘Finnies' and Stroke-8 models that followed immediately afterwards, but it is the 1972 W116 that really set the template.

Now, seven generations in, the 2021 S-Class is all-new again, with progressive safety and interior features that should help keep it Australia's bestselling full-sized upper-luxury sedan.

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2023 Audi A8 Summary

Audi’s flagship is the A8, a long, luxurious sedan where being driven is often as important as doing the driving.

To put this ultra-premium machine in context, it competes with other German heavyweights like BMW’s 7 Series and, of course, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class as well as Porsche’s Panamera. Not to mention the Lexus LS or Maserati’s Quattroporte.

What’s life like at the top of the Audi pyramid? Stay with us to find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2023 Audi A8

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