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Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs BMW Alpina B5

What's the difference?

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

$169,800 - $189,800

2021 price

BMW Alpina B5
BMW Alpina B5

2020 price

Summary

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2020 BMW Alpina B5
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Twin Turbo V6, 3.0L

Twin Turbo V8, 4.4L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
8.4L/100km (combined)

10.9L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

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

  • Cleaning the wheels
  • Room and storage space could be better
  • Not the most engaging car to drive
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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2020 BMW Alpina B5 Summary

The BMW Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo is not actually a BMW. Not according to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, at least.

Nope, the modifications applied by tuning house Alpina to the 5 Series are deemed so significant that if you open the bonnet and look inside the engine bay, you'll see that the BMW VIN has been struck through twice and an Alpina vehicle number stamped underneath it. 

The B5 is not the first model to be recognised in this way, either; the German government has recognised Alpina as a seperate car manufacturer since 1983.

The B5 has other ‘B' siblings, too. There's the B3 S Bi-Turbo, which is based on the BMW 3 Series, the B4 S Bi-Turbo (the BMW 4 Series) and the B7 Bi-Turbo (I don't need to tell you what this is based on, right?) which I've reviewed, too.

So just what has Alpina done to this unsuspecting BMW 5 Series? Is it really worth the extra money? How does the B5 compare to an M5? Could it actually be superior? And did they really take the speed limiter off to let it warp-speed to beyond 300km/h?

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2020 BMW Alpina B5

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