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Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs BMW M3

What's the difference?

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

$169,800 - $189,800

2021 price

BMW M3
BMW M3

$189,880 - $279,990

2023 price

Summary

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2023 BMW M3
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Twin Turbo V6, 3.0L

Turbo 6, 3.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

-
Fuel Efficiency
8.4L/100km (combined)

10.4L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

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

  • Carbon pack a little (a lot) silly
  • Thirsty as all get out
  • Design a little polarising (though I like it)
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 BMW M3 Summary

There’s no point waxing too lyrical here, because the facts surrounding the M3 Touring are more than exciting enough.

It’s a (kind of) family friendly wagon with oodles of space and practicality. It’s also an unhinged performance weapon with a thumping 3.0-litre twin-turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder engine.

And it has been years — decades, even — in the making. So, has it been worth the wait? Let’s strap in and find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2023 BMW M3

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