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Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs KTM X-Bow

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

$169,800 - $189,800

2021 price

KTM X-Bow
KTM X-Bow

2018 price

Summary

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2018 KTM X-Bow
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Twin Turbo V6, 3.0L

Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

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Fuel Efficiency
8.4L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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

  • Even a light sprinkling of rain will leave you in despair
  • Safety kit non-existent
  • An expensive toy
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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2018 KTM X-Bow Summary

I know what you're thinking: "How is this thing legal?" And to be honest, somewhere between a rock flung from the tyre of a passing car colliding with my forehead like it had been fired from a pistol, and the pouring rain lashing my exposed face like a damp cat-o'-nine-tails, I'd begun wondering the same thing.

The answer is barely. The product of a years-long fight to overcome our import rules, this madhouse KTM X-Bow R is now finally free to roam Australian roads and racetracks - though, with sales capped at 25 per year to comply with the Specialist Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme.

The price? A slightly eye-watering $169,990. That's quite a lot, and places the X-Bow R miles above its closest lightweight, carbon fibre-tubbed competitor, the Alfa Romeo 4C ($89,000).

But then, the KTM X-Bow R is unlike anything else on the road today. Part super bike, part open-wheeler and all mobile madness, the 'Crossbow' is fast, furious and completely insane.

Expect no doors, no windscreen, no roof. On-board entertainment is limited to the turbo whistling behind your head, the car's standard safety list is as barren as the interior and the climate control is dependent on the temperature of the wind that's smashing into your exposed face.

And we couldn't wait to take it for a spin.

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2018 KTM X-Bow

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