What do you guys think about these two sedans and why would you choose one over the other?

Personally, I like the appearence of the Mercedes better. Audi's just don't have that spark that they use to in the 80's in my opinon. However, they are in the same price range and are both quality European sedans.

What are your feeling on the Audi? Would you consider it?

 

Audi has the no=nonsense look, but the new A8 with that terrible grille is not for me. My wife has a 94 Audi 100S, in ten years of ownership the car has no extreme problem just the nornal wear item, tires, plugs filters, the original battery lasted 9 years, This year the car turned 100K and I did have to invest some $3K to repair oil seals and a transmission sensor and a few other items, but even with that expenditure reliability is not a issue. The S class is IMHO better looking and you get a lot of car for the money probably more then the A8, If I had to chose I'd take the Mercedes. I have a 99 C280 and it also has had no major problems, I O2 sensor and 1 MAS since I got the car, both under warranty. But as you probably know since 2000 and 2001 Mercedes reliability ratings have gone down, however I heard on SPEED over the weekend J. D. Powers has upped Mercedes to 15 on their scale from a low of 30 a few years ago.

 

A8 looks better than mercedes and got one of the best design in engineering when it comes to chassis and body that i have seen. i admire it very much. if you are a sporty type and outgoing person, then this is a good choice.
mercedes is still far more advance when it comes to functions and software. sometimes i cannot tell the difference on power between S500 and S600. you can put your cup of coffee on top of the S500 engine, and it wont move or spill. so fine tuned that choosing it won't make you regret. quality and comfort.

 

Both the S500 and S600 are virtually identical, howeve the S600 is a bit longer, but the really difference is the 600 gets the V12 and the 500 V8, also I believe the 600 also gets the 7 speed auto transmission, I think the 500 gets the 5 speed and the 7 is optional. But the 600 has more gadgets in it, which to me is not necessarily a big selling point.

 

It is actually the S500 that gets the 7 speed transmission (standard), because the transmission won't hold the torque put out by the V12. 4-matic models still get the 5 speed.

 

Thanks for the clarification, I wasn't sure where the 7 speed was going.