1973 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 450SEL 4.5 gas from North America
Summary:
Your lady friend will love this car as much as she does you!
Faults:
Speedometer needed to be repaired.
Alternator needed to be replaced.
New voltage regulator required.
New turn signal flasher required.
General Comments:
An absolutely beautiful automobile that causes the heads to turn. It drew attention even when I took it to our large dealership for routine maintenance.
Power unlimited. The car is quick and fast. Plenty of power to meet any normal person's needs. I rarely drive over 80. Speedometer reads to 160. I don't really believe it would go that fast, but then, you never know. I'm not going to try it.
The feel of the car is very masculine; large, thick steering wheel, especially large interior with beautiful instruments which are all readily visible and topped off by a sharp, wood-like dashboard.
As large as the car is at 5100 pounds, it handles like a big, agile cat and stops on a dime.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th January, 2003
20th Aug 2005, 21:41
In 1998 I owned a 1978 450se (4.5 liter engine) in Germany. Given a flat long stretch of Autobahn, I have ran 242 KPH (150 MPH) hour on several occasions. The owners manual listed top speed of 210 KPH (131 MPH). I have driven the car at 220 KPH (136 MPH) for extended periods of time (100 Miles or so). It is very stable at those speeds and I never had a worry, it felt great, the car was 20 years old at the time. I could only imagine how great the car must have felt to the original owner who had the pleasure of driving it when it was new. I got around 15 MPG at speeds of 160 KPH (100 MPH). The car drove great on winding 2 lane roads. I drove them in excess of the speed limit on many occasions at 100 MPH. Driving when the Autobahn was covered in snow posed no problem. The car handled superb. I drove at a fast clip and it never got hairy.
12th Jun 2005, 14:49
There were people that have driven the "450SEL 6.9" that did 150MPH, I'm not sure about the 4.5L. The usual top speed for that car was 138MPH.