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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
2002. - 2010.
F - Executive car
sedan, 4 door
4 x 4
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2005. - 2009.
F - Executive car
sedan, 4 door
4 x 4

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

5055 mm
1903 mm
1450 mm
500 liters
500 liters
90 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
5076 mm
1871 mm
1473 mm
560 liters
560 liters
90 liters
2002 Volkswagen Phaeton
2005 Mercedes Benz S

Engine

Volkswagen
3.6 FSI
Petrol
6 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
3597 cc
280 hp
360 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Mercedes Benz
3.5 M272 E35
Petrol
6 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
3498 cc
272 hp
350 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
2054 kg
8.6 s
250 km/h
17.1 l/100km
8.6 l/100km
11.7 l/100km
273 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 7 gears
1850 kg
7.3 s
250 km/h
15.0 l/100km
8.2 l/100km
10.6 l/100km
254 g/km

Expenses

4600 EUR
Price from
8400 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the executive car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 280hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 272hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.

Safety

Unfortunatelly, neither of the two vehicles was submitted to the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) testing. This makes it virtually impossible for me to pick one over the other and I'm generally against buying such cars as the safety should really always come first. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the executive car segment, which is generally a fortune safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Phaeton offers a considerable difference of 11% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Volkswagen with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Mercedes Benz badge with 4.4 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Phaeton as average reliability-wise, and S is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Phaeton rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Performance & Fuel economy

Mercedes Benz is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, exactly the same as the other car does. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Mercedes Benz S, averaging around 10.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (27 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 10% difference compared to Phaeton.


Verdict

Volkswagen appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Phaeton offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with Mercedes Benz being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Mercedes Benz. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

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