2018 Subaru Ascent VS Mercedes-Benz S500

Subaru Ascent VS Mercedes-Benz S500
Subaru Ascent 2018 VS Mercedes-Benz S500 2018
2018 Subaru Ascent VS 2018 Mercedes-Benz S500

2018 Subaru Ascent:
Return of the Seven-Seat Subie: In terms of sales momentum, Subaru continues to ascend, a huge cartoon snowball somehow barreling uphill, picking up skiers, snowmobiles, and the odd yeti. It started with a U.S. sales record in 2009, when 216,652 Americans bought Subarus. Seven consecu­tive record years later, the brand came close to tripling that total, with 615,132 sales in 2016. Its industry-leading customer-retention rate means that more people come back to buy another Subaru than do the buyers of any other brand in the U.S. But there’s a limit to this momentum: Subaru customers regularly outgrow the brand’s lineup as they look for larger vehicles. In its portfolio of family-­friendly hatchbacks and wagons, it has nothing that seats more than five. The Ascent will change that. Subaru learned a hard lesson with its last attempt at a seven-seater, the B9 Tribeca (later called simply the Tribeca) that it introduced in 2005 and gave up on about a decade later. Aside from its odd looks, the biggest problem with the Tribeca was that it wasn’t big enough. There are smaller three-row SUVs out there still, but not in the indispensable this-or-a-minivan class. That won’t be a problem this time around. The Viziv-7 concept that first previewed the Ascent was longer than a Chevrolet Traverse and as wide as a Ford F-150. We’re guessing the production Ascent might shrink a little bit, but either way, it’s clear that Subaru intends to get the interior space right this time. Surprisingly, the seven-passenger Ascent will share its platform with the Impreza. Subaru’s Global Platform, introduced under the new 2017 Impreza, is designed to accommodate vehicles of all sizes. Also as in the Impreza, the Ascent will pack a flat-four. Subaru still has a flat-six in its portfolio, but given that engine’s 15 percent take rate in the Outback and Legacy and the fact that Subaru’s turbo 2.0-liter boxer produces nearly equivalent power plus more torque at lower rpm, watch for the carmaker to commit fully to a four-cylinder future.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S500:
There’s no doubt the electrification of the automobile is well under way. However, the tipping point—that inflection point when more consumers choose to buy an electric vehicle over a gasoline powered one—is still a ways away. There are many reasons for this, but the most obvious one is infrastructure. There’s a gas station (or three) at every intersection. The electric car world, meanwhile, still hasn’t bothered to agree on a charging standard. 220-volt? 440-volt like Tesla Supercharger stations? 880-volt like Porsche says it’s doing with the Mission E? You tell me. We don’t yet know what the electric future will look like. For now it remains a chicken or egg scenario; which will come first—the cars or the infrastructure? I say who cares because I just drove the steak. Meet the blueprint for the immediate future of the internal combustion engine: the all-new Mercedes-Benz M256, the gasoline-powered version of the brand’s new inline-six, available (to some) in the new Mercedes-Benz S500. This engine changes everything. Yes, as a certified (certifiable?) car guy, I’m digging the fact that Mercedes has dumped the fine but unlovable V-6 in favor of the layout that served them so well for so many years. Put into Animal Farm terms, inline-six good, V-6 bad. Or maybe like this: All six-cylinders are good, but some are more good than others. However, that’s not the big picture. This is: There are no belts. The M256 employs a 48-volt electrical system, so the AC compressor and water pump are electric. The alternator is integrated into the starter motor, both of which actually compromise a part called the Integrated Starter Generator, or ISG. It’s an electric motor wrapped around the crankshaft, sandwiched between the engine block and the transmission. There’s also an electric supercharger, as well as a conventional turbocharger....
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/mercedes-benz/s-class/2018/2018-mercedes-benz-s500-european-spec-first-drive-review/