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- I drove a $400,000 Rolls-Royce and a $140,000 Mercedes and found what the extra $260,000 gets you
I drove a $400,000 Rolls-Royce and a $140,000 Mercedes and found what the extra $260,000 gets you
Tim Levin
I tested the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (top) and Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
- Is a $400,000 Rolls-Royce really that much better than a $140,000 Mercedes?
- I drove both luxury cars to find out.
Before I drove one, I couldn't quite fathom why somebody would spend close to a half-million dollars on a Rolls-Royce when there are plenty of very luxurious cars out there that cost half or even a quarter as much. I wondered: Is a Rolls really that much nicer than, say, a nicely optioned Mercedes-Benz?
After driving a Rolls-Royce for the first time, well, I stopped wondering and started believing.
I recently got behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce Ghost (worth about $400,000) and a Mercedes S-Class sedan (MSRP: $139,900) — and learned firsthand the difference between automotive opulence and regular old luxury.
Mercedes’ top-of-the-line sedan is a favorite of wealthy, important folks of all stripes for a reason.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
The S Class is classy (pun intended), enormously spacious, and provides a degree of all-around comfort that’s almost unparalleled.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
The S580e Mercedes lent me came decked out in rich leather and an interesting woven pattern on the dashboard.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
The quilted leather seats were plush yet supportive and had a few tricks up their sleeves: heating, cooling, and massage functions.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
Elegant, colorful lighting striped throughout the cabin. I could further change the mood by turning on the fragrance setting, which distributes perfume through the air vents.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
The sound system was sublime. The neck pillows were divine.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
In motion, the S580e effortlessly absorbed bumps in the road and stayed whisper-quiet.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
The backlit door handles popped out to greet me whenever I approached with the key fob.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
All this is to say that an S Class is, for all intents and purposes, an extremely nice place to pass the time.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
Cruising around in one, you might even get the sense that life couldn’t possibly get any easier — until you pull up at a stoplight next to a Rolls-Royce Ghost.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
Spending as much as a private-college education on your luxury sedan takes the experience the extra mile.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
Sure, a Mercedes may have soft-close doors, but in a Ghost you don’t need to close the doors at all. Hop in and hold down a button in the center console and your door will magically shut for you.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
An S-Class interior is nicer than almost anything else — don’t get me wrong.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
But a Rolls serves up a kind of elegant simplicity and attention to detail that’s tough to compete with.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
My test car was awash in soft leather and had genuine wood accents.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
There was glistening metal all over. The air vents were solid chunks of aluminum that swiveled ever so smoothly in their housings.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
The S Class had sleek buttons controlling how much air the vents put out. That’s nice, but in a Rolls-Royce, you get sturdy metal plungers.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
The Ghost provided an analog clock and lots of satisfying switches. That’s a contrast to the Benz’s digitized experience.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
I especially liked the crisp digital gauges that had an old-school aesthetic.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
he Ghost glided down the road like a kayak on a glassy lake — gently rocking in response to the road but never too bothered by it.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
My Ghost came with Rolls-Royce’s famous Starlight headliner, which relies on thousands of hand-cut, fiber-optic lights to mimic the look of a glistening night sky.
Rolls-Royce's starlight headliner. Rolls-Royce
Other features that set the Ghost apart from regular luxury cars: Center caps on the wheels that stay upright even when the car is in motion, rear-hinged rear doors, and umbrellas in the doors.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
And if this particular Rolls isn’t quite your speed (the orange was a questionable choice, in my opinion), the company offers essentially endless customization options, so you can pick the perfect paint color and interior materials for you — for a price, of course.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
The Ghost glided down the road like a kayak on a glassy lake — gently rocking in response to the road but never too bothered by it.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
the other thing you’re paying for in a Rolls-Royce is exclusivity. On that front, Mercedes can’t hold a candle.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
The other thing you’re paying for in a Rolls-Royce is exclusivity. On that front, Mercedes can’t hold a candle.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
All Rolls-Royces are hand-assembled in a single factory in England that produced some 6,000 vehicles last year. You don’t see them every day — and when you do, you can’t help but gawk.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
Mercedes, on the other hand, sells millions of cars a year. In just the first half of 2023 in the US alone, Mercedes sold over 6,000 S Classes.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e. Tim Levin/Insider
If you’re having trouble choosing between these two lavish cars, remember this: If you’re in the position to shop for a Rolls-Royce, odds are you don’t have to choose at all.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost. Tim Levin/Insider
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