Compare the2025 BMW 7 SeriesVS 2024 Mercedes AMG S-Class

Both the 7 Series and AMG S-Class have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The 7 Series has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The AMG S-Class’ child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the 7 Series are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The AMG S-Class doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The BMW 7 Series has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The AMG S-Class doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the 7 Series and the AMG S-Class have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The 7 Series’ corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the AMG S-Class’ (12 vs. 5 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the 7 Series for 3 years and 36,000 miles. BMW will pay for oil changes, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the AMG S-Class.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 28 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks BMW higher than Mercedes.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks BMW 20 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

For better stopping power the 7 Series’ front brake rotors are larger than those on the AMG S-Class:

The 7 Series’ optional 255/40R21 front and 285/35R21 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series front and 35 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the AMG S-Class’ 45 series front and 40 series rear tires.

For better maneuverability, the 7 Series’ turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the AMG S-Class’ (39.7 feet vs. 40.4 feet).

The BMW 7 Series may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 1000 pounds less than the Mercedes AMG S-Class.

The front grille of the 7 Series uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The AMG S-Class doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The 7 Series has a much larger trunk than the AMG S-Class (13.7 vs. 10.7 cubic feet).

The 7 Series’ instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The AMG S-Class does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The 7 Series is available in both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations. The AMG S-Class doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.