BMW 7 Series vs Mercedes-Benz S-Class

The short version

The BMW 7 Series is more fuel-efficient: 28 vs 23 MPG combined in its best version.

That works out to about $600 a year less in fuel for the BMW 7 Series (EPA estimate, 15,000 miles).

The BMW 7 Series is the bigger car, about 4 inches longer.

Across all model years since 2005, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has had fewer recall campaigns (1 vs 4).

The two cars

The 2026 BMW 7 Series is a large car offered with 2 engines (3.0L 6-cyl turbo and 4.4L 8-cyl turbo), including a hybrid version and rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. It measures about 212 inches long and 77 inches wide on a 127-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 5,741 lb (750e Xdrive 4dr Sedan).

The 2026 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a large car offered with 3 engines (3.0L 6-cyl turbo, 4.0L 8-cyl turbo and 6.0L 12-cyl turbo), including a hybrid version and all-wheel drive. It measures about 208 inches long and 77 inches wide on a 126-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 4,740 lb (S500 4matic 4dr Sedan Lwb).

Buying used? The 2024 7 Series and the 2024 S-Class have the fewest problems in our data.