Mercedes-Benz
S-Class: A Classy Way to Travel
Before I start, I would like to thank Akshaya Motors,
Bangalore and their best in the business customer service for giving me an
opportunity to drive the latest S-Class.
The S-Class. Does it need an introduction? I guess not. But
here goes..
Launched in 1954, the
S-Class has always been the segment leader demolishing its opponents in every
generation. It has now become the most important car in history. Every new
generation released is watched closely for all the new features it brings
along. In time, these are the features you will find in smaller cars like ABS,
airbags and ESP. From the very beginning, it has been the flagship car for
Mercedes-Benz carrying with it the history, legacy of the company along with
latest technology and modern touches. Now let’s come to the latest S-Class.
Called the W222, it takes luxury to a higher level and gives a scare to the
baby Rolls and the Flying Spur. It gets Hot-Stone seat massage and Magic Body
Control, which sadly does not make it to the Indian market. This is the first
car which does not have a single light bulb in it. It has nearly 500 LEDs, 56
in the front headlamps, 36 in the tail lamps and 300 in the interior. The rest
are used for the instruments, the hood area and the boot. The
latest car comes with a spectacular 2 spoke steering wheel as opposed to the 4
spoke wheel in the previous generations. The 2 spoke wheel with “Mercedes-Benz”
elegantly crafted on it is used in remembrance of the first Mercedes-Benz
driven by Bertha Benz to prove a point. This flagship model for Mercedes-Benz
carries forward the legacy of the brand.
Walking up to the new S-Class, you get a sense that it was
made with perfection in mind. The exterior design itself tells you a lot about
what exactly the car is. Looking at its simple yet beautiful and elegant lines,
one can conclude that the car has no sporty intent in it and is loaded with
luxury and tech on the inside. The sleek design means a very low coefficient of
drag value of just 0.24. This means it cuts the air more efficiently than the
out-going model. Open the door and you are greeted with one of the most
luxurious and equipped interiors you can find in a car. The
interiors have been crafted to give a classic luxury feel combined with modern
design. The clock in the centre is a nice touch. As soon as you get in
and shut the door, you are completely cut off from the crazy, noisy world
outside. Push the starter button and you can barely hear the engine come to
life.
Put the car in drive mode, release the hand brake, leave the
brake and tap the accelerator. It feels like an invisible force gently pushing
the car forward. The cabin isolation is fantastic. There is absolutely no
engine noise or any suspension noise coming inside. Only a small amount of road
noise is audible and only sharp potholes give a slight whack when you drive
fast over them. The ride on this car is sublime. The body of the car does not
move at all. You can drink your coffee without spilling a drop in a moving
S-Class. It remains stable even while going over a pothole. Body roll is
absent.
The S-Class comes loaded with features. It comes with all
features that can be put into a car. Since this car will be mainly chauffer
driven, Mercedes-Benz has concentrated on making the rear seats as luxurious as
possible. The rear seats come with a “Hot Stone” massage which satisfyingly relaxes
you after hard day’s work. The front passenger seat can be moved by an
additional 77mm and you get an electrically extended foot rest. The rear seats
can recline at an angle of 43.5 degrees. In this car, you can catch up on your
sleep without any disturbance. For those who would like to work on the move,
you get a folding table, temperature controlled cup holders, a 230V socket and windows
which can be tinted optionally. A WLAN connection can be established via COMAND
Online. The rear of the S-Class can be used as your office on the move where
you can have 1-to-1 meetings. For entertainment, you get two 25.4cms display
screens with cordless headphones. You can access every media source like radio,
TV, SD Card, internet, navigation, DVD and USB from any seat. You can also
connect your game consoles.
Coming to the cabin, you get a 13 speaker Burmester audio
system which has sound optimization for front and rear seats. It has Dolby
Digital 5.1 for surround sound, Sub woofers integrated into body shell for bass
reproduction and a 9-channel DSP amplifier with a total output of 590W. You get
ambient lighting with a choice of 7 colours with 5 dimming levels-an option
that has to be ticked, active perfuming system and heated armrests on the door
and centre console. The COMAND screen is a 31.2cms TFT screen with its
controller in the centre console along with a touch sensitive telephone keypad.
It comes with a 200 GB hard disk and a sim card slot which can be used for receiving
live traffic information.
Mercedes-Benz has left no stone unturned in the safety
department. The new S-Class comes with 360 degree cameras which can be used
while parking. But if you want a more relaxed way, then the car comes with an
Auto-Park feature which uses sensors to park the car on its own taking over
from the driver. The LED lights on the headlamps individually dim or brighten on
their own depending on traffic so as to prevent blinding the eye of the driver
in the car travelling in the opposite direction without hampering your
visibility. It comes with night vision which can pick up humans and animals on
the roadside. This car can even distinguish between humans and animals. If it
is a human, it flashes the light a few times. But this does not happen when it
picks up animals as the flashing might scare them. This shows the attention to
detail employed while engineering this car. The other important safety features
include Acceleration Skid Control (ASR) which reduces wheel slip to prevent the
vehicle from skidding on snow, wet roads or loose ground, Pre-SAFE and a system
which automatically applies brakes during emergencies. You get 8 airbags
including side bags and window bags to protect the occupants. Unfortunately,
the diesel I drove does not come with night vision and 360 degree cameras. You
get only a reversing camera.
Technically, the latest S-Class is way ahead of its
predecessor, the W221. It uses lightweight aluminum in most places and stamped
steel in the important parts like the safety cell. The W222 is 50% torsionally
stiffer than the W221 but slightly lighter as well. The powerhouse for this car
is 2487cc V6 diesel producing 255bhp at 3600 rpm and a torque figure of 620Nm
between 1600-2400 rpm. The state of the art diesel has aluminum parts and
precise spray guided piezo injection. This engine is mated to the company’s
proven 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission. It can skip over individual gears
during multiple downshifts. The 5.2 metre long car weighing around 2.5 tons is
no slouch. 100 comes up in a brisk 6.8 seconds and it hits top speed of
250kmph. The performance is brilliant but is more suited to gentle and
luxurious driving than sporty. The acceleration is gradual but during
overtakes, when you floor it, it takes a second to respond as the turbo spools
up before the car is hurled forward. Other than that, there is no flaw in its
power delivery. The diesel rides on 18 inch wheels while the petrol rides on 19
inch wheels. The turning circle at 12.3 meters in pretty impressive. The petrol (S500) is powered by a 450 horse power V8.
Now coming to the biggest question of all. At 1.4 crores
(on-road price, Bangalore) is it worth it? Without a doubt, yes. If you have
that kind of money and are in the market for a luxury sedan, the new S-Class is
the best in the business and does its job brilliantly. If you are a
Mercedes-Benz fan, then buy it without giving a second thought. If you are not a
Mercedes-Benz fan, then think twice and buy it.
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