In launching the new S-Class sedan to the South African market last week, Mercedes-Benz South Africa was for the first time, presenting a facelift of the great saloon. Never before has the S-Class been refreshed during its lifecycle, a trait not quite the norm in the market. Over 275 000 examples have been sold since the car was launched in 2005 and over 3.3 million since it first came to being 5 generations ago.
“Locally the S-Class has reigned supreme since introduction in 2006. With a market share of 45.6%, January 2006 to date, the S-Class dominates the premium upper luxury segment,” says Eckart Mayer, Divisional Manager, Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Lately though that leadership position has been taken over by the new BMW 7 Series but with this facelift Merc aims to once again reclaim it. Both flagships will soon be joined by the newly introduced Jaguar XJ and the upcoming Audi A8 in their segment.
Back to the S-Class. The new car has a more pronounced front grille, a new bumper with chrome inserts in the air intakes, LED daytime running lights, new integrated LED lights at the rear and different tailpipes. While this may not seem like much, the S-Class already had smooth flowing lines that its customers found to be pleasing enough. In fact Mercedes-Benz said it is quite happy with the way the car looks and had no intentions of radically changing it.
I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the new S400 Hybrid at the launch but it wasn’t to be. Mzansi will only see the Hybrid at the earliest in 2011 because of high demand in right-hand-drive countries.
Instead, and I certainly am not one to complain at all about this, I got behind the wheels of the S350 CDI, the S500 and the high-performing S63 AMG. The S350 CDI uses a turbo diesel motor to power up and it makes 165kW at 3600rpm and maximum torque of 540Nm between 1600rpm and 2400rpm.
During the drive it showed a good enthusiasm for the open road, but slightly less for take-off.
Where it matters the most is in fuel consumption which was a commendable 9.9 litres per 100km on our stretch. Not bad for a car that weighs over 2.5 tonnes.
The S500 on the other hand has a 5.5-litre V8 that makes 285kW at 6000rpm and 530Nm between 2800 and 4800rpm. It has a claimed 0 – 100km/h time of 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 250km/h. Lastly we had a chance to take the performance-oriented S 63 AMG out and it reflected its 6.3-litre V8’s 386kW power and its 630Nm of torque. Merc says the S 63 AMG will hurl from 0 – 100km/h in 4.6 seconds and only stop at 250km/h. All the cars come with the smooth 7G-TRONIC gearbox.
Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a brand known for dishing out comfort. Plenty of that as you enter the cabin and take your rightful place on the right-hand side of the front end. Of course there is an S600 L and an S500 L as well for those who prefer being chauffeur-driven. Those models have a wheelbase which is longer than normal, making them ideal for back-seat relaxation or office work.
We do not have the required space to go into detail as far as the techno gadgets found in the S-Class go, so we’ll just highlight a few.
First there is the Splitview DVD system which allows the two front passengers to watch two different things at the same time. The law does not allow the driver to watch movies while the car is in motion which meant that the front passenger was also at a disadvantage. Not anymore. The two can watch different images; the driver keeps his eye on the road and glances into the satellite navigation (which is lawful) while the passenger enjoys a romantic love story of their choice. Marital bliss. A really cool feature are the zonal wireless headphones that only work within the zone for which they are switched on. What this means is that if you are sitting on the rear left side of the car for example, the headphones will switch off immediately when you move to the rear right hand side.
Harman Kardon provides the Logic 7 surround sound system where applicable. It has multi-channel system with an output of 610 watts through 14 speakers. There’s also a 7.2 GB hard disc drive to store music from USB memory sticks and SD cards. This equates to about 1700 of your favourite songs without the need to carry any CDs at all.
Then there’s DISTRONIC PLUS which is a “radar-based proximity control system automatically helps the driver to maintain a set distance from the vehicle ahead. It can brake the S-Class to a standstill if necessary, then accelerate again. If the distance to the vehicle ahead decreases too quickly, the system gives the driver visual and audible warnings.”
Something the ladies are sure to enjoy are the seats with their massage function. Get a massage while being stuck in traffic and get to work nice and relaxed, ready for the day.
For the slightly irresponsible there is the Lane Assist programme which uses “a camera behind the windscreen to recognise clear carriageway markings and gives a warning if the car unintentionally leaves its lane.” Unfortunately it won’t work if there are no road lines as is the case currently in many of our roads which are under construction.
The S-Class has what seems like an endless list of hi-tech stuff for customers to choose from. Its introduction to the SA market means even more choice for buyers in this high-end segment. Someone looking for absolute comfort with no compromises will not have made the wrong choice in going with an S-Class. If extra performance is up your lane then an AMG model is the one for you.
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pricing
S350 CDI (R965 000)
S350 (R950 000)
S500 (R1 180 000)
S500 L (R1 280 000)
S600 L (R1 610 000)
S63 AMG (R1 590 000)
S65 AMG (R2 100 000)
*Live exterior pictures of the S-Class were taken at Sun City, Palace of the Lost City using a NOKIA 6210 Navigator
