Mercedes-Benz S-Class S350 d BlueTEC Review: opulence

What we like:

The plethora of safety technologies incorporated into the car. Excellent ride and handling qualities coupled with excellent sound insulation.

What we dislike:

Location of the COMAND knob.

Despite being envisioned as a limousine, the car has some pretty good driving dynamics even in this long wheelbase version. Steering is quick and accurate while remaining well weighted for the task. And despite its large size, the car handles pretty well around the bends and you could get quite a chuckle tossing it around.

Even though most if not all of its potential owners will never put its agility to question, you’ll be happy to know that it maintains good traction in the bends. In no doubt a combination of its trick suspension and the sheer weight of its 1.9 tons.

Even at high cruising speeds, the interior remains perfectly serene with an extreme level of sound deadening. This was achieved despite the presence of a vast expense of glass in the roof.

Cog shifting duties are relegated to the same 7G-tronic transmission that was present in the previous generation and for good reason. We don’t see a need to change something that isn’t broke and the 7G-tronic box remains a brilliant and smooth shifting system that is imperceptible when left in auto mode.

Multi-mode RADAR, Long range RADAR, stereo cameras and Infrared, the new S-Class sounds more like a fighter jet than a luxury sedan. The S-Class packs the latest technology to keep its occupants safe during an accident and better yet, it goes beyond to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Once again, Mercedes-Benz have proven themselves to be at the forefront of automotive technology but ‘Best car in the world’? That’s a bit of a stretch but we’ll admit that it damn well fits into the top ten list.

Credits: Story and Photos by Benjamin G. Kline