4 year ago, Mercedes-Benz presented the current generation of S-Class.
Back then, we thought it couldn't get any better.
The car was excellent in every aspect.
The competition was catching up though, BMW with their 7-Series, Audi with their recently introduced A8.
Reason enough for Mercedes-Benz to improve their S-Class...
But did they succeed?
Mercedes states that they've used 6500 new parts in this car.
Anything to comfort the life of the owner even more.
Most of the new parts are on the hypodermic, but there are some which are visible.
For example; the new headlights.
The grille has been altered a little as well, just like the bumper.
At the rear, we see new rear lights.
But optically speaking, those are the new things.
What's also visible by the way, is the new steering wheel.
Nowadays, that's fitted with a touchpad.
Just like in the E-Class.
With that, you control the big screen in the center console.
The instruments are also controlled by the wheel, you can customize everything.
Also, not unimportant;
The cruise control is now on the steering wheel.
Normally, the cruise control in a Mercedes was controlled by a lever on the side, but not it's perfectly in sight.
Very practical.
Of course, you can adjust the temperature by hand,
you can adjust the heated seats, but Mercedes has now come up with something,
which lets you adjust the ambiance in the car with the push of a button.
I'm talking interior lights, heating, the seats, massage-settings, if that's fitted of course...
The heated seats, the kind of music, everything is adjustable with that button.
Mercedes calls it 'Energizing'. You can choose between 'Refreshed', 'Warmth',
'Vitality', 'Well-being', very good names, don't you think?
But you can really adjust the car to your likings, with just one button.
When it's about comfort, Mercedes normally takes it to the next level.
We already know Magic Body Control; two camera's keep analyzing the road surface,
and if they encounter bumps or potholes, they adjust the suspension so that you don't even notice you're driving over bad surfaces.
They've refined that even more. Also, they've been adjusting the suspension in a way,
that if you're cornering and you get the feeling you're sliding out of your seat, the car starts to lean so it puts you back in your seat.
Those are the small details which make a car just that bit nicer.
When we discussed the steering wheel, I already made a comparison to the E-Class.
However, there are more features from the E-Class which are now available on the S-Class.
Of course, I'm talking about the autonomous functions.
The car can neatly stay in its own lane and keep distance very nicely, and it does a better job than the E-Class.
And that was one of the better autonomous cars already.
A typical sign that Mercedes always wants to go one step beyond when it comes to comfort.
Of course, the car is filled with electronic safety systems.
All of them have been improved as well.
Take a safety feature in the steering wheel for example.
If a pedestrian unexpectedly crosses the road and you have to dodge them, the power steering helps you with a little bit of extra power,
which ables you to carry out that manoeuvre quicker.
It also makes sure you won't slingshot your way back into your lane, but it keeps you stable.
That's a nice bit of electronic refinement.
Not only comfort and safety have received attention, but also the ecological footprint got an update.
You now have EcoAssist, which makes sure throttle is reduced when approaching a junction or a roundabout.
That way you can let the car roll. Sometimes that's even possible with the engine turned off,
or if you're driving a hybrid, you can regenerate.
It won't save the world, but every little bit helps in a car like this.
Since we've arrived at the drivetrain, under the hood we can find a lot of new things as well.
There are four new 6-cylinders available, and one V8.
The four 6-cylinders consist of two petrol versions and two diesels, all of which are 3.0-litres.
The petrol engines are found in the S450 and S500, with the latter not coming to the Netherlands.
Both petrol versions have a 48-volt system aboard, which technically make them light hybrids.
Everything for the efficiency.
The car we're driving right now is fitted with the V8, the S560.
That's right; 560. That digit was part of the biggest S-Class in the 80's.
When it comes to the engine, that is.
So they're re-using that number now. It's also fitted with a little ecological edge.
I haven't noticed it, so I don't know if it works,
but Mercedes states that 4 cylinders can be turned off when it's necessary. That goes very smooth I guess, because I haven't noticed it.
The 8-cylinder is connected to a 9-speed automatic gearbox, and that's a very comfortable combination.
It's almost like they've spent half the weight of this car on insulating it. You almost can't hear it, except the wheels rolling.
You don't really get an impression if you're doing 70, 80 or 90. You really have to look at your dials to find out.
If you put your foot down, the car really wants to go.
It gets even better when you enable "Sport"-mode. It's quite a quick car.
If that isn't enough for you, you can get a 12-cylinder in the S600.
And if that isn't enough, you could turn to the AMG-models.
They only offer 8- and 12-cylinders, but that's the upper side of the spectrum.
If you don't count the Maybach-versions, that is.
If we put everything together, we can conclude Mercedes has absolutely tried...
to push the S-Class to an even higher level.
If it's enough to keep the A8 at distance, that's something we'll have to find out in a comparison.