The S500, unquestionably the best car in the class, and
arguably the most complete road car in history, is the perfect riposte to the
bleak news that has hounded Daimler Chrysler throughout 2005. Forget pension
deficits, healthcare burdens and errant CEOs names after small crustacia, this
is Mercedes showing us what it does best. Building big saloon cars to a
standard that will leave rival manufacturers contemplating whether they shall
ever catch-up. They have been trying –and consistently failing- for thirty
years now.
With the S500, the horseless carriage is finally reaching
the point at which little further silence can be expected within the confines
of piston-power and radial round rubber. Mercedes has paid obsessive attention
to the noble art of tranquility and the result is a driving experience like no
other. Never has a driver felt so remote from the outside world, and yet
remained connected to the car to such a helpful degree.
This is not a beautiful car. It lacks the grace of its
predecessor, but it has enough presence to justify the badge. The cabin is a
revolution for Mercedes and should raise a few smirks at BMW because the basic
architecture is very 7-series.
But before Munich chuckles too loudly, it should closely scrutinize
what Benz has achieved with this interior. It has managed to make a complicated
environment far more approachable than ever before. There is a rotary control
for just about every aspect of the car's entertainment, navigation and heating
systems, but there is also a bank of one-touch switches for the most commonly
selected functions, plus a separate keypad for the telephone. This is intuitive
multi-function control design.
Meets considerable shove. The 5461cc V8 now produces 388bhp
at 6000rpm, and with seven forward gears Mercedes has managed to trim the
0-62mph time back to just 5.6sec. Being so silent the performance doesn’t seem
that strong, but watch the speedo needle at work and you’ll be both impressed
and alarmed at the rate at which the numbers build. Up-shifts are felt with the
faintest shimmer, but the gearbox can be slow to respond to a kick-down demand
and occasionally thumps an awkward change. You get the distinct feeling that
the only reason you can hear the engine is because Mercedes felt that occupants
might enjoy some background V8-grumble. This has been judged to perfection.
At 1940kg, it would be reasonable to expect the S500 to
flatten the surface beneath it, but sadly it still has to contend with the
vagaries of the British highway. Comfort is the primary reason for the
existence of the luxury saloon because the class below is now so competent and
spacious. Drive an S500 on the optional Airmatic suspension with ABC body
control and (inhale) optional dynamic multi-contour front seats with massage
function, then jump into an E320 CDi and it will feel, sound and irritate like
a ratty Ford Cortina. The S500’s chassis is so well adjusted to its role as the
filter between occupant’s bodies and road surface that it makes very competent
exec saloons seem harsh. Virtually every aspect sets new standards: body
control, medium and high-speed ride, head-toss, overall fatigue. You drive an
S500 and you relax. You passenger an S500 and you doze.
Only in low-speed ride is this not the finest car made. So
much of the pillowy levitation that characterized the best Jaguar XJ saloons of
old was bound up in a fleshy sidewall. The S500’s optional 18in Pirelli P-Zero
Rossos have a 45 profile that no manner of air-sphere trickery can compensate
for. They do however allow this two-ton lummox to scamper where it should loaf:
no owner will drive their S500 in this way, but between jobs their driver will
find great sport annoying 330is. I truly enjoyed flinging this car about, in
the main because it has a brilliant traction control system that allows a
degree of slip and the most subtle intervention imaginable.
Now is not the time to expand on the technology in the S500:
we haven’t the space. Sifting standard gear from options isn’t easy, naturally
some of the trickiest toys are costly add-ons. But I have never before driven a
car with night-vision, and can only say that it is staggering. Nor have I
experience of a car stereo half as majestic as the Harmon Kardon unit fitted
here, or of a digital tv with a better picture and more channels then the unit
I have in my sitting room. I have used a car with a reversing camera before,
but not one that integrates the radar function to outline how best to complete
a three-pointer. And Brake Assist Plus –
a function that practically does all the middle-pedal work for you when the
creek gets choppy and one’s paddle is missing- is currently more than I can
deal with. Hopefully it is something I won’t need to use during my brief time
with this immense expression of what the motor car has become. To look at, let
alone purchase any other car in this sector would be lunacy.
Source: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mercedes-benz/s-class/first-drives/mercedes-benz-s500
By Chris Harris
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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