- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
5.0i, 8 cyl.
- Engine Power
225kW, 460Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 12L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Burgher with the works
FOR: V8 goes like you wouldn't believe, and returns relatively frugal fuel economy. Slick transmission. Formidable list of safety features. High dynamic limits. Spacious cabin. Comfortable ride.
AGAINST: Some technology is neither useful nor necessary. Complicated controls. Uncomfortable driver's seat. Uninvolving to drive. Smallish boot. Less well equipped than BMW rival.
VERDICT: A techno tour de force, but Benz seems to have forgotten that the driver is more important than the car.
RATING: Four (out of five).
Mercedes-Benz had a miserable time with its previous S Class, a clumsy exercise of corporate ego rightly deemed too excessive in every respect. Its new flagship S Class sedan shows just how much of the criticism Benz took to heart.
Now sleek and coupe-like - in sharp contrast to the former car's Panzer-like profile - it is a claimed 210kg lighter model for model, and 13-17 percent more fuel efficient, than the predecessor.
BMW's ire has been stoked by the challenge the new S represents to its very successful 7 Series - but what really got up Munich's nose were Benz's substantial price cuts. The new S320 costs $169,500, down from $190,200, while the S430 is $199,500, against the outgoing S420's $229,300.
The two long-wheelbase variants, the S430L and S500L, are $218,000 and $252,000 respectively; the former had no predecessor, but the '99 S500L is $20,000 cheaper than its '98 equivalent.
BMW Australia is rather sensitive about Benz at present because, for the first time in a decade, it has surrendered market leadership to the three-pointed star. When the new S was launched, BMW fired off a terse press release suggesting the Benz price cuts were "sure to be felt" by existing S owners at trade-in time.
No matter what the badge, when the sticker in the window says a quarter of a million dollars, philanthropy - yours - is part of the deal. Sales tax on the new S500L, for example, runs to $59,013; according to industry valuer Glass's Guide the salesperson who delivered your '98 model for $272,000 will now offer you $205,000 for it.
Several features trumpeted loudly by Benz as evidence of the S Class's superiority are yet to make it into local cars. These include the Distronic radar/cruise control which maintains a safe distance from the car in front, and Keyless Go, a chip card which eliminates the onerous task of pushing the remote unlock button and inserting the ignition key.
Another future fitment is the COMAND system, which integrates the audio, television, telephone and navigation functions; BMW's comparable system is standard in the 7 Series, as are Xenon headlights, an S500 option.
A classic late-'90s Euro V8, the S500's 5.0-litre 24-valver has endless reserves of torque and an explosive top end, and runs satin-smooth from idle to redline. It launches the 1.8-tonne 500 from rest to 100km/h in a mere 6.8 seconds. Overtaking thrust is breathtaking, while fuel consumption is frugal for a car of this size and performance.
The five-speed automatic features adaptive software and a shift-it-yourself option; such is the quality and timeliness of the auto shifts, and the capabilities of the V8, that manual mode is superfluous.
The drivetrain incorporates electronic stability control, which uses the anti-lock brakes and cuts engine torque to rescue the car when you exceed its cornering limits; the brake assist feature automatically applies the ABS with full power when required.
Benz has equipped the S500 with air springs and electronically variable dampers, both of which use sensors to "read" the road and adjust settings in a split-second. All very clever, but from the driver's seat there is no discernible handling gain over a well calibrated conventional suspension system.
Only a complete fool could stick the S500 into the scrub - it sits unshakeably on any surface at go-to-jail speeds.
When hurrying through tight corners or changing direction quickly, however, the S is less agile and balanced than the Audi A8 quattro, 7 Series and E Class. Its dull, uncommunicative wheel, particularly when turning into a bend, also contrasts with the direct, tactile Audi and BMW.
Ride comfort is, of course, excellent, but the front end fails to obliterate small city bumps as a Benz should. At high speed, the 500 is beautifully refined, though the tyres thwack and thump a bit on choppy city streets.
The h-u-g-e driver's seat features heating and cooling through perforated leather, power adjustment in every direction, air compressor-adjusted lumbar support and three memory settings. It is neither comfortable - the cushion is too hard - nor supportive unless you're so wide as to make contact with the side bolsters.
Safety features include eight airbags (dash, doors and windows), improved side-impact protection from a heavier central "safety cell" and two-stage deployment of the front passenger airbag, depending on the severity of impact. If that seat is unoccupied, the relevant dash and door airbags are de-activated.
The 423-page owner's manual is required reading before you attempt an assault on the unnecessarily complex audio and air-conditioning systems. After a week, I still could not find a simple way to change radio frequencies or get the desired result from the air-con.
Too-small cup-holders, a rain-sensing wiper system that couldn't pick the weather and a CD stacker located under the boot floor add to the impression that the user is less important than the product.
The S500 was also the first Benz this writer has tested which had a couple of plastic-on-plastic squeaks in the cabin, the culprit being the instrument housing.
The test car's luxurious back seat also had heating, power cushion-length adjustment and lumbar support (a $2,592 option), but no air-conditioning controls for passengers. You'll find these, and individual audio controls, in the back of a Holden Caprice.
Occupant space is not an issue in the long-wheelbase Benz, but the extra cabin length has seen boot space sacrificed; for a luxury sedan, the S Class boot is absurdly small. A 60/40 split-folding rear seat is provided.
Benz has thrown everything at the new S to repair the damage caused by the previous model; its application of technology is in some areas worthwhile, but in others simply blinding 'em with science seems to have been a more important priority than genuine improvement of function.
The S500L is a wickedly fast, superbly refined machine, but the smaller, lighter E Class is more enjoyable to drive, as are BMW's 735i and 740iL, the mega-luxury sedans which most successfully marry six-figure priorities and user-friendly high technology with a sporting edge.
ENGINE: 5.0-litre fuel-injected 24-valve V8.
POWER:225kW at 5,600rpm (average).
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds (quick).
BRAKES: Discs with brake assist (excellent).
ECONOMY: 18.3 litres/100km city; 10.4 highway (excellent).
PRICES: Recommended retail - $252,000. Street price - No deals. Selling well, so there are big discounts on BMW and Lexus.
Main options: Luxury rear seats $2,592; Xenon headlights $2,125; Bose sound system $2,884; massage driver's seat $1,437; Keyless Go $3,300; television $2,350.
Alternatives:
Audi A8 4.2 quattro - $196,220
BMW 740iL - $208,000
BMW 750 iL - $272,000
Daimler Super V8 4.0 - $215,500
Jaguar XJR 4.0 supercharged - $178,800