300.000 reasons to choose Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Now it has undergone a major overhaul, since the struggle for customers is very demanding even in the class of the most prestigious limousines. When the current 2013 generation was first introduced, Mercedes-Benz also hinted at a new design direction. Or, as its author Robert Leschnick, Mercedes' first exterior designer, says, they started with a line that conveys the sensual clarity and stylistic approach that now encompasses virtually all of their automotive offerings. The debut of the Hazel has now undergone some minor visual changes, but by far the most notable are the headlights or the built-in LED daytime running lights. The S-Class now has three types of LEDs, in line with the idea of ​​the best: the C-Class has one and the E-Class has two. In fact, the travel thing is somewhat reminiscent of military ranks or signs that they wear on their shoulders. Even here, more dashes mean more meaning ...

Much more than outwardly, we can find bent sheet metal according to Leshnik's instructions. In recent years, Mercedes-Benz has really stepped on the gas - in addition to many new models, they have also been heavily upgraded technologically or oriented towards the future. This can be written for the two largest areas - mechanical and electronic technology. Let's look at the details of the mechanics first.

Here are three new engines. The two smaller six-cylinders, diesel and petrol, received a new design. The first innovation is that it is an inline engine and almost all of the related technology is new. More novelties such as combined fuel injection, exhaust gas blowers can be found at gas stations. The most important accessory is a built-in 48 volt starter-generator. All important additional parts next to the engine are powered by an additional mild hybrid part. The starter-alternator supplies electricity to a special battery, and the electric current is used exclusively to drive the air conditioning compressor and water pump, so this engine does not have a belt drive of all the mentioned devices. The starter-generator can take on an additional task: if necessary, an additional electric motor is installed, which adds another 250 Newton meters of torque or 15 kilowatts of power to the drive of the internal combustion engine. It is also electrically powered by an auxiliary supercharger that fills the cylinders at low speeds when the exhaust fans are not yet running. Mercedes says the engine has all the performance of an eight-cylinder but with much less fuel consumption (in the S 500 version, where it replaced the V8 by as much as 22 percent). The V-8 petrol engine also has quite a few new features, such as twin superchargers, but most importantly, half-cylinder deactivation. The Camtronic system ensures that only "half" of the engine is running at lower engine loads. Like both of the smaller six-cylinder Mercedes, the V13,3 is offered in two versions. The people of Stuttgart are also announcing a plug-in hybrid version that will have an increased battery capacity of up to 50 kilowatt-hours, which should provide a range of up to XNUMX kilometers with electric drive alone.

Apart from the base models, Mercedes also offers many variations. There is all-wheel drive (4Matic) and Maybach (for more luxury), an increased wheelbase (also with Maybach and Pullman with an even larger one), of course, also a sportier AMG. They have added a wet clutch instead of a torque converter to the nine-speed automatic transmission, which allows faster gear changes; Here, too, the all-wheel drive, which does not have a mechanical differential lock, is simplified compared to the E AMG.

There are really a lot of new products, and not all of them can be listed in such a limited space of our article. But let's add one that provides comfort: air suspension, which in the S-Class can be supported by the Magic Body Control computer system for maximum comfort.

So, we settled on electronics. Of course, in such a prestigious or luxurious car, there are many assistants for safety and comfort. Let me mention a new product, ECO Assistant. In both versions with a six-cylinder petrol engine, this ensures that driving is as economical as possible - also with warnings that we will soon be driving on a section of the road that will be speed-limited, so that we can slow down a little earlier, and also supports recuperation. hybrid) or "swimming" (switching off the engine while driving). In doing so, the system uses all possible data that may be available, from navigation data from a traffic sign detection camera, other information coming from radar sensors or a stereo camera.

Not to mention, there are of course other electronic assistants, but most of them were introduced by this new generation of the S-Class four years ago at a presentation, and later the assistants also found their way into smaller Mercedes models.

The S-Class is the first model in the world to use exclusively LED technology in all lighting options. It is also unique in that a stereo camera monitors the road in front of the car, and the Magic Body Control system prepares the air suspension in advance for road irregularities. Comfort in the car is also provided by more than a hundred electric motors that take care of the adjustment. Thus, each of the front seats has nine motors, and the rear has 12. There are also five electric motors in the outside rear-view mirrors. The five motors also take care of the silent closing of the doors and trunk. The automatic parking system uses four cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors to monitor the view around the car in a 360-degree circle and up to three meters away.

We cannot object to everything we receive, although the average car user often wonders while driving while enjoying the wheel, is it better to ask the question: Am I still driving or am I already being driven by a car? Here, too, the S-Class is in a fairly borderline zone. A regular sedan (also not quite compact, since its dimensions are well over five meters) can be lengthened (with the L mark), it will become even more sporty and powerful (of course, with the AMG mark), but it can also be so, which is almost clear that he must use his own driver. This is one of the reasons why the luxury versions with the Maybach label have received a huge resonance in China.

Under the slogan “Best or Nothing,” Mercedes is in a sense making a very thin ice of ambitious claims. However, the S-Class is certainly close to those ambitions, not least because they have managed to convince to buy up to 300.000 Terrans over the past four years. Competitors cannot boast of such numbers.

text: Tomaž Porekar · photo: Mercedes-Benz