Mercedes-Benz S500 L 2006 Review

What we liked
>> Classy and quiet interior
>> Grunty V8 engine
>> Superb compliant ride

Not so much
>> Road noise on coarse surfaces
>> Most new technology remains cost option
>> Command control overly complex

The launch of a new S-Class Benz is always an event. For a car that has now evolved into what is recognised as the world's best luxury sedan, the question is often asked, what can be done to improve it.

In its latest guise, the S-Class is a very distinctive both from the outside and more spectacularly, the inside. Indeed, it's this difference, this air of luxury, that strikes you as you slip into the leather-lined luxury of the S500 L -- the first new S-Class model on sale Down Under. The luxury tag runs deeper than words.

The ambience of the new interior has taken a major step forward with the seemingly generic parts bin switchgear of the previous model relegated back to the bin. The new model features a completely redesigned interior where the luxury shines through in details like the chrome switches, lashings of quality wood, leather-look dash and the central command screen integrated into the instrument panel.

The instrument panel itself is a marked departure, with the usual cluster of dials in front of the driver having been replaced by a second screen with a projected image of a traditional speedo.

The big multi-contoured seats offer the perfect compromise between support and comfort andfor more individual body moulding, there is the option of even more than the standard 12-way adjustable pews -- complete with massage function.

Bigger in every dimension than the previous S-Class, the new sedan also offers more interior room and in the long wheelbase 5.2m S500 L there is no shortage of space to stretch out in the rear.

With standard rear individual electrically-adjustable seats, you have the choice of taking in the surroundings, or reclining to a more comfortable position to enjoy the optional ($9500) hard-drive DVD rear seat entertainment system.

There's no denying the comfort, whether occupying the front or rear seats. Riding on a standard air suspension with adaptive damping, the S-Class offers a choice of three settings that mate suspension, ride-height and transmission characteristics. In 'Comfort,' the suspension is softest with the highest ride-height and shift points in the adaptive seven-speed auto set for low rev cruising. The midrange 'Sport' setting firms things up in the suspension department and drops the ride-height by 20mm and the transmission uses the full extent of the rev range before shifting, while in 'Manual' mode, the sporty suspension remains and the transmission is shifted via buttons on the rear of the steering wheel.

Across all modes, the ride quality is very good. Even in the back seat, with a fellow journo doing his damndest to set a point-to-point record across Victoria's sub-alpine twisties, there was enough composure to enable me to read the broadsheet daily's news pages. The only minor irritations to intrude on my read was the odd bump from the suspension over particularly rough tarmac and some road noise courtesy of the coarse chip surfaces.

Up front in the driver's seat, my time behind the wheel revealed that for the exceptional ride comfort, there is little trade-off in the handling.

The steering is well weighted and responsive and the body very well controlled -- although you do feel the 1985kg mass in the way the car is planted on the road. There is plenty of grip too, from the 17-inch tyres.

An optional Active Body Control is also on offer to further reduce body movement and improve handling (not fitted to our test cars) although if our short drive was any indication, you would have to be doing some very serious driving to warrant any additional control.

Under the bonnet of the $269,900 S500 L we drove is a new 5.5-litre V8 which with 285kW of power and 530Nm of torque is more than adequately equipped to get the big car moving. Whether it's off the line or overtaking, a decent prod of the right foot is all it takes for the car to surge forward with confidence accompanied by a glorious V8 soundtrack.

By April this will be supplemented with a 200kW/350Nm 3.5-litre V6, priced from $187,900, and mid year, sees the arrival of the range topping $363,900 380kW/830Nm twin turbo 5.5-litre V12 S600 L. Yet to be confirmed, but highly likely, is also a 173kW/540Nm 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 version running under the S320 CDI moniker priced around $190K.

While the new S-Class is bigger, better quality and offers improved performance, it wouldn't be a new S-class without an inordinate amount of hi-tech features, be they for comfort, convenience or safety.

And the new car doesn't disappoint.

Apart from the assistance of the adaptive suspension, antilock brakes and ESP stability control, Mercedes is determined to make the driving experience as worry-free as possible with an array of "intelligent co-pilots".

Prime among these are the Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control that incorporates two radars operating on different frequencies. This was not fitted to our test car, however, as Mercedes-Benz still has to get local approval for the lower 24 GHz frequency (it's currently used by the Australian military). By combining the view of the two complementary radars, the system is able to provide a set and forget cruise control that is operable between 0-200km/h.

To use the system you simply dial in the speed and the car adapts its own speed according to the traffic flow up to the maximum you have set.

These radars are also used for the Brake Assist Plus and Parktronic reverse parking aid, the former helping with accident prevention by offering additional braking power when the car senses an imminent collision and the latter for greater coverage than that offered by the present ultrasonic sensors.

The radars operate in conjunction with Mercedes Pre-Safe system that uses various sensors to determine an imminent collision and enable systems like the seat belt pretensioners and move the electric seats into the optimum 'safety' position. Eight airbags -- dual front, front and rear side and side curtain -- then help reduce injuries if the crash occurs.

Another step into the future is the offer of the optional Night View Assist. These use infrared lights and a camera that projects an enhanced forward view on a screen in front of the driver (instead of the quasi-analogue speedo). The system promise to deliver the ability to turn night into day...

Apart from the safety technology, the new S-Class also features a new control system for its Command unit. This is the heart of the CD/DVD, radio, satnav, TV, bluetooth-enabled phone and vehicle settings operations.

With a single dial ahead of the centre console, it resembles BMW's i-Drive system and like that system, it is not immediately intuitive and takes some practice and knowledge to work out its menu system and operation. There is also a secondary version of menus and operations on the screen in front of the driver controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.

For those dinosaurs among us (or motoring journos who hop in and out of different cars on a daily basis) there are, thankfully, still buttons and switches for frequently used operations like the four-zone climate control, and six-stack Harman Kardon CD player. In a nod to advanced audio tech, the head unit --which delivers superb sound -- can also take a PC card or memory stick with MP3 files.

With its advances in technology (although we remain non-committal on their operation until we try them) better performance, and vastly improved interior ambience, the new S-Class is a step up on the previous generation and is sure to remain at the top of the world's leading luxury sedans.