MERCEDES-BENZ S320L CDI

Merc shows the way FORWARD

Once again, Mercedes has become the first maker to offer a diesel engine in a luxury saloon - and aside the class-leading gadgets, torque and economy make sense in big barges like the S-class.

Bags of torque make up for great real-world driving. Rear occupants get plenty of space, comfort and toys.
Driving position is adjustable on a wide scope; some dashboard switches are fussily scattered; quality almost brilliant. Stylish side-view mirrors incorporate indicator lights.
S-class is country's first diesel luxury saloon. Comand function not the best in ergonomic terms.

RICHARD LEU Bangkok post Motoring > Friday November 17, 2006

Leaders usually keep a distance from trailing rivals in order to maintain their market share, which is the case for the all-new S-class from Mercedes-Benz.

Ever since the previous generation W220, Merc's flagship saloon has been taking more than 50% of sales in its class, thanks to local assembly and a special engine for the Thai market to suit local taxes.

The Thai-built S280L came with a unique six-cylinder motor to attract 40% excise duty instead of 50%. That explained the competitive price of B6.69m.

This has forced archrival BMW to do the same with the 730Li in making it as competitive as possible with the S280L by detuning the power from 258hp down to 219hp to enjoy 40% tax.

But the S280L suffered one major drawback: insufficient performance to cope with the body's weight of over two tons. Buyers, however, still bought it, craving for the three-pointed star image with a price in the B6m range.

In order to maintain competitiveness in the latest generation W221, Mercedes planned to use the E280's 219hp 3.0-litre V6 (another engine detuned for the Thai market) for the pending S300L.

But we haven't seen the S300L yet - which is awfully good news, because we suspect that performance will still be blunted by the S-class's obese weight, despite being trimmed down from its predecessor with the use of more aluminium parts.

Enter S320L CDI, the country's first-ever diesel-powered luxury saloon that was launched last week at less than B8m - just B90,000 more than the 730Li SE (basic version is almost B600000 less).

Dear buyers, forget about the S300L petrol head. Yes, DaimlerChrysler (Thailand), forget about it.

Why? Simple. A turbo-diesel engine has merits of torque (local taxmen don't cripple cars by imposing torque limits) plus economy to cope with big bodies. To put it another way, turbo-diesels are utterly logical in luxury saloons.

And just look at the S320L CDI's competitive price: it has been done by the usual black art of engine-detuning again. This time round, Merc has lowered the 3.0-litre V6's power from 231hp down to 211hp.

S-class yields excellent levels of ride and grip.

Ignore those power figures and read the 540Nm of torque, an amount of grunt that is nearly twice as much than in similarly-sized petrol counterpart or on par with the least powerful AMG available.

And because there is no competition yet with a diesel engine, the S320L CDI is in a class of its own - and that means a good distance from the next best-selling rival. Buyers needing a diesel luxury saloon need not look beyond this Merc.

This diesel is one of a good lump. The clatter at idle is lightly audible from the outside and muted inside. Prod the accelerator above 1,000rpm and the rattling tone disappears. Push the engine to higher revs and it sounds like a refined petrol V8.

Another great thing about this oil-burner is naturally fuel economy. During a test-run with the S320L CDI, we managed some 7.5kpl in town-driving and 11kpl on the highway. These figures belong to four-cylinder petrol engines like in a Merc C-class.

And with more than 500Nm of grunt at your disposal, acceleration and mid-range punch are never nagging issues. In fact, there's strong pace in real-world driving.

The only letdown is the marginal turbo lag in slow-moving traffic. Add that with a soggy throttle, maintaining a smooth driveline or getting responsiveness during quick lane changes at slow speeds can be difficult.

When it comes to the S-class's driving characteristics, it is nearly flawless.

Ride comfort is of utmost importance in luxury saloons, which is something where Mercedes has rarely faltered. The standard air suspension absorbs road imperfections with unrivalled compliancy and feels well-damped in most driving conditions.

Chassis and engine refinement at high speeds is equally commendable to the extent that you start hearing wind noise penetrating the A-pillars at 120kph. Now, that isn't fancy for a car like an S-class.

Big barges must be both easy and convincing to handle, and the S-class has struck the right chord. The steering is light and direct in the city and gets meatier and feelsome when you start to explore the car's limits.

Of course, there's no discounting the fact that the S-class is a big car with over five metre-sticks in overall length and three of them already between the front and rear axles.

But such dimensions make the S-class a wonderful high-speed express. And combine that with the abundant amount of torque, this S320L CDI is a truly assuring car to drive swiftly, making others on the road look like obstacles.

The S-class, however, is not just about driving. That's because most potential buyers would be sitting in the back of the car, especially in long wheelbase form.

By just looking at the car from the outside, you will note that it offers generous legroom. True, the S-class is lengthy, but designers have made a good effort in giving the car a balanced proportion, notably with the accentuated wheel arches that have been absent in the older model.

Having said that, chauffeur-driven owners won't find space an issue in the S-class. And due to the increased wheelbase, Mercedes has managed to squeeze in front and rear seats that can slide, rise and recline in several ways.

Enhancing rear comfort are air-con control, sun shades and, for the first time for Mercedes and any other car in this class, massage function equipped into the backrests.

Too bad, the S-class doesn't feature ventilated seats as in the Lexus LS460 that was also launched last week in Thailand, which we have yet to drive on local roads.

Like in the 7-series, the S-class has all kinds of gimmicks including back-light illumination during the night, button shifters for the automatic transmission with sport/comfort/manual mode and night-view vision.

Likewise, the S-class comes with streamlined electronics called Comand housing various functions and settings of the car. It's annoying to use initially, but after some time you get used to it.

In an apparent bid to avoid utter criticism, Mercedes has additionally installed conventional buttons to create short cuts to some functions like those for the air-con and vehicle dynamics. However, they are fussily scattered.

The quality of interior trimmings is excellent, as well as build. However, some parts like the instrument cowl are tacky. Overall, the 7-series still seems to have a more solid build.

The S-class comes with all kinds of airbags, except for knee ones, and features the latest in braking electronics. The brakes, themselves, are powerful, but could have more initial bite for day-to-day driving.

Since the S320L CDI will be chasing sales at the entry-level, sophisticated technology like Pro-Safe and Distronic (automatic braking and automatic cruise control to put it bluntly) are not available.

Completeness of the kit may be important in luxury cars like the S-class, but on the competitive under B8m front - where long wheelbase versions of the Audi A8, Lexus LS460 and Jaguar XJ8 are not part of the cast - the S320L CDI is showing the way forward.

Aside the class-leading levels of interior comfort, the diesel S-class has the real-world pace and frugality to make it a better bet than the fully imported S350L and even S500L.

And crucially, the S320L CDI makes its 730Li opponent virtually redundant, not to mention the other three that cost substantially more due to no Thai assembly policy. The S320L CDI is the luxury saloon to beat at the moment, at such a price level and at such a customer target.

Class Valedictorian

Mercedes-Benz's new flagship comes out tops in the tech stakes

By Nick Syn.From CarBuyer, Issue 45,Singapore.
 

How most manufacturers approach vehicle development seems to be based on three general assumptions - the first two have to do with the notion that a car should get you where you need to go as quickly and as comfortably as possible.

The third has to do with making sure that you don't get yourself killed in the process. The latter, safety, is by far the most important aspect but it's the one that most of us tend to overlook in favour of digital climate control or electric seats.

This is partly because building safety into a car generally involves putting in things you can't really see or touch, beyond the 'SRS airbag' tags at least. Anyway, since we don't plan on actually having accidents and most of us consider ourselves pretty handy behind the wheel, why bother?

The trouble is that this last bit of thinking is somewhat like leaving a box of matches within easy reach of a six-year old and expecting him not to burn something down. It's the reason why one school of thought advocates heavy reductions in the demands made on the driver in day-to-day commuting, and it's also why my room has blinds instead of curtains.

Mercedes-Benz's latest S-Class is a product of this aforementioned school of thought. It's all about making life easier, and therefore safer, for the driver. The rationale being that the less stressed out you are, the safer the driver you'll be.

Each iteration of the S-Class has always served as a showcase for all of Mercedes' latest technologies and innovations, and this one is no different. The company has been largely responsible for a great deal of the safety innovations found in most modern cars and to expect this new S-Class to drop the baton is virtually unthinkable.

Mercedes had already embarked on a concerted effort to reduce driver stress and up safety with the last generation S-Class, and the new car takes this approach to a whole new level. The car has no less than 12 innovations in total that make their debuts in a volume production context, and with regards to safety, the S-Class can, when appropriately specced, quite literally avoid accidents with little corrective action from the driver.

Physically, the new S-Class gives little away in terms of just how much tech actually sits under its largely aluminium skin. There's the now de riguer stacked bootlid, flared wheel-arches all round and a much pointier and more aggressive new nose.

The car manages to bear a significant resemblance to the ultra-luxury Maybach while maintaining a strong evolutionary link with the previous car, but the overall effect is actually quite understated. Local dealer Cycle & Carriage will only bring in the long wheelbase model, which is over four centimetres longer than the old car.
 
DRIVING IT
The S 350 model tested here serves as the entry-level S-Class model, at least until the S 300 makes an appearance towards the end of the year. The 3.5-litre V6 develops 272bhp and 350Nm of torque, channelling all that grunt through Mercedes' 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox. 0 to 100km/h takes just 7.3 seconds.

On the move, the car does palpably shrink around you, no mean feat considering the sheer size of the thing. The steering is direct and quite precise. Your inputs are always faithfully translated into appropriate turn-in but there's precious little feel to be had.

The twin-turbocharged V12-engined S 600 comes with Active Body Control or ABC, which uses the standard-fit air suspension to keep the chassis flat during cornering, but this S 350 model makes do with adaptive damping only.

Choosing between the gearbox's Sport, Comfort or Manual modes also changes the settings governing the adaptive damping programme accordingly, although the system does sort itself out in the fly if the mood for some enthusiastic driving does take you. And the car does seem very comfortable in the corners - granted there's a fair bit of mass to contain but it's very easy to make quick progress.

The engine is brawny but reluctant to rev, which isn't a problem as there's plenty of torque low down the rev range. This characteristic does lend itself more towards a more stately mode of driving but if you do boot it, all the engine's 272 horses very quickly manifest themselves. This is by no means a slow car.

The seven-speed automatic is much smoother in this application than in some other models we've tested, slurring shifts imperceptibly and generally functioning unobtrusively.

NEED TO KNOW
 

Mercedes-Benz S 350
Engine Type 3,498cc, 32V V6
Max Power 272bhp at 6,700rpm
Max Torque 350Nm at 2,400rpm
Gearbox 7-speed automatic
Top speed 250km/h
0-100km/h 7.3 seconds
Price $328,888 with COE
Warranty 3 years / 100,000km
Contact Cycle & Carriage Industries

 

 

 
INSIDE IT
Much has been made of the S-Class' interior, and most of it revolves around similarities to that of BMW's 7 Series. You get an almost identical central display with attendant rotary controller and in fact the general dashboard architecture will seem quite familiar to a 7 Series owner.

The differences lie in the details. For instance, the S-Class' speedometer is a virtual one, an image on a high-definition LCD display. If you opt for the night vision system, the same display will show an enhanced image of the road ahead.

As mentioned above, Mercedes' answer to BMW's iDrive is the new Comand system and it's organised in quite simple fashion. Happily, there are no deeply nested menus to get lost in and after a short while it does become very easy to use. There are several hard-coded buttons around the Comand controller and a programmable one for favourite functions.

Next to the main display you get a column of buttons that control various ancillary functions like toggling the Electronic Stability Programme on and off, as well as for orienting the display towards the driver or front passenger. You also get a CD/DVD changer for watching movies on the main display screen as well as a PCMCIA slot.

That said, the logic behind the grouping of some of the major controls is a little curious. You can't for instance access the air-conditioning system's economy mode via the controls on the dashboard, you have to go through the Comand menu. The same goes for the controls for the lumbar supports for both front seats.

On the plus side, quite literally, is interior room. Cabin space is truly vast and it almost seems like Mercedes designed it with the mind to fit four seven-footers comfortably. Build and trim quality, however, aren't on par with some of the S-Class' rivals. And when you consider that the CLS's cabin seems better resolved, this does seem a bit strange. Still, the car we drove was an early-production model so expect things to be better for customer cars.

Dollars and Sense

The S 350 lists at S$328,888. You get quite a bit of standard kit but to take full advantage of all the high-tech you've got to be very generous in terms of ticking the boxes on the options list.

Two other engine variants are available - shelling out S$408,888 bags you the 388bhp S 500 and if even that's not enough for the well-heeled petrolhead, there's the 517bhp S 600.

VERDICT
Dynamically, the new S-Class is a big step up from the its predecessor. There's plenty of tech, it's very roomy and has loads of understated presence. It's also an S-Class, so for a whole bunch of customers there won't really be any alternative. However, with plenty of capable competition from rival manufacturers, the choice isn't going to be as easy to make.

A Class above

Story and pictures by ANDREW FERNANDEZ, Star Motoring, Malaysia. Sunday January 1, 2006

What goes on in people's minds when they see an S-Class? Many look inside to see who's behind the wheel. They see whether he is the driver or owner. They look at the back to see who's sitting there. And they wonder how he got there. 

Of course, that aura and prestige of the three-pointed star also has something to do with it. 

And as cars go, the S-class has always been a presence to contend with - one that calls as much attention to itself as to its owners. 

Driving the newly launched version of the top of the range Benz, designated W221 on a 500km journey between Milan, St Moritz and Lake Como proved to be a very good opportunity to bear that premise out. 

One owner of a Benz - a CL - drove ahead and then dropped back to get a rear view of our S350 and continued to make several passes, taking in the more aggressive styling cues that endow the new car. 

From the enlarged front grill - meant to give the car even more aggression, added presence, to the muscular wheel flanges and the longer and broader dimensions, there are now even fewer reasons why you shouldn't notice an S-Class. 

Of course when he was finished he studied me for a moment, probably wondering how I fit into the whole scheme of things.  

Wherever we went, the looks came and mostly with deference - save for one surly Swiss policeman at a roadblock. 

He had seen enough foreign motoring journalists in their new S-Classes - tearing through the Alps for the day. He left a few with the gruffly imparted wisdom: they had better slow down. 

But it's easy to get carried away inside the luxurious, super-insulated cocoon that makes for the interior of the S-Class. 

While many cars these days run along in the 160kph range quite comfortably, the S-class feels like it is still walking at this speed. 

Noise levels are very low and the ride is sublime. If you were transporting a baby, there probably would not be a more stable platform for him to be dozing off, blissfully oblivious to the outside world. Except in the real world they make them for rather bigger babies – a chairman of the board, a rock star, a CEO, a banker, or a head of state. Perhaps, even a Pope. 

Inside the S-class is a beautiful, sweeping dashboard, with wooden inserts, concealed lighting and a curved switch panel. There are now fewer buttons and switches on the fascia as much of the switchgear has been replaced by a new command control system. 

The 272bhp 3.5-litre V6 of the S350 provides fast progress in devouring motorway miles. But it was the 388bhp 5.4 litre S500L (long wheel base version) that proved the perfect match for tackling an Alpine pass. 

On both cars, the seven-speed automatic transmission is smooth and positive, the brakes are very powerful, the handling for the most part neutral. In sports mode, the cars, despite their substantial size are surprisingly nimble to drive, even along twisty bends and hairpin corners. 

In comfort mode, the improved air suspension did a good job of keeping our rear passengers asleep.  

And when it comes to stress levels, DaimlerChrysler now offers scientific evidence that there is less of it when driving in an S-class. It says that in a study comparing the S-class with competing models on a 500km route, the average heartbeat of the S-Class drivers was up to five beats per minute lower. 

In our test car, it also helped that the front seats had the latest version of Mercedes' dynamic multi-contour seats.

Much of the switchgear has been replaced by a new command control system represented by a push-and-pull rotary control.
These counteract the G-forces experienced during acceleration and cornering by increasing or decreasing the pressure in 11 air chambers to give the best support. 

While caught in a crawl at the Swiss-Italian border, we had the massage function activated and those same air chambers were giving me a gentle pulsating back rub. Very invigorating. 

Cruising along a busy autostrada, the driving workload was also lightened with the Distronic plus proximity control system activated. 

Here’s a cruise control system that truly frees your legs, leaving you only to steer the vehicle. 

The latest version of this radar-supported system not only keeps the new S-Class at the desired distance from the vehicle ahead. It automatically brakes the car – to a standstill if necessary before it speeds up to the programmed speed when traffic starts moving again. It now works at all speeds up to 200kph. 

It's worth mentioning that the amount of brake pressure applied is precisely measured and smoothly delivered for each instance - almost like having a good chauffeur. 

We also tried cutting into the slow lane suddenly with a slow car ahead to see what would happen. Suffice to say that that it will brake hard, even carry out emergency braking as necessary. 

Also premiering in the new S-Class is the optional Night View Assist, an infrared system that extends the driver's vision far beyond what he can see on low beam. 

It uses infrared lights and cameras to illuminate the road ahead, an image of which is then displayed in the instrument cluster so the driver can see any obstacle well ahead. 

 
The S-Class comes with no less than a luxurious interior.
  
The Night View Assist.

We could go on and on about the technical wizardry and improvements that brim inside this car but that would more than fill all the pages of this magazine.  

Suffice to say that the S-class has been described as a technological pacemaker. 

Things like anti-lock brake systems (ABS) first appeared in the S-class decades ago and you are seeing that today on budget cars like the Perodua Myvi. 

It is hard to predict which of the latest technical innovations will eventually filter down the chain. 

As for me, I'm quite content with the essential premise that accompanies this and all S-Class' before it, which is simply to “get in and feel well”. 

And I'll settle for the back massage. 

  • Three versions of the new S-350L are now available locally in CBU form, priced between RM897,465 and RM997,465.
    •

    Intoxicating double take

    IMPRESSIONS
    By LOUIS CHEANG, Star Motoring, Malaysia.     Sunday October 1, 2006

    IT really was heady stuff! The engine response set our hearts racing. The moment we stepped on the accelerator pedal the V6 3.6-litre engine responded with a strong surge in power. In keeping with Mercedes Benz philosophy for the S-Class this was not raw power but silky smooth.  

    After all, the car started life as a Mercedes Benz S350 but had been totally worked over by a tuning specialist. Not any old specialist but the famed German tuning specialist Brabus. 

    The S-B7 and its innards (below).
    And the Brabus S-B7 didn’t disappoint. From the time we first saw it at Naza World we were bowled over. It had sleek elegant sporty looks thanks to the reworked front bumper and a redesigned rear end.  

    Open the bonnet and you will see Brabus signature red in a U-shape on the engine cover. Start the engine and there is a low growl exhaust note which hints of the 287 horses lurking in the V6 3.5-litre powerplant. The car was bubbling quietly as we drove out of Naza World’s gate but once on the open highway we gave it its head and boy! Oh boy! Did the car take on another personality and flew as the power surged through! 

    Corners and turns posed no problem, the handling and steering were equal to the task and stuck to the curves like a leech.  

    The brakes did their thing quietly and came to a steady stop when needed. Ride comfort was firm and reassuring even going over speed bumps, thanks to the Airmatic suspension. 

    Throughout our ride we were enjoying ourselves so much that we hardly noticed the luxurious interior which was also packed with innovative features that will take time to learn. There is the usual video screen in the front and rear. The front screen allows the driver to tailor the car’s settings to his personal choice. It also doubles as a TV/DVD player when not on the move.  

    The rear screens (behind the front seat back (ala airline style) mirror the front screen functions. 

    All too soon we had to return the car but the drive showed just why the RM1.28mil Brabus is such an emotional experience. 

    A surprise when we returned the Brabus S-B7 was that another equally exciting Brabus was waiting.  

    This was the Brabus B T1 which we quickly found out was meant for the boy racers who want instant power – preferably of the raw kind.  

    That’s why the Brabus B T1 has a turbocharger for the 2.0-litre engine that delivers a gruntful 223bhp. The Mercedes B-class is a small car just a step above the A-Class so it is light and every bhp is felt. 

    That’s why when we poured on the coals we could feel the power coming in very strongly. 

    Handling and ride comfort was just as expected from a highly respected tuning specialist like Brabus but firmer and harder to take in the raw engine power. 

    All in all, the car is a good entry level Brabus, the asking price RM388,888 for private ownership excluding insurance. 

    For quite some years we have been wanting to test drive a Brabus-tuned Mercedes-Benz and thanks to Naza-Brabus Motor Sdn Bhd, its local representative, we had not one but two Brabus models to test. 

    Most people would probably have heard about AMG - the tuning firm now owned by Mercedes Benz which churns out products such as the AMG 55 CLS, AMG 55 SLK or AMG 55 SL. 

    Not so well known but equally as important is Brabus which was started in 1977 by Bodo Buschmann. Like AMG, Brabus started small at Bottrop, in the heart of the Ruhr Valley directly on the A2 autolbahn and since then has grown into one of the largest tuning firms. In time it has become one of the world’s most exclusive. It is recognised as such by Kraftfahrtbundesarnt (German Federal Motor Vehicle Registration Agency). 

    An expansion of the Brabus administration and production building on the 112,000sq m ground on Brabus Allee was completed in the summer of 1999. Vehicle customisation and service work is done at 85 high-tech workstations. Cutting edge technology is used to manage the 105,000 cu m storage facility to guarantee speedy delivery of parts to places all over the world. 

    Almost all testing is carried out at Brabus own test track which features acceleration and braking tracks, sine curves, a skid pad and a shake track with Belgian blocks. Currently Brabus has a workforce of more than 350.  

    The high point came when it built the exciting high-performance 720bhp 350kph (electronically limited) Brabus Rocket based on the Mercedes Benz CLS – a car which put the stamp on Brabus as a high end tuning and lifestyle firm for Mercedes Benz cars. 

    In a poll conducted by Germany’s leading magazine readers voted for Die besten Autos – Best Cars 2006, readers Brabus as 'Best Brand 2006’ in the ‘car tuner' category.