THE LOVE BOAT

Driving the now-mildly hybridised S 500, Jon Wall discovers yet another reason to fall for Mercedes-benz’s luxe barge

Call me fickle, but I’ve fallen in love again. Possibly even worse, the current object of my affections has exactly the same name as my previous passion, which I’ve now unceremoniously dumped. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that makes me an incorrigible old cad or simply a creep, but perhaps if I tell you she’s called Mercedes you’ll understand. To be honest, this latest amour has been simmering for some time. It dates back, in fact, at least to July 2017 and a meeting in the rarefied surrounds of a heritage hotel above Zurich – and possibly the seeds were sown as long ago as January 2015, and a brief encounter in the coastal hills of Southern California.

I should now make it clear I’m talking about motor cars here and not females – and that in my further defence, the automobile in question is the midlife-facelifted version of Mercedes-benz’s sixth-generation S-class, a car that many have said is the best in the world. Indeed, they’ve being saying that about the S-class ever since the company unveiled the very first vehicle to bear that name – the W116 of 1972 – and they were saying it about its predecessors long before that.

There’s no great mystery as to why Merc’s luxurious land barge has been the choice of presidents, plutocrats, stars, socialites, gentlefolk and gangsters the world over for almost 50 years. It’s simply that few other cars have so effortlessly combined such luxury, elegance and presence – and nor (and perhaps most important) do they engender such feelings of sublime well-being among their passengers.

That’s partly because Daimler-benz has continued to throw so much newfangled tech in its flagship’s direction since the early 1970s – over the years, it’s pioneered ABS anti-lock brakes, seat-belt pretensioners, airbags, double glazing, adaptive air suspension and active lane-keeping – that would-be competitors have a hard time keeping up with it. But it’s equally due to the fact that those innovations have been balanced with a conservative approach to design and styling, so that while each generation has represented a clear evolutionary step it’s also been instantly recognisable as an S-class, a key consideration in a segment that values

tradition. Factor value for money into the equation – and don’t forget you’d get two roughly comparable S-classes for the price of even the most junior Rolls-royce – and unless you’re determined to make a contrarian statement by choosing an Audi A8 or a 7-Series Beemer, the Mercedes looks a no-brainer.

You might be questioning why, as I already experienced the current W222 S-class more than four years ago in the US and more recently in Europe, I’m so smitten by the S 500. For unlike the cars I’d driven earlier, which were plucked from press fleets and fully loaded with every conceivable option, the S that was recently in my charge was spec’d with more-or-less baseline trim (or at least what passes for such on the plush planet Merc). So, no clever Magic Body Control with Road Surface Scan, no full Level 2 autonomy driver-assistance, no Firstclass rear compartment with folding tables, and no individual rear-passenger entertainment or Burmester 3D stereo systems (which – to judge from a price list that, in barely readable 6-point type, fills an entire A4 page – are just a short selection of the kit that could have been fitted to my test car but wasn’t).

But what the S 500 does come with is Mercedes’s M256 six-cylinder engine, a 3L petrol unit whose introduction in 2017 heralded the gradual adoption of mild-hybrid technology across the brand’s entire range of passenger cars. That doesn’t mean this particular S is a hybrid in the normal sense: it has no electric motors that can power the car independently of petrol, it doesn’t need to be charged up when not in use, nor does it have to lug around a hefty battery pack. But it is remarkable, nonetheless.

Because that engine, which marks the company’s return to the classic inline-six configuration after years of V6s, is an absolute crackerjack. Not only does it feature an integrated 48V starter motor and alternator attached to the crankshaft, which offers brief EQ boosts of torque and horsepower as well as energy recovery during braking, but there’s also an auxiliary electronic compressor that kicks in on low-speed acceleration, taking up the slack before the more conventional turbo spools up.

Moreover, it independently operates the air-conditioning, water pump and other key systems, leaving the petrol engine to do what it’s supposed to do: move the car. The results: 429bhp and, from 1,800rpm, 530Nm in normal operation, but with additional bursts of 21 horses and 250 Newtons respectively. Those impressive numbers, which hardly seem to tally with the engine’s modest 2,999cc capacity, are more than sufficient to move this 2-tonne motor car with astonishing rapidity, while the nine-speed multi-clutch transmission ensures gearshifts so smooth as to be nigh on undetectable. Yet my own experience also demonstrates that with a reasonably delicate foot on the loud pedal the S 500 can easily manage 8L/100km.

These, however, are merely parts of the equation because the S-class is arguably more about the serenity of a journey than it is about the speed – and whether you’re up-front driving or cocooned, semi-reclined on one of the voluminous black leather chairs in the back, few cars are more comfortable, silent or relaxing. When I say silent here, I’m not talking about the uncanny, near-anechoic quiet of a Rolls-royce Phantom, in which you can almost hear your blood as it’s pumped around your body, but rather a contented, calm-inducing restfulness. Wind noise is virtually absent, while the active air suspension, creamily smooth and supple, is sufficiently pillow-like to lull passengers into a contented snooze. My only

Built on a long-wheelbase chassis, the S 500 offers oodles of legroom both front and back

complaint concerns the hyper-sensitive proximity sensors that beep frantically whenever other vehicles come even marginally close, on one occasion even slamming on the brakes alarmingly as I filter into a tunnel through heavy traffic.

Built on a long-wheelbase chassis, the S 500 offers oodles of legroom both front and back, and the cabin build quality is largely superb. Unlike the more costly Maybach S-class variants, you will find the odd plastic surface here and there, but mostly it’s all beautifully made from superior hide, high-gloss lacquer and metals exquisitely put together and presented. Moreover, the LED ambient-lighting strips, which illuminate the interior in a rainbow-choice of colours, look especially classy after dark, as do the twin TFT instrument and infotainment screens that are increasingly replacing conventional dashboards on Mercedes passenger cars; on the S-class they are paragons of cognitive clarity.

If the performance from the 3L engine is unusually punchy and the ride comfort verges on the superb, driving the S 500 is rarely more than somewhat entertaining. Yes, in spite of the gliding softness of the ride, the S’s body control is excellent and the steering precise and responsive, but as almost zero road feel is conveyed through the helm the sense of engagement is limited compared with other more sporting large machines.

Is that an issue? Hardly, because if the aim of a large sedan is to cosset its occupants with every luxury while wafting them swiftly, silently and safely from homes and hotels to airports and offices – as well as on much longer journeys that we might contemplate with trepidation in lesser vehicles – it’s hard to imagine a car that better meets these objectives than the S-class. Indeed, after almost 50 years, it remains a genuine automotive pioneer, a technological tour de force that’s become the yardstick by which every other luxury automobile is judged – and with its ingenious new mild-hybrid power unit, the S 500 has even managed to endow the internal combustion engine with new life and relevance.

And if you really like motor cars, what, honestly, is not to love about that?