Mercedes S-class Mighty white limo returns
We herald a welcome return after rear-end crash annoyance
MILEAGE 3031 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the latest S-class maintains the model’s luxury car superiority, and whether this S500 eclipses the old V8
If you’ve been waiting patiently for news of our mighty white S500 hybrid, you’ll have noted a distinct information hiatus. About the time our first report ran in early October, we were arranging crash repairs – after a lady in a venerable yellow Astra hit it resoundingly up the backside at about 20mph.
It was a classic suburban accident. The traffic ahead came to an abrupt halt, the big Benz demonstrated its superb retardation abilities by stopping dead straight and in plenty of time despite a split-grip situation (dry road crown, wet kerbside) but, sadly, the Vauxhall did not.
The impact felt quite severe so it was surprising to see a lack of visual damage (in marked contrast to the rearranged grille/wings/bonnet front of the Astra), but it was soon clear the S-class’s shock-absorbing mechanisms beneath the rear bumpers had been heavily disturbed, and the exhaust system (including catalytic converters) had moved a long way on its mountings. Off went the Big S to a firm of authorised Mercedes repairers with a hope we’d see it again in three to four weeks.
So it proved. The Benz came back to us without the slightest sign of recent difficulties, not even a whiff of paint or glue. The only change was the application of a special coating that protects matt finishes like the specialist Magno Cashmere White of our car (a £3650 option that stops it looking like wedding transport).
Now that the S-class is with us again, it feels as if the family is complete. In its first weeks it rapidly began to fulfil a role no disparate car fleet truly needs, but which soon proves extremely nice to have. The S-class has become our standard – for quietness, for cabin space and comfort, for low road noise, for brilliance at bump-absorption, for discreet body control and for injecting ease into long journeys.
What it doesn’t do very well is fit into our rather confined car park: the S500 (and most UK S-classes) come only in long wheelbase form that adds another 100mm between front and rear wheels – all of it going into rear leg room – and that extra is enough to put its elegant alloys at considerable risk from the ravaging kerbs in our usual multi-storey, designed for Morris Marinas. So we’re keeping it in safety, a little further away.
Mind you, the S500 spends a lot of its time much further from the office. As I write, it’s wafting back from Cardiff where it was perfect transport for four London rugby lovers who used it for the Wales vs Australia game. Another 450-mile round trip is scheduled before the weekend. Various of us are trying to find excuses for journeys to France and beyond, consoled by the fact that even when you’re pressing on (as much as you can these days) this petrol-electric powertrain will reward you with fuel mileage in the 30s. And fine stability, grip and steering in tight going.
Faults? We’ll have to look harder. Nit pickers might find the sheer profusion of switches and controls a challenge. And a couple of tiny touchpads on the steering wheel might strike you as fiddly at first. But at the car’s collection I had an hour’s briefing from one of the technical experts Mercedes makes available to all its new car customers, so I feel I’ve got it taped.
As you might have read, I’m soon to swap the S500 with Andrew Frankel for his BMW 7 Series, likely to present the Merc with its highest hurdle in our ownership so far.