Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £57,790 to £150,090
Remarkable refinement, especially lack of road noise. Agile for its size, rapid, fun to drive, laden with understandable and useful technology.
Looks brash and may date quickly.
With beauty on its side it would be a five-star car.
The old S-class was roomy enough, but this one's bigger body is roomier. Outside dimensions are up by 29mm in height, 16mm in width, 33mm in length for the standard-wheelbase versions, 43mm for the long-wheelbase models. So you can lounge to your heart's content, especially in the long-wheelbase cars with their reclining back seats.
As we've said, noise levels are extraordinarily low thanks to the insulation of road and wind roar, and the ride comfort is remarkable. The air-conditioning is automatic, of course, and tailors its outputs to suit the cabin's four quarters taking into account the heat from the sun.
Equipment levels rise through the model ranks, obviously, but all S-classes get a Comand system with CD and DVD player with a telephone interface and a PCMIA computer slot, Pre-safe, and electric front seats with adjustable lumbar and seat-length support. You get 'adaptive' brakes, too; come to a halt in traffic, press the brake pedal harder and let go, and S-class stays put (even on a hill) until you press the accelerator again. Distronic Plus adds a refinement to this, in that you can use it at traffic speeds to keep the right distance from the car in front and brake automatically when needed. It's a slightly spooky prospect, actually.
Among the many options are a TV able to receive both analogue and digital signals, ventilated seats (the S500 gets heated seats as standard), a reversing camera and surround-sound for the stereo. Keyless Go is an option, too. And let us not forget the variable massage function in the front seats, the 'dynamic multicontour' option that alters the seat support as you corner or brake, nor the panoramic glass roof glazed all the way from windscreen to rear window. The S-class can pretty much have it all. Surprising that the 20GB hard-drive sat-nav system isn't standard, though.
