Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £57,790 to £150,090
Plenty of kit and safety equipment, comfortable, roomy, quality cabin.
Handling a little soft, thirsty, UK will have to wait for smooth-running hybrid.
The 350 CDI is the most practical and frugal but the 600 provides the most entertaining drive.
You know when you haven't seen a friend for a while and they look slightly different. You say 'you look well', and they reply, 'Yes, I've just had a couple of weeks away' - then you notice a slight tan that makes them look healthier.
This is how you should look at the facelifted S-Class - the changes aren't that obvious but it just looks invigorated. It's a car with a healthy glow.
Calling the changes 'cosmetic' is stretching it a bit. You could play spot the difference, but there's not much to spot - there's new light clusters at the front and rear, new LED lights, a reworked grille and a slight change to the bumpers. And that's it.
We could also bumble on about changes under the skin, but there's not many of those either. The engines have been tinkered so you get a little more power, less carbon dioxide emissions and better fuel economy. But everyone's doing that, so it's expected.
Predictably, there's more safety gizmos: now the S-Class gets Crosswind Stabilisation, Merc's new 'Torque Vectoring Brake' - a new system that automatically dabs the inside rear wheel to give improved stability - and Attention Assist to alert you when it thinks you are getting drowsy.
Oh, and there's a totally new petrol-electric hybrid that uses a lithium-ion battery (a first for Merc) - but it's not coming to the UK for a while yet. Pity, because we drove it and liked it a lot.
Prices haven't been announced yet but they're likely to be very close to the current models which range between £57,000 and just over £100k. All good then - or is it? Read on to find out.
