Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

The King is back, baby
By Imthishan Giado

How you do improve on perfection?  If you’re the new 2014 Mercedes S-Class you do it by doubling down on luxury, technology and creating an interior that would be the envy of a Bentley.

On the outside, there is no radical shift in design – remember, S-Class buyers are among the most conservative in the world – and so the new S-Class retains broadly the same exterior dimensions as the old car, except with a larger grille up front and curiver styling that we first saw on the new E-Class.

The glitzy lamps use no bulbs but are instead LEDs, to cut power consumption. 54 LEDs per cluster to be exact, with taillights using 35 LEDs each. With aluminium construction throughout – something Jag did ages ago admittedly on the XJ – this S-Class will weigh about the same as the old car despite a boatload of tech, which is impressive considering the old car weighed as much as the car before it. And the car before that, for that matter.

Most of which will be found inside. The big figure for the interior is 300 – that’s the number of LEDs used throughout the cabin, each capable of five dimming levels. Then are the screens  – two big 12.3” TFTs dominate the dash, one for the instrument cluster and one for the infotainment system.

Everything is turned up to 11 when it comes to electronics: the telephone keypad is now touch sensitive as opposed to buttons, the rear seats offer a ‘hot stone’ massaging option with 14 backrest cushions and six massage programs. Oh, and five different rear seat layouts as well.  Don’t like the smell of your passengers? Opt the Air Balance package and you can pump in five different fragrances into the cabin via the climate control system. Like your stereos? The top-pick Burmester option delivers 24 speakers and 1540 competition-pounding watts into the cabin.

On the road, the new S-Class is as safe as it’s always been with nine ‘ASSIST’ systems on board including night vision and the intriguingly named ‘Traffic Sign Assist’. Oh, and the S-Class can now read your emails and messages to you if desired, which may or may not be a safety feature depending on the content of the message and the name of your passenger.

You’ve also got Magic Body Control which scans the road ahead using stereo cameras to adjust the air suspension for upcoming imperfections on the tarmac. Power? Four engines announced: a 3.5-litre 302bhp hybrid and a couple of diesels which we will never see here. Most relevant to us is the twin-turbo 4.7-litre V8 S500, good for 448bhp and an effortless 511lb ft of torque.

What do think you of the new S500? Let us know below!